Roots

On day two of our vacation, we did some more scenic driving. We visited Holbrook, AZ, the town I lived in until I was 9 years old. It's amazing how much smaller everything looks, now that I'm an adult! I never realized I could see the whole town from my front yard before.

We drove south a short 15 minutes to Snowflake, AZ. After some driving around, we found the LDS Temple. Here, in northern Arizona, where many of my dad's ancestors were born and raised. I teared up at the thought of what a temple here would have meant to them, and to my own parents, if they still lived in Holbrook.

Our last sight-seeing stop for the day was Pinedale, Arizona. The site of many Crandell family reunions. The cemetery was so lovely and peaceful! I would love to be buried in such a place, alongside my great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents.

Big Rock Candy Mountain

Our children love the child-friendly version (no alcohol or cigarettes) of the song Big Rock Candy Mountain. When William found out there was a Big Rock Candy Mountain in Utah, he was insistent that we go see it. We found an opportunity, on our recent drive down to Arizona.

Surprisingly, they were not disappointed by the mountain, just confused about where the box cars were and the lemonade springs, etc.
If you want to visit for yourself, it's a lovely drive south of I-70, just off of I-15, down US-89. We recommend you continue south on US-89, if you like a scenic drive, like we do.

Cub Scout Blue and Gold

We have a small Cub Scout group. It recently doubled in size to 4 boys! I am the Den Leader and the Committee Chair. So, this year's Blue and Gold was a big responsibility for me. Our theme was American ABCs.

Luckily, it all turned out great and we had plenty of food. We had All-American food for dinner; rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli salad, and apple pie with ice cream. We put butcher paper on the tables with letters from the alphabet so the guests could write places in America that began with the letter near them.

DJ earned his third bead, which means he is 75% done with earning his Wolf Badge.