Category: The 50 States

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Hiking New York On the Water WanderLog

Upstate NY, Lake Placid, & The Adirondacks

Travel Dates: July 24-August 1, 2018

Our time in upstate New York ended up being one of our favorites.  We finally caught up with our friends, the Erickson’s, at Delta Lake State Park outside of Rome (not Italy).  Mostly we just needed a place that wasn’t too far of a drive where we could all hang out for a few days. This totally qualified.

We arrived late in the evening and all the kids were incredibly excited to see each other! Even Kai, the dog, got in on the action. Once we were parked and leveled (and this was the hardest level I think we’d EVER done in the last 4 years) we stayed up way too late talking and catching up.

The next morning, the dads needed to work so Alyssa and I dodged rain storms and scrammed with the kids to the nearby Fort Stanwix for a little road schooling field trip.

We managed to make it back to camp just before it started a downpour. Luckily games are much more fun with friends and no one got too bored. It was actually nice to have a down day and an excuse to stay inside and relax.

We recently purchased Splendor, which is a super fun 4 player game. I think Anibel and Rachel have now played it over and over and they are ready for the expansion!

The following day, the skies cleared, the sun came out and we spent the day at the beach. Sam and I were finally able to pull out the new Needle Nose SUP board that Sea Eagle boats sent us to test out. Unfortunately the beach wasn’t very launch friendly so it wasn’t an amazing test but felt good to be back on the water!

Lake Placid, New York

After a few days, it was time to move on. After debating back and forth about whether or not to visit Lake Placid we decided to go for it. Mostly we were concerned about cell signal (have to work) and whether or not we could find an electric site (the humidity has been nuts). Turns out the weather was perfect, we found a great little RV park to stay at and Lake Placid is now one of my favorite places.

“We paid for one night. And then another. And then three more after that. We almost skipped Lake Placid but I’m so grateful we didn’t. The cool night temperatures, mountain air, and relaxing friend time has been exactly what we all needed. Running around barefoot on the grass creating obstacle courses doesn’t hurt too much either.”

Our first order of business was to take a short walk on the Peninsula Trails and jump in Lake Placid.  The trails were fairly flat, the humidity bearable, and lake swimming is awesome. Perfect combination.

Swimming in Lake Placid

“There are some days where I look around and think, “What decisions did we make in our lives to land us here at this exact moment? Cause it’s pretty awesome.” Swimming in Lake Placid today was one of those.” – @currentlywandering

Hiking Cascade Mountain

One of our primary goals for the Lake Placid area was to HIKE. It’d been way too long and the Erickson’s, especially, were totally hankering for a good summit. After a bunch of research (mostly done by Alyssa) we settled on Cascade Mountain.

“Trees, rocks, more trees, lots of rocks. Sweat. A lot of sweat. Stair climb for hours and then an audible sigh of relief as the trail opens up near the top.

The kids give a whoop and are off like rockets scrambling their way to the summit.

It feels so good to be back in the mountains. The temperature has cooled down, the humidity is less, we don’t run the a/c all the time and have pulled out hoodies and long pants for the evenings.

We could definitely stay here for a bit.” – @currentlywandering

Starting our hike with a talk on Leave No Trace by the trail volunteers.

“There’s something incredibly disappointing about reaching a summit and having it be tree covered. @alyssakerickson worked hard to find us a rocky summit with a view and this one was pretty spectacular. The tallest peak here is only about 5,000 feet (so less than the town we live in) but what they lack for in height they make up for with vertical feet per mile on the trail. This one was STEEP. Which is killer on the way up AND on the way down.

Our kids were troopers and totally rocked it (literally) with only a few minor meltdowns along the way.” – @currentlywandering

Almost there! Short snack break with a teaser view.
Summit looking towards Mt. Marcy
Overlooking the town of Lake Placid

Mountain Biking and ALL the Swimming

Once again it was the mom’s turn to take the kids out while dads got work done. We do this often, mostly so Sam can have peace and quiet and everyone else is entertained but its way more fun with friends! We had kind of an epic afternoon.

