Category: Adventure Reports

Categories
Holidays & Bdays National Parks Utah

Cara’s Dinosaur Birthday Party IN Dinosaur National Monument

Dear Cara,

You bring adventure and light to our lives! You have a creative, silly personality and always find a way to make us laugh. At the same time it can also be completely frustrating, but that’s just part of growing up!

We are finally past potty-training (hallelujah), and are now working on your reading skills. Unfortunately for my patience, you just take things at your own speed. Before you are ready, there’s just no arguing with you. I hope you can take that same stubbornness and determination and apply it appropriate throughout your life!

You love to play with your brother and sister, whether its your “stuffed animal game”, Lego’s, MineCraft, or just outside exploring and making up your own games. Although you are the youngest, you seem always ready to try new things and don’t have much trouble keeping up. You are a fantastic hiker – having completed 3, 10 mile + hikes in the last year. You are also amazing on your bike, can run fast, and throw a ball like I’ve never seen in a 5 year old. We are so proud of you and can’t wait to see all the new things you’ll learn this year as we travel.

I love your snuggles in the morning and hope you never grow to old for those! We love you Cara and are grateful you are in our family!

Love,

Mom & Dad

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I’m not sure why it took us so long to settle on a dinosaur theme for Cara’s birthday since we knew we’d be IN Dinosaur National Monument. It only seemed natural once we made the decision. We had a lot of fun! Because my parents were meeting us there, I had my mom shop at the party store near her house to stock up party supplies and she did a great job.

Cara wanted pletta (Swedish pancakes) for breakfast, and while daddy cooked she opened up here presents. Rachel & Andrew got her a new PlayDoh set, we got her a book, Grandma & Grandpa Madsen brought her a fun dinosaur activity set, and Grandma & Grandpa Curren provided the funds for 4 months of Netflix! Wahoo!

After breakfast we drove to nearby Vernal, UT and visited the Dinosaur Museum. While it was on the small side, the kids seemed to enjoy the hour we spent there. Plus, we went out for lunch afterwards so there was that to look forward to as well!

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We spent the afternoon hanging out at our campsite, and Sam and I gave her our present: a new bike! I’ll have a full post up later this week about her new Woombike, but let’s just say that it is amazing. We couldn’t be happier with this bike, and she is already riding like champ!

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We finished off the day with “Mom’s Famous Nachos” for dinner, watching Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and eating cupcakes! It was a fantastic day, and just proves to me over and over again how easy it is to celebrate birthdays and holidays while on the road!

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Categories
Arizona Colorado Featured Destination Homeschool National Parks

8 Must See, Splendidly Educational Native American Sites in the Southwest


We did a semi-unintentional Native American Unit Study this winter as we wandered around Arizona & Southern Colorado. This area is full of history, artifacts and culture and we enjoyed all of it!

We hit the first one on our own after leaving Phoenix, then we had Sam’s dad join us for the two near Cottonwood as he was driving through and wanted to see his grandchildren. We picked up 3 during Spring Break with our friends in Flagstaff, AZ and then hit the other two on our way north as the weather warmed up.

Surprisingly, none of my kids got bored or had a “we’ve already seen this” attitude. Each place was unique – whether it was a cliff dwelling tucked into the side of a mountain, or a veritable fortress built on top of hill. This made it fun to compare and contrast and learn about the different ways these ancient people lived.

When We Visited: Spring 2015

Ages of Kids: 10, 8, 5

1. Tonto National Monument – Roosevelt, AZ (nps.gov)

We visited Tonto National Monument while staying at nearby Roosevelt Lake. The kids and I took a morning and drove the 20 minutes from our campsite to the Visitor Center. After getting our Jr. Ranger books, we worked on them, watched the video, and then hiked up the trail to the actual ruins.

These guys knew how to build a house with a view:

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The BEST part about the whole day was being told by the volunteer that someone had just spotted a Gila Monster next to the trail. We raced down and saw this showdown going on:

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We sat and watched for at least 15 minutes. The Gila Monster preys on young animals, so we assumed the squirrel had a nest somewhere under the bushes she was protecting. The squirrel was way too fast for the slow moving Gila Monster and she succeeded in pushing him farther and farther away. It was fascinating!

2. Montezuma’s Castle National Monument – Camp Verde, AZ (nps.gov)

This was a short trip from Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood where we were camped for a few days. Sam’s dad was driving through from Philmont Scout Ranch in NM and joined us for a day of exploration. We were there maybe an hour, and the ruin are just a short (paved) walk from the Visitor Center.

