California’s a Big State (final post):: The Redwoods

North we go and once again find the coast.  At first site of the ocean (around Eureka, CA), the kids were so excited (and it was so beautiful) that we pulled the whole rig over for an ocean play break.  Chilly but awesome!

Klamath, CA – right smack dab in the middle of Redwood State and National Parks.  State and National?  We’d never heard of this kind of park collaboration before so I was concerned our National Parks Pass wouldn’t get us in to the park or that there would be extra day use fees.  Turns out that we were not charged a fee (and I didn’t even need to present the pass) though there were fees posted.  The Junior Ranger Program was quite similar to the others the kids have done at other national parks except the lack of a present ranger at the visitors’ center prompted the gift shop attendant to leave me in charge of swearing in my rangers when their work was complete.  OK.  I guess this would have been a bother for the kids had they not done so many previously but they liked completing their activities at home and having the badge to add to their collection right away.  I did a little research after the fact to look into this ‘state and national parks’ thing.

The Redwoods comprises such a big area of the coast that the Highway 101 runs right through it.  The scenic highway (parallel) takes the traveler west just a bit to drive among the towering redwood trees.  It’s really a breathtaking drive all the way up to Crescent City.  There are hiking trails at turnouts all along the scenic highway poriton so there really is no need to hit the visitor center unless additional information is required.  The park host at the RV park where we stayed gave us a great regional map and a finger-walking map-tour of the highpoints of the area so we were ready!  While Chris worked one day, the kids and I went off and found The Farm – Radar Station B-71 tucked in and overgrown overlooking the Pacific.  It is two buildings that were built in 1942 to look like an operating farm post-Pearl Harbor and equipped to monitor for Japanese coastal threats.  We felt like explorers and detectives and the like as we waded through tall grass to get down to the buildings and peered in the barred windows.  It sparked an in-depth conversation and some Google research (on the phone in the car) about WWII, Pearl Harbor, and the bombing of Hiroshima.  The historical perspective our kids have is so objective and impartial.  It is not based on some agenda-laden history text or a particular teacher’s biases or…. fear.  The discussions we have about human behavior and historical happenings are fascinating.  When we brought Chris back to check it out, it had been mowed.  So it did not seem as laden with ghosts and mystery but it was still cool.

We took a couple of hikes during our week in the Redwoods.  The kids immediately commented on how they felt like gnomes in a giant world.  (We have a GREAT and heavily read book on gnomes so we’re up on our gnome knowledge.)  I couldn’t stop an internal giggle after that.  I did, too!  Then I read that the woodsy portions of The Lost World: Jurassic Park were filmed there and we imagine dinosaurs ambling, scurrying, and rumbling through the humongous ferns and collossal plants.  Then Chris remembered that the Endor scenes of Return of the Jedi were filmed among the redwoods and we were giddy with talk of ewoks.  Yes, these trees (and, for that matter, all of the giant plants and thick greenery) evoke a feeling of being small, childlike, vulnerable, inquistive, wild, and adventurous. 

We also spent a cloudy day at the beach before being warned by a passerby about sleeper waves.  Eek!  With all of the signs about being in a ‘tsunami hazard zone’, we didn’t know about these rogue waves.  Apparently it’s a pretty regular hazard.  Glad we had a lovely rogue-wave-free day before scurrying back to the car and home for dinner!

There are several Roosevelt elk viewing hotspots in the Redwoods as well.  Once nearly extinct, preservation practices have helped increase their numbers to over 1,000.  We got a great roadside view of a small herd grazing across from the Prairie Creek Visitor Center. 

The night we arrived at our RV park in Klamath was the first Celtics NBA playoff game.  And we arrived to find that in my web surfing of the various local RV parks, I had inadvertently chosen one without cable hookup.  Chris was freaking out quietly when we got there (I had prepaid over the phone) but the host hooked us up immediately with a satellite box he had on hand.  Sweet.  We noticed chickens roaming the park near the office and were given 2 dozen free-range chicken eggs during our week-long stay!  I’m really glad we chose Kamp Klamath RV Park after driving around the area.  It was convenient to the highway but not right on it like most of the other parks.  They were a bit overgrown on the other side and sprucing up for the true beginning of their season (as fulltimers, we’re noticing we’re not always in parks in their on-season).  The cafe had burned down last year.  The playground was a small backyard type and grown up with grass.  But there was plenty to do in the redwoods.  The park host was on par with the sweetest, most helpful people we’ve met on the road.  That makes all the difference.  Sadie and I made him a flourless chocolate cake with some of the eggs. 

Lots more photos of our time in northern California on Flickr!

 

California’s a Big State (Part 4) – Oregon House Farm & High Sierra Beef

We continued to head north from the RV docking point we used for San Francisco.  We’d been so busy with national parks and city touring that we were looking forward to some downtime.  Our first stop was two weeks at a campground/RV park on our Thousand Trails Zone Camping Pass in Oregon House, CA- about 1 hour south of Chico.  This is rural America.  The drive in was absolutely beautiful and the country began to remind us distinctly of New England.