Mirror Lake has a FANTASTIC public beach. The water is clear, the sand is good, there’s docks for the older kids to jump off and the boat launch is steps from the beach. All good things when two moms are trying to wrestle six kids.

Everyone liked it so much that the unanimous vote the following day was to return to the beach. Alyssa and I were able to sneak in a trail ride first thing (ALL the roots!) and then we took our paddle boards and played at the beach again for a few hours. We couldn’t have asked for better weather!

“Mirror Lake is a beautiful paddling location. It’s not overly large, and while it would take effort you could paddle across the entire thing. Sure the area is touristy, but not overly so. The weather yesterday was perfect and the water was like glass.

I had my first chance to really take our new @seaeagleboats Needle Nose SUP for a spin and this thing can really MOVE. I felt like it cut through the water with ease, its super stable, and easy to paddle. So excited to keep testing it out as we travel further east!

Thanks @alyssakerickson for standing on the shore and grabbing this shot of me. I love it!”

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We spent some time in downtown Lake Placid (touristy but there are some fun shops. Its super cute!), the adults made it down to Keene for a pie date and then it was time to move on!

Categories
New York

LDS Church History Sites – Kirtland & Palmyra

One of our goals for this trip was to visit the history sites for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most of our early history took place in Missouri, Ohio, and New York and many members will do just “Church history tours” with their kids.

Since we were going to be in the vicinity anyway, we made sure to visit the sites as we went. It meant going backwards in history (which can get kind of confusing with kids) but I think they managed okay!

When we suddenly left Cuyahoga on a Friday night we still had to visit the Kirtland Visitor Center which was about a 45 minute drive. The center doesn’t close until 9pm so arriving around 7:45pm gave us plenty of time for the guided tour from the sister missionaries.

My favorite part about all of these tours are the stories. Stories of the Prophet Joseph, stories of other settlers who were there. I can only imagine what it must have been like in the early days of the church – simultaneously so exciting (new revelations!) and so frightening (all the persecution!) at the same time.

Newel K. Whitney Store, Kirtland, OH

After sleeping in a Wal-Mart parking log in Eerie, PA and visiting Niagara Falls, we arrived in Palmyra just in time to shower, make dinner and attend the last performance of the Hill Cumorah Pageant. Having participated in the Manti Pageant two years ago, this was a special treat to see another one!

“The reason we called a crazy audible and suddenly drove accross 3 states was to make the last performance of The Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra, NY. The LDS church does 4 pageants: Nauvoo (saw a few years ago), Manti (the one we were in two years ago), Mesa (haven’t seen yet), and this one.

We originally thought there wasn’t a way to make this one happen, but we managed to find a way.

Each pageant is different, but there is some overlap. The scene captured here depicts Christ’s visit to the Americas after his Resurrection in Jerusalem. The Manti Pageant has a similar scene, which we were able to participate in.

It did rain lightly during the performance, but we were prepared with blankets and rain shells, and enjoyed it all the way through.” – @telegramsam

Hill Cumorah Pageant, Palmyra, NY

We needed a rest anyway, so we spent both Sunday and Monday in Palmyra visiting church history sites, relaxing, and attending the temple. We loved the service missionaries there and everyone made us feel super welcome!

Joseph Smith’s boyhood home in Palmyra, NY

“We’ve spent the last few days exploring Palmyra, NY. For most people there’s really not much here, but for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this area has incredible importance.

I sat for a moment outside this small log cabin where Joseph Smith lived and just thought if everything that had to come together in order for him to restore Christ’s gospel. It’s incredible. Just a few yards away is the forest where he went to pray, and down the road is the Hill Cumorah where he recovered an ancient set of scriptures.

Believe what you will, but the sacrifice of these early saints for something THEY believed in with their whole souls is inspiring. Some of them gave up everything, including their lives. Do we have that much conviction about anything?

From being nicknamed “Sister Airstream” by the missionary couples in the temple, to seeing the Hill Cumorah pageant, walking through the Sacred Grove, and visiting the Peter Whitmer farm where our church was physically organized, these last few days have been spiritually enriching.

