And that's when it got crazy...

Together for many many years we are open to all sorts of adventures. Whether it is old adventures like living abroad, getting married in Mexico, going off-roading in the mountains and deserts of Arizona or riding our motorcycles in 30 degree weather. Or starting down new paths like circus classes, ham radio, water collection systems, living off-grid, and raising our first kiddo Zippy and puppy (ok dog) Grace we’re always ready to face challenges and have a good story to tell. So come join in on the fun as we figure out the next crazy thing we’ll do.

[lovelesschristian]

Williams, Bearzona, and Nature...

Ok so I don’t know how I feel morally about Bearzona, but it was fun if you didn’t think about the captive animal and cubs being taken away from their mother piece.  Jill was able to get cheap tickets so we went with them.  I also don’t know if I’d pay full price, but I do have to say it’s one of the nicest touristy things to do in Northern Arizona besides you know the Grand Canyon.  Bryan and I were so surprised.  

First we drove through the park in the car.  Then we did the raptor show, and then fed the river otters, and then did the open air bus tour. 

It was really hot that day so the animals were all trying to find shade or their water tubs.  

After the tour I overheard someone telling their grandchild “I thought you wanted to experience nature.  Your mom brought you here, so you could see what nature was like and you’re just being ungrateful.” A. The child was probably being ungrateful, but B.  Bearzona isn’t nature.  There is nothing “natural” about it.  If you want to come to Northern Arizona and experience nature go out to the forests (but please don’t because I really like having them all to ourselves when we’re cutting wood)

If you do want to go to Williams then I have a few recommendations from the last couple of weeks and beyond.  Eat at the Pizza Factory.  It’s fun, low key and we eat there all the time.  There is a great ice cream place down the street from it that is really good too.  The Grand Canyon KOA is really nice and so  is the Circle Pines one.  The Deer Park is fun (if you are ok with non-nature nature), but splurge for the bucket so the deer don’t knock you over once the food is gone.  This time around we went to South Rims. 

The food was pretty good.  I had the bruchetta, Bryan had a burger, and Zippy had the Mac and Cheese.  I also got a wine/beer flight.  The Sonoran Brewery White Chocolate Ale was superb.  It’s really smooth and not sweet.  However, don’t bother with the deserts.  I think they were store bought, and not worth it.  Go get the ice cream instead!

[lovelesschristian]

Yellowstone Day One AGCRV Trip

You can find millions of articles about Yellowstone that are all super helpful, so I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this one.  The biggest tip I can tell you is if you go late September is a quiet time in the park.  Yes, you get tourist buses, but everything isn’t crawling with people.  I can’t imagine how crazy it would be in the summertime.  The first day was really all about getting our bearings and figuring out what we wanted to do the next couple of days.  Our first stop after the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Byway was a short hike up to a waterfall. 

On a random note, why is it when I tell people I have it on sport mode, just keep the button down and it will take like 60 shots they won’t do it?  I just want one of my kid looking at the camera...it won’t happen if you don’t take like 60 pictures.

It was lovely, but of course it’s Yellowstone and everything is pretty lovely.  Next we stopped at the Grant Village Visitor’s Center to see what was available at the south end of the park, what hikes they suggested etc. This was not super helpful at all.  I don’t know if it was the end of the season, or the ranger didn’t get a lot of people asking, but he didn’t seem to know a whole lot and wasn’t super interested in helping us out.  However, I am glad that we stopped because Lake Yellowstone was breathtaking that morning. 

The water was like glass

(until Zippy threw rocks in it) and you could see the obsidian rocks that lined the bottom for at least 100 feet in front of you.  Plus it reflected the sky and the perfect cotton ball clouds passing by.  Zippy still talks about “throwing the shiny black rocks into the clear cold water. “ Bryan gets annoyed he had to clean off Zippy once again...Man that kid loves dirt.

We took our chances and headed out to Norris Campground. Which is pretty centrally located near a river and the Norris Geyser Basin.  It’s also right next to the Museum of the American Park Ranger. We got a back in spot, claimed and paid for it, and then headed to Old Faithful and that geyser basin.  On our way Zippy fell asleep.

Which was a bummer, and led to an accident because we didn’t think to put a diaper on her.  I however got to go explore the Old Faithful Inn. I had perfect timing because they do FREE (do you hear that Bryan FREE) architectural tour several times a day.  It was fascinating and I learned a ton about the building.  Of course it’s been nine months and I can’t remember any of it...except make sure you do it!  