Wherever we are, I always check localharvest.org for local farms, farmstands, and farmers’ markets.  Since we eat paleo, fresh meats, eggs, vegetables, and fruits are our staples.  As you can imagine, this can get tricky.  No rice to fill a 3rd of the plate.  No beans to bulk up a meal.  No potatoes in the storage bin (anymore) to tide us over until we find a decent farmstand or market.  It takes some diligence and planning to ensure that our food supply is plentiful and sustained but it’s something we enjoy (the philosophy and the flavors) and believe in so it’s well worth the effort.  And there is less guilt when I buy those inorganic strawberries because I know our bodies are strong and healthy and can tolerate the occasional insult.

We’re arriving in the north country a little early for the beginning of the farmers’ markets season so I was hoping I might find a local farm for meat, eggs, and seasonal produce.  My freezer stock of grassfed ground beef and cuts that I loaded up on in Tucson from the University of Arizona was waning.and eating grocery store meat is really a last resort.  We lucked out!  I found Oregon House Farm owned and operated by Jenny Cavaliere just 2 miles away – a cooperative member of High Sierra Beef who also operates a weekend farm store out of her 100 year old barn.  My e-mail inquiry to Jenny resulted not only in stocking our freezer but also a personal tour of her farm – 5 separate pieces of land – which included bee hives, calving cows (and calves!), chickens, sheep, and a peek into the life of a sustainable farmer.  Jenny also invited Sadie to sell her handmade felted pins, hair ties, beaded earrings, and flaxseed packs at the farm store the following weekend.

Talk about knowing where your food comes from…  Jenny names all of her cows, walks among them in the fields, and they come down to greet her when she calls.  We talked freely about the processes and logistics of sustainable and humane breeding, feeding, and, yes, even slaughtering.  We even walked through the metal corral and down the ‘hall’ used to keep the cows still and safe for procedures and onto trailers for travel.

You know, traveling is only partly about the places.  That’s how it starts.  The reason it continues and is fueled is the people.  Jenny is one of those people- who would take an entire afternoon to hang around in pastures sharing her passion with a family just traveling through.  Chris and I have been tossing around the idea of farming.  Jenny’s honesty about it’s 24/7 tether has put our dreamy prospect in check.  But this close connection has made us even more dedicated to knowing our farmer and their practices as much as possible.  Truth be told, there are a lot of different phrases used on packaging that are used to airbrush dirty or unhealthy practices.  My decoder ring can’t keep up with the myriad of ways that these practices get off on technicalities or fuzzy language and into the market.

Here are a couple of articles I like about grass-fed vs. grain fed beef:

Health Benefits of Grass Farming

The Differences Between Grass-Fed Beef and Grain-Fed Beef

And one to ponder about the ethics of eating meat:

Is Eating Meat Ethical?

 

California’s a Big State- Part 3 (San Francisco!)

Where to park the RV when visiting San Francisco?  No where near the city, that’s for sure.  We planned to really immerse ourselves rather than driving to and fro so we knew we’d be Priceline- ing a hotel room.  But there is the matter of the rig.  We parked her at an RV park several hours outside of Dodge – er- San Francisco, locked her up, and headed to the Bay for a couple of days in our little VW Rabbit tow car.

Our first afternoon in town, we discovered the perils of having a car in San Francisco.  Parking is tough to find and very expensive.  We paid $3.50/hour at a parking garage downtown (which was actually pretty reasonable comparably) and walked to Chinatown for lunch.  It is wild to walk the steep hills covered in city.  Sitting in the Capitol Restaurant was neat- we were flat and the world outside was at a very steep slant! And, as you can imagine, the food was delicious.  Then we walked to the California line of the Trolley.  And we found a fantastic playground in Chinatown on the way!  For $6/person, we hung off the side of the trolley all the way through the city just like the Rice-A-Roni commercials of my childhood.  What a thrill!  And the driver actually encourages you to hang off the side poles if you want.

Some friends we met in Tucson are originally from S.F. and gave us a recommendation for great ice cream – Mitchell’s ice cream served up at St. Francis Fountain.  It sure was – rich and creamy in a little diner that I’m sure hasn’t changed since the woman who recommended it was there as a child.  Old school charm.  And right down the street from Vermont Street – SO twisty! – and the up-and-down, steep neighborhoods that you think of when you think of San Francisco.  What the movies can’t show?  When you go up one side of these streets lined with tall, skinny, prettily painted, side-by-side homes, you may get to the stop sign at the top and not be able to see the road in front of you, the stop signs of the cross streets…  Really, you won’t be able to see anything but the sky.  Yeah, they’re that steep.  The up feels like a roller coaster.  Had Chris let off the break, the down would’ve, too.  Whoa!  There was lots of disbelief and giggling in our car.  We also stopped at McKinley Park for a walk on the trails- all on the side of a hill!  We settled in for the evening at a Red Roof Inn (they allow dogs and even had a discount for pet month in April because we brought Skooter) by the S.F. airport.  Cheap, cozy, and on the bay.  Skooter and I had a beautiful sunset stroll and even happened upon a dog park on the way back.

