This was a fantasitic trip to Arizona. It took us 3 years to gear up for the long drive, but the scenery was definately great. I had to get a picture of the State protected cactus, Seguaro. The photo to the left, shows the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Shaelyn Lloyd came with us as she is now living in Idaho so we took her home to her parents in Arizona for Thanksgiving. It was great to have her with us. 
Another great day spent with the Lloyds. We spent the day touring the National Park called the Chirichaua National Monument. The area of Arizona the Lloyds live in is a mile from New Mexico and about 50 miles north of Mexico. The rangeland reminded me of central Nevada with wide valleys and mountain ranges between. Lloyds live near the base of the Chirichaua's which hosts the stories of Geronimo and Tombstone, AZ. The mountain tour was facinating with volcanic ash creating pillars known as the 'pipe organs' that look like tootsie rolls stacked on top of each other. One photo has what looks like a pencil balancing on top of a flat rock. Natural phenominon for sure! One photo shown has the mountain siloette of an Indian chief with his prominate nose and chin at rest. After leaving the National Park, we ate at a mexican restaurant that was delish and they sang to Morgan for his eminate birthday. The Lloyds are sure fun at making memorable photos! After taking Morgans picture with the Sombrero, the photo was stapled to the wall of the restaurant. In the photo is Morgan, Lauren, Tate, Shaelyn and Jerrica. We had a great time!
So much to see...so little time. The day started with visiting a local museum featuring the local slithering fellows, including snakes, turtles and lizards. The Lloyds are fun to take pictures with as a Goof Off picture always follows a poser picture. We a carried on to Mexico after the museum and found a local flee market to experience the mexican commerce. Interesting to say the least. Needless to say, we were all relieved to be back on American soil and the transition from Country to Country was absolute. We did buy some antibiotics as you can buy it over the counter there. The local flour tortilla was also a hit as the flavor is 10 times better than the packaged stuff in America. A short drive from Douglas, AZ (border town) brought us to Bisbee, AZ which has a copper mine pit nearby. Bisbee is just like Virginia City, Nevada, or Park City, Utah in the street front stores and local hippee population. It was a great part of the day to enjoy the shops and even watched the cities official Christmas light festival. It was unseasonably cold there in AZ and had to buy a sweater and Layne a poncho.
I have to place a few pictures here as I got ahead of myself with the next posts about Arizona. In early November we traveled to Blackfoot, Idaho to help Michael and family move to Poccatello, Id. They were able to get an apartment close to where Michael works and Bridgett got a new job as well. They will save alot on gas not having to commute to work and school. It's a nice space with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and a one car garage.
The Lloyds are dear friends and the Durochers are coming to town! They live in the South-East corner of Arizona right now, but we plan on seeing them at Thanksgiving. WhooHoooo! I found these pictures on FB and thought I'd share them here. Can't wait to see you.....in a month! When Shanda and I are together everyone asks if we are sisters! Yep, Soul Sisters we are, best friends too! Shanda has a nickname....Pitt Shanda! It's really come in handy a few times too. More than that, she's the most awesome person inside and out. I'm one lucky girl to have this family in my life. Love you always.