When Zippy woke up we got to see Old Faithful

Then we went on a walk.  This was the point in her life that Zippy became self-conscious about people looking at her.  Everyone smiles at Zippy.  She’s a happy kid and we are biologically predisposed to think she’s the most beautiful kid we know, however at this point in her life Asian tourists in particular seem to REALLY think she was adorable.  Maybe it was the pigtails, maybe it was the dimples, maybe it’s because she’s always smiling. Who knows?  After three national parks of the ooohhhs and aaahhs,  look at hers, and strangers talking to her Zippy had had enough.  She asked us why everyone was smiling at her and told us they needed to stop.  We tried to explain to her that it was because she was going on an adventure and that people thought it was pretty cool.  She didn’t buy it, and later we had to tell her they aren’t smiling at you (they totally were) they were just happy to be at the park.  

It also might have been people overhearing Zippy’s warnings to not go off trail.  I had been drilling it into her head that if she went off trail she might fall into the geysers.  She told everyone we came upon, don’t fall into the hot stinky holes!  It was pretty hilarious. 

At one point we came upon a geyser that everyone was sitting around for.  We went up and asked what was going on.  Apparently it was three geysers that all go off at the same time every 3-6 hours.  People brought lawn chairs and all sorts of things to wait.  One guy was talking to us and asked Zippy where she was from.  She didn’t know (fair enough since we don’t live within city limits) so Bryan asked her where her office was.  She told the guy Flagstaff and NAU.  For that she got an M&M.  

Then we started again on the long walk back to the Inn.  Zippy didn’t know that it was a circle and that we started at the inn. We told her we were going to take a walk to go and get ice cream. 

She was a total trooper and for that she was rewarded with huckleberry ice cream on the balcony of the Old Faithful Inn where she got to watch the geyser erupt. Bryan looks unhappy, but he wasn’t I swear. It was a pretty cool Hot Stinky Hole if I do say so myself.

[lovelesschristian]

Pogo Pass Fun

So my plan of putting one post up a day has been thwarted by work.  Between craziness and Zippy’s swim lessons.

First we had preschool 1 at the soon to demolished NAU aquaplex

And then the Flagstaff Aquaplex

You can’t actually see Zippy in the picture....but she’s on the slide.  The lessons at the aquaplex are great depending on your timing.  Spring was great because we could stay and play afterwards, summer hasn’t been awesome.

I haven’t been able to do much posting. So I’ve decided to throw our Pogo Pass posts all together. 

So As I’ve mentioned before PogoPasses (which if you are interested I can refer you so you get 60% off) are a great way to get us out of the house, and with just our Phoenix Zoo visits we’ve broke even. 

But wait there’s more….

We went to the IDEA Museum in Mesa with Kaci and her kids.  We spent a lot of time playing in Art Town,

(Yes this is my daughter stuck in a tube....Yes I took a picture before saving her)

with the musical instruments outside and inside,

but not so much time with the art projects.  Zippy loved the camping room.

We did Castles and Coasters, which at a $30 price tag is NOT worth it, however included in your pogo it’s worth a trip. Zippy did NOT like the high (log drop and kiddie) roller coasters, but Bryan did.

(He’s the second one in from the front all by himself)

She preferred the bumper boats and kiddy rides.

Just make sure you go before it gets too hot.  We went in late March and it was bordering on too hot.

We tried to go to Enchanted Island several times.  Either they were closed (on Mondays), or they didn’t take our pass (on Saturdays).  When we finally got our time and days right we decided it wasn’t really worth it.  Plus it was WAAAY TOO HOT.  Metal seats in Phoenix in June is not a great idea. 

As a bonus though one of the ride attendants had to measure me to make sure I was under the maximum height.  Fifty seven inches Baby! Yes I know I’m short, and it’s really rare I’m too tall for anything.

We also hit Sun Splash.  Some legal team got a hold of this place since I was there last.  1st of all they SERIOUSLY check your bag before you get in.  Then kids have to wear lifejackets basically everywhere (in the lazy river? Seriously?  You won’t let them get off the tube, and they have to wear a life jacket.  Poor kids just sit uncomfortably on top of a tube out of the water and get yelled at by lifeguards)

Then there is the wave pool.  What the hell happened to the wave pool?  They have a turnstile to get in and a fence.  Long gone are the days where you could pull up a recliner and let your kids just play in the small waves.   With all of that being said there are some really fun parts.  They have some new crazy water slides.  I didn’t get a chance to go on, and Bryan didn’t realize there was a whole other side of the park so we missed out on them.  There is one that you are in a clear tube and the bottom falls out under you.  We’ll have to take the grandparents next time so we can try them all out. 

They have specific areas for kids under seven, which is really nice.  Zippy loved the small water slides (she had no desire to do the big ones with us and ended up doing the walk of shame down the stairs with Bryan).  On the little slides she channeled her RayRay and totally cut in line a ton.  I had to go up with her to make sure she wasn’t cutting.  They have a splash pad with garden hoses and two bounce houses.  She also really enjoyed the wave pool.  We had a full day and didn’t even see the Golf Land side.  Zippy actually asked to go back there this morning.  I’d call it a success.

