Categories
Outdoor Gear

Getting Flexible with our Wedding Rings

DSCF5657About a year ago, I lost my Titanium wedding ring in my dad’s shop when I took it off during an Airstream improvement project. With traditional rings there is always the risk of de-gloving a finger around power tools or during activities like rock climbing. I’m pretty religious about taking it off during projects. We replaced that ring with one made out of Tungsten Carbide as its very durable and doesn’t scratch easy. Unfortunately its also very heavy.

Several months ago, I was introduced to Enso Rings via Kickstarter (have you noticed a trend yet?) and took a chance they’d be a great, light weight replacement for my heavy wedding ring. Enso Rings are “hand-crafted out of a lightweight, durable composite silicone that’s engineered to take a beating and adapt to your active lifestyle.  They’re hypo-allergenic, non-toxic, and versatile.” They are also designed to break before de-gloving a finger.

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Their Kickstarter project included a His and Hers set, so Jess picked one out as well.  Since then, we have worn these rings canoeing, mountain biking, hiking, weight lifting, swimming, rock climbing, pageant acting, and canyoneering. We also have worn them to church, social events, and during our everyday activities. They are an all around great piece of adventure gear! We both love being able to leave our rings on all the time. Definitely harder to lose them that way!

Our new rings are both safer than traditional metal rings, and substantially cheaper as prices run from $15 to $25 depending on the style. Since their initial launch, Enso Rings has also introduced a Stackable  collection for women that Jess has her eye on. Since they are so cheap, its easy to justify having more than one!

5 Reasons To Wear Enso Silicone Rings

#1. Safety – to help protect your finger from ring avulsion, degloving and amputation.

#2. Versatility – the perfect ring alternative for all activities and jobs – i.e. firemen, military, medical field, etc..

#3. Traveling – go ahead and leave the diamond at home, this is the perfect travel ring for all types of adventures.

#4. Active Lifestyle – help you stay active and healthy – you don’t need to take off your ring to exercise, hike, bike, swim, etc.

#5. Convenience – because you’re sick of taking your ring off and you’re tired of your ring getting in the way of what you do.

There are actually two companies that make rings similar to this: Enso and Qalo. Qalo seems to focus on carefully chosen materials, with a target market of craftsmen and weightlifters. Their rings are thicker, and have a logo on the outside. The Enso rings we have have no company logo on the outside, which helps them look just like a regular wedding ring. They are a bit thinner as well, which makes them pretty darn comfortable.

Despite their good looks, these rings are cheap. This gives me some comfort taking them on outdoor trips, where a lost ring will be nearly impossible to recover. On our canoe trip, my ring didn’t slide around on my hands like it usually does as my water chilled hands shrink slightly. Even if I did lose or destroy it, it is cheap to replace.

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We still have our wedding rings, and we can wear them anytime we want. Jess does wear hers on and off depending on the occasion. My Enso ring is so much more comfortable that I haven’t put my metal ring on since!

Categories
Arkansas National Parks On the Water

A Canoeing Service Project on the Buffalo National River, Arkansas

The morning we left Hot Springs National Park, we made a quick decision to take the long way to Bentonville and drive past the Buffalo National River. The drive through the backroads was beautiful, and we were rewarded with an empty campground at Tyler Bend. We were startled to discover that we had great Verizon, and started asking ourselves how long we could manage to stay.

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After the fairly crowded campground at Hot Springs, we really appreciated the space we had to enjoy. We found our way to the river and explored a small section our first evening there.DSCF4800

The kids worked on a Junior Ranger Badge the next morning, and we found a short hike to enjoy as well. With time in Texas still on our mind, we were blown away by the beauty of the hills and the river. We very quickly began to wonder if there was a reasonable way to get ourselves onto the river.

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While Junior Rangering, Jess discovered a service project had been organized for the very next day with the intent of cleaning up a 7 mile section of the Buffalo River’s 150 miles. Despite an expired reservation date, we called and were accepted into the project.

