As many of you know, I am in the process of moving my family from Northern California, where we’ve lived the last 10 years, back to my home state of Texas. This past week, my parents flew out to accompany my kids and I on the drive. My husband is remaining a while longer to wrap up work and house stuff there.
We decided to extend what is a 3-day drive to a 5-day drive and enjoy short stops at some of the sites that the southwestern area of the United States has to offer. I thought I’d share some thoughts and picks from each.
I had been there, but this was a first time for parents, and really for my kiddos who’d seen it too young to remember. I’d forgotten the harrowing drive down into the valley (they really need to think about more guard rails on that darn road. I was really glad we weren’t hauling a Uhaul behind my truck.
On a whim, we decided to add an hour to our trip and drive through Death Valley. We were all expecting flat, sandy, nothingness as far as the eye could see. Instead, the valley truly is a valley with mountains on both sides and fascinating geology and colors. No two 
Look for another post on this from me on this place because it might be a setting in an upcoming book (or 2).
It had been a while since my parents or I had been. Amazing how fast they can put up new hotels around there. We stayed at New York New York which is still one of my favorite hotels. A couple disappointments in terms of things to do. For example, the Bellagio Fountain kept getting stuck. Not that we could have seen it through the crowds anyway. But we played at the arcade in the hotel and enjoyed the donut place. My parents had fun gambling. (Not my thing. I’m a cooler.)
Grand Canyon