[lovelesschristian]

Zippy jumps off the diving board at the wall aquatic center

[lovelesschristian]

Grand Tetons Day Two

Why am I not at Grand Teton National Park today in my RV right now?  I was looking back at pictures to write this post and I realized that that day was one of the most perfect days I’ve ever had in my life.  We woke up to elk bugling, fixed breakfast, took some awesome pictures of amazing scenery including the most photographed barn in the country.  Some people who were taking their engagement photos even moved to the back of the barn so I could get this shot. 

So wonderful. 

Then we went on a hike at String Lake where we saw this,

Zippy touched the cold water,

threw rocks into the water,

Saw a family of loons

Some fairy mushrooms (I’m amazed by moss and anything that grows because there is water)

and we didn’t see a bear.  Then we headed to Jenny Lake for lunch.  Although the ferry to the other side of the lake was closed for the season it didn’t really matter.  It was all still magically beautiful and had its adventures.  The one really annoying thing about our RV is the smoke alarm.  It’s super sensitive.  We can’t cook anything in the RV without it going off screaming FIRE FIRE FIRE!!!!!! This freaks out Grace so badly that she shakes uncontrollably for the rest of the day.  So in order to remedy this situation, we just take it off and put it on the hood of the RV.  Normally this isn’t a big deal, but in our rush to try and make the ferry (that wasn’t there because it had closed down for the season) we (I) left it on the hood.  We didn’t remember it, until it had flown off the hood down the embankment and broke.  Luckily we were able to fix it kind of and that is why we have a ghetto smoke detector in our RV.  

Because we didn’t know if we’d be able to get a campsite we rushed to the other end of the park to the Colter Bay Campground.  I’m glad we did because we were able to find a space!  We also found out there was an aggressive momma deer to watch out for.  We also found out that people sail and swim in the lake, and if we had more time we would have totally gone for a swim.  After we parked set out some lawn chairs and paid our fee we headed out again to the Leeks Marina and went on a hike around Jackson Lake. 

We ran into some Japanese tourists that did not speak much English and helped them practice for a while.  He was super afraid of dogs (Grace was in the RV) and a big ol’ Lab was running around off leash. They decided to go the other way, and we thought it’d be good to see the peninsula. It was nearly sunset and it was breathtaking.  I can’t imagine how pretty it would be on the water. 

Zippy got to hike,

run, throw more rocks, swing sticks, and we made Zippy take another picture.

 She hates pictures being taken of her (I have no idea why….I mean she’s got a paparazzi constantly going zippy zippy zippy.  Now we have to say Ok we’re all done and she’ll start saying cheese.) 

So I was amazed that after Bryan literally drug her over to the log I got to take one of my favorite family pictures of us.

 I set up the shot and ran, what you don’t realize in this picture is my leg is all scratched from running into that tree.  It was worth it.

This is what Grace thought about basically the entire trip

Then it was a nice walk back and we got to go home to our camping space to fix dinner. 

Zippy and Grace played in the camp space, and had fun watching the squirrels together. 

Then Zippy got to play with glowsticks (like I said I packed lots of surprises and glow sticks at dusk is pretty fun for a preschooler). 

We also gave some to the Danish kids that were in the campground across the way from us.  Like I said before it was a perfect day. The next day we were heading out to Yellowstone to see what awaited us there.

[lovelesschristian]

Lots of Running, graduations and a whole lot of family

So last year my goal was to be able to RUN a 5k. Actually my short term goal was to be able to run to my mailbox from the house, and then there and back to the house, and then it was to run a 5k. I had no confidence in my running ability. Until recently I had no good experiences running. No pacing, lots of side ache, feeling like I was going to die etc.

After about six months with two different trainers I was able to run a mile. This was my first mile ever and I was super proud of myself. It was really slow about 14 minutes, but I still did it.

In December when we were staying in the Queen Mary I ran 3.2 miles on a treadmill ( I counted it as meeting my 5k goal for 2014) at 4:30 in the morning. Afterwards I walked the decks to cool down and this was my victory picture. It’s taken from the aft deck of the ship from the wedding gazebo looking out onto the port.  The dock that you see was where our cruise ship docked. 

I’ve done it a couple of times since then, however I’ve never done it in real life. In April I was able to walk a 5k with a stroller (with Zippy in it asking for lots of wish flowers) and lots of hills. Seriously the hill on San Francisco by the dome is killer, but I did it in 53 minutes and 24 seconds. Not bad.

During the 1st weekend in May I was able to meet my goal of running the Color Vibe 5k.

I, of course, dressed for the occasion and made Jill and Zippy dress up too.

