So the summer is upon us yet again. Temperatures have already been as high as 108 and the concrete jungle of Phoenix is blistering. That means its time to get out of the Valley of the Sun!
We recently had a chance to meet up with my (Rob) aunt, uncle, and cousins up at the Grand Canyon. The Norvilles were out from Tennessee to spend a few days there as part of their vacation. Amanda and I were able to swing up for a day and hang out! It was a great short trip, and just a fun time to connect and hang out with family that we don't get to see too often!
That trend continues this upcoming weekend as there is a McFarren family reunion happening Saturday at my parents place. We'll be jetting out of Phoenix late Friday afternoon so we can make it there and hang out with family. My Grandma Frankie is a focal point in the reunion, and I hope that it will be a great day for her to catch up with family from all over Indiana and Arizona (any other states, I'm not sure). Plus, Amanda has never gotten to see the McFarren homestead in the summer, so this should be a great time of year to see the green trees, fields, and warm temperatures of the Indiana countryside.
This year, as mentioned in the previous post, we are traveling up to Yosemite and Zion National Parks. Our friends Barry Friesen and Andrew Kennedy are flying into Las Vegas on June 16th, where we will meet them and head North through Death Valley, up the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevadas and to Yosemite National Park. After 3 nights, 4 days there we will then head across Nevada to Utah's Zion National Park. From there, we will actually also get an opportunity to see Bryce Canyon NP and head into Colorado. We'll be in Denver on June 23rd, and then on the 24th we are hiking Mt. Elbert with Amanda's Dad and others for his birthday.
So this is our early summer activities; getting a bit of a much-needed recharge. Because when we come back to the heat of Phoenix it will be in full-force monsoon season, which means its time to hunker down inside...
