road trip day thirty eight: drive to abq

Even though it seemed like we'd just arrived in Arizona, it was time to head home.  We said goodbye to Ben since we was staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house for two weeks (ALL BY HIMSELF!) and then hit the road!

Driving through the Arizona desert - Dinner at Garduño's in Albuquerque - Happy hour and board games at our hotel.

July 18, 2017 - Albuquerque NM - State #8 Again - 4569 miles

road trip day four: white sands national monument

We have such a great time at White Sands National Monument every year that we made it a point to drive that way again.

June 14, 2017 - White Sands NM - State #8 - 1774 miles

Digging in the sand.

After four days in the car, the kids- especially Ellie- were excited to have freedom to run around.

Fun in the sun.

Unlike the past two years where Ellie was apprehensive of being in the sand, this year, she was excited to run and play in it.

So much sand!

Unlike beach sand, the gypsum crystals at White Sands are really cool to the touch.  The kids had so much fun playing with it!

We took the sunset stroll offered by the NPS and learned about the geology and ecology of the park while watching the sun go down.

The kids had fun climbing on the dunes as we strolled through the park.

"Because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing" - Dr Seuss

Two sweet girls.

The sun setting over the San Andres Mountains.

-Christopher-

-Lexie-

-Ben-

-Ellie-

-the Albaeck sweethearts-

Goodnight, White Sands!

After roaming the dunes for four hours, we made our way to Caliche's Frozen Custard in Alamogordo  to have ice cream for a late dinner!  We also HAD to try their "spicy dog" which is covered in green chile relish and honey dill mustard-- very good!!

road trip days three to four: texas and new mexico

The kids love hotel breakfasts because they can get whatever they want to eat-- in Ellie's case, that's a bowl full of strawberries!

Taking a break in Texas to stretch legs and adjust attitudes.

Torchy's Tacos is another favorite from previous drives so we made sure to stop and introduce Grandma to their taco deliciousness!

June 13, 2017 - Arlington TX - State #7 - 1067 miles

June 13, 2017 - Hobbs NM - State #8 - 1449 miles

Up and ready to drive through New Mexico!  Eastern New Mexico looks pretty much like West Texas-- ugly and full of oil rigs.  Cloudcroft NM, on the other hand, is beautiful AND it has a gas station with the elusive Minion Tic-Tacs!

We stopped at Casa de Sueños in Tularosa for delicious New Mexican food-- something we've severely missed since moving to the east coast.  While we were there, we got a chance to meet the dog who played "Rex" in "Megan Leavey".  Such a cool experience to talk to his owner about the movie!

On our way into Alamogordo, we stopped for a picture with the world's largest pistachio at McGinn's PistachioLand.  Next time we drive through, I want to make sure to allow enough time to tour the pistachio orchard and vineyard!

road trip day thirty five: drive to oklahoma city

We continued our drive east and unfortunately, Ben wasn't feeling too well so we pulled over.  After a couple minutes of fresh air, he was feeling better and we were back on the road!

We drove on the musical road (on Route 66) outside of Tijeras, NM quite a few times!  It's only musical going eastbound so we had to drive in circles for awhile to hear the song several times.

We stopped in Amarillo for a delicious lunch at Leal's.  Ellie only wanted to eat if she was sitting on Christopher's lap and he agreed to feed her-- he's such a good big brother!

July 12, 2016 - Amarillo TX - State #7 AGAIN - 4928 miles

We FINALLY made it to our hotel in Oklahoma City!  Clearly, the kids were tired of being in the car (especially the little one!) and enjoyed stretching out in the room.

July 12, 2016 - Oklahoma City OK - State #11 - 5188 miles

road trip day thirty four: drive to albuquerque

All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa and head back east.

July 11, 2016 - Albuquerque NM - State #8 AGAIN - 4639 miles

road trip day four: roswell and white sands

Day Four started with a last-minute detour to Roswell NM to check out the International UFO Museum.  The kids thought all of the aliens (and alien decor) around Roswell were pretty funny. 👽👽

June 11, 2016 - Roswell NM - State #8 - 1573 miles

The International Spy Museum was a fun stop and we learned all about the "history" of the Roswell Incident.

After Roswell, we made our way to Alamogordo and got everything unpacked at the hotel and then headed to White Sands National Monument.  It was one of our favorite stops on our 2015 trip and we all wanted to go back!

June 11, 2016 - White Sands NM - State #8 - 1710 miles

The first stop was the visitors center to rent a couple of saucers and then the kids took to the dunes for some sand sledding.... and rolling.

Ben sledding!

Ellie wanted to try sledding so Jacob put her on and pushed her down the hill.  As soon as she started, I could see the terror in her eyes and let go of the camera so that I could catch her-- she did NOT go again.

Sweet, sandy boys

Christopher LOVED sledding-- I LOVE the look of pure joy on his face!

Nick sledding :)

While I'm not normally a fan of the desert, there is something about White Sands that I just cannot get enough of-- it is one of my favorite places in the country.

Especially the yucca.  LOVE the yuccas in White Sands.

We missed peak blooms by a couple of months but even the old, dead flowers are beautiful in their own way.

After sledding for awhile, we met up with the park ranger for the nightly sunset stroll through the dunes.

A yucca with blooms!

We really enjoyed the sunset stroll and learned all about the ecosystem of the dunes-- Ellie did NOT enjoy it and wanted nothing to do with the sand.

Family❤️

These boys are getting so grown up.

The sun setting over White Sands-- unfortunately it was really overcast so the sunset wasn't as explosive as pictures I've seen, but it was beautiful.

Christopher wanted pictures of just him with Ellie.  She wasn't happy about it at first but then a moth landed on the camera and proceeded to fly around my head for awhile and she thought it was hilarious.  I'll take it!

The Albaeck sweethearts

I wanted to try and get a picture of Ellie standing in the sand but she wanted NOTHING to do with cooperating!

After the sun officially set, we were told we needed to make our way back to the car and leave the park but I stopped to take a few more pictures.

Goodnight, White Sands!

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