I was able to run all by myself because Jill took Zippy. Thanks Jill!!!!

Zippy dumps color on Jill....

My friends, and Sasha, my friend Karen’s service dog...She was so good.

And me....

I call this one look up.  They both follow directions so well.

Zippy had a great time during the pre-party

And during the run (I came back and met them after I had finished)

She’s a super Heerrroo Flying Kitty!!!! (Zippy not Jill...although if Jill wants to be I’m not stopping her)

You know the t-shirt that says that’s a lot of work for a banana.  All Zippy wanted was a banana.  Thankfully the nice vendors took pity on her.

I think we all had a blast.

I have no idea what my time is, but I don’t care because I did it! I haven’t run in a month now, so I guess I better get back on the wagon, (I’ve been working on strength) but YAY for me. Now I have to figure out what my next fitness goal is. Pull ups I’ve got, running I’ve got, maybe a half marathon? I’m taking ideas people! (Tinkerbell half?)

Two of Bryan’s brothers (Kyle and Sam) had commencement ceremonies in during the month of May.

Kyle came first.

I had to work, but I got them great seats.

Although we only got to see family for a short time, we got Mari and Brianna for the entire weekend. Zippy and Mari (or as Zippy calls her Murray) had a GREAT time playing and we got to go to the Aquaplex!

Sam’s commencement was the next weekend. This was fun because we stayed in Laughlin at the Avi and Jill was part of the ceremony because she’s the Dean of Instruction.

So staying at the Avi was weird. They have a nice beach,

but it felt super unwelcoming. I guess Bryan was harassed several times at the pool (which was ok, but not crazy nice) and I got kind of yelled at at the subway for wanting a juice box and apples. It was weird and I don’t think we’re going to go back. The Harrah’s in Laughlin was another story. Everyone there seemed super friendly and the staff was very accommodating. Plus their buffet was the best I have had in Laughlin. Go Harrah’s!

[lovelesschristian]

Grand Tetons NP Day One

Grand Tetons National Park was probably the most surprising of all the National Parks we visited during our 3 week trip. I don’t know what I was expecting, but let’s just say we could have spent the entire time just there. I was BLOWN AWAY and so was Bryan.

It was here we really hit our RV groove. First because Zippy fell asleep on our way into the park and errands we had lunch in the RV. It is awesome. Being able to just pull over and fix a sandwich or soup or a salad is not only convenient it totally makes up for the cost of getting there. The economics of when/where to drive the RV are tricky. Bryan calls them RVU’s and basically we have to figure out the cost of a hotel plus the cost of fuel in our Camay that gets around 38ish mpg. Usually the fuel costs and the hotel costs about even out for longer trips. However if you add in the fuel (for longer trips) the food makes it WAAY more economical.

Plus here was our view for lunch.

After we had lunch and got swarmed by bees that were trying to get into our RV we walked to the visitor’s center. We saw a huge crowd as we were walking in. We thought they were just a tourist group getting on or off their bus. Turns out we missed a momma bear and her three cubs. We didn’t find out until about an hour later when one of the Park Rangers told us.

Oh well. We got this instead.

After talking with the Rangers about what to do and where to go, enjoying the visitors’ center and the view we headed off to the Gros Ventre campsite. These campsites are first come first serve, but because it was the end of September we had no trouble finding a spot.

When we got there Bryan was told that they had had an incident earlier in the day. The moose were rutting and a bull tried to mate with a cow with a calf. The cow tried to protect the calf, and fell over a picnic table breaking her leg. The rangers had to put the cow down. Since the calf was old enough to find food on its own the rangers said it had a pretty good chance of survival. It was wandering the campsites, but they had to shut down a whole side of the campground because they were afraid the bulls would be aggressive. After we set up we decided to hike down by the Snake River. It was beautiful.

There were water flowers.

And deer

And the Moose calf who we stumbled upon about 25 yards from us. It was crazy.

We decided it was probably about time for Zippy to eat, so we headed back to camp. Zippy played with the bubble gun I had gotten her (I packed lots of surprises for the trip) and we prepped dinner. Unfortunately someone’s carbon monoxide detector was going off. We checked the tent trailer and made sure no one was in there, but it was really annoying after a couple of hours. One of our neighbors actually broke in and unhooked it (don’t worry they let the other people know when they got back and gave them some batteries)

As the camp quieted down we had our first campfire of the trip. We roasted marshmallows (Zippy likes them “raw”), made s’mores, and hot coco.

Weirdly I started hearing Moose in the camp ground. When I recognized what I was hearing Bryan decided to shine his flashlight around. That’s when we saw a bull moose about 25 feet away from us. We picked up Zippy & Grace got into the RV and left the camp fire going. He stuck around for a good 20 minutes. We think he wanted our s’mores.

