Day 18: Van, Castles, and Family

 This is our new best friend, Michelle, from the Tempe Honda Dealership.  We spent our morning with her getting the oil changed in our van (yes, we have driven that many miles).  The rear AC drain line was also unclogged which allowed the water to freely drain from the vehicle.  This is a plus as it had been backing up into the cargo area (ie trunk) of the van and making the carpeting all soppy wet.  Michelle had the tech guys wet vac our cargo area so that was nearly dry.  Thank you so much! 

 After a lovely morning admiring new cars in the dealership, we headed north on 17 back towards Flagstaff.  We stopped at Mystery Stop #1:  Montezuma's Castle.  It was just as fun as I remember it being 35 years ago!

Kid's at Montezuma's Castle.  Betsy waving at squirrels in the trees.  Prickly cactus plant.  Sally taking it all in.



Our Flat Friends at Montezuma's Castle.  I still am amazed at what was created in the side of the canyon wall.



 From Montezuma's Castle we headed a little further north and visited Sedona.  What a beautiful area of our country.  We stopped for homemade ice cream (yum!) before driving to Flagstaff through Oak Creek Canyon.  This canyon area is where my Grampa John and Grandma went camping for their honeymoon in mid-July of 1940!

 We ended the day in Flagstaff enjoying dinner out with my Great Uncle Paul.  He is my Grampa John's "younger" brother.  My grandfather is 96 and Uncle Paul is 93.  You can't tell it though!  I hope I am able to get around so well at that age.  He even picked up our 20 lbs. Betsy who was raising her arms in front of him to be lifted up.  We had such a nice visit!  So glad we were able to spend time with him (plus he told me some fun stories about my Grampa I'd never heard before- wink wink).

Loved the sweet picture of Uncle Paul and Sally leaving the restaurant together. 
John said Uncle Paul reminds him of Grampa John, they sound the same when they talk.

 We plan to overnight in Flagstaff before heading on to our next destination.  Donovan and the Schreiber Girls are still in the running for a chance to win the trivia contest.  Will their guess number two be correct..... stay tune to see.