Road Trippin' Day 1: Old Tucson

We just finished our cross-country road trip.  Some notable facts include:

- 2700 miles traveled
-8 states in total (California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida)
-London only barfed once--compare that to the 10+ times on our road trip to Yosemite last summer.
-My car passed up 150,000 miles.
-We saw a license plate from almost every state (we were missing Alaska, Delaware, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, and Vermont.  We decided those states don't get out much. ;))
-This was Dan and Carrie's first time in most of these states--and obviously Juliet's and London's as well.
-It took us five days and four nights to cross the country.  It took Carrie less than one day to fly back to California.

 

You guys, this trip was SO. FUN.  We weren't in a huge rush to get from point A to point B, and we really took my dad's advice to "enjoy the journey," to heart.  Our first day we woke up SUPER early and were on the road by 5:30.  We wanted to leave early to make sure we made it to our first destination before it closed: Old Tucson, Arizona.

Old Tucson is an old west town film set that has been used in over 300 films.  On the weekends (Friday-Sunday) they open it up to the public.  They have a few rides, an old "haunted" mine you can walk through, several tours and shows, and a couple restaurants and shops.  SO cheesy, but so perfect if you're looking for kitsch and Americana.  I ate it up, and so did London.  I don't know that Dan and Carrie loved it as much, but it was fun to stop.  

And the drive to get there through the Saguaro National park was INCREDIBLE.  It's kind of funny, because as we drove through Arizona, Carrie and I were commenting that we didn't get people who LOVE the desert.  It just seemed so bare to us.  So we kept trying to see where the beauty was...I guess we were just looking at the wrong part of the desert, because after we drove out a ways from the freeway and took the turn off for Old Tucson...HOLY COW.  Suddenly we were winding down hills that were covered, and I mean completely covered in the biggest cacti I have ever seen.  It was like a cacti forest.  Unfortunately, I was driving at this point so I didn't get any pictures, but here is one I found via a google search.  

Still doesn't really do it justice, but put the Saguaro National Park on your bucket list, because I was seriously crying it looked so cool.  (Yes, I really was crying, and Dan started laughing at me because I mean, c'mon.  CRYING ABOUT CACTI???  I'm a weirdo.)

Had to take this for obvious reasons...

Again, obvious reasons. ;)

 

We got there just after 3, and the park closed at 5.  The bonus for us was that after three they give you a discounted rate to get in, so it was only $11 for the three adults to get in. (Kids were free.)  London started saying "ride the rides!" almost as soon as we walked through the gates, so we hit those up first.  Old-timey carousel, antique cars you could drive around on a track, and a little train that took you around the perimeter of Old Tucson.  We also did the completely creepy and probably not child-appropriate haunted mine.  I maybe jumped a few times, but I'm a wuss when it comes to that stuff.

Because cacti are actually pretty incredible in person.

We walked around some of the sets and stayed for a shoot-out show.  Then it was off to the real Tucson for our hotel and dinner, and some much needed sleep for another early day in the morning.

Not the greatest family picture, but I love these people.