Find something you believe in that feeds your soul.” – @currentlywandering

Hill Cumorah Visitor Center, Palmyra, NY

Tuesday morning we stopped by the Grandin Building in downtown Palmyra. It was fascinating to see the old printing shop and learn about the process to print 5000 initial copies of the Book of Mormon.

Grandin Print Shop, Palmyra, NY

We heard such good things about the Peter Whitmer farm from the missionaries in Palmyra that we decided to drive by on our way out of town. I’m so glad we did! We watched the video about what happened there in Palmyra and since we only had a short time we spent most of our time in the re-created home.

Peter Whitmer Farm, Lafayette, NY

After leaving I asked Rachel if I bought the Work and the Glory series would she read it with me? She seemed excited so we grabbed all 9 books (and they are BIG!) off Amazon to read. Having visited many of the places in the books gives me such a great understanding of so many of the sacrifices required of the early Saints. I’m so grateful to them!

While not a huge piece of our eastward journey, I’m so glad we took the time to visit these special places. I’m hoping that as we swing back west we’ll also be able to stop by Far West and Independence for that piece of our history as well!

Categories
National Parks New York Ohio

Cuyahoga National Park and Niagara Falls

I had heard there was a national park in Ohio, and since our route was taking us close by we decided to make Cuyahoga National Park our first stop after Cedar Point. Originally the plan was to spend four days there over the weekend allowing time for Sam to catch up on a work and we could rest.

Sometimes things don’t always go according to plan.

We found a nice city park with a “strong” 20amp hook up which allowed us to run our air conditioner (needed in the humid and hot climate!). After checking the weather we decided that hiking early afternoon would be best and set out to see the Ledges Trail in one section of the park.

“The Ledges Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park reminded me, surprisingly, of NW Arkansas. Only Arkansas has more mountain biking. We were planning to take a few days near the park to recover from Cedar Point and get caught up on life but one thing led to an insane dash and we only had an afternoon. We made the most of it. Loved learning about the early canal and lock system (fascinating way of life – our next house might be a river boat), got sweaty on a humid hike (I hate those), earned a Jr. Ranger badge (we’ve lost count) and saw Brandywine Falls. ✔️” – @currentlywandering

We then spent some time at both the Boston Mill Visitor Center where the kids started their Jr Ranger badges, and at the Canal Exploration Center about 20 minutes north of that. Learning about the canal system, the transportation of people and goods, and the locks were completely fascinating. Such a cool piece of American history!

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When we got back to the trailer around 5:30 or 6pm Sam casually tossed out the idea of leaving that evening. If we sped things up *just* a little we would catch up with our friends, the Erickson’s, sooner plus we could make it to Palmyra in time for the Hill Cumorah Pageant. The kids voted enthusiastically in favor so we gobbled dinner, hitched up and left. Just like that.

“Today we visited Niagara Falls. Visiting on a Saturday wasn’t particularly wise, but we had a reason that I’ll get into in future posts.

We visited with the Airstream in tow, and immediately headed to the most remote parking lot, where we were the longest rig parked today. We decided to use our bikes to get around and that worked very well even with the large crowds we encountered. We walked into Canada (no bikes allowed across the walking border) for Poutine (at Smoke’s Poutinerie) and Ice Cream. We discovered that the insanity on the American side was tame by comparison to the absolute circus present on the Canadian side.

On the way back to the Airstream, I captured this view on a slightly lesser used trail. You can just see the top of the falls and a plume of mist in front of Canadian city. Just for this one moment, it was peaceful.” -@telegramsam

We had bigger plans for Niagara (like a boat tour or the aquarium, or anything really) but as it was a Saturday and we didn’t want to fight hordes of people our walk into Canada was deemed sufficient.

We loaded back into the Airstream for the 2.5 hour drive to Palmyra, NY and were off!

Categories
Ohio WanderLog

Crossing the Great Plains & ALL the Rollercoasters

Every time we head east from Colorado it gives me chills. There’s something about being past the Rocky Mountains that really makes it feel like we are going somewhere new, exciting, and different. I love it.

