Friday Family Throwback-Family Vacations

It's Friday again. And about time. So it is time for Friday Family Throwback. Since it is summer and summer usually means vacation time, I thought I would share photos of some of the vacations that my family has gone on over the years. Well, at least the vacations that I have photos of on my computer.

I am going to post vacation stuff daily for the next month. So instead of it just being Friday Family Throwback. It will be Family Vacation Throwback month. By the end of summer, you will be so tired of seeing my vacation photos that you will want to ship me off to some deserted island somewhere. If you do that, can you be sure to send me somewhere with a 5 star hotel? I know, I know, deserted islands don't have 5 star hotels.

We'll start off with my family vacation back in 2000. Our goal was to visit National Parks in Arizona, Utah & southwest Colorado. Since we can't afford to fly anywhere, we always go on a driving vacation, better known as a "Road Trip". That means staying in the southwest. Luckily for us, the southwest US has an abundance of National Parks, not to mention some awesome scenery.

Today I will post about the first couple of days of our vacation. Back in 2000 when we went on this vacation we had a website that we posted on daily. We would put what our itinerary was suppose to be for the day & then we would post about what we actually did, along with photos. That way our family & friends could see what we were seeing each day. We no longer have the website up, but luckily Brandon did keep all the info that was posted. That makes my post today a little easier to do.

Have you ever gone on vacation with another family? It can be a lot more fun going with another family. But it can also be a little more stressful at times as well. We've gone on a couple of vacations with Mike's niece Jamee and her husband Mike and their son Mikey. This particular vacation was one that our 2 families went on together.

NATIONAL PARKS 2000

Day 1
Monday, August 21, 2000:
Today is our first day on vacation. We are leaving San Diego early Monday morning. It will be a long and hot drive through the desert. Destination: Flagstaff, Arizona. To get there we decided to take a new route for us. Drive east out through Yuma, and Phoenix. Then go north until we hit Flagstaff. It will be a very fun and exciting trip, plus something new :)

Today: We had a wonderful drive to Flagstaff. It was long, but very interesting. At flagstaff we went to a state park with Indian ruins. It was very neat. Kim, and Jamie got soaked when it suddenly rained cats and dogs while at the park. The rest stayed dry by taking shelter in a cave. For dinner we all went to the Outback Steakhouse. Finally Kimmy opened her birthday presents and we went to bed.

Today's map - El Cajon, CA to flagstaff, AZ

Today's Photos:

The Arizona Desert outside of Gila Bend. (This is Mike's niece Jamee and her husband Mike and thier son Mikey.)
Mike mooning the cactus
Brandan, Mikey, Kimmy & Brandon out in the hot Arizona desert.

Brandan, Kimmy, Mike & Brandon (can you tell we really liked taking photos with the cactus?)
Ancient Indian Ruins (just outside Flagstaff, AZ). This was called Walnut Canyon National Monument.

The boys hiked down to the caves & cliff dwellings. Us girls (Jamee & I) opted to stay up top & relax.

Our family at the top of the trail at Walnut Canyon National Monument. Brandon, Kimmy, Mike & Brandan.Jamee, Mike & Mikey
Eating at the Outback Steakhouse

Kimmy's Birthday Party (My presents came from the Cracker Barrel which was right next door to our hotel in Flagstaff.)

Day 2
Tuesday, August 22, 2000:
The grand canyon is our main point of interest today. We will be visiting the south rim of the canyon. After that we are off to Cortez, Colorado. A small town in southwest Colorado, Cortez is popular for one of the southwest's most precious national parks. Mesa Verde, which we will be visiting tomorrow.

Today: Off to the grand canyon. We left Flagstaff around 8:00 AM. At the grand canyon we took some shuttle tours around the park. While waiting, the skies opened up and it rained like crazy. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. We were all wet, but it was very fun. We viewed the canyon from many perspectives, which were all great. The Colorado river was easy to spot down in the canyon. After leaving the grand canyon, we drove to some small town in Northern Arizona called Tuba City, and ate lunch at a McDonalds. That place was weird. We were minorities. Everyone else was Indian. After leaving this small town, we drove and drove. Saw some cool lightning storms, and drove some more. Finally just as it was getting dark, we arrived at four corners. Just barely making it, we were able to check it out. For free by the way. After spending about 10 minutes there, it was time to hit the road again. About 40 minutes later we arrived in Cortez, Colorado.

Today's map - Flagstaff, AZ to Cortez, CO

Today's Photos:

The grand canyon @ the south rim

Brandan, Mikey & Brandon

Brandan, Mike, Kimmy, Brandon

Mikey, Mike & JameeKimmy & her new boyfriend

This was our hotel for the night. Just kidding.
Four Corners-The only place in the United States where you can stand on 4 states at once. Utah, Colorado, New Mexico & Arizona.
There you have the first two days of our National Parks vacation back in 2000. Tomorrow I will try & post the next 2 days of our vacation. If not, it may be Monday. So be sure to check back to continue our vacation and to see where we go next.

And if you are a family member & want to post photos of your current or old vacations, you are more than welcome to post them here. Or you can post them on your own blog (if you have one) and I will link to you. I think it's fun looking back & remembering. Not to mention seeing yourself looking younger & thinner.

Kim