Tag Archives: camping

Sedona Arizona

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Matt jumps off the red rock cliffs into Oak Creek
Matt jumps off the red rock cliffs into Oak Creek. Note the red life jacket marks how far I needed to jump to not hit rocks. Ubu looks worried

Kim had read about the energy vortexes (which as far as I can tell are pure BS) and the new age vibe surrounding scenic Sedona, so it made sense as the next stop on our itinerary after the Grand Canyon.  The drive from the north through Oak Creek Canyon certainly is an impressive entry.  I never expected to see this much greenery juxtaposed with the red rocks in Arizona. There were more than a couple campgrounds along the canyon drive, but we didn’t stop until Manzanita campground since it was the smallest and tent only. We got a sweet site right next to the creek, with a nice cliff lined swimming hole just a minute walk away.  This may win for being one of our nicest, most peaceful campsites.  The campsite in the Sawtooths was more scenic, but this one felt more comfortable with the tree cover and nearby babbling brook.

We went into town for the evening, and at first enjoyed and then were overwhelmed by the touristy atmosphere. There were helicopter, trains, jeep, hiking, and yoga tours of the surrounding red rocks, and more artsy, trinkety jewelry shops than I could stand.  It was all surrounded by gorgeous scenery though, and there were was some pretty good food and ice cream.  Continue reading Sedona Arizona →

Grand Canyon

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The Robinsons at the Grand Cayon
The Robinsons at the Grand Canyon

This was the only definite thing I had on our itinerary before we started the trip, and now I’ve seen it. It’s definitely an impressive site, and I hate for there to be a but, but it wasn’t as amazing as I’d hoped given the hype and some of the rock formations we had recently seen. Part of the lack of being amazed could have been that I was just getting over a cold and grumpy, or that we’re close to 3 weeks into a road trip and getting a little road weary, or maybe it was the Disneyworld kind of atmosphere for what I believe might be the most visited national park in the country. Whatever it was, it still definitely worth seeing and something I’m glad I saw, just not the standout highlight of trip so far. Continue reading Grand Canyon →

Bryce, Red Canyon and Lake Powell

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The family overlooking the amphitheater at Bryce Canyon
The family overlooking the amphitheater at Bryce Canyon

Southern Utah seems to be about as interesting as central Utah is boring, which is to say very. The nicest part about central Utah was that you could drive fast, so from Salt Lake City we had our longest driving day in terms of miles.  We set up camp at the campground in Red Canyon, about 15 minutes from Bryce.  The campground had a view of the red rocks while still having enough tree cover for shade and hanging our hammock.  We initially planned to just spend time here and skip Bryce since national parks tend not to be very dog friendly, but it seemed a shame to miss out on Bryce when we were so close. Continue reading Bryce, Red Canyon and Lake Powell →

Lava Hot Springs

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Xena eats ice cream
Xena gets her own cone because she eats more ice cream than Geneveve

We’re almost back on a more direct southern route, this time at more hot springs.  I saw Lava Hot Springs when looking for touristy stuff to do near our route, and I’m glad I did.  The hot springs water with a gigantic swimming pool and water slides are kinda cheesy, but it makes for a pretty fun day.

Again, having warm water to swim in has done wonders for Geneveve’s swimming abilities.  She’s going on small water slides by herself, something she wouldn’t even do after years of swimming at Mt Scott.  And she’s getting her head wet and attempting to swim in water deeper than she can touch.  Either the warm water has a magical effect on her progress, or something just clicked for her. Continue reading Lava Hot Springs →

Craters of the Moon

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Ubu holds down the camp while Kim and the kids hike
Ubu holds down the camp while Kim and the kids hike

We weren’t sure if we’d last two nights here because it’s so desolate, we were worried it might be cold and windy, and our dog Ubuntu can’t go on most of the trails. It was well worth the trip though.

The campground definitely is desolate compared to the trees and lakes we’ve been camping near, but it’s also not crowded which is a very nice thing not having to fight for a spot on a Friday night. It wasn’t even close to half full either night. We got one of the few spots in the place that had a tree large enough to provide some shade. During the day it got pretty hot in direct sun, which is almost everywhere, but it was pretty nice in the little shade we could find. At night it was actually a lot warmer than it had been in the mountains, although the elevation here is still close to 6000 ft.  The weather at night was interesting with really high winds the first night and a thunder and lightning rain storm the second. But our tent handled it all very well, and the warm sun during the day dried everything out very quickly. Continue reading Craters of the Moon →

Sawtooth Wilderness

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Ubu enjoys the scenery
Ubu enjoys the scenery

The landscape scenery is as impressive as we read it was. Jagged peaks surrounded by mountain rivers and lakes are one of my favorite environments in the world – at least during the summer. During the winter, they’re beautiful to look at, but living in that much isolation, darkness and snow for months on end isn’t something I’m entirely sure I would want to do again as a normal way of life.

We camped at Stanley Lake Inlet campground. The campground was nearly full on a Tuesday night, so I can only imagine how full it would be on a weekend. Continue reading Sawtooth Wilderness →

Missoula to Challis Hot Springs

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A Carousel for Missoula
A Carousel for Missoula

We had planned to just ride the carousel in Missoula and move on, but I discovered there was a convenient Holiday Inn downtown that had a pool for the kids, accepted dogs and I had points for a free night.  I signed up for an IHG credit card before we left on this trip and got enough points for 4 – 5 free hotel nights.  The challenge is to find places that both accept points for free nights and allow dogs.  Taking a shower and sleeping in a bed after camping and hiking always feels luxurious.  I’ll be curious to see what our ratio of tent nights to hotel nights will be for this trip. So far 3 nights camping to 1 night in a hotel. Continue reading Missoula to Challis Hot Springs →

Three Nights of Camping: To Sleep or not to Sleep

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The girls are up with the sun no matter how late they stay up. Ubu not so much
The girls are up with the sun no matter how late they stay up. Ubu not so much

So far camping is working out pretty well.  There is the possible exception of sleeping though.  We’re all still getting used to sleeping with 4 people and a dog in a tent when the kids have only ever really known having lots of space in quiet rooms for an extended period of time to sleep. I sleep pretty well anywhere, and Geneveve seems to have picked that up from me for the most part except the first night was so exciting and it stays light so late that she didn’t go to bed early.  However, Xena is adapting a lot more slowly, costing Kim more sleep than anyone.  Xena’s been waking up screaming every couple hours and has to sleep on top of Kim to keep her quiet for any period of time.  However, the 3rd night Xena slept without any screaming so that I actually woke up at 4 AM wondering why I hadn’t been awakened yet. Continue reading Three Nights of Camping: To Sleep or not to Sleep →