A Mountain of Memories

(Guest post by our daughter, Amanda Cox)

To summarize our amazing southwest trip in one word would be impossible and the blessing it was for our family to be able to “tag along” with Dad and Mom, my younger siblings, and Mamaw are endless. We have had numerous conversations, memories shared, and educational discussions from the moment we arrived home about our “trip of a lifetime.” 

Lost Dutchman 2022

I can vividly remember much of our first trip in 1996 to the southwest. Being able to go as an adult and experience it all again, this time with my husband and children of my own was a very special experience. 

Sedona 1996

Tent camping, picnics in our cars, and amazing places all filled my mind with wonderful memories from my childhood. Each day leading up to our trip, I would sit around the dinner table with my own children, discussing in anticipation our itinerary. Our educational studies took us in depth to many of the places we were to visit. As we sat around the table, I would share with them memories from my childhood about many of the places where we would be going. 

Petrified Forest 1996

One such memory I recounted was camping at the bottom of a tall mountain. Early in the morning I sat alone, with my sketchbook in hand, attempting to capture (as well as an eight-year-old can) a mighty saguaro in the shadow of a majestic mountain. I remembered an overwhelming feeling of awe and wonder and peacefulness as I sat there and took it all in. I still have the drawing and I could vividly picture in my mind the real setting, but whenever I recalled that story to my children I could never remember where that specific location was. I only knew it was a very memorable place that we camped in 1996 on our first westward adventure. 

After driving through the majestic Saguaros on the evening of day 6 of our current adventure, we drove a relatively short distance to our camping spot for the evening. It was getting dark as we pulled into Lost Dutchman State Park, yet the full moon that night set alight the surrounding landscape with a gentle glow. We rounded the corner and a moment that cannot be described in words filled my heart with the same awe and wonder as the eight-year-old, 26 years prior. 

There it was- the same mountain, the same cactuses, the exact place from my drawing. I exclaimed to all my family that this was it! I was giddy as a little child as we pulled in, filled to the brim with overflowing memories.

Treasure Loop Trail 1996

My mystery mountain, the one from my childhood drawing was towering before me, glowing in the moonlit night.

 

Moments like these are worth living for. They are worth creating, sharing with your children, sharing with your family. I am so thankful that my parents valued moments together and that they instilled that passion into their children. 

What a priceless trip we had creating new memories with children, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and my grandmother. It was a trip of a lifetime that will leave us with a lifetime of memories.

The Cox Family 2022 at Grand Canyon

~Amanda Cox