Sunday, May 31, 2009

Tour of the Southwest National Parks

A picture from just outside Tonto, near Roosevelt Reservoir
The kids at Casa Grande

Annie in Saguaro , appropriately placed near a Saguaro cactus
Brian and Jacob on an overlook at Chiricahua
Gila Cliff DwellingsPetrified Forest - yes the log is made of stone

Old Town Albuquerque
White Sands where the pure white sand dunes were almost like snow covered hills


We decided to take a road-trip to some of the parks in the Southwest. We had such a great time! There is almost too much to write about, just as there are too many pictures to post. So here is a quick overview of our trip in numbers:


2026 = Number of miles driven
12 = Number of National Park Service sites visited
2 = Number of state/BLM sites visited
4 = Nights in Arizona
4= Nights in New Mexico
46 = Lowest Temperature on trip @ 12 Noon in El Mapais
97 = Highest Temperature on trip @ 3:20 in Saguaro
14 = Number of hikes (short and long)
1.9 mi = Longest hike for Jacob(480 ft elevation gain) in Chiricahua
.9 mi = Longest hike for Annie in Saguaro
7 = Number of coloring/activity books used by the kids
0 = Number of movies watched in the car
249 = Number of pictures taken
7 = Number of Mexican food restaurants for dinner
6 = Number of times we had Peanut Butter & Jelly for a picnic lunch
450 = # of times, approximate, the kids asked when we'd get there
Still Counting = # of times the kids fought, told on each other
Still Counting = # of times the kids laughed and played


The parks we saw: Tonto, Saguaro, Casa Grande, Chiricahua, Fort Bowie, Gila Cliff Dwellings, White Sands, Salinas Pueblo Missons, Petroglyph, El Mapais, El Morro, Petrified Forest. It was so impressive to see all the places. Each one was so unique, surprising in what it had to offer, and completely enjoyable. Details on any of the them can be found on http://www.nps.gov/

Cities we stopped/stayed in: Globe, AZ; Tucson, AZ; Silver City, NM; Las Cruces, NM; Alamagordo, NM; Albuquerque, NM; Flagstaff, AZ. Thanks to Kevin & Cate who kindly opened their beautiful home to us in Alamagordo! It was great to catch up with you.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is very cool.. I love all the statistics at the bottom... Very fun to read.. I should do something simmilar with Ben and my 3000 mile round trip drive we are leaving for tomorrow.. Talk to you when I return. Maria

Rachael said...

Hi Carrie
Loved all the photos on the Kodak site too. Just shows we'll have to visit that area again as there's so much we didn't see. Were the sand dunes the Grand White ones that we saw? I like the idea of the sledges. Have you moved house yet? Still a week to go before half term, can't believe you lot are off for the summer already. Geting through our fifth of the cow and it's very tasty. I'd told Ceri that we were enjoying all the different joints of the cow but she didn't know what that meant, is that because she's veggie or it is a British term? Anyway enjoy the summer!
xxx