The next morning we were up and out early to make our reservation for the 9:30 AM Alcatraz Cruises ferry to Alcatraz Island.  Although the island is a national park, the ferry that gets you there is an independent company so you have to pay.  No way around it.  It cost us $28 per adult and $17 per child (age 5-11).  There is no extra national park entry fee.  The cost of the ferry covers it and includes the headset audio tour.  The audio tour came highly recommended on the review sites and it was fascinating, riveting, and a little frightening.  We’re glad we went early because as people linger throughout the day (you take a scheduled ferry to the island but any ferry thereafter to return), it’s easy to see how the island gets congested with people and the audio tour could get dangerous.  We were already doing a little bumping as everyone was attentively following the directions in their ears.  The movie was also really interesting and told, not only of the time period when Alcatraz was a prison and of the families that lived there during that time (wow!) but also about its history before and after as the first U.S. built fort on the west coast and the occupancy of Native Americans in the late 1960s for 18 months to call attention to Native American rights initiatives.

We got off the boat back on the mainland around 12:30 and hungry.  I had done some online research looking for little known, great places to eat on a budget.  Voila!  I turned up Tanguito from this Food Dude video- an Argentine food truck on Fisherman’s’ Wharf.  We walked the 2+ blocks and ate utter deliciousness- empanadas, short ribs, and garlic fries- handmade and delivered to our sidewalk table by the owners.  Feeling utterly satisfied, we wandered back the way the tourists do- down a boardwalk lined with gaudy beach shops, chocolatiers, stores with guys out front telling me I need a new lens for my camera, wax museums, etc.  The few street performers that were out were nothing too exciting so we kept walking to the historic carousel of Pier 39.

Pier 39 is a hopping place.  On this Friday, it was crawling with people.  The Pier 39 carousel was also brought to my attention by our S.F. native friend.  It was crafted and hand painted in Italy and is the only carousel in the country that sports murals of its home city.  It is gorgeous!  The kids liked the out of the ordinary animals to ride.  Sadie rode a dolphin and Elijah rode a sea lion.

Speaking of sea lions….  There were a whole big bunch of sea lions down at the end of Pier 39.  Noisy and funny- we had a great time watching them.  Skooter was a little freaked out by them, though.

We weren’t feeling like doing the tourist shopping thing but Elijah was very excited that there was a store for left-handers – Lefty’s-  there.  Turns out, they were also having a giveaway to left-handed shoppers.  He came away with a much-prized left handed pen.  It has improved his penmanship tremendously.  He loves it so!

After packing up the car on Saturday morning and checking out of the hotel, we headed for the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market at the Ferry Building. It was as big as I expected but much more expensive.  I guess in an area where everything is high priced, the farmers’ prices are up there, too.  We loaded up on produce, eggs, and a bit of meat – not knowing when our next good opportunity would be in our travels – and headed back to the car.  We stopped to eat some strawberries on a bench and then stopped again at a very cool fountain across the street that you could walk up on!  We also loved this cool sculpture:

We all had a great time in San Francisco.  It ranks as one of those must-visits.  It is beautiful with lots of museums and interesting things to do and great eats.From what I experienced, I wouldn’t want to live there.  We didn’t find the vibe very friendly.  Skooter was one of few dogs we saw out on the three beautiful days we were there and was not very well regarded by passersby.  It was very expensive and parking was obscene.  I guess, being such a small city, bikes or mass transit would be a much better scenario for residents.

 

California’s a Big State- Part 2

From Santa Barbara, we had a lovely driving day through farm country… until we got near our RV park destination where we came upon agri-business farms- one after another with loads of cows in pens lying in muck and eating grain out of troughs.  No grass in sight.  No room (or reason) to roam.  Given our recent focus on paleo eating and continued desire to eat local and organic, this was eye opening for the kids.  I’ll get into food in another post but the visual of this was a great opportunity to talk about our choice to eat meat and where we get it and why.

We stayed at Sun N Fun RV Park in Tulare, CA because of its proximity to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and decreased cost with our Passport America membership.  There isn’t a whole lot to the RV park but it made a nice place to stay- safe, quiet, near enough to stores that we needed, a picturesque drive to Sequoia NP, and a tiny little pool where we spent some time each afternoon that we were there.

I couldn’t take enough photos in Sequoia NP to satisfy my desire to capture its beauty.  The first day we were there, the kids picked up their Junior Ranger workbooks at the Visitors’ Center and worked on them there a bit with the information provided.  Then we proceeded into the park from about 1,000 feet of elevation to 6,000 to see the Sequoia trees.  It was interesting to note the distinct differences in the elevation zones.  Snow!  The zone with the sequoias had snow!  I think the kids were more excited about the snow than the trees.  Maybe we played them up too much…  Oh well, at least there was snow.  It was funny (growing up in New England) to see our kids look like Bambi on ice walking on snow.  We gave them a few tips.  The trees are extraordinary.  They are the biggest trees in the world by volume (not the tallest).  The diameter of the largest (General Sherman) is over 36 feet at the base and the massive girth continues to the top.  We came prepared with jackets but it was still pretty cold so, after walking the General Sherman Trail (very crowded- it was Good Friday) and taking turns with other tourists for photo ops, we headed back down the mountain. 


The kids worked on their Junior Ranger books at home and we went back out to the park on Monday for hiking, exploring, on-site Junior Ranger work, and their swearing in back at the Visitor Center. 

Waiting for a free RV spot at the Thousand Trails park near Yosemite National Park, we stayed 10 days in Tulare.  It was a relaxing time for decompression after so much busy Legoland/family time/etc. since leaving Tucson.  The drive to Yosemite was thrilling as a passenger, nervewracking (I’m told) as the driver- twisting and turning up, down, and around the sides of mountains with long sprays of snow-melt waterfalls visible on the opposite mountainside.  Sadie lost her lunch into our stock pot and we pulled over one other time to put out two random rest area fires.  Who starts fires (and leaves them burning) at a California turnoff?