We left that evening after only one night in our empty campground and headed upriver to the Ozark Campground. Our project started at Pruitt Landing (just a few road miles away) and we wanted to be situated close for convenience. The ranger assured us that we would have no trouble pulling a 28ft Airstream down the gravel road into Ozark.

The ranger didn’t happen to mention that the highway to the campground was under serious construction, and that the steep gravel entrance road would present a 4 wheel drive worthy challenge. After cresting the summit we briefly re-evaluated our lives, and somehow decided to continue down the hill to the campground. We encountered similarly steep grades as we crept down the road and miraculously didn’t meet any cars on the narrow road.

We really should have taken pictures of our entertaining experience, but we were focused on remaining alive. We did make it into the campground fine (and back out two nights later), but I would not recommend this campground with a similar rig unless you REALLY wanted to stay right there and have sufficient intestinal fortitude.

Anyway, back to the project…

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We left the Airstream at the Ozark campground and arrived at Pruitt Launch with suitable clothes, sandals, and water, snacks, and lunch. A local canoe outfitter was generous enough to supply canoes, vests, and paddles for volunteers, and we spread ourselves between two of them. After some short instruction, the group headed off down the river.

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We were immediately struck with the incredible beauty of this river.  As we slowly scanned the riverbanks for garbage, we had plenty of time to appreciate the views.

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About halfway down our planned section, we made a stop for lunch at the convergence of the Little Buffalo. Happy to be out of the boats, the kids stacked some rocks, swam a bit, and ate our packed lunch.

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We spent some lunchtime getting to know some of the other volunteers. Nearly all of them lived in the immediate area and frequented the river. The group was mostly older couples, and they welcomed our young family with three kids.

We also dropped off some of the larger trash items we had collected. At this point, that consisted of a collection of car tires, a smashed steel drum, and an old metal kitchen stove. One of the locals planned to come in by land with an ATV to haul that out. Emptying our canoes turned out to be a good idea, as the second half of our trip filled our canoes back up with newly removed garbage.

Rachel and I gained the honor of paddling this huge semi-truck tire out. Spotted by Cara, this tire was embedded in the rocks and gravel on the riverbank, and even had some roots growing through it. We dug it out, and wrestled it onto the canoe. It was filled with rocks and gravel, but I managed to empty most of that out during a portage just downstream.

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Along with the big stuff, we picked up plenty of smaller trash. Most of this was picked off the riverbanks, stuck in bushes and trees. We were appalled at how much garbage there was, and asked the locals about it.

A little of the trash was from river travelers, but the bulk of the larger garbage was the result of local flooding that washed things out of yards and down river. In spite of all the garbage we picked up, don’t get the idea that the river was a garbage heap. It was beautiful, and finding trash really took a sharp eye.

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By the time we reached our takeout at Hasty, we were only half done with the job. We had to carry all the tires and garbage up the steep bank to the parking lot. The picture below on the right was our garbage haul (with our one huge truck tire), and the picture on the left is a picture of just SOME of the tires from our group. By the time we had it all hauled up and loaded onto the truck, the pile was shockingly huge.

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The service project done, we shuttled cars and then made our way to the Ozark Cafe in Jasper for some well earned burgers and milkshakes.

Service opportunities are difficult to find while traveling full time, so we like to take advantage of them while we can This experience turned the Buffalo River into one of our all time favorite places, and we are already scheming how we can go back and paddle more of it!

Categories
Biking Texas WanderLog

Mountain Biking at Flat Rock Ranch, Texas

This last spring we spent a few weeks in Texas. After playing tourist in San Antonio we were ready for a break in the country. We made a quick stop at the WoomBike headquarters to pick up some demo bikes and then we headed out into the hill country to Flat Rock Ranch – a private ranch that has also built miles of mountain biking trails.

