2019 Marks Family Vacation, Part I: Red Rock State Park, AZ

I'm finally able to get to blogging about our epic 2019 Marks Family Vacation! I'm breaking it up into five posts for each of the major places we went (here, Red Rock; the Grand Canyon; Zion; Arches; and Telluride) and I'll fill in the gaps in each post. We were gone for a total of 11 days, but I was not able to (or didn't think to) take pictures of each place we went. Plus, I did all the driving so Toby could capture as many pics as possible and also work on them when we were en route from one fantastic location to the next. He's been very busily working on all his photos. He's posted a few, such as this great one of a crow at the Grand Canyon. But there are many more coming and he'll be doing his own posts soon. 

Toby started out posting a travel log - which I had intended to do each night from the hotel. But we each figured out very quickly that that was way too ambitious. We underestimated how tired we'd be each night and the downtime and rest we'd need, plus the preparation we'd need to do for the next day took the last of our energy each night. We pack in a lot in each day of our trips. There is always so much to see and we want to take it all in! We talked about having more downtime this trip, but I'm not sure we actually accomplished that for us. We did give the children more downtime and that allowed three little "Adventures for 2" in the midst of the Family Vacation I'm eager to post about. What we absolutely accomplished was a lot of fun, seeing new sights, and enjoying the Great American Southwest and each other.

Day 1, as Toby noted, was just getting out of Texas (via Buc-ee's of course.) Texas is big. Even living as far north as we do, it takes a good 9-10 hours to get to Albuquerque. That's been our first stop each of our last three summer vacations out West. We stay there and then have eaten at the Artichoke Cafe that first night. It's very, very good; high end; with gluten free offerings for Augie and I. We stayed at a Home 2 Suites by Hilton, enjoyed a good breakfast, then headed out for the road trip from Albuquerque to Red Rock State Park.

Day 2 started with the drive from ABQ to Red Rock, which is just under six hours if you don't stop much. Toby blogged a bit about our drive here and here. It was quite the drive for a second day given the first day was quite long as well. But we are road warriors. The kids actually do quite well on the road. We pack activities - electronics (make sure you have abundant car chargers!) - and non-electronic things - as well as food and snacks. I have an electric ice chest that plugs into the car (and walls) to keep drinks and sandwiches, etc., cold. Each trip we learn more about what to pack. For instance, out West it can be very hard to find bottled water in the parks. Not kidding. They are serious about reducing the use of disposable things. This year, I thought ahead and bought reusable water containers for everyone. How convenient they came in a 5-pack. I had very large bottles of water in the ice chest that we used to keep them refilled and at the parks, there are water refilling stations everywhere. I also bought this handy, large car organizer for dry goods, sanitizing wipes, sunscreen, Windex wipes for the windshield (not kidding, that was very important), paper towels, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, a First Aid Kid, beef jerky, etc., etc., etc. It worked very well. When we live out of the car, I really want it to be organized. Plus, it's nice when we don't have to stop every time someone needs something. We keep a trash sack or box going and do a quick spruce up at every stop. Augie and Toby are in charge of grabbing stuff from the ice chest and organizer which are in the second row of our SUV with Augie. Augie gathers up people's trash after each snack / meal and straightens up. Lucy and Anthony stay in the third seat; Toby and I are in the command center. It all works very well. (Honestly, I get excited thinking about it. It's just such fun to strike out that way!)

Now, about Red Rock. Toby posted specifically about our adventure here and I love his pictures and his description. You can see all his pictures in his Red Rock Album on Flickr. It was an especially beautiful drive once we headed south off of Interstate 40 at Flagstaff. I was actually not prepared for going through a big forest full of Ponderosa Pines! (I'd not really paid that much attention to what we'd see along the way. I'd been more focused on just how long each leg to of the trip took.) Ponderosa Pines made us both think of Sequoia. You see a good many of them as you approach the big trees. It was neat to see them in this different context barely two weeks from that Adventure for 2.  

Of course, I didn't get any pictures of that as I was driving down very, very windy, narrow mountain roads at this point. We got into Sedona which I'd never been to either and it was also surprisingly beautiful and much bigger than I realized it would be. It's spread out as Toby noted. He and I would LOVE to go back there for a couple's weekend with some hiking in the Coconino National Forest. 

