Category: NomadicLife

Family Adventures in Phoenix: Memories Made in Arizona

~ Wandering Cindi ~ 2 Comments

Murphy is always ready to hit the road, find a new adventure, and see new things. Sometimes, though, we also revisit places we have been to before. We had a reservation at Tortilla Flats, but we needed a place to stay for a few days before that, so we went back to West Pinal County Park for a few days. This is a conveniently located park to Phoenix and Maricopa, Arizona.

Murphy likes to help whenever Aaron and I are doing work on our computers. He thought he had some good ideas to help with photo editing.

After West Pinal County Park, we made our way to Apache Junction. We had been to Apache Junction once before, in July. At that time, we were able to stay at Lost Dutchman State Park. No campsites were available this time, so we found an available spot at Tortilla Flats, which is located northeast of town off of the Apache Trail.

The Apache Trail was a stagecoach trail that ran through the Superstition Mountain Range. Before it was a stagecoach trail, it was a trail used by the Apache, and before that, it was used by the Anasazi and Hohokam tribes for trade and migration. The road is a windy mountain road that is paved for the first portion, and then turns to a dirt road after Tortilla Flat. There are beautiful views of the rugged desert mountains in every direction.

While we were there, I had to make a quick trip to Iowa to take my dad to a doctor appointment. While there, I had a fantastic visit with my mom, my brother and his family, and as a bonus, my Uncle Darrell came down for a quick visit. I was able to attend a Burns Brunch, where all the many, many cousins (mostly my mom’s generation) gather every month to touch base and keep the family connection. It was really cool to be able to meet family that I had only seen as a small child. Of course, did I take any pictures? Nope…not one…total fail on my part.

The only picture I took was of my brother, Chris. Over the years, he has done so much to help our dad with his health issues and needs. My older brother, Sean, and I wanted to show Chris how much we appreciated him being there when we could not. There is a car museum in Ohio that Chris had stumbled on while driving back from New York that offers people the ability to adopt a car displayed there. Chris thought this was a fantastic way to support the museum, and there was a car there that he had fallen in love with. So, Sean and I decided to gift him the adoption of this car as a small way to show our appreciation. Chris was surprised and over the moon. I was lucky enough to be there when his adoption package arrived.

A man sitting at a table holding a photo of a classic car and an adoption certificate, with a Christmas tree in the background.

Since we could not make it back to Florida for Christmas, we decided that the whole family, including my mom, would spend Christmas in Phoenix. Mom and I flew from Iowa to Phoenix together to start the Christmas holidays. We rented an Airbnb large enough for the whole family to stay together. Well, almost large enough. There were only 4 bedrooms, and since we have three adult children and my mom there, they each got their own room, and Aaron, Murphy, and I stayed in the Airstream, parked in the driveway. It worked out perfectly.

The house came with a heated pool, batting cage, putting green, and a fire pit. We had a blowup Christmas cactus, and a week filled with love, laughter, and the simple joy of being together. Murphy and Lola enjoyed being together again as well.

Mom gave all of us a fantastic gift. She gave us an experience. She booked all of us a desert ATV tour for the day after Christmas. It was so much fun! We had three ATVs, and we each got to drive on some really fun trails.

Aaron and Jenna took one UTV

Mom and Gage took the second one.

Mason and I jumped in the third one.

Mom and I also took a drive up the Apache Trail so she could experience the mountain road. The sights were great, and she and I had a great time exploring.

Sadly, the week had to come to an end, and everyone had to disperse to their homes and jobs. It was a wonderful week full of love and laughs. Our wandering life limits our time with our kids, so every moment we have together is precious and held closely to our hearts.

Aaron and I still needed to be in Phoenix, so we went back to where we started the month, West Pinal County Park to finish the month of December.

A shiny Airstream trailer parked in West Pinal County Park, with mountains in the background and clear blue sky.

Next week will cover our adventures for the month of January.

South Fork State Recreational Park, Nevada

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

We said goodbye to Idaho and made our way into northeast Nevada. We set up the trailer at South Fork State Recreational Park just outside of Elko, Nevada. Elko is known for its gold mines and UFO sightings. We did see quite a few mines driving to the campground. Unfortunately, we did not see any UFOs, mysterious lights, or aliens.

The campground sits above South Fork Reservoir, a man-made reservoir for water-based recreation. Boating, fishing, and swimming are encouraged. Murphy and I spent quite a lot of time down at the water’s edge. He swam every day, and I took too many pictures of the beautiful landscape.

The campground is also close to the Ruby Mountains. They provided a gorgeous view every day, which changed with the light.

It was a quiet week for us. Aaron worked quite a bit, and Murphy and I enjoyed our surroundings.

Here are a few shots of the landscape, the ducks, and the dramatic skies. We did have some rain, which was nice.

The campground was never really crowded, but we did have neighbors with small kids for a few days. Murphy would watch them play from the windows of the camper. Once, he fell asleep watching them and gave me one of my favorite pictures of him.

After a week of enjoying our site, it was time to move west again. Next stop- back to Tahoe National Forest in California. We stayed there last year and decided it was the perfect stop on our way to Fremont, CA.

Back to Idaho

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

Plans change. A big part of our travels is our ability to adapt to Aaron’s job’s changing needs. We had planned to head east into Wyoming and then south, but he needed to spend time in his company’s office in Fremont, California. So, we headed west out of Montana for one more trip through Idaho, leading us west to California. We decided to check out Massacre Rocks State Park in American Falls, Idaho. That was a really good decision.

