This was a busy weekend. We had already driven north from Superior, a town east of Phoenix, spent almost a full day exploring the Petrified Forest National Park and now we’re pulling into McHood Park, just outside of Winslow, Arizona to camp for the night.

This was the first paid site we’ve stayed at on our journey. Our late arrival didn’t leave time for anything but setting up and heading to bed. The next morning, we woke early and got after it for the 40 minute drive. Next stop - a massive meteor crater.

It was cool seeing the mounded earth seem taller and taller the nearer we got. After parking and paying for tickets, we went up the steps toward the crater’s rim. Still inside, we got to see the largest piece of the meteor that has been recovered. It was surreal looking at and touching this hunk of metal and thinking about the journey it had been on around the, what? Solar system? Galaxy? All the miles it traveled that led it to being here, on this pedestal.

We trekked outside and got our first view into the crater.

Looking into it finally gave us the perspective to realize how massive it is.

Let’s meet the crater in more detail and its mother, the meteor.

The Crater

• About 3/4 of a mile wide.
• Privately owned.
• Created about 50,000 years ago.
• At the time of impact, the crater was about 700 feet deep but erosion from the walls and rim brings it to around 550 feet today.
• NASA used the crater for Apollo mission training
• During training, a suit was ripped, revealing a weakness in the outer material. In space this would have led to their oxygen escaping. As a result, a heavier material was used to protect against tears.
• Neil Armstrong was among the astronauts that trained here.
• More recently a suit for missions to Mars was tested at the crater.
• Twenty football fields could fit on the crater’s floor while 2 million spectators watched from its slopes.

The Meteor

• Nickel-iron meteorite.
• When it struck the earth, research has estimated it to have been traveling 29,000 mph (8 miles per second).
• It was about 150 feet in diameter.

There are various viewing platforms overlooking the crater offering different perspectives and information. One platform brings you a bit out over the crater, away from its walls. It has multiple permanently fixed view tubes to point your attention at different points of interest. Things like an old mine shaft at its center, features in its walls, and a life-sized astronaut figure to help show the size.

After exploring the various decks, we went back inside to explore the museum where there was a lot of cool information about meteors, other craters around the world, and space. We didn’t spend a lot of time digesting the info here since Owen was being a spider monkey and running from one interactive thing to another.

After that, we headed back to the truck and enjoyed lunch in the trailer before hitting the road toward Marble Canyon, the beginning of the Grand Canyon. More on that in the next post.

Cheers!

Written by: Ellie

No lifestyle is all rainbows and butterflies. Even with all the beauty around us, things break, people get sick, routes change, and life happens. But this year has been an incredible year as we jumped into our new lifestyle the day after Christmas. At the start of each year I see posts and conversations about the next year being “their year” or, “better than last year.” How can you demand such a thing of the passing of time?

Without knowing it, our “new year” progress started in March 2020.

Like everyone, in March of 2020, our lives were thrown into COVID restrictions. Owen was out of daycare and soon followed heated riots over George Floyd’s death in our city of Minneapolis.

We were both balancing full time jobs (lots of Zoom meetings) and a toddler home during work hours.

It seems like a dream now. We both cannot quite piece the timeline together that started the snowball of events. I remember a struggle to balance our responsibilities, butting heads with my husband, enormous guilt and frustration of not putting 100% into anything; my marriage, parenting, or work. The new normal of rioting, stores boarded up, favorite restaurants in ashes, and isolation.

I am not sure who sparked the idea or the reason for the pro/con list, but with all big decisions within our marriage we usually involve a pro/con list. As I completed my pro/con list I thought back to our Mexico resort honeymoon. We met a brother and sister who travel anywhere they want and work remotely. Why not us? I recall writing solicited advice at a wedding, something like, “travel together, you will learn so much about each other, grow closer... and the food is great!”

I was motivated more than ever to change our now normal way of life. Smaller home, remote working dad, stay at home mom, no Mexico resort. Now, in the moment, add in a black tank that you are betting is not “full” as the sensors may detect. We can go another day.... right? Sounds great? It has been!

And just like that we reviewed each other's pro/con lists. Aunt Mel came to watch Owen while we went to "just look at travel trailers." We ended up buying one on the spot, the first one we saw, actually. I think you would call that the putting the cart before the horse. We had no vehicle to tow it and what about our house... rent, sell? Our realtor visited and we were on our way to selling the house and almost everything it contained. This propelled us into “go mode.”

It is a complete blur. Like in the book The Alchemist - divine intervention led us to realize our personal legend.

“when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it” - Paulo Coelho

We sold our furniture, most of our belongings, pared down books, clothes, and electronics to fit into our new home on wheels. Our neighbors grew curious over the average of five cars a day that stopped by our house to pick something up off the front porch, money exchanged via cash or app. And just like that our first home of four year was no longer ours. We said tearful goodbyes to neighbors that had become friends. It’s hard to leave a home but harder to part with a loving, supportive community.

We started setting up the RV for our boondocking lifestyle; finishing up work for me and planning our route that would change dozens of times along the way. Now we leave the comfort of a normal house and all its amenities!

I get landscape tingles. That’s the only way I can explain it. The feeling of your eyes taking in the most beautiful landscape. I can feel an instant memory snapshot taken in the moment and the feeling of awe and gratefulness that comes with it. This is my new normal. We set up camp, dive in deeper with a hike down a canyon, through a forest, up a mountain, to a local restaurant, we move campsites and repeat the feeling several times a month. We have only seen a small speck of the United States and it is beautiful.

Now to remind you, when we left we had a newly established two year old starting this journey with us!

When pulling Owen into this lifestyle the top questions we got were, “how will you socialize him, will you home school him?" I'd reply, "he is two, we have time." I was not feeling confident in my decision to leave my job, take Owen out of daycare, away from his friends, leave our friends, and our home. We thought the experience, exploration, and the freedom would be an amazing opportunity for him. It has been!

He might not remember our travels but Cooper and I will never forget his excitement seeing wild animals, arriving at a new campsite, exploring unworldly views and seeing his grandparents after a long lapse in time.

The boy is thriving, and is very social! Playground, grocery, restaurants, we provide him the opportunity to be social and he loves walking into this familiar territory. Chatting with everyone, asking questions, making friends on the playground. He pushes Cooper and I out of our social comfort zone, a lot!

This past year, more than ever, has been challenging and life changing. I am more confident, as a wife, a parent, and most importantly in myself. Going into this journey I acquired a new label, “stay at home mom.” I am a patient individual who loves my son, but there is nothing more frustrating than a toddler who is breaking down because there is not a “windshield” in his bed... “don’t try to rationalize with him, just okay the feeling,” I would repeat in my head. I had fears that I would not like it, but with all jobs, there is an adjustment period. This has been a gift to spend the time together. To see him grow and learn in a new way. To be the teacher. My life feels balanced. I don’t have this feeling of “working mom guilt” that for two years I let keep me from enjoying my time with him.

With my over five years at Target HQ I had to set goals each year. Goals to help measure the value I bring to the team and goals to help measure my progress as an individual. This year seemed no different. But I would get away from the corporate format and just pick a few. One I will expand on is documenting our trip.

