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Border Patrol, Illegals and the Great Wall – Douglas, AZ

On October 16, 2011 / Alaska to Argentina, Arizona, Border Crossings / 5 Comments

After visiting with our friends in Tombstone, Arizona, we passed through Bisbee once again, to collect some veggie and stop for a bite to eat, then head south for the border, with plans to cross the next day.

We drove to Douglas, Arizona, a town that borders Agua Priete on the Mexican side. Once in town, we did some errands, stopping at Walmart to pick up a few groceries (unfortunately the only grocery option in town.) It was located within a couple hundred of feet from the Wall that separates Mexico and the U.S.

It wasn’t surprising to find the majority of shoppers and workers had a Latin complexion. We were a little surprised to discover that our cashier actually lives in Mexico. She comes across everyday to work, and then returns home to her country. Earning in dollars, spending in pesos. That’s the way to do it. Read more →

The Town Too Tough to Die! Tombstone, Arizona

On October 15, 2011 / Alaska to Argentina, Arizona / 2 Comments

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After visiting Historic Bisbee, Arizona and attending church in Sierra Vista, we drove to Tombstone to meet up with Jenn Miller of EdventureProject.com

Jenn and her crew were taking the Silver Mine Tour when we arrived, so we did some exploring on our own. Tombstone is an old west town that was home to the likes of Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. Read more →

Historic Mining Town – Bisbee, AZ

On October 14, 2011 / Alaska to Argentina, Arizona / 3 Comments

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As we headed toward the New Mexico border, we were camped outside of Safford, Arizona. The kids were asleep, and we had service, so I was checking email and chatting on Facebook via my iPhone while lounging in my roof top tent.

Suddenly I received a message from long-time internet friend and fellow family traveler, Jenn Miller of EdventureProject.com. She said that (surprisingly) they were going to be in Tombstone for the weekend, and did we want to meet up?

Of course we wanted to meet up! We’d communicated online for several years, while our family explored the Dominican Republic, India and Alaska, and their family biked across Europe and Africa, RVd the U.S. and Central America, and lived in Guatemala. Read more →

Who Needs Video Games!? We’ve Got Dirt – Southern Arizona

On October 13, 2011 / Alaska to Argentina, Arizona, Philosophy / 7 Comments

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We spent an awesome couple of days with a great family in Gilbert, AZ. It was great to talk about travel, living life on purpose, and doing things that matter.

Our (total of 11) children played excellently together – (the girls gave us spa treatments).

While there was lots of things the boys loved doing together, the one thing my two boys couldn’t get enough of was playing the Wii.

They have what I call ‘addictive personalities’. When it comes to certain things – sugar, movies, video games – they can’t get enough. And once they’ve had some of it, and I put an end to it, they go through withdrawals – whiney, moody, unfocused.

My personal approach is to avoid all of it for the most part. We eat very little (if any) sweets, watch a rare movie, and have NO VIDEO GAMES (computer games, iPod games, etc.) whatsoever. (It’s also a part of our educational approach). Read more →

Petroglyphs and Bouldering – Snowflake, AZ

On October 11, 2011 / Alaska to Argentina, Arizona / 3 Comments

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One ‘side effect’ of having our blog has been the invites we’ve received from families who would like to meet up with us along our route.

This has led to the opportunity to meet some AMAZING families, who share similar beliefs, ideals, goals and principles. We have met them all along the way.

One family lives in Snowflake, Arizona. We spent the weekend with them, and they took us exploring one afternoon to a canyon that is known about by the locals for it’s petroglyphs (some authentic, others less so). Read more →

Montezuma’s Castle – Arizona

On October 9, 2011 / Alaska to Argentina, Arizona, National Parks / 1 Comment

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As we traveled from Anthem toward Snowflake, Arizona where we had another meetup, we stopped by to look at Montezuma’s Castle.

It was erroneously called Montezuma’s Castle by Spanish Explorers, who believed it to be a hide-away of the Aztec leader, Montezuma. Really it was built by the Sinagua people who lived in this area. This housed around 35 people.

There was actually another ‘castle’ built just ‘next door’ to this one, that housed up to 100 people, but it was destroyed by a fire. Read more →

Exploring Underground Lava Tubes – Flagstaff, AZ

On October 8, 2011 / Alaska to Argentina, Arizona / 4 Comments

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We were invited to stay at a family’s home in Flagstaff, and they took us to a nearby attraction – Lava River Cave.

Formed by a lava flow who-knows-how-long-ago, what’s left is less than a mile long, underground tunnel of varying height, jagged, rocky floor, and a year round temp of about 41 degrees.

Pitch black and very cool (with both meanings intended), we had a bit of adventure. We ‘lost’ our husbands for awhile (how do you lose someone in a cave that only goes two directions?) and Greg got quite the workout carrying two kids, once Aaliyah’s legs were ‘too tired’. Read more →

Visiting (and Eating) in Navajo Indian Country – Northern Arizona

On October 6, 2011 / Alaska to Argentina, Arizona / 5 Comments

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Crossing into Arizona from Utah, we passed through Navajo Indian Reservation country. We decided to stop at a roadside store/trailer, to experience a bit of the culture.

In Greg’s usually friendly way, he struck up a conversation with the store owner. He then asked her how far the reservation went, and where we might find a place to camp for the night. She generously offered to let us camp on her land across the street. Read more →

Gazing at the Grand Canyon, Arizona

On October 5, 2011 / Alaska to Argentina, Arizona, National Parks / 1 Comment

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In the 1800′s, tourists would take a 12-hour bone-jarring journey by stagecoach across rough roads from Flagstaff to view the majestic Grand Canyon.

It was a wonder of nature, that required epic feats to reach, and would be viewed in the remote silence and serenity of the wilderness.

Today, while the Grand Canyon itself has remained relatively unchanged, the infrastructure around it, and the accessibility has altered greatly.

Somehow, I feel like we’re looking at nature, but disconnected from it.

In the 1800′s, people came to see for themselves something they had heard about, something that relatively few had seen. They came and looked through eyes of wonder and amazement, and stood surrounded by the natural world. (We came in 2007 when we drove from Utah to Costa Rica.)

Now, we’ve seen photos, video and know all about what the Grand Canyon looks like. It’s as though we come and say, “Oh yes, this is exactly what I expected,” and so viewing it through our ‘as-I-expected’ eyes, we don’t see what’s there.

We’re at a National Park, gazing at one of the wonders of nature – but traversing the rim in our air-conditioned vehicles on roads as smooth as silk, covering miles in minutes, surrounded by hordes of sightseers pausing only long enough to aim their point-and-shoots at the scenery before them – it seems somehow ‘unreal’. This isn’t nature.

It’s still beautiful.

At the Desert View Tower

Click here if you can’t see the video below.

Swimming and Cliff-Diving at Lake Powell

On October 4, 2011 / Alaska to Argentina, Arizona / 3 Comments

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We crossed into Arizona, and right across the border (on the south side of the Glen Canyon Dam) there’s a great place to pull off and swim/cliff dive.

My husband said that every time he’s driven past here he’s stopped to jump. He did it when we drove from Utah to Costa Rica in 2007, and this expedition was no exception either.

The water was really high, which made it a great place for the kids to swim, but Greg was a little disappointed because there weren’t any big jumps. Oh well.

We had a great time anyway. It was one of those perfect moments. Warm sun, cool water, pleasant kids, relaxing fun.