I considered that maybe Yosemite wouldn’t live up to the hype.  We’d been hearing about this national park for… ever.  It’s so huge.  Maybe we’d see the ‘wrong’ stuff and miss out on the greatness.  The Yosemite Lakes Thousand Trails is located 5 miles from the entrance to the park.  5 miles.  That is fantastic.  From the main entrance, it’s 24 miles to the Yosemite Valley Visitors’ Center.  And, oh, what a 24 miles it is – views of Half Dome, 2 feet of snow on the ground, driving directly under the base of Bridal Veil Falls, and right next to El Capitan.  The parking area is about 1/4 mile flat walk to the Yosemite Valley Visitors’ Center (there are others but they were closed this early in the season).  We talked with a Ranger who gave the kids their Junior Ranger worksheet (much less involved here in the way of puzzles, word finds, etc. This one focused on experiential learning which worked out well so we could really make the most of our time in the park.) and talked with us about available hikes.  The kids requested a ‘rugged’ hike (sweet!) so we headed off for Upper Yosemite Falls.  Rugged, indeed.  It was about 4 miles roundtrip with a 2,600 foot elevation gain and well worth it.  We spotted a bobcat during our hike!  After viewing the upper falls, we were pointed to a little offshoot of the trail that took us down to a breathtaking view of the upper, middle, and lower falls.  Wow.  Elijah talked most of the way down about how eating paleo has made a tremendous difference in his wind, strength, and endurance.  Huh.  OK.  The hike wore us all out and the descent took its tolls on Chris’ knees.  The kids were intent on getting back to the Visitors’ Center before they closed to turn in their work for their badges.  This was the first park that had a sign-in book.  The kids liked that and were taken aback by the standing ovation preceeded by an announcement of their achievement.  It’s a little different everywhere we go!

Chris’ knees took a few days to be up to extended walking- never mind hiking.  Our second day in the park was lower key and it felt great to already have Upper Falls under our belts and to just meander around the park.  We walked up under Bridal Veil Falls (wet, wet, wet!), picnicked under El Cap, and walked the paved path to the base of Lower Falls.  While much of the park was closed, we felt like we’d landed in one of the most awe-inspiring, spirit-filling places on earth.  The waterfalls flowed fully and loudly with snow melting in ribbons off the tops of the mountains.

The excitement doesn’t stop…. We were on our way to San Francisco! Stay tuned…

 

California’s a Big State! (Part 1)

So now I’m back-blogging (as in- still behind where we are right now…).  Right now we’re in northern California but we started down at the ‘bottom.’  As you can imagine, there’s a lot to catch up on.  But I would feel remiss if I didn’t try.  There has already been so much that I didn’t record here of our east cost travels that I’ve got to catch up on these last few months since Tucson.

We’ve been in California since March 16th (my birthday).  The stars (or logistics) aligned for us to travel on my birthday.  Ah, well.  The night before we left I made a coconut flour, double-decker death by chocolate paleo cake.  It was freakin’ fabulous.  We made our way to Jamul, CA – just outside of San Diego.  Our drive took us from sunny, dry, hot Tucson where the vegetation makes every attempt to spear you to the rainy, lush, green countryside of southern California and let me tell you how great it is to end a rainy travel day with a huge chocolate cake topped with fresh strawberries (and candles)…

Elijah (and more recently Sadie) had been waiting for this stop for a long time.  Legoland!  We were situated in a rainy, woodsy campground.  The lush green, mountainous area made for beautiful driving to and from our temporary home.  We spent two days in Legoland.  It was- eh.  My theme park bar is set high by Disney World.  Say what you will, Disney is a plugged in, full on enjoyable experience.  I thought Legoland was seriously overpriced.  Disney ticket prices for a Lego Six Flagesque experience.  We were delighted to get the hook-up with information about homeschool day prices.  We ended up saving more than half and that made it all better for me.  The kids LOVED it.  It’s a theme park.  And there are Legos.  Elijah participated in the Lego Mindstorms (robotics) class and (despite not being overly thrilled about taking time away from his theme park experience) thought it was awesome and was glad he went.  It entailed programming robots to navigate a course and perform varied functions to complete an assignment.  The best part of Legoland for everyone was the gift shop.  Holy moly, that is a seriously comprehensive gift shop.

 

My oldest brother lives in California.  We stopped through for a delicious dinner and renewed connection and ended up spending the night and making another date for our families to spend more time together.  We are 7 years apart and were always in very different parts of our lives.  It seems we’ve found common ground now as adults with young children pursuing our personal and familial passions with vigor.  Man, that was fun.  It warms my heart to hear my kids talk about their cool aunt and uncle and their super-fun ‘new’ cousins.  My favorite memory?  Hiking in the Cleveland (not in Ohio) National Forest with my brother in his family.  I feel closer to him now than ever.  I’ve committed myself to giving more attention to family connections.  I’ve made this (private) commitment before but this time feels different- it’s out of excitement rather than obligation.  But it’s tricky with poor cell signals and sketchy internet so the blog is my love letter to y’all until we hear each other’s voices again.

