What an Adventure!!!

We are back from our 13 day road trip through Oregon, California, and Arizona. We spent several days on the road, saw so many different kinds of geography, had great weather, and our motor home had no problems!!! Yay!!! We enjoyed spending time with my husband’s mother and step father in Ajo, Arizona. My daughter learned out to do stained glass while there and finished 5 projects by the time we left. My son enjoyed playing dominoes & 21 with his grandma. We all took a ton of photographs of the beautiful area – the landscape is so vastly different from ours in Oregon. We loved spending Christmas in the desert with our family!

Heading down the road

 

Beautiful cloud formations

 

Settling in for a long road trip

 

Going…

 

…Gone

 

Our first dinner on the road – YUM!

 

Meet Grace – Chief Navigator

 

We made it to Grandma Fran and Grandpa Bud’s home

 

They had so many different kinds of cacti in their yard

 

The majestic saguaro cactus

 

Beauty wherever I look

 

Room to roam

 

Clouds and cacti

 

This one was HUGE – 20+ feet

 

Dominoes with Grandma

 

Learning how to do stained glass

 

Glorious Christmas Eve sunset

 

A very Merry Christmas was had by all!

 

We headed down the road to my husband’s father and stepmother’s house in Yuma, Arizona.  It was so nice to see their faces – it’s been too long! We endured an incredible wind storm the first night there and the following day kept us in close quarters due to the severe wind gusts. We were able to make it out for some shopping and lunch before huddling up for the night. The next day brought beautiful weather with no winds! We went to town to watch a football game during lunch before heading to the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park where we visited the museum and explored the grounds.

Love them!

 

Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park

 

Grandma might be a bad influence!

 

Can you imagine how hot these cells got in the Arizona summer???

 

Spending time with Papa!

 

Prisoner wagon

 

Love!

 

Father and son

 

After breakfast the following day, we headed down the road. We were going to go see some cliff dwellings and the Grand Canyon but sadly, the roads were terrible. Instead, we had a fun and spontaneous journey home. We stopped near San Diego a few hours later to explore the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It was unbelievably beautiful to see the animals running free and loving their environment. The kids thought it was really cool and so did my husband and I!

San Diego Zoo Safari Park

 

Pink Flamingos!

 

Three cheetahs lying about

 

Can you see the 6 hour old baby giraffe on the right? It was amazing to see!!

 

Rhinos sharing a bite to eat

 

The next day, we surprised the kids with a stop at Legoland. It was a fun and crazy place to spend the day. The Lego statues throughout the park were incredible and we all were amazed by them. We spent nearly two hours in line for one roller coaster, but it was worth it! We had a blast exploring the area, learning how Lego’s are made, and riding rides. It was a jam packed day and we were all exhausted by the end of it. We headed down the road before stopping in Dana Point to watch an amazing sunset.

Ready to go!

Legoland

 

Love, love, love!!!

 

Photobombed!

 

One of my favorite Lego structures

 

Waiting in line for the roller coaster

 

Sunset in Dana Point, California

 

So beautiful!

 

A great way to end a fantastic day!

 

I am not very good at selfies

 

We spent time traveling North on the scenic Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway)

 

After lunch and headed back to Oregon

 

We had a blast documenting our journey by keeping a fun list of things we saw along the way – here is our list:

Arizona Road Trip – Bird and Wildlife Find:

BIRDS:

Hawks: 106
Vultures: 106
Snowy Egret: 8
Magpie: 2
Raven: 11
House Finch: 1
Woodpecker: 1
Roadrunner: 2
Pelicans: 5
Emu: 1

Too Many to Count:
Starlings
Geese – Canadian & Snow
Dove
Ducks
Seagulls
Crows
Black Birds
California Quail
Cormorants
Pigeons

WILDLIFE:

Jack Rabbit: 1
Cottontail:  3
Alpacas: 3
Ram: 2
Pigs: At least a dozen
White Tail Deer: 3
Donkey: 1

Too Many to Count:
Cows
Horses
Sheep/lambs
Goats
Roosters/Chickens

OTHER Random Interesting Things:

Trains: 17
HUGE American Flags: 9

LICENSE PLATES

AMERICAN:
Nevada
Arizona
Idaho
California
Texas
Arkansas
Florida
Oklahoma
Washington
New Mexico
Iowa
Nebraska
Ohio
Colorado
Alaska
Missouri
South Dakota
Wyoming
Michigan
Virginia
North Carolina
Hawaii
Alabama
Utah
Montana
Illinois
Indiana
Minnesota
Oregon
Wisconsin
West Virginia
Kansas
Maine
Pennsylvania
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts

CANADIAN:
Alberta, Canada
Ontario, Canada
Manitoba, Canada
Saskatchewan, Canada
British Columbia, Canada

MEXICAN:
Baja, California
Sonora, Mexico