Jessie and Dad's Road Trip 2014

In July, Daryl and Jessie took off for a 9 day road trip..   I couldn't get that much time away from work, and the other two kids that live at home didn't really want to go. So the two of them went alone, and had a wonderful time.  

They left early on a Saturday morning, heading to Carlsbad Caverns.  They arrived, checked into their hotel, and then went to watch the bat flight out of the caverns at dusk.

The next day they went and did the tour of the caverns.. They got a lot of interesting photos to share with me.

After they left Carlsbad, they headed off to Roswell..    No visit to Area 51, But they did see some Aliens..  (even if they weren't real)

They said their favorite hotel of the trip was in Roswell..   It was the nicest, had the best breakfast and was also the least expensive of all the ones they stayed at.. it was a Comfort Inn.   

After they left Roswell, it was Grand Canyon time..    They got to their hotel after dark, and when they got up to go visit the Canyons, it was raining.. SO.. they decided to take the drive over and see the Hoover Dam.

Jessie has wanted to go there for years, ever since it was referenced in one of her "Percy Jackson" books..  She wanted to go get a 'dam snack' from the 'dam snack bar' and a 'dam t shirt' ...   

They had a great time at Hoover Dam, and it was late at night when they got back to their hotel.. 

They stopped once in a while and just viewed scenery while driving.. even got a few "selfies" now and then.

They spent two days at the canyon..  Exploring and hiking..  

After the Grand Canyon they went to The Petrified Forest, and the Painted Desert.....    

 They were certainly glad to be home after all that traveling.. but it was such a wonderful father/daughter experience for the both of them. I am very glad they had that time together before our "baby" is grown and gone..  

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At 'the house in town' and "The Ranch"

I overheard my father in law refer to his property in Sanderson as "The Ranch" and I thought, cool.. it now has a name.. so instead of saying we went to Sanderson, to his 'property', now we can say we went out to "The Ranch" (he also has a home in town, a mobile home, with an addition built on, and a big ole barn as well) 

So our first night in Sanderson we stayed at the house in town..

Across the street is a yard with a bunch of goats. And next door to his house, there are a couple more goats, and a horse that live there.. It's really cool, you are "in town" yet, feel like you are on a farm! 

It is nice that they have this place, as well as the cabin in the desert.. here there is water, electricity, air conditioning, and CABLE !! Which for the girls and I,  is a huge treat! Big highlight of the stay at the hotel, and at the house in Sanderson was the ability to watch "The Food Network" . 

Then on Friday we went down to spend a while at the property - 

The "Cabin"

Daryl, his brother and the girls went for a little ride on the ATV's, and there was picture taking, and a little bit of exploring... 

getting the big ATV started

exploring - it's been 2 yrs since we have been here - not much has changed!

Jess and Daryl's brother

then that night we went back to the house in town for some dinner, visiting and relaxing.  

Daryl's dad - John

Meing

Daryl's brother John (also known as PeeWee) Daryl, and their Dad

Daryl and Becky were helping Grandpa by moving a board.

Saturday Daryl, the girls and I packed up and headed down for the last 2 days of our trip, to spend at 'the ranch'.  

We went four wheeling,

The girls shot some guns, (only injuring plant life and rocks!) 

Shooting the Shotgun

loading a shell...

Shooting the 357 Magnum... 

shooting the Ruger 22

I got some cactus which is now planted here at home in Fort Worth,

And we enjoyed cooking out and watching the stars...

The Sunset on Saturday night was amazing.. and I got a shot of the moon as well... 

we absolutely love our time there, wish it was a little closer so we could go much more often!