FIVE DAYS IN HEAVEN

FIVE DAYS IN HEAVEN; BEING A GRANDMA ROCKS!

SORRY, THIS IS THE FIRST CHANCE I HAVE HAD TO POST ANYTHING ABOUT OUR EASTER WEEKEND. SO BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!

I CAN'T EVEN FIND THE WORDS TO EXPRESS WHAT PURE JOY IT BRINGS ME BEING AROUND THOSE LITTLE ONES, HEARING THEIR SWEET LITTLE VOICES SAYING, "GRANDMA, BAMA, BOMBOM". ALL I CAN SAY IS I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BEING A GRANDMA TO EVERYONE, MATTER OF FACT SKIP RIGHT TO THAT PART, IT'S AWESOME. YOUR KIDS ARE ALL GROWN UP, SO YOU CAN JUST BE FRIENDS, HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THEM, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DISCIPLINE THEM OR ANYTHING. YOU CAN HAVE A BLAST WITH THE GRANDKIDS, ENJOY THEM, WIND THEM UP, GET THEM ALL HOPPED UP ON SUGAR, GIVE INTO MOST ALL THEIR DEMANDS THEN, JUST AT THAT POINT WHERE THEY ARE GETTING A BIT ORNERY AND YOU ARE GETTING A BIT TIRED AND WORN DOWN, AND YOU BOTH COULD USE A NAP, YOU TURN THEM BACK OVER TO THEIR PARENTS AND YOU CAN JUST SIT BACK, RELAX AND ENJOY THE SHOW. IT IS THE BEST! I THINK OF ALL THE THINGS I HAVE "BEEN" IN MY LIFE, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST ENJOYABLE.

THE ADVENTURES OF FLAT STANLEY IN ARIZONA; FINAL DAY

TODAY'S WEATHER; ARIZONA 78 DEGREES - LAYTON UTAH 36 DEGREES

TODAY AFTER CHURCH, WE OF COURSE WATCHED NASCAR. AFTER THAT WE DECIDED TO JUST DO SOME FUN THINGS CLOSE TO HOME. SO WE WENT TO THE RIVER AND FED SOME DUCKS, WE WENT TO THE SKATE PARK AND WATCHED THE SKATERS, WE WENT TO THE RC AIRPARK, BUT IT WAS A LITTLE TOO WINDY SO NO ONE WAS THERE TODAY, SO WE CAME HOME AND RODE AROUND IN THE BACK YARD ON THE GO-KART, AND STANLEY HAD FUN CLIMBING A BIG TREE IN OUR FRONT YARD. IT WAS A VERY FUN DAY.

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THE ADVENTURES OF FLAT STANLEY IN ARIZONA; DAY SIX

TODAY'S WEATHER; ARIZONA 80 DEGREES - LAYTON UTAH COLD AND SNOWY

TODAY WE DECIDED TO TAKE A TRIP TO OATMAN A OLD GOLD MINING "GHOST TOWN", THAT IS ONLY ABOUT 15 MILES AWAY FROM OUR HOUSE. WE WALKED DOWN MAIN STREET AND SAW ALL THE OLD SITES, FED THE BURRO'S, WENT ON A TOUR OF AN OLD GOLD MINE, THEN ON OUR WAY HOME WE DECIDED TO DO A LITTLE OFF ROADING AND EXPLORE NEAR BOUNDRY CONE, THERE WE SAW DIFFERENT TYPES OF CACTUS, A BEAUTIFUL HAWK, SOME WILD FLOWERS. WE HAD A TON OF FUN.

FUNNY STORY, AS I WAS TAKING PICTURES HERE AND THERE WITH STANLEY, I WAS UNAWARE THAT I HAD DRAWN QUITE A CROWD WHO WERE ALL STANDING AROUND WATCHING ME, ALL OF A SUDDEN A WIND CAME UP AND STANLEY BLEW AWAY, I QUICKLY CAUGHT HIM AND RE-POSED HIM FOR THE PICTURE, WHEN I HEAR THIS DEEP VOICE SAY "THAT LITTLE FELLOW JUST DOESN'T WANT TO STAY PUT DOES HE". I LOOK UP TO SEE TWO FULL BLOWN BIKERS STANDING THERE.

Oatman began 0ver 100 years ago as a mining tent camp and quickly became a flourishing gold-mining center. In 1915, two miners struck a $10 million gold find, and within a year, the town's population grew to more than 3,500.