I would post each day to our newly created Instagram account and in the caption I would help document the journey. The photo part is easy, I love taking photos. I like experimenting with angles, shadows, and depth, but adding words to the daily photos have been a challenge for me. I am dyslexic, I don’t like to write things down, in fear a word is misspelled, grammatically incorrect, or just leaving off a letter somewhere (it happens a lot "hell[o]"). I have a hard time getting thoughts out of my head in a way that is comprehensive to others. I was great at pulling an email together with just the facts regarding the FTC laws, CPSC requirements, and providing clear evidence to help a merchant or buyer make the right decision. My emails held little emotion, just facts and evidence predicting loss of sales due to customer experience. Easy! Facts not feelings.

Since I set that goal to post everyday, my challenge evolved into telling a story. A story that would show emotion and add more depth to the photo.

By March 2021, I became excited to share my next post not just because of the photo but the short stories into our new life. I felt creative again through an outlet that tortured me for years and years.

Putting my family on Instagram so the public eye could follow, if they wish... definitely outside my comfort zone, and our wish as parents was to keep our kid private on social media. But he was a part of the moments, and his excitement in the photos is heartwarming. I let go and found a balance. The beautiful places, the experiences, the challenges, and the family time, add the emotion to my words and give life to my sentences. Owen did not need to be the focus as maybe I thought people wanted, but he plays a part in our experiences.

My supportive husband has a degree in communication. He was a spelling bee champ! Talk about opposites attract. Or we balance out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I have grown in my spelling, grammar, and storytelling. I am proud of who I am. While I always throw away the phrase, “practice makes perfect,” I think, “repetition makes improvements,” is a better description. I have loved this year for my family and for myself. I am better because of the risks and the experiences. I grew where I was sure I was stunted. I hope Cooper and Owen find an anchor, awe, or accomplishment to this year. Mine has truly been being more secure in me, as a person, wife, and mother.

My weaknesses feel freed and my strengths stacked high. Now it’s my responsibility to remember I am in control of this year. I will pull one last quote from The Alchemist, my favorite book. "People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of." I can choose to alter my life. If I dig up the courage and make a big decision that sends it spinning in a direction of change. Change is hard, drastic change is harder, but the progress it provides is truly moving.

All this to say, change has been amazing for our family. Start the change now. Make a pro/con list. Write down your fears and jump in the direction of change. Don’t let the passing of time, a new year, dictate when you can make changes.

Thanks for the space to display not only my photos, but now in this very proud moment, with all the emotion of this past year reflecting back, my words.

– Ellie

The Petrified Forest National Park has so many awesome sights to see in a relatively concentrated area. I was astounded at the varying landscape throughout the park and the bountiful rainbow logs strewn across the southern part of the park.

"Nothing endures but change" –Heraclitus

We spent one day exploring here and were able to get from the south end to the north and back. We hiked, explored the visitor center, saw petrified logs, landscapes, Puebloan petroglyphs, and and overgrown section of Historic Route 66.

The south end of the park is where the bulk of the petrified logs are. You can see lots of petrified wood from your vehicle but getting out on one or more of the hikes is well worth it. For a quick hike, check out the Giant Logs trail behind the Rainbow Forest Museum & Visitor’s Center. For a longer hike, and my favorite, visit the Long Logs Loop and be sure hike out to the Agate House, an eight room house made by ancestral Puebloan people sometime in the range of 1050 to 1300[1].

We had just gotten set up in our new campsite at the south entrance of the Petrified Forest National Park and put Owen to bed. Ellie and I get much more enjoyment from an area if we know more about it so we decided to watch some videos about the Petrified Forest before heading to bed. What we learned made our next day’s visit so much more rich and interesting for us.

Here are some interesting things we learned about Arizona and petrified wood:

• three minerals create the petrified wood colors:
• Pure quartz is white,
• manganese oxides form blue, purple, black, and brown,
• and iron oxides provide hues from yellow through red to brown.[2]
• The park protects one of the largest concentrations of petrified wood in the world. [3]
• Arizona was a tropical environment about 225 million years ago, and was close to the equator at the time [4]. It was a heavily forested area and the trees, which are a species that no longer exist today, would fall and become buried by river and flood sediments. Nearby volcanos would erupt and cover the buried wood with a high silica content. The ash would dissolve and saturate into the logs, preserving them and creating the petrified wood. [5]

The next morning, we got ready and headed into the park. There are petrified logs laying everywhere along the side of the road and across the desert floor as far as you can see.

We were the first visitor of that park ranger’s day without a park pass. In retrospect we should have bought an annual pass at this point but we didn’t decide to do that till we were further down the road at Zion.

We payed the fee and ventured north into the park. Our first stop was the Rainbow Forest Museum & Visitor’s Center. On our walk into the building, we passed a sign warning that there may killer bees in area. Ellie had already read about the deadliest things to watch out for in the state and killer bees were on the list. We stayed on alert for them for a bit but ended up forgetting about it altogether and went about our day without an encounter.

The Visitor’s Center had lots of interesting artifacts and information about Pangea, the petrified wood, dinosaurs, and more. And, of course, they also had a pretty awesome gift shop. We got our usual iron on patch and headed out back to explore the Giant Logs trail. This is where we got our first up close glimpse of the logs laid out in the desert. They are awesome.

We then drove north, stopping at various spots along the way. We hiked in the badlands section, a neat area where you quickly drop into the basin of the badlands and walk a paved loop. This Martian like landscape was interesting to explore and be surrounded by.

We drove past the Tepees, Blue Mesa, badlands, the Painted Desert, and more.

On the way, I parked and ran for a quick look at Newspaper Rock; the rock full of Puebloan petroglyphs. I got a quick view of it from afar through mounted park binoculars before hopping back in the truck to keep pushing north.

We arrived at the Historic Route 66 section of highway and parked. We saw the overgrown highway and nearby there was an old car that Owen loved exploring.

Onward we went. There are some spectacular views up in this section looking off over the plateau across a colorful lower section of the Painted Desert with mountains in the distance.

Having reached the north entrance, it was time to turn south. We’d arrive just in time to get Owen home for lunch and a nap. On the way, we decided after nap time we’d head back into the park for one more, lengthy hike: Long Logs Trail.

We arrived to our trailer and grabbed some food. I needed to get propane to ensure we’d have heat at night since it was getting cold when the sun set so I took the bikes off the tongue and removed the bike rack to get to our tanks.

I loaded all of them but one into the truck and headed into Holbrook, Arizona. I passed a massive stock yard full of petrified wood for sale on the edge of town and then crossed over the Little Colorado River.

A local gas station filled our tanks by the pound, I loaded them up, paid, and headed back toward home. I arrived and Owen was still down for his nap. I tossed two new propane tanks on-board, put the bike rack back up, and the bikes on their hooks.

It turned out that Ellie had fallen asleep too. Owen was still out but the end of his nap time was nearing. The late night arrival and early morning adventure had tired them out.

They woke and were re-energized to head back into the park for some more exploration.

We hiked to the agate house, the eight room house made from petrified wood, and then hiked the Long Log Loop.

This was my favorite adventure in the park. The Long Log trail was a crazy experience of being in awe every time. That never got old. Log after log, of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Each one just as awesome as the last.

We enjoyed our one day in the park but it was time to head onward to continue our jam packed weekend. We headed back home to hitch up.

On our way toward Holbrook, Ellie started looking for a place for us to stop for dinner and found something along our route.

We got on Highway 40, which intertwines with Historic Route 66, and drove westward. We could see some impressive, isolated, mountains far in the distance as we rolled closer. These were the mountains in Flagstaff, Arizona.

We passed through a few small towns and arrived in Joseph City, Arizona. We pulled up to a little place called Mr. G’s Pizza. Their pizzas sounded amazing and we ordered one and then went to the travel trailer to relax while we waited.

