MOAV 2: The Adventure Continues . . .

My family had so much fun on our "Mother Of All Vacations" last year, that we had to take another! In fact, we started planning this year's 30-day camping journey on the final leg of last year's trip. Our focus this time? The Four Corners region of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Where the corners of CO, UT, AZ, and NM meet at Four Corners Monument, Navajo Nation Tribal Park

Yes, we hit the American Southwest in August--in monsoon season--and survived it all: 7800 miles, 19 states, 100-plus-degree temperatures, wind-driven rains, 50-plus-mph winds, high elevations, mountain driving, desert driving, and some pretty rugged--but utterly beautiful--terrain.

The Mitten Buttes in Monument Valley Navajo Nation Tribal Park, AZ (taken by 13YO daughter)

We ended up visiting 26 National Park Service/Bureau of Land Management sites in eight states, hiking in many of them.

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (St. Louis Arch), MO

Fort Scott National Historic Site, KS

Fort Larned National Historic Site, KS

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, CO

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, CO

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Aztec Ruins National Monument, NM

Mesa Verde National Park, CO

Arches National Park, UT

Natural Bridges National Monument, UT

Valley of the Gods (BLM), UT

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, AZ

Wupatki National Monument, AZ

Walnut Canyon National Monument, AZ

Petrified Forest National Park, AZ

Petroglyph National Monument, NM

White Sands National Monument, NM

Three Rivers Petroglyph Site (BLM), NM

Valley of Fires Recreation Area (BLM), NM

Pecos National Historical Park, NM

Fort Union National Monument, NM

Capulin Volcano National Monument, NM

Fort Smith National Historic Site, AR

Hot Springs National Park, AR

Mammoth Cave National Park, KY

The kids earned their Junior Ranger badges at 18 NPS units. We also visited national forests, tribal parks, state parks, city parks, and drove part of Historic Route 66. It was epic, breathtaking, educational, and unforgettable.

Wanna see some photos? Just keep scrolling for the "This Land is Your Land" tour. Many thanks to Woody Guthrie (feel free to pull out your tambourine. Go ahead--I don't mind.) And remember, just click on any photo to enlarge it.

As I went walking

Hiking the Long Logs Trail in Petrified Forest National Park, AZ (taken by 9YO son)

that ribbon of highway

US-163 leading through Monument Valley, AZ

I saw above me

Owachomo  Bridge at Natural Bridges National Monument, UT

that endless skyway

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis, MO

I saw below me

Step House cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park, CO

that golden valley

Moki Dugway, Utah State Route 261 (taken by 13YO daughter)

This land

Pike's Peak viewed through the Siamese Twins formation in Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO

was made

Blue Whale, Historic Route 66 attraction, Catoosa, OK

for you and me.

Ancient macaw rock carving at Petroglyph National Monument, NM

I roamed and I rambled

Wagon on the Santa Fe Trail outside Bent's Old Fort Historic Site, CO

and I followed my footsteps

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO (taken by 13YO daughter)

To the sparkling sands of 

Gypsum sand dunes below the San Andres Mtns, White Sands National Monument, NM

her diamond deserts

The Painted Desert, as protected within Petrified Forest National Park, AZ

While all around me 

Ruins at Fort Union National Historic Site, NM

a voice was sounding

Oil-drum kachina doll outside the National Route 66 Museum, Elk City, OK (taken by 13YO daughter)

This land

Closeup of a petrified tree stump in Petrified Forest National Park, AZ

was made

Rock cairns at Three Sisters formation overlook on Valley Drive in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, AZ

for you and me.

At the aerial tramway depot atop Sandia Peak in Albuquerque, NM (taken by 9YO son)

When the sun came shining, 

Sunrise over tug-propelled barges on the Mississippi River in East Memphis, AR (taken by 9YO son)

and I was strolling

A leisurely hike in Petrified Forest National Park, AZ (taken by 13YO daughter)

And the wheat fields waving

A view of Sierra Grande from Capulin Volcano National Monument, NM

and the dust clouds rolling

The dusty Valley Drive passing by Elephant Butte in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, AZ

A voice was chanting, 

Ancestral Puebloan dwellings in Aztec Ruins National Monument, NM

As the fog was lifting,

Sunrise along US-191 enroute to Arches National Park, UT

This land 

Indian paintbrush at Sandia Peak summit in Albuquerque, NM

was made

The Watchtower at Desert View in Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

for you and me. 

Our accommodations at Wigwam Village #2 in Cave City, KY

We are back to reality now, getting ready for next week's return to school, but this MOAV is sure to live on and on in family lore!

Thanks for checking out my vacation photos!

Emily