Travel Dates: March 31st – April 2nd, 2016

Ha! Currently more bikes than people. Good thing @woombikesusa had a really sweet @sea_sucker sucker rack we could borrow for the roof. Can’t wait to hit the trails this weekend! -@currentlywandering

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The kids wasted no time getting right to the business of playing with friends. We were joined by @livinginthemomentum and couldn’t be happier to spend the weekend hitting the trails with them!

This particular weekend was also our General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were planning to hang out and ride trails in between watching and listening sessions on Saturday.

“Starting the weekend a little early and I can tell it’s going to be a good one!” -@jesscurren

Once the trails mostly dried out the next day we went for a ride. Margaret Leigh and I went on a girls’ ride and the Sam borrowed a mountain bike so that the two of us could go out together. Definitely solidified our desire to trade the cyclo cross bike  for a second mountain bike.

The trails at Flat Rock Ranch are pretty varied. There are some incredibly technical climbs that I can’t imagine anyone being able to ride, but also some great swoopy downhill sections, lung busting climbs (that aren’t so technical), and beautiful views!

Cara managed to loose her first front tooth and with the addition of her new glasses, she suddenly looks much older than almost 6. Our baby is growing up!

Love that we have been able to spend so much time with our road friends! The kids set up a tent among the hammocks for a play area. They attempted to sleep in it, but luckily they all came in as we had a wicked hail and rain storm our first night. While it made us a little nervous there was no serious damage.  

“Math Question: if we had a dime for every piece of dime-sized hail in@jesscurren‘s hands, how much money would she be holding?” – @telegramsam

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“Our vehicle for adventure. Although today’s overcast and windy weather might call for baking and curling up with a good book.” – @currentlywandering

We did find some trails for the kids to ride! Some of it they had to walk, but most was single track and pretty ride-able for the older kids. Cara didn’t do much riding, but she wasn’t really in the mood and we didn’t want to push her.

In between sessions of#ldconf we hit the trails in various groups. The older kids and moms (@livinginthemomentum), just Sam and I, and one last ride with just me and@riveted_rachel. This girl kills it on the uphills. So proud of her and happy to be her mom. Even we fight. Love you kid! -@currentlywandering

DSCF4457-1Our last night we threw wood together and had a roaring campfire to keep away the chill. Loved relaxing and talking with our friends while most of the kids had a late movie night in the trailer!

Campfires with friends on a ranch in Texas hill country. Doesn’t get much better! -@currentlywandering

We had a fantastic weekend! I love being able to camp right in a trail system as it makes riding so much faster and easier! The kids can stay at the trailer and play while the adults get out and there’s no commute!

Next up: Eating Our Way Through Austin, TX

Categories
Airstream Accessories Outdoor Gear

Wipe Out! Cleaning Up in the Boondocks

Wipe Out! Cleaning Up in the Boondocks - from Currently Wandering

There are a few terms that get tossed around in the RV/camping world that are probably unfamiliar to most people. While I’ve never seen an actual dictionary to define these terms, we’ve been around for awhile and we’ve seen a general consensus among the full time crowd. Many travelers prefer to stay in RV Parks, but for those of us that like to get out of typically cramped and overcrowded spaces there are a lot more options out there! Here are a few definitions for clarification purposes:

Boondocking: Camping (in a trailer or otherwise) on BLM land or in a National Forest with no fees or established campground. The general rule is to camp where others have, i.e. set up near an established fire ring, but there’s no ranger or camp host, and hopefully very few neighbors. For more info, check out this article on RV share – they did a pretty good job of covering the basics.

Dry camping: Camping in an established campground with no hookups. Generally there are bathrooms (typically pit toilets or “long drops” as we call them), and water spigots in the loop but nothing at your actual site. Fees are usually minimal, anywhere from $5-$15 per night.

It’s no secret we love to park our Airstream out in the wilderness, and we find that both Boondocking and Dry Camping are our favorite options when deciding where to stay. Not only is it cheaper, but generally more pleasant.