I ran back in 20 minutes later to grab it and we enjoyed our meal in the trailer.

The pizza was in my top five best of all time - if you’re ever in the area you have to try them out.

We loaded back into the truck and continued our westward drive through another small town before we turned off onto a small highway to our campsite for the night.

References

• [1] https://www.nps.gov/pefo/learn/historyculture/agate-house.htm
• [2] https://www.nps.gov/pefo/planyourvisit/fast-facts.htm
• [3] https://www.nationalparked.com/petrified-forest
• [4] https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2013/08/22/arizona-becomes-tropical-island-suffers-ice-age/
• [5] https://geology.com/stories/13/petrified-wood/

The last few campsites, including this one, were picked to keep us further south in Arizona to avoid the cooler temperatures and snow up north. We had an easy drive to this site and came across some beautiful views east of Phoenix, Arizona.

We were just south of Superior, Arizona on Arnett Road in the rocky desert, about 15 minutes from Picketpost Mountain. We stayed for a week and it was alright. The campsites were littered with so much glass and a vehicle would drive around almost every night after dark blasting music. The views were fantastic though!

Ellie and Owen explored the local playgrounds a bit while I worked away in the RV. We had decent views of some mountains around us.

We grabbed dinner one evening in town at a really cool bar called Silver King Smokehouse and Saloon. Their BBQ pulled pork sandwich was one of the best I’ve had. The staff were super friendly too. I’d love to go back. We thought the downtown street in Superior has some awesome potential to be a getaway spot for people in Phoenix and other areas. The town was established, and still exists, as a mining town. There is even a mining operation up on the cliffs towering over the town today (we accidentally happened upon its gate when we went exploring one day).

We adventured to Picketpost Mountain twice to hit the trails for some outdoor therapy. The first time we ended up seeing a lot of horses in the parking lot and along the trail. The riders stopped and were conversational and friendly with Owen and thought his full brimmed hat was pretty cool. Owen was ecstatic to see the horses up close and talk to real cowboys and cowgirls. He had an awesome time hiking on the trails.

Our second time out to the mountain we decided to start heading up it. We didn’t get nearly as far up this one as we did on Saddle Mountain near Tonopah, Arizona but we needed to head back; though I can’t remember why.

Friday after work, we packed up and hit Highway 60, northeast, on our way to the Petrified Forest National Park for a late arrival. We weren’t quite sure what to expect on the drive as it went up and over some mountainous areas that had recently experienced some heavy snow. The roads were clear but some snowy patches could be seen in various spots off the road along the way.

We arrived just north of Seneca, Arizona on Highway 60 to a brake check area. I pulled off to take a quick stretch and check our brakes. I got out, and not quite sure what to do, just walked around the entire truck and trailer and got back in. Ellie asked if the brakes looked all good? I chuckled and said, "I have no idea, I just walked around the rig." I put it into drive and we began our descent toward the Salt River.

The twisty turny road had an appropriate 25 mph speed limit. The sun had already set so we didn’t get very good views into the canyon we were traversing. What we did see though, looked so awesome.

I was loving it but stayed laser focused on the road since it was quite crazy and it was dark. Meanwhile, Ellie was in the passenger seat, worried, at a level that was new to me, for some reason. She’s been just fine with any crazy roads we’ve been on since, must’ve just needed a break in period and this was it.

The climb out was just as curvy and slow going. We got through without incident and kept on cruising. We arrived in Show Low, Arizona, got some diesel and kept on.

We arrived well after dark to the free dry camping spot at the south entrance of the Petrified Forest National Park. Finding the exact area where the free camping was difficult in the dark. I didn’t want to be that guy who comes in late with the loud truck and bright lights circling the area looking for our place so I parked it, turned it off, and got out with my bright flashlight that I’m in love with.

I selectively shined it around as to not light up any parked campers and eventually found the spots for us. We drove over and parked and gently woke up sleeping Owen. I got our trailer set up outside and unhitched, while Ellie took him inside to prep for bed.

We woke the next morning and entered our first National Park of this new adventure!

We have a seat on the back of my bike that Owen loves to ride in for bike rides. While we were at our campsite he wanted to join me on a ride into the desert to look for the wild burrows.

We mounted up and I started to set off away from camp. I quickly realized we didn’t have any of the things I usually carry when heading out on two wheels. We had no water, spare tubes, or tools in case we got a flat. I shrugged it off and thought, it won’t be that far and we’ll be alright (because we usually are).

We took the dirt and gravel roads north until we met up with the Maricopa and Black Canyon trail. It was a great ride. We didn’t see any animals but enjoyed the plant life and views along the way.

We were about two miles from camp and I was getting close to turning around. Suddenly, I was feeling our rear end get a bit squirrelly. I paused, planted my feet on the ground and looked back there. The tire was as flat as it could be. It happened instantly. We must’ve run over a cactus thorn or something similar.

I now had a toddler that wouldn’t happily walk back that far, nor stay on the trail, which may have cactus thorns on or along it, no water, or way to fix our flat. I’m not saying at all that our situation was dire but I could see how things could quickly go south if you don’t make good decisions and handle things appropriately. Luckily, I had my phone and cell reception. I put together a plan and called Ellie.

“Owen and I got a flat and we’re going to have to walk back. I’m going to keep him in his bike seat and push the bike. Can you please put some water in the truck and make sure his backpack is in the truck bed and then drive to the trail start? Then bring a water bottle and the backpack and we’ll meet you on the trail.”

Ellie set into motion while Owen and I continued walking back. He ended up wanting to walk so I let him out, which made pushing the flat tired bike much easier.

Ellie parked and made her way over to us. We met up and she hoisted Owen into the backpack and then up onto her shoulders and carried him out.

We got back to the truck and loaded everything up.

I later took the tire off and brought it to a nearby bike shop for a new tube and picked up a spare. When I went to put the rear tire back on the bike, I noticed the front had gone flat. That incident had punctured both tires but the front only has a small leak. I still need to replace or patch that tube.

All in all, it was a fun adventure with a little twist tossed on top. The outcome was great but I can see how it could have potentially gone south.

It was a good reminder that even for little outings, preparedness for the situation, keeping a cool head, and putting together a plan when things don’t work out can be very helpful.

Going forward, I’ll ensure to always have the spare parts on hand, water available, and anything else needed for the situation or environment we’re adventuring in. Even if it is just a quick ride.

Hello again.

The last post’s title contained something cool that we saw day after day but haven’t mentioned further yet. Stunt Planes.

Multiple days during our stay we’d get to witness an aerial stunt plane doing insane tricks in the nearby airspace. We only noticed it because of the loud engine sound it would make when it was plummeting out of the sky.

The small plane would be flying along and then pull up into a straight up climb until its engine stalled. It’d then come flipping and plummeting back to Earth. Eventually, they’d orient the nose straight down to get the engine to kick back on, then pull up to keep from crashing into the ground. When the engine kicked on and they pulled back, it was pretty loud. This went on over and over again, which I think is a pretty impressive feat of endurance as I can imagine this maneuver is quite taxing on your mental and physical state. We enjoyed this free air show for many of our days staying out here and it never grew old.

We try to get out on hikes and to explore the local playgrounds. There were a few options around here that we took the opportunity to explore. The first we went to check out was south of us and called Deem Hills Recreation Area. There were many hiking trails to explore but the one we were aiming for was the Circumference Trail to Ridgeline Trail to summit the small “mountain.”

