Vacation Right of Passage

Every child must suffer the "Never Ending Road Trip". Annika and Trevor finally got their first one. On a whim, we decided to go to Monument Valley. This was for me and my dad, so the kids had to suffer the long ride. Beautiful - Yes. Middle of Nowhere - yes. Longest drive the kids have ever done? - Definitely. We drove from the Grand Canyon to the town of Kayenta, well inside the Navajo Nation. 3 hours. From there it was another 30 minutes. We hit Utah and finally it was time to get out of the car. Monument Valley is exquisite. I recommend everyone going there. Make sure to do it without a 3 year old and to do it as part of a trip going some where afterwards. There is nothing else there but that. NOTHING.

Getting back to Trevor and Annika. By the time we got there, they were unimpressed. It was way to long of drive to look at rocks. Every time I pointed something out, Annika did not care unless it meant we didn't have to be in a car. We drove closer to the peaks on a dirt road. They didn't have to wear seat belts (insert "Bad Mommy" here) which became the highlight of going there. That and buying cowboy hats. When I told them were were headed back to Flagstaff after an hour and a half, the whining began. It didn't stop until we were in Flagstaff. Patience prevailed. They did manage to keep busy. Trevor needed a bathroom when were on a desolate highway and it took some convincing that he could pee outside. He had no problem the second time we had to stop in a different but similar looking place. So after 6 hours in the car, their horribly long road trip was over.

More pics here: Monument Valley