With five people in our family managing water can be tough, especially in the summer when everyone gets hot and sweaty. Then we start to smell, and living in 188 sq feet with smelly people is not fun. Since showering uses quite a bit of water we’ve found other ways to clean up after time on the trail or even just a few days lounging around in the back country.

Showering Wipes

Think baby wipes, but for adults. We’ve tried two different brands (well, three if you count our first epic failure almost three years ago but we won’t discuss that one) and they have both have their pros and cons but generally leave us feeling refreshed.

Action Wipes – Probably the most recognizable brand when it comes to body wipes as these guys have been around for quite awhile. The Epic Fail three years ago was trying an off brand when we should have just started with these guys. You can buy them individually packaged (which we prefer) or in a 30 count box (again, think baby wipes).

These body wipes are a pre-moistened towelette, that have a natural, clean, fresh scent. They smell great when you are using them and the smell dissipates quickly. They claim one Action Wipe is equal to 25 gallons of water which is the average amount of water used in a 10 minute shower. Granted, our showers are never 10 minutes long, but you get the picture. Their formula uses pure essential oils that are also great for cleaning minor cuts, scrapes and even poison oak & poison ivy oils although I really hope to never have to test that one out!

We’ve found that one wipe generally cleans all the dirtiest bits – you start with a quick wipe down of arms and legs, then move to chest, armpits, and the private parts last (because those are generally the dirtiest!).  There’s a couple of times I’ve felt like I could possibly use two – and if you are caked in adventure dirt you’ll definitely want to double up!

Action Wipes are strong and customers have sent it dozens of ideas on how to re-purpose them once you are finished with your shower!

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41ra68IeKZLBuy Action Wipes on Amazon

Epic Wipes – These guys are the new kids on the block. We were sent a box of Epic Wipes to test out as part of their Kickstarter Advertising campaign. My first reaction was that they are HUGE. They’ve got some serious heft to them, and I’m not sure I’d want to pack them on a long backpacking trip as they’d add extra weight. Probably depends on how dirty we think we’d get.

That said, having a little more wipe is kind of nice sometimes. They claim their wipes are “two handed” and you can actually manage to clean your back! Epic Wipes are made from bamboo so they are 100% biodegradable and are also made with antibacterial essential oils and are paraben and toxin free.

After a quick ride on the Slickrock trail in Moab, UT I pulled one out to test it and immediately tore it in half and let Sam use the other side. Half of it was still larger than our Action Wipes and I felt like I could get really, really clean. It was awesome. I can’t wait to be dirty enough to use the entire thing!
Epic Wipes_01 Epic Wipes_02 Size comparison:

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Photo credit: Epic Wipes

Epic Wipe vs Action Wipe Size comparison

I don’t know that I have an opinion one way or another between the two brands. I think they are both useful in different situations and plan to keep both on hand at all times!

Dry Shampoo

My other best friend while dry camping or boondocking is dry shampoo. Honestly, I have many friends in sticks & bricks houses that use dry shampoo on a regular basis in between showers so this is nothing new. There are many arguments claiming washing hair too often actually strips away healthy oils and can damage your hair.

Dry shampoo soaks up excess oils in between shampooing your hair leaving your locks looking fresher and less greasy. I’ve also found that spraying dry shampoo on my hair, combing it through, and then styling with my flat iron combats the “I just need to wash my hair so that I can do something with it” syndrome.

My favorite brand lately has been Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo. No particular reason other than I’ve found it both on Amazon and at most Kroger brand stores (probably other places too but I don’t go through it that often). It also smells really good. That’s a definite must.

Don’t forget to comb it through your hair once you spray your roots and hair! It comes out white and looks a bit like dandruff if you don’t comb it through. I generally wash my hair every three days, and can stretch that a little longer if I use dry shampoo a few times as well.

Herbal Essences Dry Shampoo

Buy Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo on Amazon

There you go! Cleaning up doesn’t necessarily have to mean a full on shower (or “Navy Shower” as usually happens around here). Honestly, sometimes I’m just in a hurry and need to clean up fast after a mountain bike ride or I’m feeling really lazy and don’t want to walk to the camp shower. Either way these products help me feel refreshed without taking the time to soap down!

