July 17th - 27th

Visit our new MYSPACE! More Photos There! Link on photo page!!

What a trip!!! Our troop went on a South West USA Road Trip. We flew into LAX and travel to Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Our first stop was to the Beach. We walked along Venice Beach all the way to Santa Monica. On the way back we walked along the famous walkway. There were artist, performers, people who don't know that it is no longer 1968. We camped at Malibu Creek State Park in the Santa Monica Mountains. We went on a tourist bus tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, the Hollywood Sign, Homes of the Stars, Walk of Fame, Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theater, Rodeo Drive where we received a look and a wink from "Bruce Willis". He was wearing blue jeans, a white shirt, and cowboy boots. We also went on a tour of Paramount Studios. The only studio still in Hollywood. It was GREAT!! We got to see the filming of a movie with the Jonas Brothers, ET Tonight- Mark invited us in to watch the taping, said hello to "Monk" and was invited into the filming of "Everyone Hates Chris". The entire cast was so nice the father in the show(he was also in "Get Smart" this summer), Terrance, shook our hands and talked for awhile. We also got to talk to Debbie Allen and their producer Jerry Devine. He is from New Brunswick and his mom has a home on the Long Beach Island. He really seemed to enjoy his conversation with us about NJ that his cast had to bring him back to filming the show. Just to give everyone the heads up the "Dr. Phil Show" is getting a new stage set and his son will be having his own show. What a great day for everyone. Next we headed to Las Vegas, Nevada driving through the Mojave Desert. We went there to take a tour bus to see the Hoover Dam, the Joshua Tree Forest, and the West Rim of the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai Nation. We took a stroll on the newly constructed Skywalk. What a view!!! it is all glass. After our tour we spent the evening in Las Vegas. We ate at a very fancy Italian Restaurant. The following morning We headed north once again this time into Utah. We went on a 4 wheel drive ride through Zion National Park, a ghost town and the surrounding areas. You have to check out the photos of Zion what a site to see. After we also drove through the Park we went out on the east side and spent the night in a TiPi. Watched and listen to Indian story telling, songs, and dance. We sat around a campfire listening to stories with tourist from France and the Czech Republic. So many people from Europe come to the USA to visit our National Parks. We went out to eat and drove about 1/2 hour before we came to a restaurant. The restaurant served buffalo meat so we ate it. By the way, while driving to eat we stopped to see a herd of living buffalo. After leaving Utah we headed into Arizona to see Monument Valley in the Navajo Nation. After seeing it in person we can see why they use these formations in so many commercials. Our next stop was the Four Corners which is also in the Navajo Nation. It was pretty cool to be standing (or doing a back bend) in 4 States at one time. The 4 States are Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. While there we ate Navajo Tacos for dinner, Made by Navajo Indians not Taco Bell. As we left and headed toward the mountains of Colorado we could see rainstorms ahead. When I say rainstorms- you can actually see the rain falling miles away. And as we headed into the mountains we weren't sure if we where riding through the storm or the rain producing cloud. What an awesome feeling. We stayed in Mancos, Colorado where they have actual trees. We haven't see real trees in awhile. The 2 nights we where there we went to 2 movies in Cortez- " The Dark Knight" & "Hancock". During the day, after eating at a tea cafe we headed off to Hoovensweep National Park. What a ride. We asked a local how far it was and he said it was only 20 minutes. Well add about 50 minutes to that. But we did get to see wild horses, wild turkeys, and oil drill on the way. Hoovensweep has ruins dating back to the 11th century built along the cliffs. That afternoon we headed to Mesa Verde National Park, which is located across the highway from where we were staying. Who would have guessed it would be such a long ride. That same day, after entering the gates the visitors center was just another 30 miles and the first cliff houses were another 10 miles. And the ride was straight up along side of the mountain. The ride was well worth it so we did it again the next day. This time we had the opportunity to climb into the cliff houses by climbing a wooden ladder straight up. It was so worth the sweaty palms. I think one of the most memorable events was the Old Western Stage Coach Ride through Weber Canyon. We even got to ride on top. The sites were beautiful and we even got robbed by bandits. The stage coach than took us to a western ranch for good olde fashion fun and entertainment. Western music, roping, a campfire, home cooked meal with steak and dancing. What a night to remember. The next morning we left Colorado and head to New Mexico. While driving we got to see "dirt devils" or otherwise known as dirt funnels. We stopped in Gallup and then headed for the Continental Divide. Once again we headed back to Arizona and to the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert National Parks. What a beautiful site. We got to see tumble weed. At the south entrance there was so much petrified wood. The colors in the Painted Desert looked like candy corn but with shades of pink. So back on the road again- this time heading to Flagstaff. Flagstaff is like an oasis in the middle of the desert. First, it is way up in the mountains with real trees and comfortable temp. at night. We got very lucky this night- we stayed at "Hotel Bond". Susan's cousin's lives in Flagstaff and just before we left for our trip they found out that we were heading their way and offered us their home. It was great staying in a real home, with normal food, and lounging on the porch and talking in the livingroom. Our rooms were already for us with towels and an Arizona t-shirt at the foot of the bed. They feed us all our meals and sent us on the road with more. Gene took us to Sunset Crater National Park and Watpaki National Park. Sunset Crater was a volcano that erupted many centuries ago and there is lava all down the mountainside. But the best was the climb to the top. Gene was like lighting and we were like- maybe I wouldn't go there. It was fun anyway. When we reached the top and lookout the next mountain had snow on top. Watpaki was an old Indian village in the desert. The desert was deep red. Next Gene gave us a tour of the city. The Phoenix Cardinal were starting their first day of training camp at the University. As we worked our way out of Flagstaff and down the mountain with the rain in the distances we were back in the desert, along with the heat. You want to talk about heat then go visit Needles, CA. It is in the Mojave Desert. What a place. Temperatures can go up to 120 degrees. At 11:00 pm we went swimming and I don't think the temp. got below 100 degrees. We went to a Mexican Restaurant- what an interesting story. A man walked in and asked why the air wasn't on and the man behind the counter said it was on "you should see what it's like when it ain't working". In Flagstaff gas was $3.99/gal. and in Needles gas was $5.29/gal. It is good to see how the rest of the country lives. Our last day of our trip we spent lounging at the beach in Santa Monica. What a beautiful day. The skies were blue and the water was warm. What a way to end a GREAT Trip.

Pretty Woman

The White House=Ice T's House