Grand Canyon, Arizona

The next leg of our trip was to the Grand Canyon, Arizona. It was MIGHTY cold! Overnight temperatures were below zero, and when we went to the Grand Canyon, it was about 2 above zero, F. Over the course of the day, the temps. rose to about 15 or 20 degrees F.


Frankly, the heights were fairly scary. When I walked to this area the first time, my knees shook, and I had to climb back to the rim. Clearly, this is an age thing. Never before have I had this. I actually needed someone to hold my hand to get back to this railing.


The scapes were so surreal, they seemed like pictures. Certainly, this couldn't be real. Bizarre, but beautiful!


Once the sun came up, the views were even better. Donning hHats, scarves, and mittens didn't help with the cold much; however, the scenery DID change. Amazing!


I wish we would have had more time--and warmer temperatures. These hikes could have lasted for days!

Day Trip to Death Valley

We needed to get away from the crowds a day earlier than planned, so we took a day trip to Death Valley and the Furnace Creek Inn for lunch.


It's easy to feel like you're hanging out with Gatsby on the Furnace Creek Inn's patio.


The pool at Furnace Creek is also ridiculously Gatsbyesque.


Zabriskie Point looks a lot like the surface of Mars. Note the little speck of a person in the lower center of the picture.


Back to Vegas on a long, straight road, which looks nothing at all like Wisconsin.

Vegas--Geez, I HATE It!

We rode the monorail from the MGM as far as it would go and took a few pictures out the window. The monorail runs along the east side of the big strip hotels.


We kept seeing this very attractive person everywhere we went. We suspect she is a movie star, but we're not sure which films she's been in.


This is the Wynn--we didn't go in, but people said it is the strip destination du jour.

Present Opening at Our House

Because the girls traveled to their Dad's house, we had present opening on the 22nd. We picked up Grandma Irma from Rice Lake and invited Papa and Sasa, had a HUGE turkey dinner, and opened presents!


Lauren and Hannah both got gifts to which they were looking forward.




Grandma Irma got new clothes.


Harold, of course, got gifts, too. He didn't care much for his antlers; however, Lauren and Hannah thought they were absolutely wonderful. They were cute, but of course, unpractical. Adorable! We wish we would have had more time, but Mother Nature only allows so much. We had such a snow storm that we couldn't even get the girls to their Dad's house on time. They had to leave a day late!