* Leaving Las Vegas - not quite. Do you remember what you did when you turned 20? It probably wasn't spending the entire day replacing a radiator on a pickup in the O'Reilly auto parts parking lot. Happy Birthday, Noah. (sorry)
* Death Valley is DRY. And dead. And salty. But has some really beautiful and colorful rock formations and really cool trails and canyons to walk/run. Would not ever want to be here in June/July/August. Can you say 120 degrees AVERAGE??! Crazy. That's shoe melting insanity.
*Joshua Trees are named because some early Morman traveler thought they looked liked Joshua holding up his hands to heaven. The National Park has some awesome boulders that you can really get lost in - or should I say - loose your boys in. (was a bit scared there for an hour)
* Staying in a campground with no electricity is dangerous if you run out of battery power and can't put the slide in on your RV. Thank God for a neighbor with a noisy generator. And a really long extension cord.
* San Diego has a few lakes in the middle of it. And Canadian geese. And some wacky black birds that attack each other on end for no apparent reason. And some coyotes that run and howl right outside the RV! Keep your pets inside!
* Paddle ball on the beach is a blast. So is throwing Frisbee - according to the boys. And so is surfing - at least - it looks like fun and my sons will tell me so when they try it. I will read a book thank you very much.
* Been here 4 days and I already do not ever want to leave. I admit I am feeling a bit guilty sitting in the sun in January. But since it's been in the high 30's back home I'm not feeling all that guilty!!
* 5 weeks and counting. Stay tuned!
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Rocky times . . .
Ah, to camp out by a lake. Peaceful, serene, quiet, great neighbors, lovely view, excellent facility . . . Now Vegas - um - not so much.
Phoenix is a great city. I could move there in a heart beat. The only draw back is time. As in, it takes so much of it to get anywhere. But, we had fun. The boys played disk golf, a couple rounds of real golf and we hiked to the summit of Camelback Mtn. Can not believe we did, in fact the boys thought absolutely, positively that I would never, ever, in this universe, ever get to the top. To which they stated over and over again how shocked they were that I did. Geez, oh ye of little faith. Well, it was pretty strenuous, and steep and I'm not one for heights, as in, I don't much like going on the second rung of a ladder, but - this was a mountain to conquer and conquer it I would! The boys ran, er, climbed, scampered, bouldered to the peak well before Gary and I - and while he and I were taking selfies on one side, the boys sat down on a ledge on the other side blocked by a huge group of college swimmers- (I know 'cause I chatted with them all the way down). Since the boys didn't see us, they just proceeded to climb back down and so we missed each other completely at the top. So when they got back down and didn't find us there, they thought I was taken away in an ambulance for sure. They couldn't believe that I really reached the summit. But hey, I have the pictures to prove it so come on now - and is it really, really that hard to believe? Come on guys! I mean it was hard, that is true, but it was invigorating at the same time. But I will say - I will never do it again. Bucket list #27 - check! (Thank God)
So, onward we roll. Las Vegas here we come! We climb the hills toward Hoover Dam and we loose power in the pickup and more water. OH NO! Radiator blows again! We stop every few miles, fill up with water and pray we make it to the next Walmart. Time for 'Stop Gap' again and 16 gallons of water to try to make it to the RV park by dusk. God was with us, (as always) and we sputtered in to our spot. After trips to the auto parts store, the mechanics on duty (Gary and the boys) fix the truck. Somewhat. Time will tell . . .
Sleep is a blessed commodity when you don't get it. When an RV park says 'conveniently located', it really means it sits beside a 6 lane super busy highway and right smack next to an airport. First night - no sleep. Then an angel of a front desk lady says, after a chatty conversation, "I have some ear plugs someone gave me!" They are the ones given to parents at rock concerts that they take their kids to, to drown out the loud music. Hey, I'll try anything. Miracle! Those things really work! Maybe that's what my entire family wears all day long - since they act like they never hear a single word I say!!! Finally, sleep. Nice.
After a treat at Whole Foods, we hiked the trails at Valley of Fire. Oh. My. Gosh. So now this is our new favorite thing - so far. It was breath-taking. The beauty of God's creation is so awesome we just stood there staring, trying to take it all in. Gorgeous. Majestic. Stunningly beautiful. I loved it because I could run and jump and then sit and gaze. The boys loved it because they could climb to the treacherous heights, crawl into perilous caves and leap from boulder to boulder. Fantastic. This is the Las Vegas I'm talking about.
