SoCal

 

It was nice to get out of the crushing heat of Phoenix and head to the beaches of Southern California. There was a string of years when Mike and I would make an annual pilgrimage to play inebriated ultimate on the white sand beaches of Santa Monica, CA. This time we traded in our sandy tights for sandy diapers and our friends for family. The only similarity was the lack of sleep. 

Santa Monica Beach!  Building sand castles, running along the shore with Hud, and getting in a few frisbee tosses for old time sake. We even saw two dolphins swimming just off the coast in front of us. 

I was able to sneak off early one morning for a trail run in the nearby mountains at Will Rogers State Park. I'm about to start training for a 30k trail race in September so am using that to justify hitting the trail whenever possible. 

Mike's cousins Devera and Bernie were so welcoming and opened their home for us to stay with them. It was also wonderful catching up with Mike's second cousin David and his family: Debbie, Noah, and Adam as well as cousin Steve, his new wife Jenny, and sons Joey and Danny.  David was awesome with the girls and a clutch pinch reader throughout our time there.  

Noah and Adam introduced Mike to how much fun backyard cricket could be.  

Hiking through the Santa Monica Mountains with Debbie and David. The whole weekend had pretty good cloud coverage and cool temps in the 60s.  A welcome respite from the relentless sun of Arizona. 

One day at the beach is long enough for me to crave mountains and trees, so we decided to take a bit of a detour to camp in Sequoia National Park for two nights. We found a campsite at the secluded Cold Springs campground, up the steep and windy Mineral King Road. The seclusion and amazing scenery was well worth the car sickness (me up and Sybil down) and time spent. 

First redwoods spotted off the side of our curvy mountain road up to the secluded Cold Springs campsite.

The views from up in the Mineral King area of the park.

S & P helping each other out nearing the end of their 3 mile hiking adventure with me and Hud.

Cars parked at the trailheads had to be wrapped in tarps because marmots have been nibbling on cables and hoses while hikers are out exploring.  Easier to tarp up your car then wait for AAA to drive that long windy road to repair your car.

I was still sore from running the fitness famous Santa Monica stairs 4 days earlier, so Mike snuck away for a trail run while I hiked with the girls and Hud (dogs not allowed on trails). A trail running ranger suggested a run that involved 3 miles and 1,500+ ft of elevation to a beautiful basin.

They said to put anything that smelled into the bear bin, so we took them literally. Then they just stayed in there for an afternoon playing coyote family.

One of the powerful aspects of camping is that our kids can experience a tiny taste of a free range childhood. Our site was just next to this stream that was perfect for some naked river stomping and splashing while they howled at the sun. 

S being sworn in as a Junior Ranger and protector of the parks after completing the requirements and gauntlet of questions from the ranger. Excuse me...there's something in my eye.

We had a long drive to Oakland, but couldn't resist stopping at a few sites along the way north through the rest of Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs. We stopped at the General Sherman tree, the largest tree in the world (!!) and had a picnic lunch at a beautiful road side stop. 

Southwest Start to Summer '21!

Here we go again!

After what seemed like a never ending year of change, what better way to relax than take a road trip and bring on some self inflicted daily change...

This summer we have big plans to head west, north along the coast, and then take the diagonal back with the goals of seeing friends and family along the way, hugging new babies, camping together in new woods, and other adventures along the way. We've loaded up our car and somehow found space this year to bring along three bikes.  

Our biggest logistical challenge before leaving was setting up our chicken logistics.  We have 4 laying hens and didn't want to send them to the butcher shop early.  It's good to have awesome friends and neighbors, thanks Stevie, Bjorn, Tina, and Jessica!

After 5 days of planning, prepping the house, and packing we hit the road. First stop...the Lowe-Worthingtons in Albuquerque, NM!

It's hard to see, but Hudson is in the back claiming his half of the trunk space next to our cooler.  Who needs leg room when you are only traveling 7,000 miles?

Come to think of it...we had a lot of extra room to pack above our heads.

Family historical moment captured:  Parker's first attempted nature potty.  Although unfruitful it was a good attempt.

After a few days in Albuquerque with Lindsay and Travis and family, we all went north to the Carson Forest and found a dispersed site near Santa Barbara campground which offered a river to play in, beautiful trees, and easy access to great trails.  H & C are such rock stars!

After coming back from a pretty big morning hike, I had to supervise nap time to make sure the girls and Hudson slept.  This summertime nap in the shade of New Mexico mountains and trees was pretty much perfect.

One of the highlights was being able to enjoy a campfire, something we missed out on last year.

First national park of the trip!  One of our favorite things about road trips is the ability to adjust plans and do things we did not have planned.  Petrified Forest National Park was not on our radar, but it allows dogs and was a great detour!