Shortly after hitting the trail, Owen saw the playground and was no longer interested in hiking for almost the rest of the time out there. We made good time around and up the mountain and saw some lizards along the way. The Arizona Canal was visible on the backside below and there was an interesting informational sign about it along our pathway.

The canal is 336 miles long and serves to bring water from the Colorado River to central and southern Arizona to serve 80% of the state’s population. It is protected by fence along its length to prevent contamination and is closed to the public. The canal has grass carp to help keep the system clean and running smoothly as they eat the vegetation that could clog the pumps.

Here’s some more interesting info about the canal.

Our hike wound up a curvy pathway to the summit of the mountain hill. It wasn’t huge but the views from up there were pretty great. It was also quite windy up there!

We made our descent pretty quickly and got back to the parking lot. We had enough time before dinner for Owen to get a few minutes to play on the playground with Ellie while I found a spot to go eat. We ended up going to a local brewery called Front Pourch Brewing, which had a delicious smoked meats food truck. We enjoyed a post-hike beer and some pulled pork sandwiches.

Another park we visited is the large playground of Anthem Community Park. Owen got to play here a couple times and had a blast exploring it all. There’s a little train that meanders through here for kids to ride on but he was not interested in riding that at all.

We also got to visit with some good family friends. I lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa between the ages of eight and ten and we my parents were good friends with our neighbors. While in Arizona, I learned they had moved out there and weren’t very far from us. I reached out to see if they would be open to getting together. They were elated to hear from us and invited us over to their newly remodeled and beautiful home.

We sat out front and enjoyed the sun and conversation before heading out to a golf course restaurant they like for dinner. The course is near an Air Force base and on our drive in and while eating, we could see fighter jets flying in formation and coming in for landings. We sat outside on the patio and lit an overhead propane warmer. Shortly after sitting, someone came out to invite us to play trivia. The game was being run inside but the emcee would come out to present the question and get our answer each time. We were in! We had fun chatting, enjoying the tasty food, and answering the trivia questions. We were doing pretty well. The game ended and the scores were tallied. It was getting late and we needed to roll out to get Owen home for bed but we needed to hear the results! The emcee asked one or two of us to join them inside for the announcement.

Third place was called, not us.

Second place was called, not us.

First place was called, it was us!

Apparently we got a rarely seen score because of how high it was. We collected our winnings and headed out. That was a fun and unexpected surprise!

Owen and I had a fun bike adventure at this campsite as well, but I'll save that story for another post.

Thanks for reading!

We've been full-time travelers for a bit more than three months at the time of this writing (four months at the time of this posting live). We've seen a lot. We're still blown away at the similar yet varying landscapes we've camped in and explored, but some of the wonder I once held has waned.

I not sure if that's necessarily a bad thing, it's to be expected, however, I never want to lose the gratitude I started this new journey with. And I don't think I will. I'm still so in love with having our four small walls around us despite the ever changing scenery. Stays at a single location reveal new ways the landscape looks and behaves under differing light & weather conditions.

We've hiked a lot; random trails, made our own paths, and explored multiple National Parks. You'll hear more about all these in future posts. After having weeks of constant go go go outside of work hours and weeks of laid back relaxation around camp and staying out of the touristy places, I've determined my happy is in the middle.

I look back on the busy, explore everything weeks with appreciation. Gratitude for how much we did in such a short time. How much we saw and moved. And I loved it. But I also think back to stays like this one that you're about to read, where we hung around camp, explored by foot, enjoyed an amazing sunset every night, but did minimal hiking or sightseeing. And it was simple and awesome.

• • •

This is all about our stay next to a busy shooting range near Anthem, Arizona.

The shooting range, Ben Avery.

The campsite, a narrow strip of BLM/AZ trust land to the west of Ben Avery.

Two weeks of sunsets, hot air balloons, and aerial stunt planes. An experience in preparedness (or lack of), and a first place bar trivia visit with family friends from when I was eight years old.

We pulled away from my cousin's driveway on a Friday after work and swung into an RV dealer on the way to camp. We ended up arriving 15 minutes before they closed to fill up with water. An app we use indicated this place had free, potable water. Turns out apps don't always reflect reality. They turned us away. It was too close to closing and it was "for members only." Now what? We had gone out of our way to get here. We've since started calling ahead to places to verify their water situation, which you'll see in a bit that still isn't foolproof.

There were no other spots to dump or fill with water in any of our apps along our route and it was already looking like a late arrival. We chose to head to camp for the night and find a place somewhere tomorrow.

We arrived at the gate after dark. It's nestled up along the shoulder of West Carefree Highway just outside Anthem. Ellie hopped out to open it and we drove through. She was sure to close it behind us, just as the reviews reminded visitors to do. Some gates are meant to keep things out, but this one works to keep things in. Wild burros, to be exact. Not sure what that is? That's okay neither were we. A quick search revealed they are basically wild donkeys. Sweet! We'd better see some. There was tons of evidence of them strewn about our dark campsite we selected for that night along the fence line that contained the massive shooting range.

• • •

The next morning, we learned the rage opened at 7:00am. We were awoken by the pop! pop! pop! of gunfire. Good on em, not sure where they found their ammo. We also saw a beautiful display of hot air balloons!

We got Owen ready, and ourselves, and started researching places we could get water and empty tanks. Ellie found one about 25 minutes away.

The prior night, since we knew we'd be leaving with the RV in tow, I didn't unhitch, which made for an easy get-away. Anyway, Ellie called this place to double check that the water was potable. They assured her it was, off we went. We arrived, it was another RV dealer. Ellie went inside to confirm where the water station was. She comes out and informs me the guy inside said it's not potable and we should not use it. Oh boy. So to skip additional frustration, we decide to just bite the bullet, (see what I did there?), and head to the Pilot gas station one hour away that we have used twice prior so it's guaranteed to have what we need, including some damn coffee. ☕️

• • •

We arrived back at the campsite, through the gate and picked our spot. We ended up staying here for two weeks before heading east to BLM land near Pickett Post Mountain.

Our evenings on this sliver of land were filled with beautiful sunsets. I think we've seen more sunsets over the duration of our travels than all of our life prior. We're definitely more tuned with the weather since even too much wind keeps us inside due to blowing bust, which has been a common occurrence for us out West.

We'd often play fetch with Bindi and watch for large groups of hot air balloons floating nearby & overhead. Mornings and evenings appeared to be preferred for them.

To be continued...

To all those out there following along with our journey, whether you're watching the videos, checking out Instagram, or reading these write-ups. Thank you. I've heard here and there that the lack of posts has been noticed. It's encouraging to hear and I'll try to get back on somewhat of a schedule for getting these out there.

Part 2 is now posted! Read it here.

Campsite Details

AZ - BLM/AZ Trust Land Near Anthem

Description:Boondocking. A thin strip of BLM/AZ Trust land along a, sometimesbusy, shooting range. We spent two weeks here and explored the trails headingnorth by bike. Almost daily hot air balloon sightings were fun to watch. We’doften hear packs of wild burros at night, which was fun. Beautiful…

Cooper WhitescarverCoop and Ellie

We left Sedona for better Verizon cell service and warmth and headed back south. The winding up and down drive along the rough dirt road was slow going before we reached the highway. We headed up and over the mountain that we came through on our way up. All went well. Along the way, we swung into a tiny gas station to refuel. It was almost too tight to get out amongst the cars, building, and pumps but we cleared it all by inches.

