from the moment we knew we would be returning to a campground remotely close to joshua tree national park, i knew at least anna and i would take a side trip to do a bit of tent camping in one of the park campgrounds. the first week in palm desert was unseasonably cold, so we […]
junior ranger
THE grand canyon.
we were SUPPOSED to go to the grand canyon for a week after our time in zion in november. but some camper repairs came up and it was a long detour on our way to vegas, where we were meeting family, so we skipped it. then, when we started making our arizona plans for the […]
studies in ancient peoples of northern arizona.
after our long stretch in southern arizona, we moved a little bit north, to cottonwood, giving us plenty of options for new places to explore. within a half an hour, there were two national monuments (tuzigoot and montezuma castle), both of them preserving the ruins of communities of native folks who once called the verde […]
organ pipe cactus national monument.girls only tent camping trip.
when we were coming into arizona, we passed a sign for organ pipe cactus national monument, which i had never heard of. our reservations weren’t anywhere near the park, so i figured we would just have to miss out. then, when our plans changed, due to the hot water heater drama, and we were coming […]
fort bowie national monument misadventures.
on the day we went to chiricahua, we had high hopes of maybe swinging by fort bowie national monument, which is in the same neck of the woods. but, we had read that the hike just to get to the visitor center was three miles, round trip. we hiked enough at chiricahua that we were […]
tumacácori national historical park.
on thursday, the kids and i loaded up and headed off to check out tumacácori national historical park. (pronounced too-mah-KAH-kohr-ee, we would learn). basically, it’s the ruins of an old spanish mission, a few miles north of the mexican border, and it was chock full of information about the history of when catholic european explorers […]
chiricahua national monument
our campsite in benson is an hour or so from four different national monuments/historic sites. since derek was off for martin luther king jr day, we decided to hit up chiricahua national monument to do a bit of hiking and exploring. the place was pretty amazing. a hidden gem of arizona. we took a short […]
saguaro national park
since arriving in the sonoran desert, we have been enamored with the giant saguaro cactus and couldn’t wait to visit the national park dedicated to the iconic giant. our spot in tucson was only about 30 minutes away from the west side of the park, so we were able to visit twice in our four […]
casa grande and tonto national monuments.
during our time in mesa, we were able to hit up two different national monuments, both about an hour or so away, and both dedicated to preserving the history of native people who inhabited the area long before we did. first up, casa grande. the big house. the kids insisted on doing as much of […]
grandlidbom san diego christmas, days 2 & 3.
after our action packed first day with the grandlidboms, the lidkids spent the night with them, and since we didn’t have anything planned until lunchtime on day two, our morning at the camper was lazy and glorious. i savored a delicious cup of coffee outside by the lake, with no bickering, whining or cartoon sounds […]