[lovelesschristian]

Homolovi State Park-Arizona

I’ve decided to try and catch up and not fall further behind in postings by writing a really old section and then something newer like from our trip to Homolovi State Park this past weekend. I might end up not posting about stuff that happened in the middle, but then I’m not constantly playing catch up? Maybe? Hopefully? Who knows, but it’s a start.

The weather was supposed to be crappy (and it was) over Memorial Day weekend. We decided not to use our POGO Pass (still and awesome deal) to go to SunSplash. I am a wimp when it comes to water that’s not at least 85-90 degrees. I have to work out at the Aquaplex during Zippy’s swim lessons just so I’m overheated enough to stand the 83 degree water at the indoor pool while Zippy “practices” afterwards.

Bryan said we had to take the RV out for a little bit of a drive to “wear the tires evenly”. He might have been lying. I don’t know. It was a great excuse to take a small excursion. Friday we looked around for places to go visit. We looked at Camp Verde, Fossil Creek, and then I happened upon the State Parks Site (I was looking up information for the United Way of Northern Arizona Summit Society that Bryan and I agreed to be chairs of. Yay we get to plan a party and ask people for $500 or more for a great cause.) I noticed Homolovi State Park in Winslow has RV campsites that you can reserve ahead of time. It looked interesting and was only 47 miles away from our house. It looked like only half of the spaces had been reserved ($25 bucks for a space with electricity, $17 with no electricity, they have a dump station and water. The price also includes park admission) so we decided to pack up and head out Saturday morning.

We went to the ranger station first to get our campsite and to figure out what we could do with a preschooler. I know this seems like a silly tip for RVing with a preschooler, but we always go talk to the rangers first. Sometimes guide books and websites aren’t always up to date, and the rangers tend to have favorite things to do. When they actually see the kids, they can tailor their suggestions to your family. Plus nine times out of ten they’ll let Zippy do the Jr. Ranger program and she gets badges even if she’s technically too young.

The ranger was super helpful and suggested some easy hikes to see petroglyphs (we’re spoilt after last year’s Petroglyph National Monument trip, If you want to read about it click here but they were still cool), Ruins, and a LDS pioneer cemetery/fort. He said that the campsites were half filled which sounded like they don’t get a lot of visitors and helped Bryan pick out a space that was out of the way. On a side note I think Bryan should have taken the ranger’s original suggestion of being in the middle near the restrooms because it backed up to the river, but our spot was pretty good and quite.

Zippy even got to play in some dirt and with her bubble gun.

Another suggestion the ranger made was streaming the audio tour of Homolovi II from our phone. Although Zippy did something and turned it off half way through the tour and there is no fast forward button for it, it was extremely informative and really helped bring the ruins to life. So enough with the tips. What do you actually see when you get there?

Pottery. An amazing amount of Hopi Pottery just lying on the ground.

Ancestral Hopi Ruins. This is one of the most recent sites of the Hopi migration and they still have cultural events there.

Rocks! It’s the Colorado Plateau so there is always lots of geology to explore and it’s next to the Little Colorado. Flood Plain + Desert + River cutting through sedimentary and volcanic layers =Lots of different types of rocks. In one place we sat down I was able to find sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous samples all right next to each other. We had a mini geology lesson right there. So fun!

Petroglyphs.  Although if you really want to see some cool ones I’ve heard Rock Art Ranch is the place to go.

Petrified Wood/a forest. It’s right up the road (ok an hour away) from Petrified Forest/ Painted Desert National Park so it’s a great jumping of point. Plus they have their own small Petrified Forest and you can see painted desert from the loop.

Lots of different type of animal poop.

(Ok I was really taking a picture of the lizard the poop just happened to be there)

Zippy thinks poop is hilarious right now so I jumped on the educational opportunity. We saw cow, antelope, elk, bunny, owl (yes I know it’s not poop, but still) and coyote.

Examining Owl Pelts that had bones and fur in them.  I am assuming it was a mouse the owl ate.

Plus we heard coyote’s yipping at sunset.

Graves of dead babies. Old cemeteries always remind me that it wasn’t so long ago that a lot of kids didn’t live past infancy.

Wildflowers

On another side note after talking to my friend Lauren who is finishing up her degree in cultural anthropology and goes on lots of digs, she said to go during the Flagstaff Festival of Science because they open up a lot of the sites that are closed to the public most of the year. Plus they have the experts out there to go on walks with. So cool!

They also have ranger programs and star parties listed on their website to look into before you go. Oh and if you don’t want to camp you can always stay at the La Posada and eat at the Turquoise Room. It’s a beautiful old Harvey House that has been restored. The gardens back up to either Route 66 or the train tracks. You can sit in rocking chairs and watch the trains go by. Plus the food is awesome. I recommend the black bean and corn chowder, mutton, the corn maiden, and the pinon pie if they are serving it. Dinner is a treat, but lunch and breakfasts are pretty reasonable. If you are looking for a little more divey type of restaurant we also enjoy the Falcon, and I’ve heard good things about Little Brown Mug.

