Category Archives: camping

How cool (and hot) is the Mojave Desert

It never fails.  Every time we take a cool trip, or have a fun new experience, I swear I’m going to write a completely awesome blog post all about it.  I’ll post lots of pictures, I’ll regale you all with funny stories and anecdotes and pithy observations.  It will be epic.

And then, um, I return to the real world.  I remember, “Oh yeah, I barely have time to shower.”  There’s a house to tend to, and 4 days worth of smoky, dusty laundry.  And appointments.   And yoga training.  And the little matter of four kids who have been entrusted in my care.  And life.

It’s a shame too, because if I’d written it I could have waxed poetic about the beauty and majesty of the vast open desert, and how it’s become not only the most peaceful place in the world to me, but also a living metaphor for freedom and unschooling and life.

I could have told you about the crazy and deafening winds that first night, how hard we laughed about the frigid temperatures (It’s the Mojave Desert!), and how some of us came so very prepared for 120 degree heat… but with no sweatshirts.

I could have told you that the kids and I looked out the windows the entire time, hoping to catch a glimpse of a Mojave rattle snake, but that the only wildlife we ever saw was jackrabbits, birds, and lizards.

I could have told you how ridiculously sunburned my nose got, not when the heat finally hit mind you, but on the mild and cool second day.

I could have told you how wonderful and rejuvenating it was to spend that much uninterrupted time as a family, with no distractions, no ringing cell phones, no internet, and no TV.

I could have told you about the stars, and the moon, and the coyote.  I could have told you about Tegan and her sand, Everett and his holes, Paxton and his juggling, and Spencer and his mad tent-pupping skills.

I could have told you about the little moments, those tiny moments that make a trip great.  I could have told you about the ant we watched for a good half an hour, as it worked to saw off a little piece of the dropped peanut, to get a manageable size to bring back to its home…

But alas, a long fancy blog post is not to be.

I did however, make a little video diary (a viary?) that was lovingly put all together into a 20 minute movie by my better half.  It will be of absolutely zero interest to anyone else, unless you A) want to listen to me ramble for 20 minutes, or 2) have more than a passing interest in seeing what the Mojave Trail looks like.  But I’m glad I have it, because it really was an amazing trip.  And even though I won’t have that monumental blog post, I’ll still have the pictures, and I’ll still have the video.  I can look at them, and I’ll remember.

 

 

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Filed under camping, family, off-roading, vacation

What I Learned on my Summer Vacation

Or rather, on my spring camp-out.  In no particular order:

And finally, three days is a long enough break from real beds, real toilets, and hot showers… but not nearly long enough from housework, voice mails, and Facebook.

I can’t wait for the next trip.

(More pics are here)

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Filed under camping, life, random

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Vacation… sweet, sweet vacation


Here’s the thing:

Mike and I lived in New England for over 30 years each. I was born in Connecticut and grew up in New Hampshire, with a brief 6 year stint in Massachusetts after we got married. We’ve only been in Arizona for four years, so I understand that our thinking might still be clouded with newness (although, lots of people have decided that they hate new areas in far less time than 4 years!), but neither of us has any desire to move back east, now or in the future. So accustomed as we’ve become to the vast open spaces, I have a hard time believing we wouldn’t feel closed in and claustrophobic if we ever returned. There’s just something about driving (and hiking and camping and being) in such a majestic area that makes you feel simultaneously very alive and very small, in the best possible way.


All of that to say, when we recently had an opportunity for a first time, week-long, exploration of the beautiful neighboring state of Nevada, we were thrilled!

It wasn’t a restful vacation by any means, but it was restoring. We hiked (and hiked and hiked and hiked) and logged about 2 dozen more geocache finds. We explored the small town of Pioche, and checked out some old mining claims. We wandered through caves, and we gaped at the beauty of Zion. The boys fished, entered a mucking competition, and tasted their first deep-fried Ding Dong. We watched deer on the hill every morning, and we saw wild horses look right at us before they trotted away. We started each day with the sunrise and a great cup of coffee, and ended each day with a campfire and a great glass of wine.

And it was good.











You can view all 130 pictures here

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Filed under camping, family, traveling, vacation

Science Center, Camping, & CT Scans


This past week was perhaps one of the busiest weeks we’ve had all summer. We were on the go daily, to and from everything from dentist and doctor’s appointments, to field trips and mini-vacations. On Wednesday, we met up with our old homeschool group at the Arizona Science Center. It was the first time we’ve been there since Tegan was an infant, and the first time we’ve ever seen the planetarium (where the girl happily grabbed a nap). We were there for over 4 hours, and I’m pretty sure the kids would have liked to stay for 4 more.






Mike took the day off on Friday and we headed north for a couple of days of camping at White Horse lake. As per our usually preferred method, we took the scenic route. It was beautiful!





The campground itself was one of the nicest we’ve ever been to. It was in a gorgeous wooded area that reminded me a lot of New Hampshire. Our site was big and clean, and the bathrooms were surprisingly non-smelly for vault toilets! The first night was a little rough – Tegan burnt her hand on a lantern, and it took more than an hour to nurse her into feeling well enough to get some sleep. By day two she was feeling much better and not slowed at all by her bandage.

We enjoyed hanging around the site…







We visited the lake…



We hiked…




We went geocaching…

It was a good trip, a quick trip. It was nice to come home on Sunday to sleep in our own beds… not nice to get that blast of Phoenix heat when we stepped out of the car. You can see the whole album of camping pictures here.

And finally, I had a full CT scan of my kidney – and related parts – on Tuesday. Is it a sign that I’ve had too many of these things that I suddenly find the field of radiology very, very interesting? Anyway, I see my doctor again on Friday, and will find out what’s next. Thank you to those of you who’ve followed my saga, asked me for updates, and sent your good wishes. I appreciate it more than you know.

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Filed under camping, family, geocaching, health, summer

Camping and Crawdads


We went camping again last weekend, this time a fairly spur-of-the-moment trip. Mom and Dad told us they were going the week before, and invited us along. Camping sounded much more interesting than staying home and cleaning the house, so off we went! It was in Lynx Lake, a beautiful area of Arizona that we’ve never visited before. We went up on Friday night, and on Saturday we hiked, learned to pan for gold, rented paddle-boats, and visited a creek to test our new-found gold-panning skills. It was a blast. And when the boys got tired of swishing sand, they spent the rest of the time catching and following the many many crawfish that were in the river. It was a great trip, and a short trip. I can’t wait to go back again!



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