Spring Break 2009!

Monday Morning, March 30th

We load up the car and prepare to head out on another big adventure. We have a cooler full of food, an overnight bag (just in case) and our Indian Country Map (Miss Springer bought for Jerry). We are ready! We left about 8:45 AM. Our route went as follows: we headed into Winslow via Interstate 40, then we turned off onto the road to Dilkon, passed by Dilkon and onto to Indian Wells, Greasewood. We headed up to Ganado and visited the Hubble Trading Post there. Then we headed back north to Chinle, then West to Kayenta and then North to Monument Valley, UT. Wow, Monument Valley was really neat. We drove around the circle to explore the park. It is around 14 miles and a very bumpy dirt road. Once again, Jerry had a TOO much fun driving on these off-road roads. Navajo people still live inside the park. It was beautiful, there was snow on the ground there. We saw rock formations named: El Capitan, the Owl, the Mittens, the Three Sisters, the Elephant, the Chair, and others. It was beautiful. We ended up staying the night at a hotel, as it was past 5PM when we were done viewing the park. The girls swam in the indoor pool. The next day we packed up and headed back a different route. We turned right at Kayenta, and stopped at the Navajo National Monument, which is a Anasazi ruins that has been amazingly preserved. Then we drove on to Tuba City, where we turned left onto the Hopi reservation and went across the first and second Mesas and then back onto the Navajo reservation and drove right by Tolani Lake on our way home. I just have to say to the Hopi Nation: add some more road signs if you want to encourage people to visit your land.

When we returned to our home, Abby had learned something new. She and Kelcy immediately went outside and built a gate out of bricks. Then they were charging admission to get out and in our house! It was too funny!

Wednesday we were at the mission. I went into the office and did some work.

Thursday Morning

We headed out at about 8:45 to Phoenix. We were to pick-up Mr. Bill at the airport on Friday morning. As the drive to Phoenix is 3 1/2 to 4 hours, we thought that we would spend the night there. We went through Winslow down Route 87. We didn't see any Elk, but it is a very beautiful drive. We got to the hotel about 12:30, ate our lunch I had packed and then hit the swimming pool. It was 85 degrees in Phoenix! The girls had a great time in the pool. We just lazed around the relaxed and enjoyed the day by the pool. After dinner that evening, we all layed outside together in a hammock and looked at the stars and talked. When I asked Abby what her favorite things was that day, she didn't say swimming--she said lying in the hammock and talking. It was so sweet! We got up the next morning and let the girls swim before we had to leave for the airport. We picked up Mr. Bill and headed back up route 87 to Winslow. We stopped in Payson and had lunch, then headed on back to the mission. It was a lovely trip and we were very glad to see Mr. Bill was back.

About the weather. I know that I comment on the wind and the weather a lot in this blog. However, I am getting a lot more accustomed to the wind than I used to be. It took realizing a few things: I am not the only one being impacted by the wind today; Jesus WALKED around in the desert and lived in the desert his whole life. I am sure that he had to deal with sand storms; and I thought of our troops in harm's way in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait. I know that the troops are impacted by sand storms much longer lasting than the ones we have here. I also realize that a whole lot of people are dealing with problems that are much more serious than a lot of wind and sand. So, when I report the sand storms, I am just astounded by their impact. I know that God is in control, even during the sand storm. And we do have beautiful days now ,too. I am human and I want to report what is fantastic, like a sandstorm, and not just that we had another beautiful day with clear skies and abundant sunshine. This area definitely has the most sunshine of anyplace that I have ever lived. I am also told that the wind this year is very unusual. So, if you are considering coming to work and live here, please don't let my reporting of the weather impact that decision.