We’ve arrived back home, safe and sound. We had an enjoyable trip and got to spend some time with three of our kids. It’s been a great couple of weeks!

1. The temperatures in Chandler were definitely higher than we were expecting, going so far as to set records. Of course, the day after we left much more normal weather moved in. I so not surprised.
2. I really enjoyed the grandsons Colten, Jackson, and Austin. They are fun to be around, fun to play with, and fun to listen to. Colten is deeply involved with World of Warcraft (when he’s not texting with Nina), Jackson is a kindred spirit with cream soda, and for Austin, Sprite is the best tasting thing in the whole world. Thanks Jaelene and Scott for having us for the week!
3. We stopped overnight at Heather’s on the way down and on the way back. Danielle was Really Sick when we drove down. Thankfully, she was almost back to normal on our way back. I don’t think Danielle does sick very well. It seems to get in the way of what she really wants to be doing.
4. The phrase “Everything in Phoenix is for sale” seems to be true. Not only is there very good shopping in the greater Phoenix area, it looked like about half the homes in some areas were for sale as well. I spent a couple of hours browsing through Fry’s Electronics and was very surprised at the low inventory levels there. Lots of empty or very sparsely populated shelf space through most of the store. The down economy is very evident at Fry’s.
5. We had a very nice drive back with a couple of interesting stops. Here’s a couple of pictures;

The drive from Flagstaff to Page is very interesting, including a beautiful ascent up the side of a tall cliff. The views are spectacular. Near the top is a pullout where I took this picture. The beginnings of the Grand Canyon are in the middle of the picture. The weather for this part of the drive was pleasant although a chilly, stiff wind was blowing.

Nina saw a Rock Shop on the way down that looked interesting, so we stopped on the way back at the shop. It was indeed an interesting place. There were lots of different kinds of rocks piled up in areas around the yard, including this unusual collection of “rocks”. I’m not sure what I’d do with them in my yard, but they would make for an interesting conversation.

At the aforementioned Rock Shop this dinosaur sculpture was on display, with an added Halloween feature. There were actually three rock shops, all right next to each other, featuring rocks from the “Orderville Mine”. I didn’t know there was a mine in Orderville, Utah.

I think we went through most of the available mountain west weather patterns on the drive home. We went from hot, dry and dusty in Phoenix to heavy winds as we drove across the Navajo Reservation, to hail near Knab. Then as we drove over the summit from US-89 to I-15, we came into fog and snow. That was followed by some very heavy rain showers. It was good to be in a well-running, air-conditioned, heated car!

And we’re happy to be home. TTFN!