Furlough (1)--Out West

Our second furlough since moving to Singapore began on June 6.  A few of our friends from church came to see us off at the airport.

 

Tian Loong and Eric

 

Watching us go

 

Our plan had been to spend a couple of days with my brother-in-law's family in Redlands, then drive to my parents' house in Loveland.  However, the plans changed because of sickness in Redlands, so we started our road trip a day early.  Our first big stop was the Hoover Dam, which we enjoyed in spite of 110+ degree heat and losing each other (half of the family and the other half) for 45 minutes. :-)

 

 

On Wednesday we saw the amazing beauty of God's creation at the Grand Canyon.  We rented bikes for a while and saw three elk along the path, and spent some time just looking out over the amazing views.

 

 

The next day was a big day.  First on the list was Mesa Verde National Park.

 

 

Cliff dwellings

 

Next we back-tracked to Four Corners National Monument, after getting there six minutes after closing time the previous night!

 

 

In four states at once!

 

We ran out of time to see Canyonlands National Park as planned, but the best was yet to come anyway:  Arches National Park.  The kids had the time of their lives climbing on the rocks there.  As one of them said, "There are no words to express how fun this is." :-)

 

 

Balanced Rock

 

 

 

On Friday evening we met my parents in Grand Lake, Colorado, and drove through Rocky Mountain National Park with them.

 

 

Grand Lake

 

We saw three moose on our drive through the park.

 

There were many deer and elk as well.

 

"Praise ye the LORD...Let them praise the name of the LORD:  for he commanded, and they were created...Mountains, and all hills...Beasts, and all cattle...Let them praise the name of the LORD:  for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven" (Psalm 148).