As I was driving home today from our Bakersfield.com blogger event, I saw a couple at the side of the road with their hood up having car trouble. I few cars ahead, I see some guy with a Bakersfield.com bumper sticker on his truck pull over. It was Tom that had stopped to help them!

It's nice to know there are still some nice people out there in the world... and that they are bloggers on Bakersfield.com!

Here are some funny photos I took at the recent low rider nationals here in Bakersfield!

I was amazed how much money ordinary people must of spent on the hydrolics on their cars to make them stand up on end just for this contest!

My husband and I had a 4 day break from work, which is sad to say is a rarity. I wanted to cram as much as I could into the weekend to make the most of the precious time off. 

We started our trip driving from Bakersfield to the Grand Canyon. Since we started the drive at 5 am, we reached the canyon by lunch. I had been before, but had never seen the desert view tower. Even though the native american painting we commissioned murals, they were an unexpected treat and a wonderful compliment to the amazing views from the tower windows. We then traveled on through the Petrified National Forest to spend the night in New Mexico.

The next day, we went to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado to see the Anazazi cliff houses. It is  one of the few national parks that is dedicated to a human cultural phenomenon rather than a natural one- which I think is pretty fascinating. To round out the day, we headed a few hundred mile north to Arches National Park. We took a late day hike up to see delicate arch at sunset. It was one of the most spectacular places I have ever been. I about died from being so out of shape and cooked alive in the hot summer sun, so I am glad it was worth the effort.

The next day, we started our drive back home and stopped at Bryce Canyon and Zion national park. I must admit, of course, they were spectacular, but I found them to be pale in comparison to the Grand Canyon & Arches. We slept the night in Vegas, before walking up early on day 4 to head back home to Bakersfield. 

This trip was about 2,000 miles in 4 days, and not for anyone but a road warrior. Even though the car rides were long, the scenery was unbelievable and it felt like an escape. The hiking and nature walks was a nice balance to all of the time sitting.