Bidding a Fond Farewell

Sarah and I are in the Sonny Bono terminal at the Palm Springs airport, and our flight is delayed about 40 minutes. More than enough time to make a final wedding trip update, especially since I failed to male a post yesterday.

We started yesterday with a walk over London Bridge. A little weird, and obviously the touristy thing to do, but when in Lake Havasu City....

From there we turned south toward the Parker Dam. It seemed pretty petite and cute compared to the Hoover Dam. The road from the dam was a "scenic byway", so we stayed on it and were quickly rewarded with a wild animal sighting. That's right, we saw wild Burros. Including a very cute burrito.

The family of three was grazing about 50 yards off the road on a hillside. We stopped and took several photos. Very exciting!

From there we crossed into California on CA62. It was an 80+ mile trip through some foresaken desert landscape. We passes by several old military desert training area that were marked with monuments. I don't know if they are still used, but I could imagine our soldiers toiling away in the heat preparing for Iraq or Afghanistan.

We drove straight through to our hotel in Rancho Mirage just outside of Palm Springs. We were both happy to be done with any more major driving for a while.

Today we checked out of out hotel and caught an early showing of "Up in the Air", starring George Clooney. It was a pretty entertaining movie about a guy who travels around the country a a guy who fires people for a living. His life's goal is to earn 10 million air miles. He, of course, finds out this is not really what will make him happy....blah, blah, blah. I won't spoil it for you, but definitely check it out when it comes out on video.

After that we caught some lunch and killed some time by wandering around a mall and then an outlet mall. Yawn! Sarah did find herself some items at Victoria's Secret, but that was about it.

Now we are on our way home! We are both ready to stop living out of suitcases for a while. We are also ready to see the pets and get back to our normal schedule. I'll have to come back and read this the next time I feel burned out.

Anyway, thanks for reading during our great wedding adventure through the great Southwest.

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Not as Petrifying as we thought

Well, I didn't think there would be much to see o. The ride from Holbrook to Lake Havasu City. I was pleasantly suprised.

We started with with the complete drive through the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park. We saw plenty of petrified wood, but there was also some interesting landscape which includes the Painted Desert. There is red, yellow, and blue mounds of rock and sand that are actually pretty cool to see.

We also saw a Pronghorn Antelope just taking a break in the side of the road. I would have gone right by it, but Sarah was paying attention and saw it. He blended right into the landscape. I think we got some good pictures of it and the landscape within the park.

From there we began our trek on I-40, along the old Route 66. On our way, we realized we were passing the Meteor Crater just outside if Winslow, AZ. On a lark we took a look.

It was incredibly windy, but sunny. I am glad we stopped by, because it was cool to see. I remember reading about it in high school. There were lots of displays and exhibits in an adjacent building.

From there we drove to Flagstaff for lunch at the Cracker Barrel restaurant. Then we pushed hard for about 2.5 hours to Lake Havasu City.

The weather in Lake Havasu is very nice at 70+ degrees. We had an awesome dinner at a place called Mudshark's and now we are going to hit the sack early. Tomorrow we are going to check out London Bridge, which is in Lake Havasu, before heading out to Palm Springs for our last night on the honeymoon.

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Painting the way home

Well, I am not sure the rest of out trip will be as visually stunning as the last several days. I say that from our hotel room in Holbrook, AZ....the beginning of our Route 66 return home.

We departed Monument Valley around 11a and drove along the eastern edge of Arizona through to Holbrook. We did see some very beautiful country on the way, but the highlight was the Painted Desert just outside of Holbrook, toward New Mexico.

The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park are adjacent to each other and today we arrived in time to see the sunset on the Painted Desert. On the recommendation of the park ranger we drove straight to Pintado Point. It was very nice with various red shades contrasting with the striking blue sky with scattered clouds.

