Palo Duro Canyon (Fall Vacation Part 4)

Another highlight of our vacation was spending the night at Palo Duro Canyon.  We enjoyed learning about the canyon and hiking and learning how to Geocache.  (You can go here  to read my husband's chronicles of Geocaching...very FUN family outing!)

It was really hot when we got there that afternoon...95 degrees at the end of October!  But the next morning it was 45 degrees!  That's the way I like it!

The boys even got to earn a Junior Ranger Badge by learning about the history of the canyon.  We had such a great time together!  And the canyon was beautiful!  God is so creative with His creation!

Learning in the education center.

Daddy is pointing at Palo Duro Canyon & Ethan is pointing at Caprock Canyons (where we went the next day).

We stayed in the "Cow Camp Cabins" at the bottom of Palo Duro Canyon.  There are only 4 cabins that were built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corp workers who initially developed road access into the canyon.  They were really rustic, and those of you who know me, will know that this was pushing my limits.  But surprisingly, I really liked them.  I didn't really like having to use the restroom down the street, but the little cabin was really neat!  It had this bunkbed, a little microwave, a mini-fridge, and a table with 2 chairs.  Because of the burn ban, we didn't get to have a fire or cook anything, but that's ok.

We began our Geocaching journey here on the Juniper Trail in Palo Duro Canyon.  We all had a wonderful time searching for little hidden treasures!

I love this picture of Daddy & our boys!

My husband got a little carried away trying to find one and never did.  He climbed up this HUGE steep hill.  Can you see Evan sitting about halfway down in the picture above?  He has a white t-shirt and an orange cap.  It was getting too steep for him, so he stopped & waited on Daddy to get back down.  He later thought the cache might be around the curve, but we didn't have time to search...it was getting dark!

Eating dinner in our little cabin.

Our cabin the next morning...cool & crisp & beautiful!

These beautiful trees were in the bottom of the canyon but not at the top.

Amarillo (Fall Family Vacation Part 3)

Another neat part about Amarillo is the painted horses at businesses around town.  They are painted to represent the business...we liked the Wal-mart one. :)

Since it was getting close to Halloween, there were several pumpkin patches around town.  Because I'm so camera happy, we just HAD to stop & take a bunch of pictures.  My E boys (INCLUDING my sweet husband) were LESS than thrilled, but they indulged me.  I got a few good ones.  I wish I knew how to do some special effects & blur out the busy town in the background.

We had fun going to some antique shops on Route 66.  We even found a MICHIGAN License plate from 1971 (when & where Eric was born), so we just HAD to get them.

We had the opportunity to tour Jacie's school too.  It was really nice!  

Cadillac Ranch (Fall Family Vacation Part 2)

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from the rest of our vacation.  We had a wonderful time visiting my college roommate & her family.  It was so nice & relaxing, and we had beautiful weather!  The kids loved playing in their backyard, especially climbing the trees.

Ethan had so much fun playing with Jacie and their 2 kittens all weekend.  He misses her now.

Mr. Cool...we must not smile when we're 12 years old!

Cadillac Ranch is a really neat tourist place right in Amarillo!  Someone "planted" these cadillacs in the ground YEARS ago and now people love to go out & put graffiti all over the cars.  We remember visiting there when Eric & I were newly married, around 15 years ago!  And now the kids enjoyed climbing & painting!

This was too cute!

For dinner, we went to historic Route 66 to Cowboy Gelato's.  It's a trendy little hamburger place with Gelato (Italian ice cream).  YUMMY!

BRRRR.  This ice cream is COLD!

On Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed playing at a local park.  The weather was perfect, so the boys had a wonderful time playing!