In its heyday of the early 1900's to the 1940's, Oatman and its two mile away companion town of Goldroad were the largest producers of gold in Arizona.
During the Second World War the government needed other metals for the war effort, so the miners were taken to other mines and the mines here closed.
Then in 1995 the Goldroad mine was opened again and was taking out 40,000 oz. of gold annually. In 1998 they closed again because of low gold prices. They now have great mine tours daily. We had fun on the tour we got to see some real gold and also some fools gold. We will send
a piece of the fools gold for the class to look at, it fooled many miners.

In 1952, Route 66, the main route from the Midwest to California, bypassed this stretch of mountains to be I-40 from Kingman, Arizona to Needles, California. Oatman and Goldroad became real Ghost Towns.

In the 70's Laughlin, Nevada started building up and in the late 80's Route 66 became popular destination for tourists from all over the world. Oatman started becoming very lively again.

Oatman's "Wild" Burro's are the descendants of burro's brought here by the miners and when no longer needed were turned loose. Each morning they come into town looking for food. They wander the streets and greet the tourists. Burro pellets and carrots are for sale at many of the shops -- the burros will eat all day if you feed them. -- Shortly before the sunset they will wander back to the hills for the night.

Enjoy the slide show of our trip to oatman.

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THE ADVENTURES OF FLAT STANLEY IN ARIZONA; DAY FIVE

TODAY'S WEATHER; ARIZONA 82 DEGREES - LAYTON UTAH 36 DEGREES


TODAY WE DECIDED TO GET UP EARLY AND GO TO THE GRAND CANYON. IT IS ABOUT A THREE HOUR DRIVE FROM OUR HOUSE. STANLEY WAS SO TIRED, BUT WE TOLD HIM HE COULD SLEEP IN THE CAR ON THE WAY. WE READ UP ON SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GRAND CANYON ON OUR WAY. FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE FACTS WE READ AND LEARNED ABOUT THE GRAND CANYON.


The Grand Canyon is a colorful, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River. The canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is largely contained in the Grand Canyon National Park, one of the first national parks in the United States.


The canyon, created by the Colorado River cutting a channel over millions of years, is about 277 miles (446 km) long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles (6 to 29 kilometers) and attains a depth of more than a mile (1,600 m). Nearly 2000 million years of the Earth's history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut through layer after layer of sediment as the Colorado Plateaus have uplifted.


The Grand Canyon was first seen by a European in 1540, García López de Cárdenas from Spain. However, long before that, the area was inhabited by Native Americans who built settlements in the canyon walls.


As you catch your first glimpse of the buttes, mesas and valleys within the main gorge and gaze into the abyss, you'll understand why the Grand Canyon has long been referred to as one of the greatest wonders of the world. The beauty of this great chasm carved through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau is overwhelming.


HERE ARE SOME OF THE PICTURES WE TOOK WHILE THERE.

WE GOT TO SEE SOME BALD EAGLES WHILE WE WERE THERE, THE ARE SO BEAUTIFUL AND REALLY QUITE LARGE.

THIS WAS THE LAST PICTURE WE TOOK AS THE SUN WAS STARTING TO SET.

STANLEY COULDN'T STOP SAYING "WOW". IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL, THE COLORS, THE SIZE, THE BREATH TAKING VIEWS. WE ALL HAD A WONDERFUL TIME.

THE ADVENTURES OF FLAT STANLEY IN ARIZONA; DAY FOUR

TODAY'S WEATHER; ARIZONA 81 DEGREES AND LAYTON UTAH 37 DEGREES

TODAY WE DECIDED TO GO HIKING. WE WENT TO A PLACE NEAR OUR HOUSE IN NEVADA IN AN AREA CALLED CHRISTMAS TREE PASS. YOU CAN HIKE IN THIS AREA OR YOU CAN GO ROCK CLIMBING, SOME OF THE AREAS FOR ROCK CLIMBING LOOK VERY CHALLENGING. WE JUST WENT FOR A HIKE, THERE IS SO MANY THINGS TO SEE. THE AREA'S WILD LIFE, THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CATUS, SOME ARE IN BLOOM, IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY TOO. WE MADE SURE WE PACKED IN PLENTY OF WATER AND OF COURSE WE HAD OUR HATS AND LOTS OF SUN SCREEN AGAIN.