We did not spend much time in the park this evening because the park was closing. Tomorrow we may spend some time driving the 25 miles through the Petrified Forest. As soon as we finish that we will follow Route 66 to Kingman and the push on to Lake Havasu.

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Big Red...Everything

Today Sarah and I set out on the red dirt road loop that tours a small portion of Monument Valley. We saw formations with names like "The Totem", "The Thumb", and "Thunderbird Rock".

We were driving around the middle of the day, and everything was stunning. The formations, in some cases, seem to defy gravity. In other cases the sheer size of them is...well monumental.

The flora and fauna is perfectly stark to match the giant red rocks. The Scrub Oak and Juniper trees really stand out in the alien landscape. We didn't see much wildlife, but we did see some white tailed antelope ground squirrels. We saw a little family of them and got some very cute close-ups.

At several of the scenic viewpoints there were Navajo vendors selling jewelry and other native art. At one of these stops I struck up a conversation with a man who mentioned that he gave guided tours off of the main road. My spidey sense did not go off, so I took him up on his offer to take us on a late afternoon tour.

At 4:30p we took off and saw some of the more scenic spots in the valley. We saw some arches, ancient homes, and got much closer to some of the formations than we would otherwise be able to.

By the end of our guided tour I had taken over 100 photos. I am excited to see them when we get home. Other than that we did not do much to write home about.

Tomorrow we make our way to Holbrook, AZ to begin our small tour along a portion of Route 66. We may detour through a national monument on the way. Either way, we will be traveling through the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest.

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Tweener Day

Today was primarily a travel day from the Gran Canyon to Monument Valley. We had a little taste of everything in between the two.

We got a couple last glimpses from the eastern part of the south rim of the Grand Canyon. It is a great way to view the canyon in the morning.

Just past the national park we were able to see the Little Colorado in what appeared to be the beginnings of that end of the Grand Canyon. We stopped in Cameron, AZ and then crossed over the Little Colorado on our way to the northeast part of the state and the town of Kayenta.

As we approached Kayenta Sarah was napping. We were passing through red rock mountains and start rolling red rock landscape. It was great to see green trees growing in spot and strips along the contours of the slopes.

Just about 20 miles from Kayenta we were across the state line into Utah and in Monument Valley. We saw many of the giant rock formations rising through the high desert. We were early in passing through, so we decided to head to the Natural Bridges National Monument and make our way back to the hotel in Monument Valley.

On our way to the bridges we turned on a scenic byway and to the long way. We saw amazing vistas. The view was of The Valley of the Gods. Very appropriately named I must say.

The Natural Bridges were a little disappointing. The was too much ice and snow on the trails to get to the bridges. We were able to see all three, but only at a distance. After a short tour, we left and went back Monument Valley....the short way.

We got back just before sunset, which allowed us a brief glimpse of the stunning red rock formations. We are looking forward to seeing more of them tomorrow.

The View Hotel is brand spanking new and very nice. Each room has a great view of "The Mittens" which are three high rising rock formations just inside the park on the Navajo reservation. The will be quite a sight tomorrow.

We are planning a drive into the park and doing some sight seeing. Tomorrow will be a more restful day.

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Up & Over, Down & In

Aside from getting married, today was
By far the most memorable day of our trip. Today Sarah and I saw all the splendor of the Grand Canyon.

We started today with 50 minute helicopter ride over the canyon. We started from the south rim taking in the views of the Kaibab National Forest and all of the beautiful Ponderosa Pines.

We were flying at about 900ft above the forest when we cleared the rim. It was an amazing sensation to have the ground drop away from you so quickly and so far. We followed parts of the Colorado River and had views of the Painted Desert to the east. We had great birds eye views of the entire canyon all the way accross to the north rim and then back to the heliport.

I would go into more detail, but I could not possibly do it justice. We took countless photos and purchased a DVD, taken from the nose of the helicopter, that we will share with all of you.