It was hot! These awesomely huge trees were preserved by the perfect conditions of being buried in tropical swamps hundred of millions of years ago which interacted with ash from erupting volcanoes.

It looks as if a lumberjack took a chainsaw and perfectly cut each log, but it's just how the rock breaks when the soil is eroded beneath it or the land sifts causing it to break.  Think of how a piece of chalk breaks in a straight line.

Look closely, and you'll see the brilliantly green lizard hanging out on this petrified log.

Slow driving along NP roads lends itself to moments like these.

After Petrified Forest, we continued our scenic drive south through Salt River Canyon (Thanks Mariah Lane for the rec!) and then into Mesa, AZ to stay with Auntie Gwen and Uncle Howard.  East of Mesa and Phoenix we drove right by the forest fires burning just outside of Globe, AZ.  These fires had been burning for awhile and left clouds of smoke over the whole valley.

Huge thanks to Auntie Gwen and Uncle Howard for hosting us and having the whole Arizona crew over for dinner.  It was great getting to meet Mark, a soon to be inducted member of the family.

The heat wave over Phoenix and much of the southwest was setting records the whole week, with a high of 118º, so pools were an absolute necessity. Thanks to cousins we got some great pool time. Other highlights of our Phoenix-area stay was the Children's Museum and playing with the Eaton cousins and their fantastic toys.   

Cara snuck away to capture this sunrise photo of the Superstition Mountains before getting in a desert trail run before the temperature climbed once again. She took this at 5:30 a.m. and it was already 95º. 

 

Santa Fe National Forest and Campitulation

After a brief stay in Santa Fe to get clean and catch up on sleep (we'll be back for Meow Wolf!) we drove northwest to the nearby Jemez Mountains and the Santa Fe National Forest.  It was a bit bittersweet because we had just decided that this would be our last stint in the woods before heading back to Austin.  See below for campitulate explanation.  Jemez here we come!

Parker's still not afraid to get dirty. 

Our first day in the Santa Fe National Forest, we did a hike in Los Alamos called the Mitchell Trail, that leads up to a cool natural arch. 

Sybil has taken on some pretty difficult hikes on this trip, not without a sometimes significant amount of whining and foot dragging. As soon as we got to the hand over hand climbing on this hike though, she was stoked to be doing it. 

Hudson with full bat ears on our breezy hike.

It was nice to see smiles after all the whining. 

That night we were fortunate to be joined at our campsite by Lindsay, Travis, and their 2 kids, Henry and Charlotte. It was so fun to camp with friends! We played nature bocci ball, swung in socially distanced hammocks, and laughed late into the night (or at least 9:30 pm). Good people and good times!

The next day we did a short hike to some very cool waterfalls and swimming holes along the East Fork of the Jemez River. 

Sybil and Henry in the shallow pools of the Jemez River. 

The next day we did a beautiful hike, Las Conchas, which follows a stream down a valley rimmed with rock outcroppings. 

Sybil frolicking along the stream.

I happened upon this beautiful moment after we ate lunch while watching rock climbers scale the walls of the canyon. 

Our last hike was to the San Gregorio Reservoir. The lake itself wasn't much to look at, but the 1.2 mile hike to get there was through a beautiful forest of ponderosa, aspen, spruce, and fir trees. 

A murky peek into our nightly bathing ritual. We would warm water up to bathe, and often the water was so dirty after one kid that we would have to  warm up a whole new pot of water for the second one. This is what the water looked like after Parker's bath on our last night of camping. 

Campitulate kəm'piCHəˌlāt - (v) surrendering or ceasing to embark on more camping due to overall lack of sleep, filthiness, or other various discomforts.  

After 20 days and nights in the national forests of New Mexico we decided it was time to head home and provide an environment more conducive to sleeping for Sybil and Parker.  The solitude and beauty of the outdoors exceeded our expectations in terms of time together, mind reset, and as an escape from the worries of the pandemic, however, the girls were just not getting enough sleep.  Parker was averaging about 4 hours less sleep per day while in the woods than she would normally get at home, and Sybil was losing between 2 and 3 hours.  We were torn because just as we started to discuss the inevitability of returning to Austin all of the media were reporting how the pandemic had surged back aggressively in Austin and Houston after the initial reopening of restaurants and bars.  We started the trip with Austin in a state of optimism because of the reopening and have returned with Austin back in lockdown and fear that the pandemic is not even close to being resolved.

Despite the apparent increased risk and stress of living in a big city, it is nice to be home and catch up with friends and family.  If it gets too much, we now know of some stellar locations just an 11 hour drive away in New Mexico.  Let us know if you want to join us because there is plenty of space out there!