Out with the old, In with the new

On December 26th we loaded up our trusty van and braved the snow for our trek

to the sunny land of Arizona.

Our usual 10.5 hour drive time was not to be.

Delayed first by the snow.

Next by a long wait at Hoover Dam.

(It was a Dam detour slowed by Dam construction)

Sorry, I digress

And finally somewhere between

Wikieup and Wickenburg Arizona late that night,

Our van sputterted and came to a halt on a lonely hill.

The stars were beautiful out there in the middle of nowhere.

A tow truck loaded the van, with all 7 of us inside, onto the back of it's large bed and took us and the trailer for a $300.00 ride into Wickenburg where my parents met us with a car and truck. We emptied the van and finally arrived in Mesa some 16 hours after we left home.

Ruby was amazing!

(Another picture shamelessly stolen)

Monday we heard that our van had breathed its last breath and would not be making the long journey back. When all was said and done I must admit that none of us were very disapointed. That van had lived a good long life and it was time to move on.

Sooooo,

We spent our Christmas vacation shopping for used cars.

A fruitful vacation don't you think?

May the van RIP.