Grand Canyon Vacation - Day 6 (Joshua Tree, Sloan Park)

When Matt & I started planning this trip, we decided how many days for our vacation (blocked them off on the calendar) and then looked at where all we wanted to go. Ideally, this trip would've had 2 or 3 extra days added on to lessen the miles driven per day. Our driving time every day was brutal. Today (Day 6) would be one of the worst days for driving. Add sight seeing along the way - it was a very, very long day. We checked out of our hotel by 7:30 and drove straight to Joshua Tree National Park (about an hour away).

Before leaving the hotel parking lot, we took a few minutes to enjoy the scenery around us! We definitely saw how Palm Springs got its name.

More wind turbines!

We made a pit stop at the Joshua Tree Visitor Center before entering the park. Empty bladders, full tummies and a few souvenirs - we were ready!

The kids hopped out for a quick picture at the Joshua Tree National Park Entrance Sign (so thankful that they are good sports about taking pictures for us!).

Driving through Mojave National  Preserve on Day 5, we saw quite a few Joshua trees. They are such a unique tree! As we drove through the park, it was hard to not take thousands of pictures of them! 

Matt & I were both surprised by the rocks. We missed (in our research) the part about all of the rock formations! While the Joshua Trees were fascinating, the rock formations were amazing to see as well. It was a nice change of scenery - not just desert and trees.

Skull Rock was a fun place to get out and explore/climb for a bit. 

This series of pictures was fun to look at (after the fact). 

I'm taking a picture of Matt at Skull Rock.

Maddie is taking a picture of me, taking a picture of Matt.

And this is from Matt's camera - taking a picture of me...taking a picture of him...at Skull Rock. However, look in the background (in between the rocks) and you will see Maddie (and Kaitee off to the side) taking pictures of us!

Just before we left Skull Rock, Matt asked Kaitee to take the picture with his camera. These next two pictures are from that request, Ha!

As we traveled further along in the park, we noticed that there were fewer Joshua Trees and the park transformed into more desert type landscape. We read some park signs that shared information regarding the 2 ecosystems within the park (Mojave Desert, where you find the Joshua Trees and rock formations and Colorado Desert, where you find the creosote and Cholla Cactus bushes). It was very interesting to see the vast differences just within a few miles of each other.

We continued our way through the park, which ended at I-10. We hopped on the interstate and started heading East, towards our next stop.

Day 6 Kid Selfie

After stopping for lunch, gas & restrooms, we continued across the border, into Arizona.

As we have traveled around the US, Matt has set a personal goal to see as many of the state capital buildings as possible. There have been a few that we've had to pass up, due to time constraints, but for the most part, if we traveling close by, we will stop and see the capital. As of this trip, we have seen 14 capital buildings and driven thru/by 27 capitals.

This trip alone, we stopped in Topeka, Phoenix, Austin, and Oklahoma City to see the capital buildings. On Day 6, we stopped in Phoenix. A replica of the Liberty Bell sits in front of the Capitol building. 

We left downtown Phoenix and headed East to Mesa....Home of Sloan Park...Home to the Chicago Cubs Spring Training! I was so excited to see Sloan Park (and the surrounding area) up close! It didn't disappoint.

Sheffield & Waveland!

Someday soon, I'll be back to cheer on my Cubbies, in person. I can't wait for that day!

We left the Phoenix area and headed towards Tucson for dinner. Unfortunately, we saw that a storm was brewing in the distance. We could see the wind kicking up (with dust blowing up in the air) and the sky was getting dark.

Oh the irony!

The rain and wind were so heavy and strong that we actually pulled off the road for a few minutes.

And as quickly as it came...it went away!

We had a few "must haves" for meals on this trip. The first one was an In-N-Out Burger. We were able to find one near Tucson, where we stopped for a late dinner.

We left Tucson after 8pm and still had 2.5 hours of driving ahead of us to our hotel (Lordsburg, NM). PLUS we would lose an hour by going back into Mountain Time.  Those last 2 hours were very long. We played the Alphabet game for a bit and then passed around Catch Phrase for the last hour. Trying to stay awake for the remainder of the drive. 

 A funny story to end our day. We all loaded onto the hotel elevator and hit the door close button. The door proceeded to close and then open 4 or 5 times. Kaitee, who was the one closest to the door stepped off...maybe there was something in the way of the door? We weren't sure. However, as soon as Kaitee stepped off the elevator, the door closed completely and away we went, leaving Kaitee behind. The 5 of us in the elevator were so shocked that the door actually closed that we all looked at each other and then started laughing hysterically. After we exited on our floor, Matt traveled back down to make sure Kaitee was okay. Unfortunately, there is no video of the 4 of us as we waited for Matt & Kaitee to come back up - we were still laughing and then cheered when the door opened!

We were absolutely exhausted from driving for so long. The elevator mishap was just what we needed to end our long day. 

Favorites from Day 6 - 

Matt - Joshua Tree, Sloan Park, Hotel Elevator

Becki - Skull Rock, Sloan Park, Hotel Elevator

Kaitee - Joshua Tree, except walking into wrong Bathroom

Alex - Joshua Tree, Hotel Elevator

Will - Hotel Elevator, Playing Catch Phrase

Maddie - Cactus Gardens (Joshua Tree), In-N-Out, Playing Catch Phrase, Hotel Elevator

Sadly, Kaitee is the only one who didn't choose Hotel Elevator as a favorite for the day. I wonder why??