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3. Tuzigoot National Monument – Clarkdale, AZ (nps.gov)

North of Cottonwood and maybe 10 minutes from Dead Horse Ranch SP is another National Monument. Tuzigoot is a set of ruins built on top of a hill, rather than into the rocks on a cliff. My favorite part was the pottery they had found and pieced back together. Plain jars for everyday use, and fancy, colored ones for trading. This made TWO Jr. Ranger Badges in one day. My kids were not happy with me.

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4. Walnut Canyon National Monument – Flagstaff, AZ (nps.gov)

We drove to Walnut Canyon from nearby Flagstaff where we were celebrating Spring Break with our friends from Lehi, Utah. This set of ruins is positioned in a horseshoe curve in the canyon and there are dozens of ruins all up and down the walls of both sides. We hiked down the stairs and took the walking path around the middle of the ‘island’ in the middle of the bend. I loved how up close and personal we could get with the ruins. This was probably my favorite!

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5. Wupatki National Monument – Flagstaff, AZ (nps.gov)

Another day we drove north from Flagstaff to hit both Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments. Wupatki is probably the largest ruin we saw, and the ball pit was a favorite of the kids. We could only imagine the types of games they played there!

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6. Sunset Crater National Monument – Flagstaff, AZ (nps.gov)

Turns out you can pick up the Sunset Crater NM Junior Ranger book at Wupatki, which was great since we hit the Lava Flow before the Visitor Center. Having to drive down and back up just would’ve been annoying. The jagged, volcanic rocks were fascinating and we had fun identifying the different types. We completed this trip at the Visitor Center where they finished up and passed off their books.

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7. Navajo National Monument – Shonto, AZ (nps.gov)

Instead of paying extra to visit Monument Valley or Valley of the Gods (both on tribal lands where our America the Beautiful Pass does not get us in for free) we opted to stop by the lesser-known Navajo National Monument instead. Not too far out of the way between Flagstaff, AZ and Cortez, CO this place is a gem. They also offer backcountry camping where you can hike down to the ruins, participate in a ranger led tour, stay the night, and then hike back up. Definitely on our list for the future!
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8. Mesa Verde National Park – Mesa Verde, Colorado (nps.gov)

This site took us out of Arizona and into the southwestern part of CO, but it was close enough in time frame that I’m going to toss it onto the list. Plus, Mesa Verde is just really awesome. Its a fairly big park, but there’s a Visitor Center before you even reach the fee booth and you can sign up for tours, get your Jr. Ranger Badge books, and explore the exhibits. Cliff Palace was undergoing extensive construction, so we opted for the smaller Balcony House Ranger led tour. Super proud of our kids for climbing the tall ladders. We have a YouTube video about our tour you can check out below.

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There are a few other sites that would fit well into this unit study as well, but honestly, after we finished up with Mesa Verde were mentally done with Native American dwellings for the time being. Hopefully we’ll be able to visit this other ones sometime in the future. If you’ve been to any of these locations, please tell us about your visit!

Hovenweep National Monument – Southern Utah (nps.gov)
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument – New Mexico (nps.gov)
Canyon de Chelly National Monument- Chinle, AZ (nps.gov)
Bandelier National Monument – Los Alamos, NM (nps.gov)

 

Categories
Arizona Biking Hiking State Parks

Lost Dutchman State Park: Hiking Flat Iron & Introducing Our Kids to MTB

 

We had heard from fellow travelers that Lost Dutchman State Park was pretty amazing, so when we swung through Phoenix last winter we decided to give it a try. Not really knowing the layout of the park beforehand, we managed to snag a pretty sweet spot with an epic view of the Superstition Mountains.

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When We Visited: March 14-19, 2015
Ages of Kids: 9.5, 7.5, 4.5
Site #: 103
Website: http://azstateparks.com/Parks/LODU/
Link to Flatiron Trail

After a brief, but dramatic, total freak out by me (read all about that here) we settled into the park and really loved it. A lot. The Superstition Mountains are ragged, majestic, and beautiful and are quite the prominent feature of the area.

We had friends staying in the overflow area at the same time (@livinginthemomentum) so the kids had some great play time with them in addition to earning their state park Jr. Ranger Badge. Our site was water and electric only, but the showers were great and we managed to go all 6 days without needing to dump the tanks. Hooray!

My two favorite activities, however were: introducing my kids to mountain biking, and hiking to the top of Flat Iron with Sam.