Speaking of brothers, Chris has one in California, too!  Jeesh - for east coast kids, we’ve got a lot of family on the west coast.  Back to one of my favorite RV park/campgrounds situated on a horse ranch in the Padre National Park mountains to the east of Santa Barbara (with the Pacific Ocean to the west).  Here we spent two weeks with Chris’ brother and 4 year-old niece.  There’s just something about cousins.  I’m so happy that our kids get to see theirs more regularly than they would if we were living in a stationary home.  The cost of four plane tickets, west and east coast family, and time off from a facetime job made it very difficult.  One of the biggest reasons our kids like to travel is that they get to see family much more frequently.  Park play, delicious restaurants that could accomodate our paleo nutritional choices, an afternoon at the Ty Warner Sea Center with Emma, a hike with spectacular views of Santa Barbara, a hike to another waterfall right from the door of our RV, a horseback trail ride for Sadie and I, and precious time just ‘being’ with family.  Well, we didn’t spend much time in the RV park but we did love our time in Santa Barbara.

OK- well that gets us to central California.  I’m out of breath and will catch up on the rest soon!  One of my toughest parts of blogging is calling a post ‘done’ and pressing ‘publish’ so I must type and publish all in one hit!

 

Loving and Leaving Tucson

Confession: I’ve fallen off the blog wagon and would love to get back on.  I’m seeing it now as a great way to stay in touch with family and friends who are not on Facebook and also as a way to share more than can be shared in a 2 sentence status update.  I started writing this post a couple of months ago and it has been sitting in my ‘drafts’ folder. 

Big hugs and ‘hello!’ to all of you who have asked me to continue to blog.  I’d love to keep sharing with you!  Bear with me as I catch up…  <3

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Once we found our groove of living ‘on the road,’ we found (retrospectively) that we tend to plan about 5-6 months in advance, live it out, and then plan another 5-6 months.  There are different phases involved in the planning so that everything goes smoothly but we never feel rushed or stuck.  First, we’ve learned not to plan things that feel like a stretch.  Because then the time in between becomes wrought with the stress of trying to make it to whatever, wherever we had planned rather than focusing on the ever-present opportunities wherever we are- and there always are… everywhere.  We try to make our life a journey of flowing adventures with planned highlight points rather than a disjointed there and back, up and down, back and forth.  So far, we’ve found ourselves in all the right places at all the right times.  It doesn’t mean there aren’t people or places we aren’t seeing.  It means that everything and everyone we are seeing are perfect right now.

So here we are in Tucson, AZ.  Last fall, as we saw our savings taking hit after hit, I put out a call on Facebook for ideas of places to work camp.  The kids and I love to do a variety of projects and would like to contribute to the family economic well-being while Chris is teaching online.  I was expecting RV park recommendations for work camping from my traveling friends.  Instead, a dear family of friends in Tucson invited us to share their land in exchange for some project work.  I was hesitant.  Where would the boundaries lie?  How would our relationship be affected by the close proximity, extended time, and work expectations?

We thoroughly enjoyed our 3 or so days with them as we passed through the area last year.  And so, after some heart-to-heart e-mails and being really clear about everyone’s expectations and emotions, we all agreed this could be really great.  We started with the intent of staying a month or so - to be extended as determined by how everyone was feeling.  It ended up that we stayed about 2 1/2 months.  Yes, it went well.  Better than well, really.  The sense of community with a continued ability to retreat to our own dwellings and routines was perfect.  Having good friends a stone’s throw away for play, talk, hobby and project work, and emotional support was wonderful!  The best part?  No guessing.  There was always open, honest communication about where people were at on a given day.  Have you read The Four Agreements?  The biggest that came into play in this scenario were that we don’t make assumptions and we don’t take anything personally (because it’s not about you).  These have been huge realizations and paramount to living well in community.  Everyone was supported in their journey and in responsibility for their own, unique needs and desires.  Wow- we just loved it in Tucson.  It’s hard to separate what we loved about it but I can tell you that our ‘neighborhood’ had a lot to do with it.  And that ‘neighborhood’ extends to a tremendous network of unschooling families who engage in many ways at all hours of the day and night- children and families who enjoy each other’s company and share similar values in child rearing but whose journeys are extremely varied.  I enjoyed time with other moms both with the children and at moms’ nights out.  Chris went to dads’ cards night and always came home smiling and refreshed from some time out with the guys.

AND!  We had a most amazing visit with our friends the Camerons (who you may remember we met just as we were beginning our traveling in late summer 2010) from British Columbia.  They’d parked their campervan for a bit and were living a cozy life up north and decided to hop back in to spend a couple of weeks with us in Tucson!!!  AND!  They ‘brought’ the Rosnaus!  We’d heard tell of this fabulous family many times from the Camerons and hoped to meet them one day.  All the stories were true.  We felt an instant kinship between our families and know that we will continue to share a deep connection whether we are next door or across the globe.

But now that we’re in Tucson, it’s time to plan out another 6 months or so.  Where do we go from here?  We have ‘high’ points but what we have realized is that some of the most special memories are the ‘in between’ spots.  So does it really matter where we go?  While basking in the glow of shared time with friends, we acted on a dream that we’d been tossing around logistics of for a long time.  With a kick in the pants from the Camerons (thank you!), we booked an Alaskan cruise.  Chris and I could have gone round and round on the logistics (and we had for months and months) and never made the final arrangements so it was very exciting to book it and plan while in the company of our shipmates (yes, the Camerons are going with us!). 