[lovelesschristian]

Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Fossil Butte, JC Penny, Jackson Hole

Update on the Amended Grand Circle RV trip posting…Yes I know these posts are about 6 months late. However not a week goes by that we don’t talk about what an amazing trip this was and how much fun we had. Seriously I don’t know how one could do a trip like this without an RV, and if I could I would go back and do it again tomorrow. Since its summer and I’ve got a little more daylight I’m working on slowly getting posts on all of the places we had the privilege to experience put up. Fall was quite a season for us. Who am I kidding? So was winter and spring. I have about 25 separate posts to put up about all we have done in the last 6/7 months. Hopefully I’ll get about one a day done. I’ll try to schedule them to go up every night so it’ll be a little more regular. It’s funny how hard it is to keep up to date with the blog with all the fun we have. As soon as we grabbed our patches etc. from the Canyonlands visitors center (which is extremely small, but has some good interactive games for kiddos) Zippy fell asleep and we headed north to Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest just outside of Salt Lake.

The GPS took us a weird route so we ended up stereotypically eating dinner in a Walmart parking lot and sleeping on the side of the road at around 11p.m.  I think what happened is we put in the wrong district of the national forest in.  We ended up at a camp ground waaaay past when we were supposed to get there and because Bryan didn’t want to spend the money we found a place just down the road.  I know this was not the most ethical thing to do, and Bryan and I definitely disagreed about it.  Plus, as a rule follower, I worried about Rangers knocking on our windows and bears all night.  So yeah a great time was had by all.  The forest looks amazing and the camp ground looked nice when we drove through it at 11 p.m.  We’ll have to go back.   The next morning we left bright and early and took a beautiful drive up to Wyoming and the Fossil Butte National Monument.

Zippy had been studying dinosaurs at school (Cause she’s in preschool and they need to know how to tell the difference between different species of dinosaur and how to tell if they are carnivorous (sharp claws and teeth) or herbivorous (flat teeth and typically longer necks)) and I thought she might be interested in seeing real live/dead fossils.  Side note Utah is a treasure trove for Dinosaur lovers so just Utah would have been an awesome trip that we might try to do next year. After we visit all the state parks in Arizona.....

When we approached Kemmerer Wyoming there was a sign for the 1st J.C. Penny’s and a museum.  I was like WE MUST DO THIS!  Bryan had doubts.  He thought we needed to get to Jackson Hole to set up camp.  He is crazy and I won.  It’s about the journey and the weird things you can see!!!! Plus when is the next time we’re going to have the chance to be in Kemmerer?     We drove up to a pretty square in the middle of town and found not only the 1st,

but the 2nd JC Pennys (closed),

Mr. Penny’s house which serves as a museum from Memorial to Labor Days.  

We were there at the end of September so no museum for us.  But we did get pictures (it’s a really cute little house) and got to buy a shirt at the 1st Pennys.  I wish I could say it is a magical experience that blew us out of the water, but it was a really small typical two story JC Penny’s.  The cool part is they had old cash registers and equipment decorating the store, and they gave us our rewards card and wrote 001 on it, because yeah we’re nerds.  Totally nice people.   Before we hit JC Pennys we visited Fossil Butte.  This is known as America’s stone aquarium and is cool because there are fossils of plants, fish, mammals from all around the same period so you get a real idea of what was happening during specific times.  However again we came too late in the season.  In the summer there is a program where you (kids) can go out to the quarry and dig for fossils with rangers.   We were able to see the fossils.  

The ones of the predators eating their prey that got caught in their throats because the predator’s eyes were too big for their stomachs were really cool.  They also have one of an adult horse that was the size of a dog.  We got to watch videos of how they excavate the fossils and they had real life paleontologists cleaning up fossils for display.  We don’t think the rangers get much business, because they seemed to be really surprised to see us and were extremely helpful and informative. (Because they were bored?)   Zippy had a great time in their kids area, and she even got a coloring book.  

Totally worth the side trip and it would be awesome in the summer for bigger kids to get to get to go on a dig!

Most of the drive from Kemmerer to Jackson Hole was flat and desolate,

but that was what made dropping into Jackson Hole valley at sunset so utterly breath taking.  The sun shone behind the mountains and cast warm September rays out over the blue green peaks randomly spotted with gold. It was a true joy, even if it would have been much more fun in either a sports car or a bike.  Kids and dogs ruin all my two-seater fun.