Introducing Our Kids to Mountain Biking

Around the outer edge of the park is a 4 mile mountain bike loop. While that may not seem like a long ride to some, it was perfect for introducing our kids to mountain biking. The trail was pretty smooth and flowy in some places, but also had some good ups and down through the various washes. The kids were all pretty tentative at first, but soon I couldn’t keep up with them as I hung back and made sure Cara did okay on her strider bike.

Our biggest success was just taking it slow and letting the kids learn at their own pace. Riding on dirt is definitely different than pavement and just takes some getting used to. We taught the kids to stand up on their pedals and get behind their seats on the downhill, and to keep their pedals level so they don’t whack them on rocks. Those were the two big lessons of the week.

Sam and I were also able to ride the loop a few times (it took us about 30 minutes), and it was great to get back into the saddle. I don’t think either one of us had really mountain biked in years.

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Hiking Flatiron

Right up against the the boundaries of the state park is the Tonto National Forest with the ragged Superstition Mountains. One of the more popular trails is Flatiron which tops out at 4861 feet elevation with some serious gain over the last mile or so.

Since we knew the hike would be too much for the kids, Sam and I decided to wake up at 5am one morning and tackle it. Rachel is getting old enough that we feel comfortable leaving her in charge of the other two (really it’s probably Andrew’s and Cara’s ages that matter more – they are quite independent). She can manage pulling out cereal in the morning and we just told them to stay in the trailer to play and we’d call from the top to see how things were going. We also knew we had friends nearby in case anything went seriously wrong, and she knows the phone number for grandma if she has non-emergency questions.

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The hike was brutal. Up to the Basin it was a pretty even uphill, and then after that it was some serious rock scrambling. The trail was marked on rocks with blue/white dots since there wasn’t actually anywhere to make a trail, and in some places we had to guess where it went but overall I felt we did pretty well.

We made it to the top, had a small snack, enjoyed the view and then started back down the trail.

Holy people. I’m so glad we left as early as we did because the trail was CROWDED on the way back down. Especially after the Basin. So, my advice if you want to hike this trail during Spring Break: get out of bed and get yourself up the mountain early. It’ll be way better.

Overall, I’m super happy we tackled it, and the kids did great on their own and were a little disappointed when we got back (heaven help us when they are teenagers).

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We absolutely loved staying at this park, but since there are a few others in the area (McDowell Mountain being top on our list) we’ll probably wait awhile before staying here again. Definitely recommend it though!

Categories
Biking Driggs Idaho

Mountain Biking in Horseshoe Canyon – Driggs, Idaho

We have been hanging out at my brother-in-law’s house in Driggs, Idaho for the last week. Sam has some renovations he’s been doing to our battery box (including some welding by said brother-in-law). Between work, Airstream projects, and the rain, we haven’t had many chances to get out and explore and I’ve been going a little stir crazy.

Apparently my attitude was a little negative this morning, so the boys suggested I get out for a ride. Its amazing to me how quickly getting outdoors improves my mood.

When I went: May 22, 2015

Where We Stayed: With family, but there are a couple of great camping spots in the valley. Check them out on campedium.com.

Trail route: Climb Bovine Bliss, merge onto Shark’s Belly. Turn right on to Bumper & Cody’s at “the five-way”. Go left onto Sodbuster at the “T”. Turn left onto Southbound, and then ride down Channel Lock to the road.

Map: They’ve got a great one on mtbproject.com with coordinates for the trailhead.

I chose to ride the Dude Creek Loop #249 up Horsehoe Canyon. In the Wydaho Mtn Book my awesome brother-in-law picked up for me its recorded as a 6.2 mile ride with a workout factor of 5, a skill factor of 5, and a fun factor of 9. Sounds fabulous, right?

It took me about 20-25 minutes to ride from his house up the canyon. Unfortunately, because of all the rain the road to the trail head was too muddy and I spent about 15 minutes trying to make it. Giving up, I backed down the road and took the fork on the left side of the road instead where there was additional parking.

Getting that all settled, I biked up the road and started on the trail which was (hallelujah) obviously marked with a carsonite post.