Cleaning off in the back country

Categories
Backpacking Biking California Hiking Mommy Diaries On the Water Outdoor Adventures Rock Climbing Utah

Join Me at REI’s Outessa Summit This Summer!

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In the last two years of traveling we really haven’t made an effort to attend any conferences or workshops. Pre-travel I would attend at least one photography workshop a year, and Sam would often have 2-3 tech conferences he attended. All part of keeping up our skills, networking, and getting inspiration for new projects or ideas. Conferences were also a way to get some dedicated “me time” in and I’ve missed that a lot!

This year we’ve decided to remedy our imbalance. I’m feeling a little stagnant and definitely ready for a weekend away where I can focus on my needs and projects without guilt or interruption. There’s just something about have at least 24 quiet, magnificent hours all to myself that lends itself to increased satisfaction and productivity when I get home. Sam already has a few tech conferences he’s been missing so we’ve added those to the calendar, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted.

As I searched around for blogger conferences or something along those lines (since photography isn’t my main focus at this point) a friend mentioned REI’s Outessa Summit. I knew instantly I wanted to attend.  After some discussion with Sam about logistics, travel schedules, and plans for the rest of the year we both agreed that this would be really good for me.  Even better, through some other connections I was able to talk with the co-founder, Julia Stamps Mallon, and volunteer as a photographer/blogger for the event in exchange for discounted admission. I’m looking forward to an awesome weekend of outdoor recreation and sharing it with all of you!

Outessa Summit is a women’s only weekend getaway at either Kirkwood, CA or Powder Mountain, UT. With over 200 activities to choose from, professional guides and mentors, plenty of healthy, fulfilling food, and beautiful mountain scenery I’m completely stoked for this event! I’ve signed up for the Powder Mountain event that will take place from September 9 -11, 2016 in Eden, UT. They are also setting up “Camp Outessa” where you can bring your own camping gear to sleep, but they provide showers (most appreciated!) & bathrooms.

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After registering, you’ll be able to log in and sign up for classes. While I would love to mountain bike ALL day, each type of sport is limited to one class so that everyone gets a chance to participate. I think this limitation also encourages women to sign up for activities they normally wouldn’t try. Have you always wanted to try rock climbing but don’t know how? What about trail running? Nervous about backpacking, kayaking, or even just how to cook around a campfire? They seriously have classes for all of the above!

I’ve signed up for an intermediate rock climbing class, intermediate mountain biking, GRID foam rolling, making healthy granola bars and snacks, a night trail run (Hello! NOT a runner!) as well as an ElliptoGO class. My goals are to hone and develop my skills for activities I already love while trying out some new sports as well.

After breaking into classes for most of the day, everyone comes back for a family-style dinner in the evening, campfire chats, and s’mores.

I’ll admit I was a little hesitant at first about the “women only” designation. I’ve never been one to need a girl’s night out, or feel more comfortable hanging out with my girlfriends rather than my family. Sam is, and always will be, my favorite choice for an outdoor adventure partner, even if it sometimes is logistically inconvenient for both of us to be away. However, recently I was able to go on a ride with a friend from Lehi who loves to mountain bike, as well as hike with Alyssa from Kidproject.org (and all of ours kids!). I’m learning there’s something powerful and comforting in finding like-minded girlfriends who love to be outdoors as much as I do.  So even though it may be a little outside my comfort zone, I’m looking forward to making connections with other women like me – those who love and live in the outdoors as much as they possibly can.

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Event Details:

REI Outessa Summit: Powder Mountain, Utah
Friday September 9 @ 8am – Sunday September 11 @ 5pm
Registration Link

REI Outessa Summit: Kirkwood, CA
Friday August 19 @ 8am – Sunday, August 21 @ 5pm
Registration Link