We were nearing Saddle Mountain and it was time to find a place to fill up our water tank at. We had picked a gas station nearby that an app we use told us had potable water. We arrived, took a drive around, and didn't see any. We gave them a call to check if they had potable water and they said no. Bummer. We needed to find another way. The sun was getting low on the horizon, Owen was tired of being in the truck. Silly as it may sound, these are good testing moments for taking a breath and understanding we'll figure it out and while it feels stressful, it's not a huge deal.

We searched around on various apps for any water in the area and found a ranch nearby. We drove in its direction, which happened to be on the way to our final destination. We parked out front, along the highway and called the number.

"Hello"

"Hi, we're going to be dry camping in the area and are looking for potable water to fill up with. Do you have any?"

"Are you the one parked out front?"

"Yep."

"Cmon in through the gate. We have a potable water spigot near the building on the right."

We drove in and he met us out there. We filled up and, learned something new that seems so obvious now. We used to only fill up our water tank until the sensor said it was full. He said to keep going until it's overflowing out of the fill valve. I mean, sounds good to me. Hopefully doing that would mean we would not run out before a week has passed like it did previously.

We chatted while the tank filled and Owen explored the plants. In our chat, it was revealed there were turtles inside so Owen and Ellie headed in to check them out. I finished up the tank and went in to wrangle the crew. We said goodbye and headed for the mountain.

The drive wasn't far from there, probably 3 or 4 miles to the entrance. It's easy to miss if you're not looking for it. There are no markings, it's just a turn off the highway between some plants, over the ditch. Once there, we meandered on up the mountain.

I checked my cell service quickly after turning off the highway and it was full strength LTE on Verizon.

"Sweet, this is going to be a great spot for working over the next two weeks." I thought.

We continued up the road, getting closer and closer to the mountain. We were looking for a decent spot with enough room on the road for us to back into and finally found it. We backed in and got situated. It was a nice day off on a Monday, the sunset greeted us with a warm welcome.

I got the RV setup outside while Ellie and Owen headed inside to get things situated. We got Owen to bed and then I re-checked the cell reception for tomorrow's work day. It was not workable. I initially assumed we had gotten too close to the mountain and it blocked the cell tower from getting to us. After researching cell tower locations later, I'm not sure what the problem was. I ended up putting up the WeBoost antenna for better signal and it worked great. The week ahead seemed fantastic.

This was my first time working out on the road. It started great. There were a few annoyances of poor connection while on some calls and super heavy winds that required me to take down the telescoping pole. Overall was great for the bulk of the time.

Our move here from Sedona ended up being for the better. We stayed for two weeks at Saddle Mountain and during our stay some decent storms rolled through. We got around 60 mph gusts and torrential rain. As it moved east and further north, it was snow. Sedona area got a pretty good helping of the stuff. We fared quite well, all things considered.

In the evenings, we'd go for a walk along the gravel roads that connect the various campsites along the mountain. Once or twice, Owen joined me for a bike ride in his seat attached to my seat post. We'd explore the rocks in the area. There are so many to look at. Here are some of the neater ones we found.

On our first weekend out there, we set out one morning for a family hike. The plan: follow the road that Owen and I had biked part of to see where it went once it reached a higher point on the bottom side of the mountain. We took Bindi with and hoofed it.

Owen did a great job walking himself much of the way up. Once up to where we were aiming, Owen had a snack break while I gandered around for ways to go higher. There was a pretty clear path up to another great nearby lookout spot so I asked Owen if he wanted to go home or go higher. The boy chose higher. It was a quick walk up to the next spot where we sat for a bit to soak it in before heading back home.

On our way home, we passed by a nice retired man with a new puppy. We chatted for a bit and Owen met the puppy before we parted ways to make sure Owen would get his next meal on time.

That same weekend, we hitched up the travel trailer and pulled it down the mountain and over to the nearby ranch to dump and refill. Remember how we ran out of water in the RV after just a few days in the past? And how this time we filled till it was overflowing? We had enough water to last us the whole week, and then some. Winning!

For our upcoming and final week at Saddle, we got set back up at the same spot as the last six or seven days. The work-week went fine, the winds were tamer. The weather was clearing up nicely. Throughout our time there, Owen and I would approach the mountain and scout trailheads to see which looked like the way up.

A Summit Attempt

Finally, on our last afternoon there, it was time to attempt a summit of the mountain we had been living in the shadow of over the last two weeks.

With zero research on how to summit, we set out on foot. Ellie, Owen, and me. We quickly lost the trail and weren't sure which way to go. We just sort of made our own way up toward a spot in the mountain that looked like it went up. When we got to the mountain wall, it got steep pretty quickly. We made our way up and before long reached a sort of saddle between two parts of the mountain. We hadn't been at this for very long but quickly gained elevation to where the view was fantastic.  The winds were pretty strong in this funnel as well.

That was looking like it would be it for Ellie and Owen. With the uncertainty of what remained beyond and the already fantastic view earned, they hunkered down for a snack. But, having checked cell reception so we could communicate if needed, I set out on my own.

After a brief jaunt upward, the terrain leveled out for a bit and it soon felt like an entirely different world, far removed from anyone and anything.

Ellie and Owen texted that they were heading back down and it was a smooth trek for them.

Back up on the mountain, there was no one around, our truck and RV looked tiny, yet the mountain still towered overhead. The enormity of Saddle Mountain started to settle in.

I continued along, often choosing his own route up and around things since there wasn't a single defined trail, just many of them. I eventually got to a part that was a short climb up but quickly terminated at a towering rock face. There was no apparent way up or around it. The trail stopped here. The view was awesome though. The timing wasn't going to allow for a course correct before sundown today, it was time to start the trek home.

The descent went (mostly) smoothly. I thought I found the trail I missed that would've gotten to the summit but after a celebratory beer, did some online research and discovered a well written guide on how to summit Saddle Mountain, AZ. As far as summiting goes, we had taken the wrong trail from the start. Knowing that, I really want to get back there to make it to the top.

Time will tell if we'll get pulled there again.

For the regular readers - Sorry for the delay between posts. Many of the drafts I had started were in a writing app built on blockchain tech and that blockchain tech changed without warning and broke the app's access to everything, and therefore, my access. Kind of lost? That's fine, I'm not completely sure what happened. My drafts and notes are gone. We'll carry on.

The drive North took us through the biggest mountain climbs yet. Semis travelled slowly up the mountain in the right lane.

Since it was my first time on mountainous roads like this, I was unsure how the descent would be. We crested the top and the views ahead were incredible. We looked out across a flat valley with a city nestled amongst the mountains. I let off the accelerator and was ready to brake. I saw many trucks and cars further down the mountain with brake lights illuminated. I thought that would soon be us. That ended up not being the case. For almost the entire descent, save for a few moments, I never had to touch the brake.

The tow mode of the truck handled it like a boss. The engine kept us around 53 mph the whole time. Color me impressed. We continued on, through smaller but gorgeous nonetheless mountains, till we reached our turn off of the highway onto the gravel road.

The road quickly became rough. Probably the roughest we've towed on yet.

Owen was supposed to sleep on the drive here but just wouldn't. Somehow he was rocked to sleep by the super rough terrain. It took us about 30 or 40 minutes to travel 5 or 6 miles.

We ventured further up Red Rocks. Many spots on this public land were filled with other RVs, overlanders, vans, and tent campers. We weren't sure how far we could keep going down this single lane dirt road before we'd lose our turn around room.