We grabbed some lunch and then drove back into the park for part two of our magnificent day. We picked up some cramp-ons for our shoes and then took the shuttle out the the South Kaibab Trail.

There are three waypoints and we chose to head out to the middle one and check out the view. The Cedar Ridge waypoint is about a 3 mile roundtrip with an 1,140ft elevation change.

It took us about an hour and ten minutes to get down to Cedar Ridge. Once there we took in the view from below the rim. It was amazing and we got lots more photos. It was breathtaking getting to stand on a bluff over 1,000ft deep and getting a 360 degree view. The colors were out if thus world. I can't wait to see the photos. But wait, there is more.

There were California Condors swooping around us! The Condors were so close that you could hear their wings slicing through the are 30-50ft away. You could see their red hoods and skeletal underfeathers. I hope the photos came out.

After around 30min it was time to make our ascent. It took about an hour to get to the top. We really humped it on the way back up! We had the shuttle to ourselves back to our car.

We stopped for pizza to take back to our hotel. Tomorrow it is on to Monument Valley, UT.

What a great couple of days.

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Forty Grand

Today was a big day. Lots of things to celbrate: Valentine's Day, my 40th birthday, and our first Grand Canyon visit.

Valentine's Day was taken care of on the account that I made arrangements weeks ago. Sarah's valentine was waiting for her in the room when we checked in yesterday. A Teddy bear, some velvet flowers, and some chocolates. I am so smooth.

My birthday started by sleeping in and the a card and a gift from Sarah. She then gave me a gift from Richard, a leather bound edition if The Hobbit. Years ago he gave me a leather bound edition of The Lord of the Rings, so this was very cool. Thanks Richard.

We made our way out to the park by noon. We started with the popular and crowded Mather Point. From there we walked to Yaki Point. All of the views were nice but at Yaki Point we were more isolated. We were able to get right out on the rim and get a wonderful panoramic view. We returned to the hotel around 3p to rest up before we returned for a sunset view and dinner in the rim.

At 5p we were back and we walked from a point near the Bright Angel Trailhead to a point right behind the El Tovar Hotel. From there we faced northeast and watched the walls of the canyon turn pink and red while the sun dropped toward te horizon behind us. I was able to get a lot of photos, and even posted on my facebook from my phone.

A little after 6p we went into the El Tovar for dinner. The El Tovar is a 100+ year old lodge/hotel and restaurant. It really is a grand old rustic hotel. The food was very nice and the service amazing.

We enjoyed dinner and desert and finished up around 8p. We did have a bit of an adventure finding our car afterwards. It took us 30 minutes wandering around in the dark before we found our way back to the car. It should have taken us 10 minutes, but we managed to get turned around and lost. We got back to our hotel safe and sound by around 9p.

Tomorrow we take a helicopter trip over the canyon at 11a. We are also planning to hike a short way on the South Kaibab Trail. It will take us about 600 feet into the canyon and we should get some near 360 degree views.

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Farewell to Vegas. Feeling Grand.

Well yesterday was a busy day, hence the lack of a post. Sarah and I had plenty to do getting ready for our big evening, so we had everyone come to our condo to get ready. I was great having our friends hang out while the girls had their hair and make-up done.

We had wine, beer, and coctails while dress and chatted. It was very relaxing. Around 6p we all loaded up in a couple of cabs for the Artisan Hotel.

The Artisan is a gem of a hotel off the strip. It is small with 100's of replica paintings in vintage frame covering the walls and ceilings. The lighting is soft and the lobby, lounge, and restaurant are appointed with beautiful furnature. When we got there we wandered around posing and taking photos. It was great.

When it was time, Sarah was ushered away for photos while we waited in the lounge. The movie 'The Graduate' was silently playing on the widescreens around the bar. It was the very ending where Dustin Hoffman steals Elaine from her wedding. Pretty funny.

We went to the chapel after about 15 minutes of waiting. What an awesome little chapel. Brian walked Sarah down the aisle and Richard stood for me. What great guys!

