Phoenix

We spent the next couple of days in Phoenix visiting Dad and family I hadn’t seen in way too long (and in many cases - never!).  

But before we got to Dad’s place, we had to run by REI because the day before our (mis)adventure, our inReach emergency beacon/communication device had died.  So after REI we headed over to our hotel (two nights of cleaning gear and recovering from a week on the road) to clean up, then out to dinner with Dad.

It was great catching up on things and to see his new apartment.  Suffice it to say it’s a nice place.

The next morning we headed over to Dad’s to do laundry, brush up his computer stuff (Ann, you’re an Angel), catch up on more news, and then headed over to Betty and Mike’s place where I finally met Shannon.   Mike as usual entertained us with stories for most of the afternoon.  After awhile, Shannon had to pick up her kids and we met them too.  And the stories and laughter continued.

At one point, Ann took this photo of Dad, Makayla and the pups just hanging out together on the couch.

We finally headed out to meet Betty and Michelle’s family for dinner, which was a blast.

That too ended all too soon.  But not too soon for Ann to make a new friend!

We headed over to Dad’s for a great chat with Betty and Mike, but the evening was getting late so everyone called it a night.

The next morning we hung out with dad for awhile and realized that the 2-day stop was just too short.  However, the reason for the timing of this trip was Overland Expo West in Flagstaff, and that wasn’t going to wait for us, so we had to head out of town to get up north.