We paused on the road a couple times to get out and scout a potential spot on foot, but each time revealed more campers further back on this free to stay land.

We finally came upon a great spot that only had a family tent camping further back that we decided would be our spot. We scouted briefly on foot to determine our set up spot, then backed in. We set up camp and settled in for what was going to be a Saturday to Friday or Saturday to Saturday stay.

After setting up, we wanted to scout further down the road to see what adventures we could have over the next few days. We loaded into the truck and set out further into the Red Rocks area.

We continued down the road and up a decent climb, past forks in the road that I'd research later. The road took us up to a fantastic lookout, where some smaller RVs and overlanders were parked. Not somewhere our RV trailer would have fit.

We parked and set out on foot. Snapped some pics and found a descending trail that approached the Red Rocks cliffs. We decided to traipse along it for a bit. The walk was nice. A good activity after our travel. Owen had a fun time exploring the sounds, rocks, and plants around us. Nothing too notable on this hike. We got back in the truck and headed the 20 minutes back to camp.

That night, we did some research on the area around us and found a nice trail fitting for our family for the next day.

The next day, we took our time waking up. We enjoyed some coffee from the French press and played in the house before we set out for our hike. The drive to the trailhead was a fun one, recommended only for 4 wheel drive vehicles with high clearance. First time I've been able to traverse terrain like that since we've had less capable vehicles in the past.

Upon arriving at the trailhead parking lot, there were a handful of other vehicles. We found our spot, unloaded, and I grabbed the backpack Owen rides in from the truck bed. We set out. It was an easy venture without really any elevation gain.

Long ago, the trail started as a route for a rancher to traverse his cattle herd between pastures but was now relinquished to hikers. It traveled along a fence line of an existing nearby ranch. There was more growth than I expected. The terrain took us along a canyon floor, full of vegetation, birds and canyon walls around us.

Our hike was time based. We wanted to ensure we could turn back, get to the truck, and drive back to camp in time for Owen's lunch and nap time. We nailed it.

The trail continues beyond where we left it. It eventually quickly gains elevation toward its end, with fantastic views and options to continue up another lightly traveled trail to the peak of the mountain. None of that was in our deck of cards today.

We got back to camp and Owen and I picked up trash around the area while Ellie prepared lunch. People trashing public lands is a growing thing. Luckily it wasn't too bad here but I wish more people respected these awesome lands. It's leading to areas around the country to be shut down. The few ruining it for all. Anyway, we had lunch outside and put Owen down for his nap.

While he slept, Ellie and I spent time outside under the warm sun. I went for a short walk, got a quick resistance band workout in, they're light for travel, and jumped rope, also light and great. We both read and chatted for a bit. Nice relaxing time.

That night, I grilled chicken on the outdoor kitchen griddle while Owen hung out, finding (the right) rocks and riding his trike around camp. I love cooking out there.

The cell signal we were getting there wasn't going to support the upcoming week's work. I tried putting up the WeBoost antenna, which can help greatly in the right circumstances, to see if that would help but I didn't have the confidence or comfort in what I was seeing to stay in the area. We had to decide: relocate today (Sunday) or relocate tomorrow (Monday). I pushed for Monday just so we could take more advantage of our time here for exploring before we set out again.

We settled on Monday.

We found another fun hike for the family and planned it for Monday morning. We'd then pack up and tow back toward Phoenix for warmer weather and better cell service for the work week.

Monday morning came. It was relaxed and slow to get out the door for our hike, but less so than the prior day. We enjoyed our coffee, Owen had breakfast, and off we went.

The drive took about 30 minutes to the trailhead. This one was busier than the previous day's hike. This hike also shared similar terrain to yesterday's. Vegetation galore.

There was a sign at the start to not feed bears. Don't feed the bears people. Not surprisingly, some bear in the area started associating food with people and even chased some. It had to be shot so it wouldn't pose a threat to humans. Sad. It's not the bear's fault, it's human's fault.

It was a good hike. We passed many others enjoying the tranquil area, heading up and down the trail. Both sides of us contained sheer red cliffs as we continued up the canyon floor.

Our time in Phoenix with family was fantastic. My mom even flew out to spend some time. We hiked up a small mountain in the middle of Little Butte Loop in Phoenix, tried some excellent local food - you gotta try Cornish Pasty Co, they have something everyone will love. Owen enjoyed some playgrounds and spending time with my cousin's kid around the same age.

While there, I borrowed my cousin's ladder and checked RV roof. I wanted to see how the solar panels and wiring was holding up and how the DICOR seals we applied were doing - all good.

There's a fun train park out there that we visited with the kids. Upon our arrival, Owen was excited for the train ride. When it actually came time to go get on it though, was another story. He had great hesitation and protest but I was able to calm him and let him know he could do it. He ended up climbing aboard and sat between Ellie and me. He ended up really enjoying it but held on tight the whole time.

Next up, it was time for the carousel. He was all about it. He stood patiently in line, waiting for the prior ride to stop. Once it was his turn, I carried him up and sat him on a horse. He liked it for about a second before latching on to me and saying he wanted to get off. I tried convincing him he could do it and that it would be fun but this was one I couldn't do. He held on tight and ended up just clinging tight to me in my arms as the ride went around and around. I was able to get him to warm up a bit during that though. Every time we went around and he could see his Lala (my mom) and mom, he would yell, "Hi!" He ended up enjoying the ride, just not the way you'd expect someone to. I think if he were presented an opportunity to try it again, he may be more open to the idea now that he's experienced it.

After the carousel, we trotted about before heading toward the large playground. There were about three different ones to play on in a single area and he made sure to visit all of them. Dinner time was drawing near and with two two-year-olds, you better make sure you're getting that on time. So my cousin and I headed out to pick up pizza and meet the rest of the crew back at his place.

After dinner, it was time to put the kids to bed. Once down, most of the adults got together for drinks, table games, and hanging out. We chatted, we played Codenames, fun game, I'd recommend getting it.

Overall, Ellie and I had fun times catching up with my cousin and his wife, exploring the area, and having a place out of the RV to stay for a while. We're very thankful they had us nearby for two full work weeks.

I started work after the new year. The year has already started off at a sprint. Working to launch multiple marketing campaigns, planning the digital strategies and direction for the year, assembling a presentation and presenting it to the sales team about our digital marketing plans. The presentation went phenomenally. The momentum this company and our marketing team has right now is tremendous. I'm so excited at the challenges and opportunities we have and how we've grown as a team. BTW, we're hiring. After the two weeks in Phoenix, we were itching to get out and about again.

I had completely forgotten that we got Martin Luther King Jr. Day off this year so finding that out on the Thursday before was a pleasant surprise.

We left that Saturday for Red Rocks, AZ.

Despite selling our house in October 2020, this new adventure doesn't feel real yet. I imagine it will just take some time. Once we sold, we ventured in to Wisconsin to visit with Ellie's parents and make sure they got as much time with Owen as the weather would allow.

Due to COVID, our closing wasn't face to face with the buyers. We closed on a Wednesday but could remain at the house till that Friday, which we had planned to do. That way, Owen could finish out his week at daycare and Ellie and I could finish out the work week without traveling late into the night with work the next day. The weather changed all that. We had already seen snow, and more was on the way.

Since we'd be traveling in the dark, I didn't want to add inclement weather to the mix, especially on my first long-distance drive with the RV trailer. We decided to leave that day, Wednesday. We scrambled the prior day to get everything in the house cleaned up, packed up, and ready.