The service was short and sweet. I am glad because I was plenty emotional anyway. Sarah was beautiful! I am a lucky guy.

Afterwards there were photos. Again, it was short and sweet. I am looking forward to sharing them with you. We got our certificate, DVD, champagne and and glasses and went back to the lounge for the toasts. Richard was typically eloquent. Thanks man!

From there we went to Paris and had dinner at the Eiffel Tower. Too many delicious things to mention, but suffice it to say dinner was perfect. After dinner we went to the Irish pub in New York, New York. It was a huge party atmosphere and Sarah and I had congratulations coming at us all night. I really enjoyed the music and fun spirit of the place. By 2a Sarah and I bid farewell and took a cab back to the condo. I was dead tired!

This morning we were up by 8:30a, which was good because we had plenty to do with packing and getting ourselves on the road. We were out of the condo by 11a. We stopped by the Flamingo to say goodbye to Brian and Ann Marie (we had dropped if the wedding certificate there on our way to Paris). Then we stopped by Kate and Henry's hotel to say goodbye. Then finally to say goodbye to Richard. It was about 1p when we finally got on our way.

Out route took us over Hoover Dam again and then along I-40 until we got to the Grand Canyon turnoff. The scenery was awesome the whole way. The sun had just set when we pulled into our hotel parking lot, which is about 10 minutes away from the rim. We were both so tired that we ate dinner in the hotel restaurant; not the greatest food we have had on our trip, but edible.

After dinner I stopped by the concierge and booked a dinner, for tomorrow night, during the sunset, at the El Tovar which is right on the rim. That should be awesome. I also booked a helicopter tour for Monday. The flight is just under an hour and should be spectacular since the weather forcast looks great fir the next couple of days.

Time to hit the sack.

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"O" My

Sarah and I started the day with a time share presentation. It was a little rough to be honest. We both really like the idea of owning the kind of vacation power that Worldmark offers. But we think that it would be best to wait for 12-18 monthes. I think it would have been better to just say no instead of tell them that. Our 90 minute presentation ended up being about 2.5 hours. Brutal!

The our lunch with John, our Trump waiter, was great. It was a Korean BBQ, and it was tasty...far better than the "Brazilian" we had last night. John is super friendly and Kate, Henry, and Richard all seemed to enjoy the lunch too.

From there it was off to pick up Brian and Ann Marie at the airport. They ended up only being about an hour apart which was nice. I had just enough time to pick the two of them up and take them to the Flamingo before I went to the tuxedo shop.

Tuxedo Junction was super easy. The staff was very pleasant, and something that could have taken a long time only took me about 1.5 hours including drive time.

I had just enough time for some martinis and a shower before we met up with out crew for drinks and a show. We met at the Bellagio in front of the fountain. That fountain is very cool, and I think I got some good photos with my point and shoot camera.

Our show was the Cirque Du Soleil "O" which is a pretty amazing water show. The show was pretty artistic and very visually stunning. The athetic talent of the performers is top notch. The price was steep, but probably worth it.

Tomorrow is the big day. It will be nice when we can just honeymoon together. I an not sure if Vegas is our style. Too much stimulation maybe? Maybe it is the stress of getting married. I don't know for sure.

The one truly casino type thing that I did was place a bet on the Cowboys to win next year's Superbowl. The odds were 10:1 and I figured why not. If they make it to the game, they will have a home field advantage since the game is in the new stadium in Dallas.

Gotta crash. I am bushed!

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Dam Impressive

When I got up this morning, the news out of DC was about the weather. The snow they had gotten yesterday morning had everyone trapped. Oh no! How are Kate and Henry going to make it?

I worked out, and by the time I got bak to our room there was a message from Kate. They had anticipated the bad weather and managed to arrange to get out just ahead of the winter storm. I was pumped!

