Easter...TOGETHER!

We almost forgot,

but the Bunny didn't--

it's Easter!

And boy, did he deliver!

There were eggs everywhere

and despite Mom and Dad giving

Wes and I a handicap,

we still scored plenty

See?

But, as usual, the fun didn't stop

with the eggs.

We were quickly off on the scavenger hunt

which again,

didn't disappoint

Airplane origami, new towels for camp,

bike lights, and an air popcorn popper

were hidden around the house.

The hunt is always the best part!

But THEN...

we headed for a family brunch

at Uncle Kurt and Aunt Mandy's house.

We were thrilled to do something normal again!

After we ate,

Mema had crafts

Ready for the garden!

For the finale--

another hunt!

We missed all the hunts!

Mema was tricky!

It took all of us to find all of the eggs.

Hope your Easter

was as awesome as ours!

 

Waiting for his return...

Mom and Dad thought dragging my gift

all the way to New Mexico was a bit excessive.

But you better believe I opened it the moment we got home!

(ok, the next morning after a little sleep...)

I cut it open with my new birthday knife...

and was allowed to cruise on my new, adult-sized ride

through the house for a test drive

Nice.

Thanks, Mom and Dad!

One last stop

We pulled into Amarillo last night

around 8 or 9...central time.

Boo.

We lost an hour.

It was windy and a bit cold and no campfires allowed.

No worries--a hot spaghetti dinner

from the crockpot

and all the dessert you could eat

paired with dumb sitcoms on TV

that we never usually watch 

(who knew "The Goldmans" was so funny?)

actually made for an ok, final night.

We were up and at 'em early the next day

to trek back to OKC

to return the trailer.

It was WINDY.

AGAIN.

I think Dad was pretty relieved to turn it over.

We decided to have a late lunch

at Pops, 

this funky restaurant with "700 varieties" of bottled soda

Of all those varieties--

grape, bubble gum, root beer, international flavors--

we chose Diet Coke.

But we were really here for the milkshakes.

Did we mention this is something like

the fourth meal we've had out

since COVID started?

That needed a picture!

We couldn't go a whole day in the car

without some tromping

so we hit Lake Arcadia for some

running and climbing and rock climbing

We listened to a lot of Percy Jackson,

had some gas station drinks and snacks,

made a few crafts,

and had our first Ken-taco Hut experience.

Whoa.

We're exhausted just thinking about it.

Can you read it?

43 hours, 41 minutes in the truck

(including ALL driving in the last 8 days)

spanning nearly 2440 miles.

Now THAT'S a trip.

Amarillo by morning

What a glorious morning!

Mom and Dad got in a run,

we got in some bunk lounging time,

and we had a delish breakfast outside on the patio.

But then,

it was time to pack up

and head to our final stop in Amarillo.

There were some crazy things to see along the way--

like the world's largest pistachio!

And lots of wide open space

Of course, 

there is a hike today!

Mom and Dad were pretty proud that 

we've hiked a different landscape every day:

Day 1: mountain top (Guadalupe Peak)

Day 2: caves (Carlsbad Caverns) AND 

desert canyon (Rattlesnake Canyon)

Day 3: waterfalls (Sitting Bull)

Day 4: desert sands (White Sands)

Day 5: forest/alpine (Cloudcroft)

So what's left?

Day 6: lava flow!

We set out in the Valley of Fires

in the Tularosa Basin,

one of the youngest flows in the US

(at only 5000 years old).

There was a nice boardwalk

with some informational signs along the way

but scrambling across all the pahoehoe and aa

(look at us learning geological terms!)

was what we REALLY loved

Lava Flow Adventurers!

It was really cool

all sorts of stuff to see and conquer

And it got hot!

Break out your bikinis!

We scrambled and explored for a few hours

but, sadly, we needed to get on the road

for a long-drive-day.

We did get one last view of 

Little Black Peak,

the starting point for the flow,

as we headed east.

Sigh.

Bye, New Mexico!

It's been great!

Lots of memories made

and lots of good times had!

 

1 day, 3 hikes

Today was a little different than our others--

no big plan.

We took the advise of the KOA manager 

and headed up the mountain 

from Alamogordo to Cloudcroft

to check out the area there.

For our first hike of the day,

we hit the Old Cloudcroft Highway Trail.

Cloudcroft, being 3000 feet higher than Alamogordo

in the Sacramento Mountains,

looked a bit different.

Lots of trees, some snow on the ground...

and a cool view of White Sands in the distance

Worth a selfie

We were happy to see our favorite pine trees again

Cloudcroft is known for his history with the railroad.

There were all sorts of abandoned trestles

from the days of the 

Alamogordo & Sacramento Railroad.

Not a bad little trail.

But apparently, Tuck is only up for 1 hike per week

(ok, it was nearly 10 miles!).

Pack-mule Dad had to pitch in again.

2.5 miles wasn't enough for us.

After a little shopping and lunch in Cloudcroft,

we started our descent back down the mountains

and made some stops along the way.

First up was the Grand View Trail.

There may have been some grumbling

about "more hiking"

but once we heard it was only a mile,

we were more enthusiastic

Well, that's kinda cool.

Lots of mountains and the White Sands

nestled in the back

After that short jaunt,

we were definitely up for more.

On to hike #3--

Bridal Veil Falls

It was another spring-fed waterfall

so there's always a trickle

A nice spot for "Tee Time"

Nearly 5 miles of hiking

earned us some s'mores.

And we're getting creative now--

oreos anyone?

Mom saw this cool craft on Pinterest

so we put our "deluxe" site to good use

Can you see it?

We made fireflies!

They turned out pretty cool!

Sigh.

We're already on night 6.

This trip is moving way too fast.