Road Trip: Day 4 - 10

Life is never dull aboard a 30 foot RV... especially when family is involved. There are too many crazy memories to list (and most of them are probably of the "you had to be there" variety anyway), but I’ve got lots of pictures to share, as well as some road worthy wisdom for those of you crazy enough to embark on your own RV trip!

Day 1 of RVing
We pick up our sweet new ride from Colorado Springs and head south to Alamosa, where - unbeknownst to us - tumbleweeds, unpaved roads and our first experience backing up this monstrous rig awaited us. We also discover that cabin fever hits the girls earlier then expected. Thank goodness for cherries, monopoly card games, and a sick sense of humor!

Day 2 of RVing
Despite Jen's midnight claustrophobic episode due to sleeping in the small cabover space, everyone survives our first RV park experience and agrees to avoid using the RV toilet at all costs. Our first official stop is at Great Sand Dunes National Park where we hiked the tallest dune in North America (13,640 feet above sea level), recklessly ran (sometimes rolled) back down it, and gave an impromptu tour of our RV to a curious tourist.

Day 2 of RVing... continued
Two words.  Gator Fest.

RV Tip: Skip the free bucket of chum. Here I was thinking they would give us a bucket full of chicken guts and we're going to start channeling our Crocodile Hunter mojo's and potentially lose some fingers, but no.  Instead, they hand us a bucket of pellets that look like stale poop, we toss them in the water, and the crocs are completely uninterested. Eventually, the only thing they were good for was playing "who can throw it closest to the croc." Sorry crocodiles!

Nose picking shadow puppets and hissing contests with the random ostrich.

Brandon wasn't about to back down from this one - look at his game face!

RV Tip:  Enjoy the journey and pull over for the occasional scenic view - this one was amazing!

Day 3 of RVing

We took a quick stop at the Cameron Trading Post - for obvious reasons - before visiting the famous, the breathtaking, the ridiculously overly crowded, Grand Canyon.  RV Tip: Enter the park from the East entrance (not the South) and stay the heck away from everything west of and including the Visitor Center!

Day 4 of RVing

Took a detour onto historic Route 66 to visit a mom and pop diner with a secret out back... an elevator that drops you down 200 ft into the US's largest dry cavern. We also made a pit stop at the "vintage" Flintstone's "park" for my mom, who once visited when she was 9 years old.  I'm putting those words in quotations because, really, this place was sketchy as hell!  Oh my gosh, stay away. It's the thing zombie slaughter movies are made of - I'm not joking.  RV Tip:  Stay away from creepy and dilapidated road side attractions. 

From here it was a straight shot to San Diego, CA through the desert (in a sweltering115 degrees) for my little sister's wedding week. So keep your eyes peeled for more pictures!