Journey to Alaska Days 1-2

Day One:

Anytime you move you know the crap is certain to hit the fan at some point before or during...

Day one of our trip went something like this:

We left the house on time after clearing housing, signing out on leave, etc. Right after we got on the road Aaron had to use the restroom (which we had already done just before we left, and were now on a 25 min stretch of road with no restrooms. Luckily, he held it! After the potty stop we got back on the road. About an hour and a half into the trip I took a large rock to the FJ windshield. It is pretty deep and will likely need to be entirely replaced. We planned to call Safelite when we arrived at the hotel. We were so foolish to plan things HA! We stopped at a nice little rest stop for lunch and went about our way. As we inched closer to Sedona we started to notice a large haze. When we arrived in Flagstaff ash was falling like snowflakes. We learned there is a 10,000 (+) acre wildfire burning about 30 minutes from here. I asked the lady at the front desk when we arrived if evacuation orders were in effect. She explained they have a "ready, set, go approach."

Ready = just get prepared in case

Set = be ready to leave

Go = get the heck out of town

Here we are at a 'set' mode... She seems to believe that we are okay. I guess we will see!

Now, on to our precious dog, Petey. If you know us well yo know that he HATES solid surface floors of any kind. He especially hates tile. Every hotel has tile and we always prepare for the theatrics. Today was no exception!! Long story short, Randy carried him to the room (LOL & OMG)!! Now Petey-Pie has puppy balloon shoes that he loves and the world is all good for him now (HAHAHA). Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds.

Day Two:

We are all alive and well and the smoke has actually cleared for the most part. We spent today at the most beautiful place on Earth... or one of them... The Grand Canyon, and that it is!! The magnitude of God's beautiful designs were certainly not lost on that place. After a couple of hours seeing different portions we headed out towards Utah for the night. When you leave the canyon to head the way we did you have to drive through the Navajo land. To say that it is devastation is not harsh enough. Now, I haven't done my research yet, but from the hundreds of miles of land we saw it is poverty stricken. It was like driving through a 3rd world country but in America. SMH. We did stop at a beautiful Navajo trading post before we left the land to grab a few handmade jewelry pieces!! Then, off to Beaver, Utah where we stayed at a nice little Best Western (Butch Cassidy Inn). Thankful for another amazing day!