The Long Drive into Arizona

Before we left for Arizona on vacation day #3, we stopped in to the NY, NY casino to let Cole and Charlotte stretch their legs and play some slots! Ha! Just kidding. No, we did play in their arcade though and the kids had fun.

We drove over the Boulder Dam into Arizona (once you cross half way, you are in AZ).  This picture above is of Lake Meade which is a lake created by the back up of the Colorado River by the dam.  It is a little blue oasis in the desert.  Some day when you are bored, I'll tell you some stories of Boulder Dam. They are interesting! : )

Just a rest stop. Brendan is of course playing with is IPhone. I tell you, that phone is worth its weight in gold and then some. On the long drive, I was able to link in where we were and see how far we had to go (it has a  GPS) and check the internet and email and the blogs. It was awesome. : )

The bridge is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  Right now all traffic goes over the dam, but the traffic is slow and not very efficient. This new bridge is built at least 700-900 feet above the canyon floor and will just be a straight shoot over the mountains.  It's so high up I don't know if I would like going over it!  You could not get me to operate one of those cranes that are being used to build the bridge if you paid me a gazillion dollars. : )

Yikes!

This is the back of the dam.  It doesn't really do it justice. 

I see blue among the desert!

I had to take a picture of this. A 75 mph speed limit!!  Woo-hoo!!

Cacti!!!   Real ones! Cool!

Charlotte played with either my or Cole's sunglasses for a good while on the trip. Every 2 seconds, it was "Mommy...picture!"

Thankfully Cole slept for some of the trip. It took us a little over 6 hours to drive down there!

Of course I had to take a picture of the happy driver as well.

There was a sign before this that read "Entering Joshua Tree forest".  I think it was funny that they had to point it out.  As if anything else in the desert was blocking my view.  I found the entire state of Arizona to be amazing in the fact that about every 1/2 hour one type of vegetation ended and another began. For instance, a one point you'd see the traditional armed cactus, then they would just stop, then you'd see the Joshua Trees, then they would just stop, then you would see the pear shaped cactus, and so on.  It was weird!

I had to catch this moment. Before Cole fell asleep, Charlotte was being a little monster and pinching Cole's arm (for no reason) and thinking it was funny. Then when he fell asleep, I caught her stroking his hair. It was sweet. 

And then the sunset in Arizona.  This is a view from my uncle's backyard! What a view to have!

Tomorrow's pics: Scottsdale and Sedona!!