With that as our final destination of the next leg of our travels, we have begun to plan out the days, destinations, and activities (roughly) for our journey north.  And, boy, are we excited!

And that is what keeps us from completely falling apart (or staying still) whenever we leave people and places that we love so much.  Tears flow and then the thrill of new sights, sounds, and people to hug flow in and create a new sense of excitement.  We love you, Brett family!  Tucson - until we meet again.

Our Tucson favs:

Agua Caliente Park- an oasis in the desert!

Saguaro National Park- the kids are Junior Rangers here.  Amazing desert scenery.  I’ll be posting lots of photos to my Flickr account once we have better internet.    We made several visits for photography, hiking, and I took my mom on a sunset drive.  Just beautiful.

Tucson Tamale Company- organic, non-GMO, with vegan options.  We got there right before closing and they sent us home with a huge bag full.  We’ve tried almost every kind and they are all delicious.  Sadie has proclaimed this her favorite restaurant thus far.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum- Wow.  Must see.  Raptor show was fabulous. 

Buenos Aires Wildlife Preserve- We tented here with the Rosnaus and Camerons.  The complete desolation and beauty was perfect.  Sleeping on the ground… not so much. 

Tubac Arts Festival and Tubac Olive Oil- Tubac is an hour or so south of Tucson.  It’s a lovely little town with a western feel and a nice vibe.  We happened upon the festival on the way back from the camping trip to BAWP (above).  Wow!  The artists and selection of art were so beautiful and fun!  The actual destination was Tubac Olive Oil.  We love balsamic vinegar and use it a lot.  Now we use it even more.  Ho-ly Cow.  We got two bottles of the 18-year traditional.  The second was supposed to be a gift.  We’re using that one now (so much for the gift) and I’ll be ordering more soon.  Taste testing there was delicious and overwhelming.  Everyone in our family was in heaven.

Sabino Canyon- Close to town and really great (endless) hiking.  This is a national park so the NP pass gives you free parking.

Farmers’ markets- they have one on the west side and one on the east.  The offerings are a testament to the interest in and dedication to food of the city’s inhabitants.  Gluten free baking, gourmet, grain-free dog treats, organic and pesticide-free produce, free range/grassfed meats, free range eggs, locally dried and blended teas, etc.  AND- they have a knife sharpener and jammin’ live acoustic bluegrass music (at least the day we were there).  Skooter liked that they welcome well-behaved doggies. 

International Wildlife Museum- OK, so everything here is dead.  It’s a museum of taxidermy animals.  That said, this was SO awesome.  My kids would rather one dead animal be preserved so they can look at it than to go see live ones in cages at the zoo.  The range of animals here was extraordinary.

 

Butterflies!

Last Christmas, Sadie wanted and received one of those insect kits to raise butterflies.  We’ve been so busy traveling and visiting that we just haven’t used the voucher to order the larvae and start the process.  She recently pulled the box out of her cubby and it seemed the perfect time.  So we went to www.insectlore.com and used the voucher from our box to order the larvae.  We paid only shipping because the kit included the voucher but you can order and pay for a variety of insects there without the kits as well.  Sure enough, 2 days later we received 5 little black caterpillar-looking larvae.

They grew like mad!  It seemed everytime we walked by their little cup, they were significantly bigger to the point that they ended up greenish, brownish, fat, fuzzy caterpillars.  The cup had tiny air holes and included the food they needed to get to their chrysalid phase so we didn’t do anything but watch for about a week.  They made silk strands criss cross the cup and walked around on them and one day one of them attached its rear end to the paper lid liner of the cup.  The other four promptly followed.  That was about a week ago.  We watched them change from soft and squishy looking to covered in hard, dry casings that had iridescent gold spots on them.  According to the instructions, we removed the paper lid liner from the cup and safety pinned it to the lower inside edge of the net butterfly house.  In the process, one of the chrysalids fell off.  Yikes!  I was able to gently rub the silk remaining on the top against the cup and it stuck back on.

 

Yesterday I got a call while I was out from Chris.  “We have a butterfly!”  Indeed, we do.  And it is a beautiful miracle of nature!  So awesome.

Sadie picked the heads off of two of her potted petunias, mixed the sugar water, and dropped a few droplets on the petals.  We all watched this morning as our butterfly friend extended its proboscis and drank the sweet mixture.  It was visibly disturbed by our hands, our presence, and household noises.  Before our bumpy drive to Austin this morning, we decided to set this one free.

We have four other chrysalids remaining.  In the process, the same chrysalid that had come detached before fell again.  We picked it up and examined it and could see the butterfly wings inside!!!  This time it would not stick back on.  I took a piece of dental floss and tied it to the silk hanging off and tied the other end to the strap on the top of the net house then zipped the zipper closed over it.

Guess what?!  As I’m typing this post, that butterfly has emerged! Phew. I was kind of worried about that guy.

We are all excited to observe other insects from http://www.insectlore.com. Having read just about everything about butterflies we have gotten our hands on, it’s positively awesome to watch their transition first hand. I think any other observations may have to wait until spring weather… The nights are getting chilly here in Texas already!

