Hello everybody! We’re back in the RV for V2.0 of the trip Dean and Graham did with Grandma and Grandpa. But this time it’s me, (Mira) and my sister, Brynn. I’m 13 and Brynn is 11.
Days One & Two-June 28-29
Day one: We drove from Corning, NY to Rochester, NY. Then we flew to JFK from ROC, then from JFK to PHX.
We left Corning at 1 PM Eastern Time and got to ROC at about 3 PM. We had an amazing dinner at ROC of BLT’s and chicken sandwiches. We boarded the first plane at 6:25 and landed at about 7:20 then we had to hurry to our next flight which was very far away, we reached the gate just as boarding started. Phew! We landed in PHX at 3:00 AM (Eastern Time) which was really a little after Midnight in Phoenix. Then, after getting our luggage we had to wait for the hotel shuttle, and by the time we got to our room it was 1AM in Phoenix. Which really felt like 4AM because our bodies were still used to Eastern Time.
Day Two: We had breakfast at the hotel which was AMAZING. Then we took the truck, which was parked at the hotel before Grandma and Grandpa flew to Corning to see Graham graduate High School. (Congratulations to him!) Anyway we left Phoenix behind to drive to Flagstaff. On the way there we got stuck in an hour of traffic. Finally we got to the first of many campgrounds. The RV was left in a campground that Grandma and Grandpa had previously stayed at on the way down from Montana. Anyway we got the camper set up and went on an adventure to Sunset Crater.
Sunset Crater is a NON-ACTIVE volcano. That in Volcano Terms, erupted recently as in 1,000 years ago. It was really interesting because the reason it’s called Sunset Crater is because the top of the cone is covered in oxidized red splatter.
Hey, I’m Brynn, Mira’s sister. The second part of visiting Sunset Crater was exploring the short little trails. There were lots of lava rocks broken down EVERYWHERE! Of course we took our cameras, because there was lots of things to take photos of! We saw some very interesting things. Some include: A very big and crooked tree, a plant called Apache Plumes, and different types of Lava Rocks and how they’re formed.
Around the Visitor Center, there were a lot of burnt trees. We found out that the reason happened on April 19th, 2022. A wind driven wild fire called the Tunnel Fire came in and burned 61% of the monument. It grew to almost 20,000 acres in 48 hours. Most of the trees were black and some were even completely burned.
The second adventure of our day was hiking\climbing the A’a Lava Trail. Basically, you get to climb on cooled lava rocks. They were really big and jagged. It was super fun and awesome! We saw a bunch of geckos and lizards. They were always scurrying around and on top of the rocks. We had lots of fun on our first 2 days!
We look forward to sharing the rest of our trip with you!
Sincerely,
Brynn and Mira Simons
Thanks for staying in touch!
Sounds like great fun on this trip!
Great blog posts! I look forward to hearing about more of your adventures!
Hello Brynn and Mira, It is wonderful to hear about your adventures. Volcanoes are very interesting features of our planet and there are plenty of them that are rumbling all over the earth. My oldest son, Nick, was born in August of 1980 just a few months after Mt. St. Helens erupted. We were living in Oregon at the time. He has a little bottle of the ash from that fateful day.
Enjoy your travels,
Jean
It’s good to know you are back on the road! Have fun.
Thank you for your post. This is going to be a great adventure for us as we read your blog. You have been blessed you with wonderful grandparents to take you on such a great adventure.
What a lot of planning to get y’all to Phoenix/Flagstaff! So excited for you to explore the wonders of our beautiful country. Looking forward to the vicarious journey. Maybe I’ll see some familiar places. We travelled the 48 by car over several trips. Enjoy!!
Cousin Susan