Sarah and I had a quick breakfast and then drove to our next abode. My friend Cindy has gifted us 3 days at a time share about 5 miles from the strip. It is a great apartment with a full kitchen, living/dining room, and a balcony. It sure is nice to have such good friends.

From there we picked up Kate and Henry at the Flamingo and headed out for Hoover Dam. What an amazing marvel of engineering and human labor. We splurged for the full tour, and am I glad. We saw everything from the generators to spillways to air intake tunnels. It us just amazing to think about the effort and material needed to pull a project like that together... and in the 1930's no less.

We learned that the concrete is still curing, still getting stronger. I had heard that there were bodies of workers who had died during construction. I turns out that that particular rumor is a dam lie (pun intended). I just hope that I am able to stitch together some dam good photos.

Kate, Henry, Sarah, and I dressed up and went to a Brazilian restaurant in the Mirage. It wasn't bad, but it did not seem authentic. El Tango, in Anchorage has better South American food.

Right after dinner I picked up Richard from the airport. He is staying at the Excaliber. He met Sarah and we had some beers in a bar in his hotel. He is such a good guy to come to another wedding of mine. I am just lucky in general. I have no fewer than 5 friends who have dropped everything to come to Vegas this week. Add in Cindy's genrous time share gift and it all adds up to me being very blessed.

Tomorrow Brian and Ann Marie arrive. We go to a show at the Bellagio. Maybe I will pick up my tux. I don't know, I don't know if we will have the time.

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Can't be Trumped today!

Today was a travel day from Joshua Tree, CA to Las Vegas. The GPS took us by mostly secondary roads until we were about 50 miles from Las Vegas.

Sarah and I got into town around 1p, so we decided to kill some time by getting our marriage license. It wad a remarkably simple process, although a couple next to us had a very difficult time.

Out first night in Vegas was reserved at the Trump Hotel. I had made the reservation on Priceline.com for $75, which is a steal. The Trump is a 5 star hotel...easily!

The room is eqipped with a two burner stove, fridge, and microwave. In addition it has a wet bar, sofa, two chairs, a desk and chair and king sized bed.

The coolest part is the bathroom, which is equipped with a stand alone shower, stand alone loo, and a two person jacuzzi tub. Included is a double sink and a tv inside the mirror.

We had a great dinner with John and Roberto in the DJT (Donald J Trump) restaurant. They were out waitstaff and they were so friendly and awesome that we are having lunch with them on Thursday.

All in all a great day. Tomorrow we pick up Brian, Ann Marie, and Richard. We may go check out the Hoover Dam during the day.

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You are going to have Joshua Trees in your Joshua Tree National Park aren't you?

At the time I made that joke Sarah and I were nearly 3/4 of the way to Twentynine Palms from the Cottonwood Visitor Center, which is on the Palm Springs side of Joshua Tree National Park.

We had just spent some time in the Cholla Cactus Garden and were driving through Wilson Canyon when we saw some amazing rock formations. We stopped to get a closer look when I spotted our first Joshua Trees. They are truly odd looking trees, somewhat resembling the womping willow from Harry Potter.

There were plenty of Joshua Trees after that...a virtual forest of them. We saw Mohave yucca, Prickly pear cactus, Ocotillo, Palo verde, Brittlebush, Smoketree, Scrub oak, and others that I was not able to recognize.

We saw a little wildlife including some hummingbirds and what I think were Zebratail lizards. But the most exciting site was of a Black-tailed jackrabbit.

Sarah and I had returned to the park in an effort to take some desert photos at sunset. We were too late for a pink desert, and I was trying (in vain) to get some photos of a hummingbird when I spotted the jackrabbit. He must have just come out from his burrow for an early evening snack.

I fumbled with my camera to get the right combination of shutterspeed and ISO to capture the twitchy creature.

Photos will follow upon completion of our wedding journey.

Tomorrow we are off to Las Vegas for a few days to see friends, a show or two, and to get hitched.

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