 

Remembering Orlando Magic

The five weeks we spent in the Orlando area were truly magical. We had a million cool adventures and learned and discussed lots of new things. But in the end as I look back, it’s the people we shared this time with that stand out the most in my mind.

Upon arriving in Apopka, Florida at a sweet little RV park, Chris noticed some issues with our electrical system.  The inverter wasn’t working properly and then proceeded to internally combust resulting in a 3-day RV blackout.  What’s worse?  The door of the inverter basement compartment then fell off.  Go ahead… laugh.  We did.  Sometimes it feels like National Lampoon’s RV Life over here. 

Enter Michael and Jeannette Brown and their pup, Hazel – our new neighbors.   We were feeling pretty pitiful and overwhelmed navigating and trouble shooting the electrical system of the RV.  It’s a vulnerable feeling stepping out of the RV with a tarp hanging off the side in lieu of a compartment door as the other RVers gather in droves to point and whisper.  Oh that didn’t really happen?  That’s what it looked like in our heads…  Michael spent time with Chris as moral support, idea man, and helping hand.  We quickly became friends and got the tour of their traveling livelihoods.  Michael is the baker, owner, salesman, and primary taster of his business The inFAMOUS Welsh Cookie Co.  He has a small, fully functional bakery in the front of their trailer and carries on his family’s tradition of baking Welsh cookies (his grandmother’s recipe) in 23 (and growing) flavors.  Jeannette is proprietor of The Scottish Tinker, selling authentic Celtic jewelry of all kinds - traditional to unique.  Together, they are The U.K. Market and travel the country selling their wares at Celtic Festivals.

(above- Sadie has her first paying gig helping Jeannette shine and prepare her jewelry for an upcoming show.)

We couldn’t have asked for better neighbors or friends.  The kids spent loads of time visiting with them and we all really enjoyed their company.  The end of our month in Apopka culminated in several challenging repairs completed (We knew something had to give when Elijah tossed a coin into the water at It’s a Small World in DisneyWorld and wished for electricity.) and lasting friendships formed.  We were very sad to leave the comfort of that bond.

All the while, we were squeezing in as much time as possible with Chris’ grandparents who have wintered in the Orlando area for the last 17 years.  At 81 and 82 (I’m pretty sure it’s OK for me to post their ages since it seems it can be worn as a badge of honor both up to one’s early 20′s and after about 75), they never missed a beat with one (long) day spent at Disney, one spent showing us around Celebration, one taking us to the Farmers’/Flea Market, many long walks, a few yummy restaurant meals, baking, board/card games, reading, seemingly incessant conversation from all sides, bicycle repair, a playground picnic, and a couple of cookouts.  We reveled in each other’s company.  It was simply perfect to spend SO much undivided time over such a long period with them.  There are very few such opportunities to celebrate and saturate in love and appreciation for others.  When we left Apopka, we had the priveledge of joining them at their RV park for an additional week.  What a treat to be neighbors!  We wandered back and forth between our homes at will – easily and freely.  We met their friends and got to experience the lifestyle of their Floridian winters which had previously just meant time apart.  We were comforted and thrilled to see what full, active, connected lives they have with their winter friends in their winter home.

As if that weren’t enough! We’d been talking since last year’s Rethinking Everything Conference about getting back together with John Stralecky and his wonderful family. Chris and John hit it right off at RE and we so enjoyed listening to him talk about backpacking around the world on $40 per day during one of his sessions. Cosmically enough, John has RV aspirations and wanted to pick our brains as well. Both of our families have come to the realization that life matters NOW and passions drive all. Sharing a couple of meals at each other’s homes and wandering downtown Disney was time spent with kindred spirits and brought to life that the same realizations about living a joyful life play out in so many different (and perfect) ways. If you haven’t read John’s books (Big Five for Life, The Why Cafe, Life Safari), I highly recommend them.

Sadie and Elijah had a grand time playing with their daughter and I, chatting with John’s wife, Cindy, who has so many interesting tales to tell. I enjoyed talking unschooling with her as they consider educational options and lifestyle based in their unique worldly perspective.

 

Mexico Beach, Florida

Coming to the conclusion that we rather like traveling more slowly makes actually getting to a destination tricky.  Chris and I huddled up in Sedona many weeks ago and planned out our entire winter.  Albeit late, we were able to sneak in amongst the snowbirds and book a site in Florida nearby his grandparents for the month of January.  We’ve been anxiously awaiting our visit ever since.  After a really fun couple of days in New Orleans, we boondocked one night and arrived for a one week stay in Mexico Beach, Florida.  We were so excited to spend some time on the white sand beaches we’d heard so much about from some friends in Texas. 

But wait, isn’t Florida supposed to be warm?  Not this part, apparently.  This was a cold week.  Now I’m not talking cold like Michigan or Massachusetts or wherever you’re reading this from right now cursing at me as you wrap your hands around your cocoa and pull up the covers.  But for a family on the road in a not-so-well-insulated, lightly packed RV chasing warm temperatures and expecting warm sand between our toes, it was cold.  We stayed at Rustic Sands RV Resort- a lovely treed campground amongst beach cottages in a town 40 minutes from the closest anything. 

