Arizona (Grand Canyon & Sedona)
August 2006

As a family, the Grand Canyon was something we have always wanted to do, and with some help from Jeanne's parents (who provided their timeshare in Sedona), we finally had the opportunity.

Matthew and I drove out while Jeanne and her father flew. The two of us were able to see eleven states (Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri), seven state capitals (Indianapolis, Des Moines, Lincoln, Denver, Santa Fe, Phoenix, Oklahoma City), and 5,521 miles of road (nearly 1/4 of the way around the globe). It was all great fun, and we enjoyed nearly minute. Highlights of the journey included visiting Jeanne's aunt and uncle in Denver, fishing in both Lake Michigan and the Platte River, driving around Sante Fe (beautiful city), Meteor Crater, and camping in Flagstaff

What was Arizona like? Beautiful. Matt and I loved Flagstaff, Sedona was picturesque from any angle, and the weather was actually very nice. Of course, what we really wanted to see was the Grand Canyon, which is something hard to describe because it's so huge and beyond the scale of anything I've seen. We hiked around the rim and took a river boat down the Colorado in Glen Canyon (and the first bit of the Grand Canyon), but still could have done more. We all want to go back, so I suspect we'll have another shot.