THIS PART WAS CALLED DIABLO DIAMANTE.

THIS IS A PICTURE OF SOME OF THE CATUS THAT ARE IN BLOOM THIS TIME OF YEAR. STANLEY DIDN'T KNOW THAT SOME CATUS EVEN HAD FLOWERS, HE THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY STRANGE.

THERE ARE SEVERAL WALLS OF PETROGLYPHS IN THIS AREA. THEY ARE SO AMAZING. THE LOCAL NATIVE AMERICANS SAY THAT THESE ARE ABOUT A THOUSAND YEARS OLD.

THERE ARE A FEW FALLS UP IN THE AREA, SPRING IS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO SEE THEM, THEY CAN DRY UP IN THE SUMMER. THE SIZE AND AMOUNT OF WATER FLOWING DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH SNOW THE MOUNTAINS HAD DURING THE WINTER.

THIS WAS A LOT OF FUN, WE GOT TO SEE SOME REALLY BEAUTIFUL SITES. WE WERE ALL VERY TIRED AND VERY HOT BY THE TIME WE DECIDED TO HIKE BACK TO THE TRUCK AND LEAVE. SO OF COURSE STANLEY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA TO STOP AND GET AN ICE CREAM.

THE ADVENTURES OF FLAT STANLEY IN ARIZONA; DAY THREE

TODAY'S WEATHER; 85 DEGREES ARIZONA AND 54 DEGREES IN LAYTON UTAH

TODAY WE DECIDED TO SHOW STANLEY TWO OF THE DAMS AND LAKES NEAR OUR HOUSE. HOOVER DAM IN NEVADA, DAVIS DAM IN ARIZONA, LAKE MEAD IN NEVADA AND LAKE MOHAVE IN ARIZONA.

THIS IS A PICTURE OF DAVIS DAM IN ARIZONA

THIS IS A PICTURE OF LAKE MOHAVE ARIZONA

A RARE TREAT TO BE ABLE TO SPOT LONG HORN SHEEP UP IN THE ROCK CLIFFS ABOVE AND SURROUNDING LAKE MOHAVE. THEY CAMAFLOUGE SO WELL INTO THEIR INVORIMENT.

HOOVER DAM AT 726.5 FEET TALL, IS ONE OF A SERIES OF DAMS BUILT TO PROVIDE FLOOD CONTROL, SILT CONTROL AND WATER STORAGE ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER.

IT TOOK FOUR YEARS TO BUILD THE DAM, AND ANOTHER YEAR TO COMPLETE THE POWER PLANT AND APPURTENANT WORKS. BUILT IN THE BLACK CANYON AREA, THE DAM WAS ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS BOULDER DAM, HOWEVER IN 1947 TWELVE YEARS AFTER IT WAS COMPLETED IT WAS RENAMED HOOVER DAM FOR FORMER PRESIDENT HERBERT HOOVER WHO WAS THE 31ST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

LAKE MEAD IS THE LARGEST MAN MADE LAKE IN THE UNITED STATES. THE LAKE PROVIDES YEAR ROUND RECREATION TO OVER 9 MILLION VISITORS A YEAR AND HAS A SURFACE AREA OF ABOUT 247 SQUARE MILES WHEN FULL. IT TOOK 6.5 YEARS TO FILL LAKE MEAD

THIS IS A VIEW OF LAKE MEAD, FROM HOOVER DAM. THE WHITER RING SHOWS HOW LOW THE WATER IS DOWN FROM WHERE IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST.

WE WALKED OUT ON ONE OF THE DOCKS IN A MARINA AT LAKE MEAD, BELOW HUNDREDS OF CARP WILL FOLLOW YOU IN HOPES THAT YOU WILL THROW THEM SOME FOOD. WE LET STANLEY THROW SOME BREAD DOWN TO THEM. CAN YOU SEE THEM WITH THEIR MOUTHS OPEN? STANLEY LOVED THIS, HE THOUGHT IT WAS SO FUN.

THE ADVENTURES OF FLAT STANLEY IN ARIZONA; DAY TWO

THE COLORADO RIVER

TODAY'S WEATHER; OUR PLACE 84 DEGREES LAYTON UTAH 56 DEGREES

EVEN THOUGH IT WAS QUITE WARM TODAY THE RIVER IS ICY COLD ALL YEAR ROUND IT AVERAGES AROUND 42 DEGREES. BURRRRRRRRR COLD! ON REALLY HOT DAYS IT FEELS SO NICE THOUGH. THE COLORADO RIVER IS THE THIRD LONGEST RIVER IN THE UNITED STATES.

