Our family adventures
Drive 630 lonely miles (or not-so-lonely if you bring a 3 year old) south of the Mexico/San Diego border and you arrive, bug-eyed and a little seat sore in a desert paradise. Around hour 11, as you approach the Sea of Cortez, the road ascends the coastal mountains. Awaiting you at the top is a breathtaking view [...]
The hike to Angel’s landing is another ass kicker. The hike is straight up and carved into the side of sheer rock, the trail is an aggressive approach to a flat and gorgeous look out above.
That peak above Peter's head is Angel's Landing, where we are headed.
Zion From Bryce we drove down the gorgeous highway 89 and into the northern entrance of Zion. Having never visited Zion national park before I really had no idea what to expect.
On the long deserted stretch toward Bryce we were surprised when three Pronghorns bolted across the road in front of us. Peter swerved left, the confused Pronghorn ran right and slammed into the side of our car. I screamed the foulest of foul words and it's nothing short of a miracle that Sage has not started running around dropping F bombs whenever she sees a animal. Somehow the word didn't stick and fortunately we slowed down enough that both the Pronghorn and the car were ok. Well I think the Pronghorn is ok. It sauntered of into the wilderness and was only a short distance behind its friends. At the time we had no idea what the animal was and were both in shock. We found the closest pullout and drove in to catch our breath. The shock turned into tears of laughter (me) when this sign was staring at us from the side of the road.
Upon seeing the signs for Kolob Canyon we made a last minute decision to get off the highway and check it out. Sage was sleeping so we stayed in the car but from the car we saw many hiking opportunities and were interested in the overnight backcountry possibilities leaving this side of the park.
When our friend Greg announced he was going to run one hundred miles for the Zion 100, I jumped at the chance to make supporting him, a vacation for us. We explored many different options for the trip, bike touring was on the table for a while, taking the camper trailer, backpacking… when finally what seemed like the best way to do it all was to leave the camper trailer at home, make reservations for hotels and campgrounds, pack up the car, load the mountain bikes, and hit the road.
The fun part of meeting friends in Joshua Tree is no cell reception. We rely on the old fashioned method of leaving notes on the back of campsite information boards. Just after midnight on Friday, we found our note, drove to our campsite, and discovered that someone else had parked their car and pitched their tent where ours was supposed to be.
This summer's Lake Lopez kick off included Jason, Veronica, and Jacob. We were actually lucky enough to spend the night at their house before arriving which broke up the long drive and gave us some time to play in their pool. Lake Lopez is a very kid-friendly camping spot. They have a playground, warm water, [...]
Sage's 2 month birthday was made even more special because it marked the beginning of Peter's 6 week hiatus from work. To kick off the vacation we were honored to be included in two beautiful weddings which was the perfect celebration of true love and the official start of our summer! Sage partied like a [...]
After a long week, knowing I am heading into nature always rejuvenates me. It’s like an instant second wind.
