Arizona- The trip to Flagstaff to see the Wells' proved to be everything that we hoped it would be. On the trip down we were able to spend some time on Temple square in Salt Lake and see the new Church Library. As always, the Church built a beautiful facility with state of the art media access. It was hot and the A/C was a treat! After staying with Haley and Sev we headed south. For Laryn the "highlight" of the trip was a stop in Panquitch, Utah. If you haven't been there, it is a little, rural farming community in the middle of know where. Of course this isn't unusual if you are from Basin City. But when Laryn spied a Mustang and Porshe passing through she thought something was up. Weird! I don't think that she will want to return for some reason which I haven't figured out yet. Maybe she will get a roommate or even a boyfriend from there.

Passing through Page we stopped at Glen Canyon Dam and viewed Lake Powell. A double rainbow viewed at the gas station sent us on our way to Flagstaff. The next two hours proved somewhat depressing as we drove through the Navajo Indian Nation. We did scope out the roadside jewelry stands for Mom's return trip. When we arrived in Flagstaff we found Dax and Jen's place easily with the pre-trip visit to Google Earth.

We visited the Grand Canyon and hiked 1 1/2 miles down which ended up being not very far in that huge hole in the ground. It was hot and steep but well worth the effort. The views were amazing. At "Ooh-Ah" point Laryn was attacked by a one-eyed squirrel that was obviously comfortable around humans. We also visited Meteor Crater and Walnut Canyon where the cliff dwellings exhibited the inhabitants understanding of the use of solar energy.

Flagstaff's 4th of July celebration paled somewhat to the TRAC fireworks show, but considering they hadn't had one for a number of years due to fire danger it was respectable. Before we left, we visited the Lowell Observatory where, among other finds, C. Tombaugh discovered the planet Pluto ( or dwarf planet if you subscribe to such cockamamy). A quick dash to Phoenix provided a feeling for the Valley of the Sun (100+) and some good deals at the factory outlet. Saguaro cactus dotted the landscape and denotes the arid climate.

As we journeyed north on the way home, Mom really "jewed" the local Navajo shop keeper for some nice earrings. He wanted $60 for them and she submarined him for $50. What a steal!

I hated to tell her that she probably could have got them for $30. She likes them.

Zion' Canyon definitely delivered! The massive stone formations and southwest red colors don't show well in the photos. Laryn's animal attraction worked again as we stopped to take a picture and she found herself within yards of a small herd of desert bighorn sheep. We finished our visit and headed north to the Bergeson's for the night. We stopped in Twin for a short visit and made it home by around 8 PM on Friday night. Another great road trip, and the Odyssey with 230,000 miles on it never wimpered.