During the packing process we identified items to sell, donate, bring with, and store. Facebook Marketplace helped us sell a lot. Our front porch was non-stop busy with people picking up their item and leaving cash under our doormat.

It was a big lift to get all the final things packed up on Wednesday. We gave a few things to the neighbors that we weren't going to be able to fit in the RV or truck, like a wood carrying rack I built in a recent evening.

I went on vacation for the rest of the week. Not that it needs justification, but it would have been a lot to keep trying to work in the midst of a move and unpacking items in Wisconsin for storage. I just needed a break.

It was a day full of goodbyes and likely lasts. This move was different from all ours in the past. We always were staying in town. Just moving to a different apartment or rental house, or on the last one, to our home. Our first home. Yesterday we left and said goodbye to our first home. One full of memories and fun. Hardship and growth. We loved it, improved it. We also couldn't have picked better neighbors or community of neighbors. The wandering dinners, fires, gatherings in the street. I'll never forget the neighbors we were fortunate to have. It was no, it is a great community.

Owen's daycare. FULL of fantastic people and teachers. Goodbye was difficult. They all have come to love Owen over his year and a half with them. All the other kids really loved him too. It was so rewarding to see that outpouring of love for our son on that final day but it also made it tougher. The tough moments usually have the biggest impact and meaning.

The drive went well. We saw bits of snow but nothing bad and nothing like we would have seen if we had waited till Friday for the drive.

We arrived at Ellie's parents at 11:30 at night. Backed the RV down their long driveway and parked it in front of the house. It was time for a beer, quickly followed by bed.

Our time in the woods of Wisconsin with Ellie's parents was so wonderful and relaxing. They helped watch Owen while Ellie and I unloaded our stuff for storage, put it into storage, and while we worked during the day.

It snowed most days during our stay and we weren't sure when it was going to stop. With the uncertainty of being snowed in and inclement weather for RV projects, we started contemplating revised travel plans. Where was the Fall weather we were expecting?

The daily snow and below freezing temps had other ideas. Eager to move closer to starting our journey that we sold our home to start, we left early for warmer weather. More on that in a bit, but first let's briefly cover all the wonderful things that happened during our stay in Wisconsin.

We enjoyed movies, reading, writing, nature views, fun conversations, cozy fires, good drinks, phenomenal meals. Great smoked meats & cooked meals. Drooled over every single one. While we were there, we celebrated my birthday, then Ellie's (early), then Owen's (early, too).

We are so grateful to have been able to spend solid time with Ellie's parents.

They had some awesome neighbors over for dinner, drinks, and conversation. They are experienced RVers and shared lots of good tips and advice with us that we've taken to the road.

We're looking forward to our next visit with her parents. Our current adventure allows us longer stays, without worry of when the work week begins and ends when it comes to traveling. It's freeing.

Woke in: NM - Cattlemen Trail
Stayed at: AZ - Pump Station Road Dispersed Camping

The next morning we woke to 12° F, feels lake 6° F. If we had continued west for only one more hour the previous day it would have been about 32° F. Not complaining, the brisk morning air as the sun came up and filtered through the trees around us was fantastic.

Today's drive was another beautiful one.

We tried to get diesel at one station and it was just dripping so I headed to another one down the road. The pumps were all taken so I pulled up behind a truck that also had an RV trailer that was pretty buried in the lot. After sitting there for about 5 minutes, no one showed up and our trailer was blocking people in who needed to back out and leave. I decided to go for it and get out of there and move on to another station many miles down the road. The only way out was reverse, around cars in the tight lot and the gas pumps. And I crushed it. I have to admit, I felt awesome after successfully reversing out of that. Simple thing but appreciating the small wins.

We came into Arizona and the landscape changed. Still mountainous but one section looked like blobby boulders were stacked up high.

We decided to treat ourselves to our first restaurant meal since hitting the road and stopped at In-N-Out Burger. Tasty meal.

Today's camp spot is in the Ironwood Forest National Monument in Arizona and it's our first time staying for more than one night. We'll be here for three. Looking forward to settling down for a few days and enjoying the stillness of the desert.

There are a few dirt roads off the main dirt road that brought us in. Down each are lots of free campsite opportunities. We drove a ways up the hill, past a handful of other RVs and vans and trucks, till we found a site we liked. Backed in and got set up.

There's a small airport near here that tows glide planes up and releases them. It was neat for a while but I eventually had enough of the small prop engines.

We spent the rest of the day outside exploring the area. Walked around amongst the cacti and bushes around our campsite.

The bushes have many animal holes dug into the ground beneath them. I think they may be from gazelle squirrels seeking food, though we haven't seen any such squirrel. Thinking about the holes, I started to wonder if the animal digger and the bush have some symbiotic relationship. Below the shrub, a good source a food for the critter. The hole dug by the critter, perhaps, helps water funnel directly to the root system of the plant. I don't know if that's the case but it could be? Probably a mystery nobody has solved to this day.

There are many Pasacana Tree cacti around. They're huge! Looking out from our campsite across the rocky, sprawling desert and seeing these scattered about with mountain views 360° around us has been an awesome place to stay for the last three nights.

We took the opportunity to get out our outdoor rug, chairs, and table. Nice having this weather and a place to sit and enjoy it.

The next day was just chilling out, Owen rode bikes, we hiked down the road a bit, and sat in the warm sun. Ellie edited video during Owen's nap while I wrote, read, and had a good chat with a great buddy.

We rang in the New Year out here. We didn't even realize it was New Year's Eve until the afternoon of the 31st. We didn't make it to midnight. It was a low key night compared to prior years. We put Owen to bed and enjoyed a few beers and chatted before hitting the hay. We could hear some fireworks throughout the evening off in the distance.

I'm sitting here writing this on the couch, while Bindi lays at my feet and Ellie is building DUPLO® with Owen.

We're heading out today.

We knew yesterday afternoon we would soon run out of water and that happened this morning. We'll soon set out in the truck to get a few gallon jugs for the few hours we have left before hitting the road to the Phoenix area. We're planning to begin that drive after Owen's nap. Not much more to share.

We're going to be stationary at our next spot for an undetermined amount of time. Blog posts will slow down because of that but I want to take that as an opportunity to do less adventure logging, as previous posts have been, and share some reflections of the journey so far, and maybe fill in the gaps prior to our first post.

Until next time! 👋

Woke in: NM - San Lorenzo Canyon
Stayed at: NM - Cattlemen Trail

We packed up, re-hitched, and set out back into civilization. I really love being out there man.

The drive out was fun and just as gorgeous as on the way in. Owen even got to see it this time.

"MOM! DAD! Mountains! Look!"

The up and down hill portion went even smoother than when we came in. We left the BLM area and headed back to the gas station we grabbed water from the previous day.

You see, during our canyon visit, we didn't have any cell service so we weren't able to make plans or research our next stay. We've been changing course a few times on our journey for varying reasons. This time, we wanted to head further south than originally planned so we could have some warmer temperatures. It's more fun that way for daytime outside play and reduces our propane consumption through less heating at night.

We've been keeping it warm in here overnight because Owen hasn't quite yet grasped the skill of covering himself at night if he squirms out from under his blankets.

We picked our next site, picked a free spot to dump our tanks along the way, filled up on diesel and hit the road.

The day presented mountains, valleys, canyons and open plains.

Our GPS route had us on the most direct route and had us exit the highway. We were greeted with a sign advising trucks with trailers to seek an alternate route due to the mountainous road ahead. We did the right thing and turned around and got back on the highway. That sign is exactly what I want to see when I'm traveling without a trailer but I wasn't going to risk anything with our trailer.

