Week 6

I instantly became stuffy and I couldn’t breath. It was so hot, yet not muggy at all. I had left Maine eight hours ago and it was 39 degrees. Here it had to be at least 90. I was right; 96 degrees. I had never been this far from home, and the only reason I agreed to come to here, was because I got to miss a week of school. Oh, how I hated high school, so anything to get away from that place would be a vacation.
I was expecting to see deserts and cactuses for miles, which I did see on the way to the house. I found it kind of odd, that in the middle of the interstate there was a large, sign that read, “Do not pick up hitchhikers, ARIZONA STATE PRISON ahead. I had never seen anything like it and it struck me as funny. After that, I fell asleep…the layovers at the airports had did me in.
When I awoke, we had finally reached our destination. My Uncle and Aunts house was a small, three bedroom, one and a half bath, ranch. A lot smaller than the home I had grown up in. For seven days my Dad and I had to share a bathroom with five other people. I also had to share a room with my nine year old cousin. So whenever I got the chance, I explored the outdoors. Of course the children followed, but it’s easier to entertain when your not packed in somewhere like a can of sardines. The fenced-in yard wasn’t very large, but it did have a five foot swimming pool, and a tiny carport-like-garage. Which held a couple four wheelers. Here, they call them quads. I never asked while I was there, but I always wondered why anyone in Arizona would want a fire pit. We never used it the whole time I was there, but that’s probably because we enjoyed site-seeing too much.
Day two, we went to the Grand Canyon. I wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of spending the day looking at a big crater, but I put on a smile for my Dad. It didn’t take long for my grin to become real, in between my shivers. It was cold, yet spectacular. One of the most amazing things I had ever seen in my life. We had stayed till sundown, so it was even more beautiful as the sun was setting. The cliffs and valleys are unexplainable. The mule riders and hikers were barely distinguishable, because the canyon was so huge. The Bald Eagle soaring back and fourth, also wasn’t a clear picture until the photographs were developed. The pictures are gorgeous, but do no justice. They don’t even come close to mimicking the beauty of the rocks, valleys, cliffs, or the way time stands still. At that moment there is no worry in the world.
Another day we had decided to go see some Indian ruins. We saw their mud-walled houses and pueblos. Their cliff dwellings were so neatly constructed and beautiful.
We learned how they survived in the dry, desert heat. How they ate, drank, and got to see some of the most astonishing, intricate, pottery. They made almost everything they used in every day life. It was so neat, yet, no one had an answer as to why the Indians had left the village and disappeared.
My baby nieces first birthday was the next day. We just relaxed all day. We watched her smash her own personal, Elmo cake in her face and open mounds and mounds of presents. We played outside with the children, and enjoyed the nice sunny day. We took turns giving the kids a ride on the quads. I wasn’t used to the weather, so I was sunburned and ill feeling. I am pretty sure the next day, I hung out in my p.j’s all day, drank tons of water, used a whole bottle of aloe and slept a lot.
The Phoenix zoo, excessively large shopping malls, and rides through the desert were on the agenda for the rest of our vacation. It was one of the most memorable vacations I have ever had. Being with my Dad, on a vacation, to visit family, and experience new things; it couldn’t have gone better. Needless to say, I didn’t want to go home, but once I did, I had tons of stories to share, pictures to print, and a dark tan to show off.