Once at Red Rock, we stopped at the Miller Visitor Center to get some information, souvenirs, and fill up our water bottles. The Visitor's Center was pretty with this little natural water feature there to greet you.

We'd been in light rain on the way into Sedona, but it was clearer at the trail head where we wanted to begin our hike. Nevertheless, we saw the storms coming, as well as some in the distance, and we knew at least some of them were headed for us. There was lightning in the distance as well. We waited a bit and made the decision to hoof it and get that hike in. While we were waiting, Toby got some pics and I got some pics of him taking pics. 

Everyone was restless as this point and wanting to get out on that trail. I, being the "safety first / avoid the foreseeable risk of harm" person (to the point of annoying everyone else sometimes) wanted to wait and bit and see where the storm was going. We had no cell service so we could not watch it on radar. This one eventually moved off. That's when we made our move, but we knew more were behind it. 

Toby took advantage of the delay in our hike to capture some really great shots. I was pleased that I could capture the differences in light and even the rain coming down at that distance even with my little iPhone. 

Look at how dark those clouds were with the sun behind us. It seemed to light up those roofs. I like contrasts in photography and light.

Really, really dark clouds, but still with the sunlight behind us illuminating the red of the soil and making the green of the foliage really pop!

I realize these are basically the same shot, but I like the slight differences I was able to capture with each one. This one is here, however, to show Toby doing his thing. Also, our little man is there taking it all in. He's working on being a little photographer in his own right. 

Look at the white of the rain shower in the midst of the dark. By now, the sun is shining on parts of those peaks even as some remain dark. I just love the reds and greens as well! 

We finally found an opening in the weather and we took it. We headed down the trail that crossed a creek bed, only to get caught in a brief shower while under the canopy of the trees there.

I believe that's called House of Apache Fires.

Again, the sunlight and dark cloud contrast was just spectacular. Look at how these rock formations look like they're being spotlighted! I also loved the yellowish tan dry grass on the red soil and then a layer of green forest with the layer of red rock formation and, finally, the layer of blue gray stormy skies in this photograph. 

Another shot of contrasts as we set out on the trail. All the people I love most in this pic.

Shortly after those pictures were taken, we're in the trees and crossing over a dry creek bed. 

The creek bed was dry when we were there. However, you can easily see evidence of how raging waters can rush down it when the Monsoon hits. In this trip, we learned all about - and experienced! - the American Southwest Desert Monsoon Season. 

I do love bridges, especially wooden ones.

This part had a bit of water. 

The clouds were never that far away. 

A grassier, greener area just past the bridge. 

Another view of that House.

I liked how the light highlighted this extremely large green tree with the dark clouds seeming to be just above it.

Sometimes I stay back a bit to get some shots with everyone in them.

We'd reached out destination which was specifically so Toby could get photographs of these formations, called Cathedral Rock. 

The rain was about to catch up with us in spectacular fashion, so we had to beat a hasty retreat back to the car. 

We were in the car about one minute before the bottom fell out of the sky. It not only rained, but it hailed on my almost new SUV. Fortunately, we did not sustain any damage, but we did have to just sit on the side of the road and wait it out. I knew we had narrow, windy roads back and I needed my visibility to be much better than it was at that point. Ultimately, we made it back just fine. 

From Red Rock we headed to Williams, Arizona, and The Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. We had booked a package there - as we did last summer - but this time to allow us to stay a full night in the Grand Canyon at a lodge there. We'd head out the next morning via train to the Grand Canyon, then stay at the Maswik Lodge for a night, and then back to Williams for another night. The next leg of our adventure was about to unfold. But more on that in the next post. 

The sunset once in Williams was spectacular, but I had to settle for this little picture from our hotel. 

We were tired but had a great day! We only wished we could have spent more time on the trails at Red Rock and even in Coconino. But we have vowed to do that in the future. American is a beautiful, wonderfully diverse nation. There is so much to see and experience! We are grateful for what we have been able to do so far and working hard to do more. 

Thanks for reading!