Our route took us further south and then back up, basically around the mountains. Added about 30 minutes.

We ended up on a dirt road for 15-20 miles, not exactly sure but if I had to guess it was about that. I thought tonight's site would be along this dirt road. We passed fenced in cows and then the dirt road went into a field of cows. This further strengthened the idea that our campsite would be here. Reviews of our destination mentioned cows roaming through the campsite. Welp, it wasn't.

The dirt road reconnected with a highway and we got on it for a few miles to the Cattlemen Trail site. Its elevation is 6,364 ft. All the sites were available, except one.

As we were driving to scout our spot, we saw a handful of cows roaming through. Some with calves. After we set up, we went for a family walk and came across a hiking trail. It's the Continental Divide Trail. Purty neat.

After dinner, Ellie and Owen settled in to watch a movie. I took Bindi outside while I did the first oil coat to season our outdoor kitchen's griddle. While the oil burned off, I enjoyed some wine we got from our first night's stay in Oklahoma and watched the sunset. Once darkness fell, I could hear an owl hooting not too far away. The temp quickly fell to below freezing. I finished up on the griddle and headed in.

Woke in: NM - Bosque Redondo Park
Stayed at: NM - San Lorenzo Canyon

It's now Dec 29. We're leaving Bosque Redondo Park, NM to San Lorenzo Canyon, NM. This was the best scenery we've seen on a drive yet.

Mountains in the distance become closer until we were driving next to and then in them. Snow and rain falling in the distance. At one point, we had a handful of flakes hit the windshield.

After that, we hit a wide open plain that filled the void of about 30 miles to the next set of mountains. That terminated with a highway on ramp. The highway ran parallel with the mountains as we drove south to a gas station.

We arrived a bit later than normal lunch time, encroaching on Owen's regularly scheduled nap time. We arrived and parked amongst the semis. Got out, dropped the RV steps and made lunch.

After that I headed inside the station to make a supportive purchase and ask where their water hookup is. Spigot location locked in. We pulled the trailer over and filled it to about half. Now on to the best campsite we've boondocked at to date.

All day Owen was saying that he wanted to go into the mountains. Well, it was finally time to make that wish more real to him than it had been all day.

We headed down a frontage road, over cattle guards, for about five miles till we hit the BLM area of San Lorenzo Canyon. Owen was struggling to stay awake. He was battling his need for a nap and his desire to see the canyon and mountains. Our drive on the gravel road started with a bang.

We began with steep upward and curvy mounds, quickly proceeded by steep downhill sections. I changed the truck to four high to help with the climbs. On one descent, I felt the trailer start to slip the back end of the truck and I quickly reached to pinch the electric brake control for the trailer. That quickly straightened it out and stopped the push. Fun adventure moment that I didn't share with Ellie till the next day ☺. No need to add to her line of questioning if this spot was suitable for a set up like ours (it was).

The road was a few miles of rough gravel. We finally reached the canyon entrance. Owen had finally lost his battle and succumbed to the need to sleep. He'll see this part on the drive out tomorrow morning.

We drove all the way to the end of the canyon, I turned around to head back and find our spot.

I checked the canyon walls and visible tops to see if there was any small chance of a rock dislodging and making a breakfast dish out of us or our rig. All clear.

The ground was mushy, course sand, which led to me going out and tightening up our stabilizers multiple times throughout the evening because the plastic blocks we use under them kept shifting and settling into the sandy surface.

It was an awesome stay with fantastic views all around. We had pizza for dinner and I tested out the RV shower for the first time. Super cool having a warm shower in the middle of a canyon. Ellie showered and then filled a tub for Owen to take a bath. He had a good time and made sure we didn't forget to include his toys.

The next morning, I joined Owen in his bunk and we looked at the canyon out his window. He kept letting me know,

"I want to climb it," and,

"I want to go to the top."

"I know buddy, me too."

Must be a guy thing, Ellie had zero interest in that idea.

Woke in: TX - Silverton Municipal Park
Stayed at: NM - Bosque Redondo Park

We woke on the 28th after a night of spotty sleep due to boofing dogs and packed up. After loading into the truck, I wanted to roll across the street to the gas station to inflate the travel trailer's tires. The pump wasn't working so I headed inside to find out why.

The local folk were friendly. A customer heard my inquiry and figured the caged pump had just turned off from to the cold. Yep. The lady behind the counter grabbed a key, opened the cage, and flipped the large air tank on. I gave at a few minutes to pressurize and was able to get the tires where I wanted. We set off. This time, to New Mexico.

The gas mileage was, you guessed it, better. Each tire only needed about 4psi but it helped.

Another easy drive. We passed some - MASSIVE - cow farms.

Each day we've been planning about a 4 hour drive with a stop around 11:30 to noonish at a playground so Owen can play and we can eat lunch, picnic style or in the RV. Today was our first trip without a playground stop planned.

Last night, we chatted and decided to shorten our daily drives to two or three hours instead. That decision led to scrapping some future planned stops. The site we're heading to now was a replacement for such a dropped stop.

The weather was uncertain. Rain was planned for the overnight in Silverton and potentially snow on our drive to New Mexico so we didn't plan a playground into things.

The rain never came.

Neither did the snow.

I think this area is in dire need of rain; we passed an agriculture sign that read, "pray for moisture."

We stopped for lunch at a gas station in a bustling town full of semis hauling giant rolls of hay, cotton, and hogs. It was like an endless train of semis.

This stop gave us an opportunity for another first of our RV adventures, so we took it up! Time to empty the grey and black tanks. It went well.

We parked in the semi truck lot to make sandwiches and salad for lunch. Filled up on diesel and set off to Bosque Redondo Park, NM.

On the way we needed a few supplies. Another reason Ellie didn't sleep well during our stay in Silverton was our stock RV mattress. She wanted to try to find a foam topper at Walmart. She was successful! She returned to the truck with one and a couple other things. We continued on and arrived at camp. This was our first time arriving to an area that already had other campers there.

Nestled against a river, though I actually thought it was a pond, full of ducks of all colors and sizes, a few miles off the highway were four other campers. The winery in Oklahoma was empty but later a Mercedes sprinter van joined and the Silverton, TX spot was just us. But I digress.

The park looked to have recently undergone a controlled burn. The grass was blackened everywhere. We found our spot a good distance from the others, between two of them.

Said 'hi' briefly and got camp set up. We're getting speedy at this.

I hop out, level from side to side, then Ellie and Owen can go inside and get that set up. While they're inside, I level it front to back with the electric tongue jack. Then they extend our slide-out and I set down the stabilizer jacks.

On the drive in Ellie made sure to do some quick online research to see what dangerous critters take home in New Mexico. She found out about rattlesnakes and another poisonous type of snake they have and brown spiders of three types.

After we set up, we headed out for a family walk, with clear instructions to remain on the gravel road only. because maybe there are snakes to spiders amongst the shrubs and deadwood.

We followed the rules Ellie requested and made it back in one piece.

The next morning Owen excitedly shared that he was watching ducks out his window since he woke. That's one of many fun experiences he's getting from the journey.

I ground some beans for coffee, got the electric kettle going and tossed the grounds in the french press. Ellie and I enjoyed coffee while she and Owen puzzled and I did some RV maintenance outside in the cool morning air with ducks quacking nearby.

We finished packing up and hit the road!