Just a family of Minnesotans road trippin' to the Arizona mountains and desert. This is part 4 of a 8 part series. If you've missed the others, you can start here.On this particular day of travel, we were blessed by a light rain shower while traveling through the mountains of Arizona. The view was amazing! As the low clouds were moving, the sun was setting and the way the light fell across the landscape was breathtaking. It just made the valley come alive!It was a joy to point it all out to the kids as they rested with one cheek smooshed against their pillow and both eyes fixed on the horizon. They watched the way the hills rolled into the the mountains, and we 'ooohed & ahhhhed' in unison. The strong, sturdy saguaro's almost seemed to wink as we drove by, knowing we recognized them from their pictures. And we marveled at the way the sky hung so low you could almost mix the colorful clouds with your fingertips as we rolled beneath them. We soaked it all in!We had front row seats to an orchestra of weather. Variations of stormy clouds, rain of all sizes and levels, colorful rainbows, and even cracks of bright lightening. It was a symphony of the skies!We have relatives that live in a retirement village in Mesa, Arizona so we hung out with them for a couple of days and enjoyed seeing what they see and doing what they do. The kids sure enjoyed watching this age group 'play all day.'  The pool was a highlight of course.But then we headed out to the desert for a little 4-wheeling and hiking. 'Uncle Ray' treated each of us to a ride through the desert on his Honda. We went in groups and alternated between 4-wheeling and hiking. I never realized how truly beautiful the desert is up close.Doesn't everyone hike in a skirt?! I mean who knows when one may need to twirl!And of course, we had to finish up the day back in the pool. These kids are going strong! Never a dull moment. We play hard, and sleep fast because each day brings a new adventure on this road trip. If you're just jumping in, great, but you may want to see how we handled Utah and learn from our mistakes. ;)Next up is Montezuma's Castle! Don't miss it! What an amazing piece of early architecture.<3 HeidiSaveSave