It made for a great week for ‘downtime’ (aka- doing less exploring).  Chris had work to catch up on after our 2 full days jaunting around New Orleans and there were plenty of projects and cleaning to be done around the RV.  We had replaced the fuel filter housing on the side of the highway in Alvin, TX (just before New Orleans) and took one of the afternoons here to clean the back of the RV, tow car, and bikes of the fuel (diesel and veg) that had escaped prior to our discovering the drain valve was stuck open.  It doesn’t take much to make a big mess.  Blech.  The kids played outside and spent time on their computer games.  Elijah is a World of Warcraft fanatic and Sadie became a potion entrepreneur with Fairy Godmother Tycoon.

There were two afternoons during our week that were not downright freezing or pouring and we made for the beach- about a mile walk from the campground. These kids are crazy. As Chris and I put up our hoods and turned our backs to the chilly winds, the kids ran straight for the numbing waves. They had so much fun that cold was an afterthought. Glad we brought extra clothes for the walk home!

Oh yeah- and I got a new camera! I’m having so much fun reading about it and playing with it and capturing all the gorgeous moments of our lives. I’m reading the manual, getting help from great friends, watching Youtube videos, and Googling. It’s definitely not enough to just have a fancy piece of equipment. Knowing how to use it and having an eye for composition are a big deal!

 

In Awe of Utah

We were moving so quickly and have been so busy adjusting to the new complexities of life on the road that I remain a smidge behind on the blogging aspect of our journey.  The adventures continue.  It’s documenting them that becomes the challenge.  It’s also been a while since I’ve podcasted over at Humans Being but the topics are building in my mind and just about ready to burst forth once again.  I’m currently sitting in the San Jose Airport in California waiting for the big, metal bird that will return me to my small, metal home on the road in Las Vegas. I miss my cozy bed and my warm husband.  I miss the buzz of activity that my two children create all around them.  I miss little hugs and big cuddles.  It’s time to go home and I am glad of that.  I’m returning from a symposium based on the discussion of self and global evolution with Bruce Lipton and Joseph Chilton Pearce.  I have learned much about myself from experiences in and outside of the conference room and I am glad of that.
And now it’s time to blog about Utah which holds a special place in our hearts and…yes…I am glad of that.

Picking up where Albuquerque left off
Realizing that we were headed in the same general direction, we decided to caravan with the Wagners on to Las Vegas by way of Utah.  We had heard brilliant reviews of the Utah landscape and of Zion National Park and were eager to see if it lived up to its fame.  We’d already been so blown away in our travels.  It’s not that we’re easily impressed… but the combination of approaching life with new eyes this past year and immediately seeing in our travels the vastly different landscapes and natural beauty right in our own ’backyard’ has been wondrous.  Maybe we are easily impressed… and maybe you should be too.  Expansive appreciation feels really great.

(pardon our bug-splattered windshield…)

Utah is wild!
With a couple of boondock overnights sharing parking lot picnics with the Wagners between, Chris and I traversed the roads with our eyes wide.  Travelling in an RV is not like any other method I’ve experienced.  The high vantage point combined with the almost 180 degree visibility feels more like an experience than a drive.  ‘They’ were right.  Utah is gorgeous.  Gorgeous.  Awe-inspiring.  Gorgeous. 

We stayed at Red Ledge RV Park in Kanarraville, Utah- a quaint little town where the town hall (which contains the library open only two days per week for two-three hours), fire department (volunteer and desolate), post office (open a few hours each day- one woman weighs packages on a giant scale with a numbered circular dial and then checks the weight against a chart on the wall to calculate postage) with a dog who sits outside on the stoop and a resident elderly gentleman stationed on a wooden stool who chats with customers, and church are all on the same block (right next to our RV park).  The spaces were tight in our little haven but the hospitality was first rate.  We had dinners on the patio with the Wagners and even partook in the hot tub one evening.  I walked the dogs every morning in one of the most serene communities I’ve ever experienced with a backdrop of mighty Utah mountains.

Zion National Park
The highlight of our peaceful and inspiring stay in Utah were the two days spent hiking and exploring in Zion National Park. It was really wild to watch the kids hiking surrounded by sheer rock faces that touched the sky. It really put in perspective how small and fragile we are as individuals while at the same time emboldening a great desire to meet and create new challenges.

We took a pretty easy-going trail the first day, wandering alongside- and sometimes in- the river as the kids tried to avoid the concrete path at all costs. The second day we looked at the map and read the trail descriptions. The kids decided (much to Chris’ and my delight) that they only wanted to consider trails that had the falling hiker warning symbol in their key. We decided on the Emerald Pools trails and saw the lower, middle, and upper pools in our travels. Extraordinary hiking. The upper pools trail fulfilled the kids’ (and our) desire for a climbing challenge and the calm, pristine pool at the top was certainly worth every step (except for the fact that swimming was prohibited…). We followed the kids on a side adventure off from the middle pool- lots of climbing and exploring.

We really got a kick out of refilling our thermos from the ice cold water running down off of the canyon wall. What a refreshing and delicious drink! The water is naturally filtered as it passes through the sandstone on its way down.

After leaving Zion on the second day, we had dinner in town and stopped to pick some apples at a local farm.  We haven’t picked apples since living in New Hampshire- a little nostalgia for us. 

We were sad to leave Utah so soon and having seen relatively little of the vast state but have vowed to return on our travels.  Our stay here really punctuated the magnitude of our decision to leave suburbia.