Sounds like you had a wonderful trip and glad you all enjoyed it. That's a lot to cover in 11 days! Dh and I drove across country right after we got engaged, starting in No. California. We'd both been to the Grand Canyon before, but while living in Hawaii, we met a guy who grew up in AZ. He told us about this canyon adjacent to the Grand Canyon that he and his family used to hike into - the trail ends in an Indian reservation. We decided to do it on our trip across country. I'm not sure what we were thinking...while physically fit, we weren't big hikers and it was a 10 mile hike down, it was 100+ degrees (middle of July). We camped overnight and then hiked back out the next day. I was never so happy to get back to our car with A/C! From there we were headed to Denver, so we drove up through Utah along some deserted 2-lane highways, but the scenery was spectacular. We didn't make it to Bryce or Zion, but we have vowed that once all of our kids were old enough to appreciate, we were going to do a trip like yours. We'll probably just do Sedona, Grand Canyon, and then one place up in Utah. I assume you were driving from place to place? Did you get to stop at any of the pueblos? Those were really pretty cool. I agree with you about Vegas. Once was enough for me. We stopped there too on our trip from San Fran down to AZ via L.A then San Diego (our trip was very convoluted as we were all over the map visiting friends along the way). We just had an overnight in Vegas, but did hit a casino just for fun. Totally not my thing at all. Just too much for me. It was neat to experience once, but I have no desire to head back. Did you see the Hoover Dam too? Probably not as I imagine that wasn't on your way if you were coming from Utah. If you have any specific kid-friendly info of places you stopped, please share! I'm taking note of the Pink Jeep tour! Glad you had a great time but totally understand being a little bit too much togetherness! With four kids, I get that when we are having to stay in hotel rooms for any length of time.

Weather should be alright too.. :)

Sharon, I went to the quilt shop in Skagway. We weren't in Ketchikan very long so I didn't have time to find that one. :) Our schedule had a lot of days that required being up at 5 or 6 am, so the early daylight actually helped get us up and moving. Yes, that's right - 5 or 6 am! What? I'm supposed to be on vacation! LOL Donna

Rosefolly, Ashmead's Kernel is one of my absolute favorites! If I were to grow only one apple tree, it would probably be it. Well, maybe Esopus Spitzenburg too... Of those you mention, Empire apples can often be found in grocery stores here, indeed probably because it's from NY state. I have never heard of Cinnamon Spice either. It's difficult to resist apples with such names. This year one of the highlights was when we saw for the first time Black Gilliflower, nicknamed 'Sheep Nose' (a very old variety from Connecticut, 1700s). We were twisting our heads and looking at all angles to see if any looked like it, and lo' and behold quite a few had the shape of a sheep's head from profile view. It gave me a chuckle. I picked a couple but haven't yet tried them, they still need to ripen a bit. Chris, I've looked up your two apples and they do indeed look similar, but both must be very delicious. Ha, just this morning I made applesauce! The best advice I got about making it, and incidentally it's from the good people at this orchard, is to mix several different varieties, tart and sweet. And I also love how the kitchen then smells, ... autumn is here. gdinieontario, I'm glad about you found Akane and many thanks for mentioning this orchard. It looks like a nice place to visit when in Ontario. Summers, I also like looking at online recipes. They have the advantage of readers' comments, truly tried & tested. And valuable especially when more than one person make similar suggestions for altering the recipe. Perma, I'll mention this book to the orchard owner because, as a family-owned farm with more than 300 varieties, they are not entirely organic but do try to reduce chemicals and use integrated pest management. Thank you.