[2013-western-us]
Showers! It has been one whole week since our last shower. At this rate we should only have one more shower to look forward to before we are home! 75 cents for six amazing minutes of feeling clean. Showers make me so happy!
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[2013-western-us]
Scott went for a bike ride this morning at 7. He was supposed to go a little earlier, but it was a wee bit cold and he waited for the sun to warm the Earth just a little more. I am not complaining. Especially since the Valley of Fire was a just a few days ago, but this was the first time on the trip I woke up with frozen toes during the night. Lucky for me I am sandwiched between two adorable sleeping space heaters.
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[2013-western-us]
We drove along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway to “The Roads End”
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[2013-western-us]
We woke up at 6:45 in an attempt to get to a Ride with a Ranger talk at by 8:45. We stretched and chatted for a few minutes before getting into gear. We pulled out of our campsite one mile down Dalton Walsh Road by 7:15. We ate some cereal in our dinner spot from yesterday and still had plenty of time for the kids to take out their bikes before our Ranger Ride.
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[2013-western-us]
Ahh. It is always nice to have a long uninterrupted night’s rest after a wild night of no sleeping. Last night was such a welcome relief after the night prior of no sleeping in the Valley of Fire. Scott drove a looong time yesterday, but he managed to get us up into a higher elevation to cooler weather. It was the perfect temperature. It was cold enough that you could snuggle with your sleeping bag and not be too hot. We were positioned perfectly to see the sun rise and slowly greet us to another day.
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[2013-western-us]
Finally a really long uninterrupted night of sleep. The kids slept in until 9. They would have slept longer, but Scott was ready to start the day. He had been up since 7:30 and already hiked in the canyon and back. While I was off in the washroom brushing my teeth Brooke complained to Scott that she wanted to hike too. So Brooke and I hiked the 1.3 Navajo Loop into and out of Bryce Canyon. Bryce is still one of my all time favorite National Parks. Its beauty is unlike any others. Due to my extreme love of this area I took a few too many photos…
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[2013-western-us]
Our first dispersed camping site
[2011 missouri ozarks]
After the cave tour we headed to the closest camp ground. We ate one of our favorite meals of tortillas, black beans, canned chicken, and cheese. Scott added a little Tabasco Sauce which made Brooke crinkle up her nose a bit and Cody kept wiping off his tongue trying to get rid of the burning sensation. We might have to leave out the Tabasco Sauce for everyone but Scott next time, but since he was the chef and the kitchen cleaning staff we gobbled it up and contemplated our next move. Brooke wanted to camp right where we were. Scott and I were sweating profusely just sitting still. Brooke and Cody kept themselves busy playing in the water while Scott suggested something I never thought I would hear coming from his mouth, “Let’s get a hotel.” We spent 77 days traveling through Canada and Alaska last year and there were plenty of times I would have loved to get out of the cold or the rain, but we spent 75 days in a tent, one night in the van, and one night in an abandoned church. No nights were spent in a hotel. Brooke was begging to camp, but in the end the lure of sleeping without sweating and the opportunity to shower proved to be too strong to allow another night of camping.
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[2010 Alaska]
When we stopped to make dinner last night we met an incredible couple, Mary and Gordon, who were on their way back home to Edmonton after having their four grand kids and their friends for three weeks in their truck trailer. Mary was so friendly that Brooke was sad when they started to go, and whispered in my ear. They wanted to know what she said. She said she wanted Mary to play on the playground with her. Mary, who had grandma shining from every bit of light around her, didn’t seem so confident about climbing the equipment or sliding down the slides, but she did it for a three year old she had only just met. Brooke and I were very grateful for the ten minutes Mary spent playing “princess castle” with Brooke while Scott was busy making dinner and I was busy feeding Cody.
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[2010 Alaska]
Scott’s fabulous breakfast of French toast was enjoyed along the Valdez waterfront across Prince William Sound from where Brooke caught her first fish. I should also mention that breakfast was really a brunch since we started cooking at 11:30. At three in the morning Scott, Cody, and I all awoke to sirens, trucks racing along the highway behind us, and a guy running through the parking lot shouting. We didn’t really get back to sleep until around five. The funny thing is that no one else heard a thing. Thus we didn’t even leave the tent until after 9:30. We then spent some time watching the people fishing where Brooke caught her first fish and then we watched the large commercial boats reeling in a large catch.
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