The KOA in Jackson Hole was more set up for Kabins then RVs, but had a ton of amenities if you were staying for more than a night.  The laundry center was great since we had a toddler being potty trained, but the Wi-Fi is crappy where we were located.  It forced us to go outside and enjoy nature.

How dare they force us to spend time on an amazing river as the leaves were changing?!? It was a climb down to the banks of the river, but once you got there we found a nice rocky beach that was set up for fishing, and launching kayaks.  The playground, and a dog park next to the river.  

Zippy, Grace, and I played along the beach waving to kayakers, throwing rocks, and getting dirty that evening and then again the next morning before we headed out to Grand Teton National Park.   Bryan pulled the short straw and did laundry and RV maintenance.  Poor guy.

[lovelesschristian]

Canyonlands Island in the Sky District

Canyonlands is like a more intimate Grand Canyon. Beautiful and you are right up there in it.

However, my fear of heights and the sandstone cliff drops are not a good combination. Luckily Zippy (and I) had no desire to look over the edge. Just thinking about it now makes me short of breath and sick to my stomach.

Can't you just imagine the water rushing off this?

Even now I want to yell at Bryan to get away from the edge! What is he thinking? Zippy really had a great time looking for shrimp and frogs in the potholes.

There weren't any that we could see, because it had just rained the day before. Zippy didn't care though and she told everyone we came across about how the baby frogs and shrimp lived in the puddles.

Although we just had a couple of hours to touch on Canyonlands Island in the Sky District you can see from the pictures how much fun we had. I absolutely can't wait to go back, and hit the Needles District too!

[lovelesschristian]

Dead Horse Point State Park

This park is off the beaten path, but it was so nice to stay at. The camping spots were all very nice (you have to haul in your own water), and reasonably priced. I think we paid $25 bucks and entrance was included. Make sure you let the gate person know you have a spot reserved so you don't have to pay the entrance fee. You can go online to http://www.reserveamerica.com to book ahead of time. Each camp spot had a locker system, covered tables, and bbqs. They also had tent pads and we were close to the restrooms.

Oh and our view (which I'm told is one of the least nice ones in the campsite)

It was really nice and Grace and Zippy were happy to be out and about. The next morning we woke up and Zippy was able to play in some construction sand that was in our campsite.

And then we went on a hike as a family.

It was easy enough that Zippy, Grace, and I decided to hike to the Visitors Center (ok grace didn't really have a choice) while Bryan dumped the tanks.

The visitors center has a great area for kids. Bryan Zippy and I did puzzles and read a couple of books.

Then we actually took the RV to the point. Where the park gets it's name is from an area that can be reached by a land bridge that is about 30 feet wide. Legend has it that cowboys used to round up mustangs and heard them onto this point. They would create a barrier with brush so that the mustangs wouldn't be able to get out, and they would take their pick. One time they forgot to let the mustangs that they didn't want out, and they all died. Hence the name Dead Horse Point. Morbid story, but the view is beautiful.

[lovelesschristian]

Arches National Park

So we were going to do Canyonlands first, but decided not to come back into Moab the third day of our trip from Dead Horse Point State Park. So we hit Arches instead. The park was crowded. Tour buses everywhere. But we were able to do a little bit of hiking and see some fantastic effects of a rainstorm on the cliffs and arches. Up first was double arch.

It's about a half a mile hike from the parking lot, but there was lots of sand for Zippy to play with on the way. Plus it wasn't hot, and throughout the trip we were reminded about what an awesome hiker the kiddo is.

The whole time she called the arches holey rocks and was excited about climbing up the tricky rocks in her spiderman shoes that match her daddy's. (They are actually hiking boots, that are grey, red and yellow like Bryan's) She really is a great climber. Many of the adults were freaked out by this part of the hike.

We were rewarded by this view

and this one

Even though it was really crowded it was magical up underneath the arch and you can't help just looking up and watching the sky flow by. Next we had lunch in the RV. I was really worried about just making our own food the entire time in the RV, but I really had a great time with it. It was easy and easy to eat healthy. Here is the menu:

Also we were truly working on going potty consistently. Seriously the "little potty" in the RV worked wonders. Zippy thought it was the coolest thing.

Then it was time for our next hike. Hidden Arch. This was was an easy short one, although it was through sand which made it more difficult, and longer because of course Zippy had to play:

You go through a slot type canyon to get to the arch

For a little perspective on size

After that we headed out to see Broken Arch I was so amused that the area looked so much like Sedona.

This is as close to the arch as we were able to get, because a huge storm moved in. We were worried about lighting and Bryan had left the windows open for Grace. We ran back. I silently said a huge thank you to my personal trainers on that run.

The storm caught another lady out in it. Her daughter was out hiking and had taken the keys with her. We offered her some shelter in the RV and a towel until it cleared up a bit and her daughter returned. We decided that we really couldn't do much more hiking, and it was time for Zippy's nap so we drove around a bit.