Until we get to the humidity. Dun, dun, dun.

The midwest was HOT and ridiculously humid and mostly we just all wanted to die. 🙂 Okay, it wasn’t that bad but having electric hookups every night to run the a/c and our new dehumidifier was pretty much a necessity.

“Mornings in the Airstream are my favorite. Sam is amazing at getting up early to work, but the rest of us usually sleep in. Cara will come snuggle me in bed and at some point breakfast makes it on the table.

Maybe this is our last big trip in the Airstream. Maybe we’ll continue to travel for a few more years. Either way I’m going to just enjoy it while it lasts.” – @currentlywandering

“Our surprisingly pleasant stop last night was a city run RV campground in Gothenburg. Not only was our brief stay wonderful, but we managed a quick visit to the town’s Pony Express museum. The original building was relocated to a city park, and there is another nearby on it’s original site. Such an audacious slice of history. #currensdriveeast” – @telegramsam

“Just an hour into today’s drive, we stopped at the Archway Meseum in Kearney. The exhibits and audio tour presented the history of travel in America, starting with wagons and ending with motor cars. It was awesome, and just the bit of adventure we needed before driving into the evening. #currensdriveeast” – @telegramsam

We’ve made it habit get work and some school done in the morning and then drive 4-6 hours in the afternoon and sometimes late into the evening.

Rinse and repeat. Sometimes I feel like a total wimp for not being able to knock out a gazillion miles in a few days but there’s that pesky thing called work. Someone has to pay the bills I guess.

We found a lakeside campground in Omaha that was near the LDS temple we wanted to visit, along with the Winter Quarters church history site. Staying put for 2 days felt awesome.

Then… more driving.

Amazon lockers are a great way to get packages on the road. We needed a few things so shipped ahead to a small town in Indiana. Kind of a pain to drive through with the Airstream to pick it up but also nice!

“On our drive yesterday, we stumbled into the third-largest Amish community in the country. The mix of old and new was fascinating. In this picture there are two buggies parked in front of a skate park, while the adults were talking at picnic tables (out of frame to the left) and the kids were playing on the playground to the right.

I have a huge amount of respect for the Amish and Mennonite communities. Making lifestyle choices to improve your family relationships is something I totally understand.” – @telegramsam

“There’s something to be said for driving the back roads. Twice now we’ve opted to skip the toll roads and instead drive through the country. I love the sleepy farm houses and imagining what life would be like in the towns that whiz by in a blur past our windows.

For people who normally cap driving time at 150 miles/3 hours every 4-5 days this week was pretty epic. Turns out we really can move if provided the right motivation.

In the last 7 days we drove from Rocky Mountain NP, CO to Sandusky Ohio for a grand total of 1321 miles, and over 20+ hours of Google drive time (which always grossly underestimates time while towing). Plus Sam was working 6+ hours a day and we attempted to get some school done. That’s the biggest difference. I realize families on road trips easily do 15+ hour stretches but when you are living on the road vacation time isn’t always a possibility and there are only so many hours in a day.

Next time we drive the Midwest let’s not do it in the middle of summer mmkay? 98 degrees and 900% humidity make me cranky. 😂” -@currentlywandering

Cedar Point Amusement Park hit our radar when our friends, KidProject, picked it as a birthday stop for their oldest. Rachel and Andrew ganged up on us and requested it for BOTH their birthdays (one in August, one in Sept).

It was a blast. It also felt like our first “real” stop on this trip and that we could finally get this party started!

