Petrified Forest-Grand Canyon (North and South Rim)-Zion National Park, Utah-Las Vegas, NV-Death Valley, CA

We've arrived safely in Southern California after having traveled many miles through New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and now California. The car has done amazingly well, and we're grateful for that. The southwest has amazed us with its vast expanse of deserts and incredible canyons, cliffs, sand dunes, and odd rock formations. Again and again we have been amazed as we rounded a bend in the road and found ourselves looking at an entirely different scene than just a few miles before; also, there were times when we'd be baking on the valley floor of a desert and suddenly ascend up into a lush mountain meadow complete with Alpine climate and aspen trees. Yesterday morning we awoke to 30 degrees, and later in the day it was about 100; talk about extreme! What an amazing part of our nation the great southwest is! Noteworthy happenings: We passed through Flagstaff, Arizona just a few hours prior to the beginning of the disastrous fire that has burnt many thousands of acres in the past few days since it began (see posted picture); we were blessed to have seen a male elk with a great rack of antlers in Arizona; as we were leaving the Grand Canyon we came upon a rare sighting of a herd of wild Buffalo! Las Vegas left us with many stirring thoughts and feelings; after having been out in the beauty of natural creation, it was quite a contrast and culture shock for us, to say the least. What a propped up, superficial, greedy city without a firm foundation that is. We left Las Vegas this morning and headed over through Death Valley; the temperature was a very stifling 117, the hottest either of us have ever experienced. Tonight we're sleeping in Victorville, California before heading into Los Angles in the morning and having a look around. We'll join Randy Roy and his family tomorrow night for a visit before heading north into Visalia/Exeter to stay a few days with the Otis family; while there we will spend time with my sister Lynda and a handful of others; we greatly look forward to spending time with these people and being in their homes.

Don't forget to check out the newly posted pictures through the link below~