And you know what the coolest thing was? The rock faces became waterfalls during the storm. It was indescribably cool, but that might also be because I'm from the desert and any water impresses me.

When Zippy woke up we hit the visitors center for patches, ornaments and pins. Zippy got to see some sculptures she liked.

Not so sure about the lizard

And she got to learn about potholes and the habitats that survive in them in the 10 days before they dry up.

[lovelesschristian]

We hit the road...

After a late start we finally hit the road on our way to Monticello for our first night of the big RV trip.

We had decided to cook a roast in the crock pot as we drove. We had some issues with the inverter as we drove, but finally figured it out. We stopped at the side of the road for our dinner and it was awesome. As we drove away a dog, that looked so much like Grace that we freaked out and thought Grace was outside, walked in front of the vehicle. It was a very weird experience. By that time it was dark and we did not know if we were going to make it to the RV park we had reserved a space at. We did, but they had given away our space. Luckily there was one space left. We took it and had an ok night's sleep. The Mountain View RV park was OK, but if you have a choice just go and stay at the needles district of Canyonlands.

[lovelesschristian]

Kenney and Amanda get married, Kristine has a wedding shower (and then gets married) and we go on a long vacation and attend a funeral....

September early October was a whirlwind of activity for us. Each thing we did totally deserves it's own post, but alas Amanda has been really bad about posting (because we've been gone most of the semester) So here is what let up to the Amended Grand Circle RV trip and funeral. Kenney and Amanda got married which was absolutely amazing. Bryan and Amanda had a great time and are so happy for our friends. Here's one of the great pictures that was taken.

We didn't include the one where Bryan is grabbing Kenney's ass or the one where Amanda is both one of the bros and one of the girls. She was the only one that was in both pictures. The next morning Amanda threw Kristine a food on a stick/breakfast wedding shower and made a couple of crepe cakes. Lemon with blueberries and Chocolate Raspberry Amaretto. (use dowels to hold the cakes together while you are putting them together) We also had a mimosa bar. So good.

Next up was Kristine and Josh's wedding. Again another great wedding that was a perfect event for the couple and we are so happy for them. Plus it took place on Talk like a pirate day, so it had that going for it.

The day after the wedding we hit the road in the RV for a trip that was only supposed to be two weeks long....

[lovelesschristian]

Coconino County Fair

Llama obstetrical course. That is all.

[lovelesschristian]

And back to San Diego

We got up early the next morning to meet Brianna and Mari for a hike at Torry Pines. On our way we hit the Bagel Shack. We had eaten here with Kenney and Amanda when Amanda was pregnant with Zippy. Zippy seemed to like it then, and we have proof she likes it now:

Amanda recommends the french toast bagel. Zippy recommends the strawberry or pink bagel. We payed for parking and met Mari and Brianna for the hike. We ended up having to hike up the road to the trail, but it didn't seem like the girls minded.

Once we got up to the top we had a snack and enjoyed the view

And set off again

These two had a great time with each other. And the views were breathtaking.

We even saw some dolphins!

But the best parts for the girls was the cable that they played with

And the water

Their reward for the two mile hike was the beach. Zippy liked the surf at this beach much better

And of course the kelp

All and all this was a great experience for the parents and the toddlers in the group. Great views, an easy hike, and fun beach with gentle surf. We'll definitely be back.

[lovelesschristian]

Newport

So after pizza we headed up to Newport to spend some time with the Pearce side of the family. Amanda's cousin Josh and his kids along with her aunts Tammi and Gwyn and Uncle Len were renting a place on the beach so we had an easy way to hang out on the BEACH! This is how Amanda feels every time:

Riley, Chance, Josh and Tam were leaving early the next morning so we were lucky to get to see them. Zippy had a great time playing with Chance, even if she didn't "Play by the rules." That boy is a kid from my own heart.

Zippy also got to play with Riley

But the best part of the whole thing was the glow helicopters.

And Riley pulling Zippy and Chance around on the boogie board. It looks like a funeral procession.

The next morning we headed back over to the beach to spend the day eating red vines, digging in the sand and walking in the surf. Zippy did not like the surf, but was very happy with the other two things. I don't know what it is about red vines at the beach, but it is the only time Amanda likes them.

Zippy may have not liked the surf, but she loved loved loved the kelp.

And eating sand

In order to protect Zippy from the sun we put up a ton of umbrellas and brought down her tent from Uncle Joel. This has come in so handy over the year.

We thought she would take a nap in the tent, but no such luck. She almost took one on the sand:

But she didn't. She didn't sleep until we hit the car seat. By the time we turned on the car she was out and didn't wake up until the next morning.

The good news is she loves the beach, and didn't get sunburned!