It's raining all day today, so the hiking to Red Rock Canyon will have to wait til tomorrow, God willing. There are so so many trails just waiting to be hiked! Ah, the wonder of nature! Gotta love it.
We drove the strip to show the boys the lights and the hoop-la. The noise and the people. The hustle and bustle. They hated it. Our mantra to ask on this trip has been - Man made or God made? The God made sites always win out. They have been checking off places they DO NOT want to live. So far, there are none in the 'yes' or even 'maybe' column - so, we will move along.
I feel like Abraham, we know we are supposed to be going, we just don't know where we're meant to end up!
Happy trails, and stayed tuned!
Phoenix is a great city. I could move there in a heart beat. The only draw back is time. As in, it takes so much of it to get anywhere. But, we had fun. The boys played disk golf, a couple rounds of real golf and we hiked to the summit of Camelback Mtn. Can not believe we did, in fact the boys thought absolutely, positively that I would never, ever, in this universe, ever get to the top. To which they stated over and over again how shocked they were that I did. Geez, oh ye of little faith. Well, it was pretty strenuous, and steep and I'm not one for heights, as in, I don't much like going on the second rung of a ladder, but - this was a mountain to conquer and conquer it I would! The boys ran, er, climbed, scampered, bouldered to the peak well before Gary and I - and while he and I were taking selfies on one side, the boys sat down on a ledge on the other side blocked by a huge group of college swimmers- (I know 'cause I chatted with them all the way down). Since the boys didn't see us, they just proceeded to climb back down and so we missed each other completely at the top. So when they got back down and didn't find us there, they thought I was taken away in an ambulance for sure. They couldn't believe that I really reached the summit. But hey, I have the pictures to prove it so come on now - and is it really, really that hard to believe? Come on guys! I mean it was hard, that is true, but it was invigorating at the same time. But I will say - I will never do it again. Bucket list #27 - check! (Thank God)
So, onward we roll. Las Vegas here we come! We climb the hills toward Hoover Dam and we loose power in the pickup and more water. OH NO! Radiator blows again! We stop every few miles, fill up with water and pray we make it to the next Walmart. Time for 'Stop Gap' again and 16 gallons of water to try to make it to the RV park by dusk. God was with us, (as always) and we sputtered in to our spot. After trips to the auto parts store, the mechanics on duty (Gary and the boys) fix the truck. Somewhat. Time will tell . . .
Sleep is a blessed commodity when you don't get it. When an RV park says 'conveniently located', it really means it sits beside a 6 lane super busy highway and right smack next to an airport. First night - no sleep. Then an angel of a front desk lady says, after a chatty conversation, "I have some ear plugs someone gave me!" They are the ones given to parents at rock concerts that they take their kids to, to drown out the loud music. Hey, I'll try anything. Miracle! Those things really work! Maybe that's what my entire family wears all day long - since they act like they never hear a single word I say!!! Finally, sleep. Nice.
After a treat at Whole Foods, we hiked the trails at Valley of Fire. Oh. My. Gosh. So now this is our new favorite thing - so far. It was breath-taking. The beauty of God's creation is so awesome we just stood there staring, trying to take it all in. Gorgeous. Majestic. Stunningly beautiful. I loved it because I could run and jump and then sit and gaze. The boys loved it because they could climb to the treacherous heights, crawl into perilous caves and leap from boulder to boulder. Fantastic. This is the Las Vegas I'm talking about.
It's raining all day today, so the hiking to Red Rock Canyon will have to wait til tomorrow, God willing. There are so so many trails just waiting to be hiked! Ah, the wonder of nature! Gotta love it.
We drove the strip to show the boys the lights and the hoop-la. The noise and the people. The hustle and bustle. They hated it. Our mantra to ask on this trip has been - Man made or God made? The God made sites always win out. They have been checking off places they DO NOT want to live. So far, there are none in the 'yes' or even 'maybe' column - so, we will move along.
I feel like Abraham, we know we are supposed to be going, we just don't know where we're meant to end up!
Happy trails, and stayed tuned!
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