Hi, all! I am alive and well and sitting in a nice hotel room in a little town called Cottonwood, AZ. I'm sorry I've been out of touch. For most of my trip, we haven't had a signal for phones or internet, but I have a lot to write about and will once I get home, probably this weekend.

We've experienced a bit of a delay. On our way out of Sedona yesterday afternoon, up in the mountains on the way to Flagstaff, our little trooper of a van got really hot, so we pulled over to give her a rest and let her cool. When we were set to go again the Party Wagon refused to start. This led to an adventure I like to call sitting on the side of the freeway for four hours. Our cell phone signals were sketchy at best where we were at, so it took about 10 dropped phone calls to get our message of help across. We went from trying to find different ways to get the car to start to messing around with our phones to sitting around chatting to playing Pop Culture Trivial Pursuit (the only one that gives me any chance at all), and then things deteriorated a bit. Near the end, I decided to make the most annoying sound I could, while Keith tried, upon my suggestion, to talk like Kermit the Frog, and Amy did her chipmunk voice. Luckily, the tow truck finally arrived.

So, have you ever ridden in the backseat of a van that is sitting on top of a tow truck bed? Me neither...until yesterday. Yup. The driver only had room for two in the cab, so someone had to sit in the van, and I volunteered, since Keith needed to talk with him about where to go and Amy is really sensitive to heat. It is super freakin hot around here, and I am the least affected by it. I had to get in while the van was being hoisted, and let me tell you, our driver did little to instill confidence. While perched at a 45 degree angle, I heard a lot of banging around and loud comments like, "Uh oh, that's no good....oh, that's REALLY not good," and such, while Amy and Keith made anxious faces while they watched. I was a little worried. It worked out okay. Mostly I was just so glad to be rescued and laughed hysterically. It was a hot and bumpy ride, but at least I had a nice view from up there.

It sounds like the Party Wagon should be back up and running tomorrow morning, and then we will hit the road. There is much to tell about Cottonwood and all our other adventures, but I am going to save that for when I have more time. All in all, it's been a fabulous trip. I've loved all the sights and the sun and the time with my friends. At this point, though, I am looking forward to getting home. Just a few more days...