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Bovine Bliss was a pretty good climb. I was breathing pretty hard, and having just worked my legs with 21 Day Fix Lower Extreme yesterday, my legs were also not happy with me at all. I couldn’t beat the views though:

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There were a few breaks in the climbing which was definitely a welcome relief. I merged onto Shark’s Belly and then it got wet. This part of the trail wound through the trees and there were a few streams that leaked onto the trails. Also some bridges to cross, which I felt more comfortable walking rather than riding. A few sections were too muddy to ride (if you leave a track deeper than a 1/2″ you shouldn’t ride it! It ruins the trails), so I attempted to walk around them. I’m just happy I didn’t slip and end up face down in the mud!

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A few more ups and downs and I hit the cutoff for Sod Buster and then Southbound.

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You can take a shortcut, skip Southbound and go straight to Channel Lock, but I don’t recommend it. Southbound was one of my favorite sections! It would around on top of the mesa with amazing views of the Teton Valley.

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Then there was the awesome descent on Channel Lock back through the gate, and then a short ride up the road to my car. I’m pretty sure I had a goofy grin on my face the whole way down.

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Overall it took me 2 hours and 15 minutes, and Endomondo clocked 9.5 miles instead of 6.2. It seems like quite the difference in mileage, so I’m not sure where the discrepancy comes in.

It was definitely a great ride, and I would LOVE to come back later in the summer and ride it when it’s fully dry!
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Categories
Arizona Rock Climbing

Rock Climbing in Prescott, AZ With Friends

It’s no joke we fell in love with Prescott, AZ (really, we did a pretty awesome April’s Fool Joke) and one of the reasons was the plentiful outdoor recreation opportunities. We were only going to drop into Prescott Valley, spend a night with college friends and then leave, until another full time Airstreamer (whom we met at Organ Pipe National Monument a few months earlier) started posting photos of Point of Rocks Campground and the Granite Dells. Although we were slightly nervous about a private RV park (they are never our favorites) we couldn’t resist coming into town and seeing what the hype was all about. We warned Rich & Jodi we were coming to crash their space, and Rich even visited their storage unit and pulled out his climbing gear in anticipation of our visit.

When We Visited: March 27 – April 2, 2015

Ages of Kids: 9, 7, 4

Where We Stayed: Point of Rocks Campground is not your typical RV Park. The park has lots of shade, dirt roads, and huge granite boulders everywhere. Definitely more of a campground than an RV Park. We loved it. We were given a smaller site on the end (the best spots are in the back loop up against the boulders – note to self for next time) and settled in. And then we kept extending our stay again, and again, and again. By the time we left we had spent a week in this awesome town rock climbing, exploring, visiting nearby Watson Lake, and mountain biking.

Sam and I climbed quite a bit in college, so rock climbing isn’t new to us, but our kids had never been outside on “real” rocks. Andrew especially was pretty excited as we try to have regular rock climbing gym dates.We lined up an afternoon and a small group of us (including the awesome Ty, Sarah, Luna & Aki from mywifesadventure who we met the day before) walked out the back of the campground and into the Granite Dells.

Rich & Jodi frequent this area as a sort of “home base” of operations so Rich has been climbing all over the Dells and took us to a spot with a pretty easy 5.5/5.6 to start. Sam and Rich walked to the top of the crag to set up a top rope and the rest of us made our way to the bottom. After getting set up we took turns climbing the relatively easy first route and then Sam went up and switched the chains over to the next one for a little harder of a climb.

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We had a great afternoon! We encouraged each other, talked, the kids made forts, scrambled over the rocks, and ate snacks.  The littlest ones didn’t climb, so we took turns entertaining them. I also couldn’t resist pulling out my camera and doing a little impromptu lifestyle session of the Bennett family:

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Sarah’s first time rock climbing – doesn’t she look like a natural??

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How did it go with the kids that did climb? Andrew spider-manned his way to the top, but had trouble coming down. Jodi eventually went around to the top and pulled him over that way so they could walk down. Rachel struggles with heights and didn’t make it very far at all before she decided she was done, but had no trouble coming down. Sam, Jodi & I all climbed twice, Ty & Sarah both got in one climb (they had the youngest baby to juggle) and since Rich scraped up his leg mountain biking, he designated himself as belayer. After everyone had climbed we had Andrew practice climbing a bit, leaning back on the rope and coming back down. He was much more confident after that!

Rock Climbing Prescott_17I’ve warned Sam that if we really end up back here for a month or so next winter I’m so buying a rope and we are going climbing at least three times a week. We had such a fantastic time, that we did it again a few days later – only this time we brought livinginthemomentum with us as well! We are so grateful to Rich & Jodi for the use of their gear and expertise. You really can’t beat a rock climbing location with a view like this!

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