“Today was an epic coaster day, including massive acceleration, incredible speed, and even a VR experience whilst on a coaster. Cedar Point is a pile of fun and then some. #andimtired” – @telegramsam

“ALL the rollercoasters. I don’t remember the last time our kids were this excited. Apparently we don’t do theme parks enough, er… Like ever. Happy birthday Rachel and Andrew! I just hope I don’t puke. 🤢😂” – @currentlywandering

“We survived!! Okay, okay, it was a blast. A little bit sunburnt, a whole lot exhausted, and we desperately need groceries and a laundromat. A couple of things we realized in this trip:

⭐ Rachel is a rollercoaster nut – we are exhausted and yet she says she could ride them all day everyday.
⭐The park felt safe enough for Rachel & Andrew to wander by themselves for a few hours and ride the coatsers we didn’t want to.
⭐We used talk about radios to keep track of each other. They worked great since we were constantly splitting into two groups.
⭐Cara has a fear of heights, going upside down, and long drops so she didn’t ride anything big, but we got her on some of the small coasters so we’ll call that a win. And wait a few years before doing another theme park.
⭐Use the child swap if you have smaller kids. It’s a great way to all get on the bigger rides without waiting twice. Worked great.
⭐ Staying at the park campground was totally worth it. We had early entry (only way we were able to ride Steel Vengeance), plus we could come back for meals which saved a ton of money.
⭐Our second day we slept in and then spent 4 hours at the water park. They have an amazing kid area, tons of slides and we practically fell asleep on the lazy river it was so relaxing.
⭐Then we were able to hit the park again from 5-11pm and do all our favorites. Lines are definitely shorter at night!
⭐The all you can drink wristbands are a great value and cheapt if you buy them online rather than in the park.
⭐ Dramamine works great. ✔️✔️
⭐That said I prefer the coasters that just go fast vs always flipping upside down and corkscrewing.

Thanks @alyssakerickson for scoping this out and clueing my kids into it! They said it was the BEST birthday present ever. 😂🎂” -@currentlywandering

Categories
Colorado National Parks

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Travel Dates: July 6-9, 2018

This was our first visit to Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes, CO. I had heard it was a busy park, so staying over the weekend wasn’t ideal but it allowed us to meet up with family from Minnesota and Utah so totally worth it!

I can’t remember who gave us the heads up about the new bike park in Estes, CO but thank you!! 💕 Before we entered RMNP and no signal land, Sam needed to get some extra work done so we hung out in Estes for a few hours. Made lunch, rode the pump track, and checked out the features. Its a really well done area and we loved it! Andrew has totally been rocking the @prevelobikes Zulu 4 for the last year. As much as we love our Woombikes for younger kids he wanted a front shock for mountain biking and this one has been amazing. Super light weight, great components, and it’s handled the beating of being on the back of our truck. 👍👍 I love how capable our kids can be when we provide them the right tools! . . . #prevelobikes #kidsonbikes #partner #estespark #currensdriveeast

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After experiencing the craziness of the park on Saturday, we decided to just attend the park worship service instead of driving out to Estes for normal church (serious, the lines to get IN the park were ridiculous). Afterwards, we drove up the Old Fall River Road to the top of the pass and the Alpine Visitor Center. It was quite the scenic drive! The old road is one-way, dirt, and switchbacks up the mountain to the tundra with some incredible views along the way. The Alpine Tundra is it’s own unique environment – the growing season is a short 6 weeks and animals must adapt to the strong, ultra violet light and harsh temperatures. We live on a pretty amazing planet! 🌎 #currensdriveeast

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I’ve learned a few things about myself with this transition between the Airstream and the condo. I NEED adventure. I crave it. I’m not content to sit still and do very little. I love exploring, I love seeing new things. Probably at an unhealthy pace. Fortunately my need for an “epic” coincided nicely with our stay at RMNP. Sam was off for the weekend and fully supported my semi-crazy idea to hike a 10 miler out to Black Lake and back (it’s been awhile since we’ve done that kind of distance). Best. Husband. Ever. We gave the kids the option to join us or hang with family and I was delighted they joined us. My 8 year old nephew was also excited about topping our hike to Iceberg Lake in Glacier NP last summer. So, the 6 of us got up early for our trek up the mountain side. It was glorious. Once past Mills Lake the trail gets rougher which also means the crowds thin out. We arrived at the lake around lunch which was the perfect time to dip our toes in, snack on good trail food, watch a marmot scamper through the bushes, and throw rocks in the water to make ripples. With my face turned up to the sun, and the mountains in front of me I just soaked it all in. Back at camp Andrew told me he was “the good kind of tired”. Me too, kid. Me too.

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