Down the road

We’ve had a busy schedule over the last few weeks, covering another 1300 miles and visiting family from Silver City, New Mexico to Kingman, Arizona and back. We’re now in Las Cruces, New Mexico, enjoying a wonderful view of the Organ Mountains and long overdue for website updates! Since the last post we toured Hoover Dam, saw a Wild West shootout on Route 66, went mudding in the jeep and on four wheelers, taught the boys to shoot on the ranch, saw elk and antelope and deer and wild turkeys and snakes and tarantulas, camped at City of Rocks, sledded down sparkling gypsum sand dunes at White Sands National Monument, raced ducks at the Great American Duck Race in Deming, New Mexico, and spent many priceless hours with our extended family. Next up: the Hatch Chile Festival. More to follow!

: Part of the family gathering in Silver City. There are no words for how cool, fun, and awesome this family is! A lot of love. Meme, we missed you.

: The Martian landscape on Route 66 between Kingman and Oatman, AZ. Hot, hot, hot.

: We toured Hoover Dam on the Nevada/Arizona border. 102° in the shade (39°C)!

: We visited Ayrril’s brother and his family on the ranch they work in New Mexico. We had to use the 4WD in the Jeep for the first time! Nate told us later that the smart cowboy always sits in the middle, that way he doesn’t have to drive and he doesn’t have to open the gate! Lesson learned! 🙂

: The boys had the run of the place on Uncle Nate’s 4 wheelers. There were huge puddles and lots of mud. It was awesome.

: Uncle Nate took the boys out for some target practice at the ranch. They shot a rifle and a pistol and had a pretty great time. On the ranch Nate and Katie almost always have a gun with them because of the mountain lions. We just shot cans.

: The boys raced a duck at the 33rd Annual Great American Duck Race in Deming. Ayrril used to race ducks there as a kid with her grandparents so we’re passing on the tradition. Bridger’s duck made it to the quarterfinals, then just missed the semifinals. There’s always next year.

: Bridger rode a mechanical bull at the Deming Duck Races. He had so much fun he drew a crowd.

: We spent a morning playing in the gypsum dunes at White Sands National Monument. The dunefield is 275 square miles! Perfect for hiking and sled races. Again, passing on family traditions. New Mexico is such a cool place!