TODAY WE WOKE UP EARLY AND PACKED A PICNIC LUNCH IN THE ICE CHEST, THREW IN SOME SODA’S AND WATER, GRABED OUR SUNGLASSES, HATS AND MOST IMPORTANT THE SUNSCREEN, HOOKED UP THE BOAT AND HEADED TO THE COLORADO RIVER. IT IS ONLY A FEW MILES FROM OUR HOUSE SO WE WERE ON THE RIVER IN ABOUT A ½ HOUR AFTER WE LEFT HOME.

BEING OUT ON THE RIVER IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS TO DO, IT IS SO FUN AND THERE ARE SO MANY BEAUTIFUL THINGS TO SEE ALONG THE WAY, WE WERE EXCITED TO SHARE THIS WITH STANLEY.

STANLEY WANTED TO DRIVE BUT HE WAS TOO LITTLE, SO WE LET HIM SIT IN THE DRIVER SEAT AT THE DOCK SO I COULD GET A PICTURE OF HIM WHILE GRANDPA PARKED THE BOAT AND TRAILER.

THIS IS A VIEW FROM THE RIVER

WITH MORE THAN 500 MILES OF THE COLORADO RIVER EITHER RUNNING THROUGH OUR STATE OR FORMING IT’S BORDER, THE COLORADO RIVER IS A MAJOR PART OF ARIZONA.
THIS IS THE ENTRANCE TO WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE TOPOCK GORGE

THIS AREA IS CALLED DEVILS ELBOW

WE WERE ABLE TO SEE A LARGE PETROGLYPH ON THE DARK CLIFF FACE ON THE RIVER. THIS AREA HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS A HOLY PLACE BY BOTH THE AHA-MAKAAV, MOJAVE NATION AND THE NUWU, CHEMEHUEVI TRIBE. SO WE WERE CAREFUL TO RESPECT AND HONOR THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE. THIS AREA IS CALLED "HUM-ME-CHOMP", ENGLISH TRANSLATION MEANS "THE ROCK WHERE THE RIVER ONCE CHURNED TO MAKE THIS PLACE INACCESSIBLE TO THE LIVING". THIS WAS SO AMAZING TO SEE.

LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN....

CONSTRUCTION OF THE LONDON BRIDGE STARTED IN 1825 IN LONDON ENGLAND AND IT TOOK SIX YEARS TO COMPLETE. IT IS CONSTUCTED OUT OF MOSTLY GRANITE. IN 1962 IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE LONDON BRIDGE WAS FALLING DOWN. LONDON DECIDED TO AUCTION OFF THE OLD BRIDGE. THE FOUNDER OF LAKE HAVASU CITY, ARIZONA ROBERT MC CULLOCK, WAS THE WINNING BID, HE PAID 2,460,000.00 THE BRIDGE WAS CAREFULLY DISASSEMBLED AND EACH PIECE WAS NUMBERED. IT COST ANOTHER 7 MILLION DOLLARS TO HAVE IT SHIPPED BY BOAT 10,000.00 MILES TO LONG BEACH CALIFORNIA, FROM THERE IT WAS TRUCKED TO LAKE HAVASU CITY ARIZONA. IT WAS RECONSTRUCTED TO LOOK AS IT HAD OVER IN LONDON, IT WAS FINALLY FINISHED IN OCTOBER 1971.

WE DOCKED AT THE LONDON BRIDGE AREA OF THE RIVER, AND WALKED UP TO THE SHOPS THEY HAVE THERE. BECAUSE IT WAS ANOTHER WARM DAY, WE ALL GOT A HAWAIIAN SHAVED ICE, WHICH IS LIKE A SNOW CONE. STANLEY LOVED THIS. HE SAID IT IS STILL WAY TO COLD IN LAYTON FOR ICE CREAM!

WE SPENT THE WHOLE DAY ON THE RIVER. WE WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO LAKE HAVASU AND THEN BACK. WE SAW SO MANY BEAUTIFUL AND AMAZING THINGS IT WAS A WONDERFUL AND FUN DAY. STANLEY HAD A BLAST. BOY WERE WE ALL TIRED WHEN WE GOT BACK HOME.