Monday, Monday, Monday.

We all awoke and slowly got around. We said thank you to our wonderful host, Homer, as well as to Evan and Sandy.

It’s great meeting a group of people you only know via the Internet and find them to be just the same in person, if not better. I eagerly look forward to the day I get to meet them again!

The Husbear and I were going to head to Kartchner Caverns on our way out of Tucson, but we called for ticket info and their first tour wasn’t until late in the afternoon. We’ll just have to save that for our next trip.

On our way out of Tucson, we rolled upon this awesomeness:

I want one.

And then, this happened. Right outside of Tucson. For 40+ miles…

Seriously. 40 miles of bumpy dirt road over some seriously intense terrain at no faster than 20 miles an hour for most if it.

The Husbear wanted to take the scenic route. Through the mountains. In the Prius.

*sigh*

I have to admit, it was pretty. However, the last 15 miles wore on us both. And the few vehicles we passed—all 4x4s—looked at us like we were insane. Which we are, apparently.

Here’s some of the pretty though:

We finally got onto a good, civilized, paved road and continued our journey. There are some very beautiful parts of Arizona that I would have never have thought would have existed. And I’ll say the Husbear has a knack for finding them.

Who would have thought there were such serene and beautiful places in Arizona?

And before I forget to mention it, we had *another* dirt road adventure for 17 miles. Which is where most if those last few pictures came from. I must really love the Husbear to allow him to navigate. 😉

We spent the next four hours driving in the dark. Through an area that had entirely no cell signal. With no other traffic. Which started to get a little freaky after hour two. But on the upside? We were in the middle of nowhere, and for the first time that I can recall, I actually saw the band of the Milky Way with my naked eyes. Beautiful. Stunning. And sad to think what we have done to this little planet we inhabit.

We rolled into Albuquerque around 10pm, and are hitting the bed. We didn’t get as far as I would have hoped for today due to the route we took, but that’s how these things go. I’m enjoying the view of these great States, and the quality time and memories I’m making with the Husbear.

Only 800 miles until we are home.

Oh, here’s the route we took today:

Sunday morning we work up and headed to breakfast with Spo and Harper’s Keeper at a nice little restaurant. The food was excellent, as was the conversation.

But the Husbear and I had to get back on the road, so we said our goodbyes, and thanked them both for their gracious hospitality.

It was great to meet them in real life, and I look forward to the day we get to meet up again!

The Husbear and I headed east out of Phoenix and, as always, took the scenic route towards Tucson.

(Something happened to my trip app, and it missed a section of the drive. That’s what the black line is.)

Along the way we saw some interesting to us sights…

I know they’re just cactus to some of you, but we don’t have them back home so they were interesting to us.

We arrived in Tucson and headed to Homer’s home. Sunday was the All Souls Procession, and Homer was hosting a pre-parade party. All of which wonderfully coincided with our journey.

It was great meeting all the people at the party, and finally getting to meet Homer and Evan in person. And I must say, Homer has excellent cooking skills. The food was delicious.

Some of us got made up for the parade, and some did not. Here is Homer and Evan…

And myself with the adorable Patrick…

And the Husbear…

We all then walked from Homer’s house downtown to the procession. I took a great many pictures, but here are a few.

At the beginning of the procession, urns are brought around, and you can place a slip of paper in it with a message to a departed loved one. I filled one out, placed it in the urn, and had a moment I wasn’t expecting to have.

There were many, many people participating in the procession.

Then we joined in the procession. I like this picture. Do you see the subliminal skull with glowing red eyes?

After that, we headed back to Homer’s home. Sandy arrived, and we all had good conversations around several rounds of beverages.

It was getting late, and we were all tired from the day’s festivities, so we eventually all crashed.

Saturday morning found us up early from our hotel in Williams, Arizona and heading north to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

We drove the available paved length of the Canyon stopping many times to look around and to take pictures.

The Canyon was a wee bit hazy when we first arrived, but as we headed east the view cleared up, as you can see from the pictures.

Totally false advertising;

Again, I’m 12:

While it is nothing but a set of stairs, I like the composition of this picture:

After the Canyon, we started our journey south toward Phoenix to meet Spo and Harper’s Keeper, stopping in several places to take pictures.

It was an interesting road in places, as our poor car will attest…

In Phoenix, we arrived at Spo and Harper’s Keeper‘s home, where they had prepared for us a most excellent dinner, desserts, and drinks.

We had a great time conversing, but eventually it was bed time as it had been a long day.