Massacre Rocks State Park is situated on part of the Oregon and California Trail, which pioneers used in the 1800’s and early 1900’s to emigrate west to Oregon and California in their covered wagons. This park was named for a fight between the Native American tribe, the Shoshone, and settlers in 1862. The Shoshone lost at least 20 people, and at least 8 people from wagon trains were also killed in this fight. Regardless of its bloody history, the park is beautiful. It sits above the Snake River with hiking trails, a museum, large boulders, and a hilly campground.

There were a lot of rabbits for Murphy to chase. All the boulders and rocks were formed from volcanic eruptions about 14,500 years ago.

Register Rock is part of the state park and is a few miles from the campground and the rest of the park. This spot was a regular stopping point for a night’s or a few days’ rest. Quite a few of the emigrants that stopped here carved their names into a large boulder and other rocks in the area. The rock has a protective shelter built over it and is fenced in so that people do not deface or destroy this piece of American history. I find it amusing that even back then, people were putting graffiti on rocks. It makes me wonder what future generations will think of the graffiti that will be left behind from our age.

The carvings are not easy to make out, and because they sit in a hole in the ground, they are hard to photograph.

The park also has a trail that leads across an interstate to a set of wagon ruts that still exist from the pioneer wagon trains of the past. It was inspiring to see part of the perilous journey thousands took to find/make a better life for themselves. Many, many people died along these trails trying to manifest a better life for themselves and their families. On the flip side of that, the Native Americans who already lived on these lands were displaced, their homes and lands invaded, and lots of bloodshed occurred due to this drive west. Entire cultures were changed and lost. I had lots of conflicting emotions, standing in history, encompassing loss and gain for both sides of the perilous time of wagon trains, Native American and pioneer battles, displacement of tribes, and growth and expansion of American culture. These themes are still controversial today, and I do not want to get into debates, especially on this site.

We also visited the museum on-site in the park. It had a nice display of some fossils found there, a journal of a pioneer on the Oregon Trail, and some recreations of what covered wagon travel looked like.

When our stay was over, we packed it up and started west toward Nevada. While looking at our route, I noticed that we would be passing very close to Shoshone Falls. This waterfall is called the Niagara of the West. So, we decided a short side trip was in order. The falls are controlled by damns, so sometimes their water flow is high, and sometimes it is low. The flow was low the day we went, so we did not witness the full power of the falls. Even with low flow, the falls were beautiful. We also saw a mountain goat just hanging out, watching cars come in and out of the park.

After an hour of taking pictures, we continued heading west into Nevada. We had been to Reno the year before, just for an afternoon of laundry and lunch. So this was to be our first time camping in Nevada and we were looking forward to another new state and experience, but still in a desert environment. Next week will be all about our stay at one of Nevada’s beautiful reservoirs.

Glacier Bay National Park

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

Our cruise ship spent one entire day floating around Glacier Bay National Park. This is why we wanted a balcony room! We ordered room service for breakfast and lunch so that we enjoy the majestic beauty of the bay without interruption. The national park sent park rangers to the ship to narrate what we were seeing and give information about the glaciers and the wildlife in the park. It was broadcast over the television so that we could listen to the information and view the park at the same time from the comfort of our room.

National parks are set aside and preserved for a reason. They protect natural wonders, wildlife, and historically significant sites for all to experience and enjoy. I feel so fortunate to have been lucky to get a small glimpse of Glacier Bay. I hope eventually, Aaron and I will manage to make the trip to Alaska so that we can further immerse ourselves in its beauty and experience some of what this beautiful state has to offer.

We saw so many breathtaking sights. I will start with photos of the glaciers, next the many waterfalls, then the animals we saw, and finish up with some landscape shots.

The Glaciers

Taking pictures was a challenge. It was foggy, misty, cold, and not much sunlight. Some of the pictures will have a blue tint to them. In editing, I was trying to bring out the blue in the glaciers that we experienced, but the camera did not capture. Also, we were usually half a mile to a mile away from the shoreline. One thing to keep in mind is that these glaciers were huge. Some of them were more than a mile wide and many, many miles in length.

Glaciers are made of snow that condenses into ice, and as they move, they carve out land due to their massive weight and size. They pick up rocks, boulders, soil, and minerals. These materials are deposited into the water as the glacier breaks apart (calves) and slowly melts. The soil and minerals enrich the water and feed small marine life, which in turn feeds larger marine life, and so on. Glaciers are a massive part of the formation of the landscape and the oceans.

This last photon is in black and white to show the dramatic detail of this amazing glacier.

The Waterfalls

Everywhere we looked, there were waterfalls. To see them so far from shore means that they are very large and powerful.

Sea Otters and Birds

Landscapes

I was mistaken last week. I had forgotten about our hovercraft experience in Ketchikan. So, I will finish up our Alaskan experience next week with the hovercraft trip. I will also include the Butchart Gardens in British Columbia. Lastly, I will cover our Seattle tour. Thank you to each one of you who takes the time to read this blog.

Skagway, the Yukon, and Butchart Gardens

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

After leaving Juneau, our next port was Skagway, Alaska. For this port, we had a bus and train tour of White Pass Summit with a stop in the Yukon Territory. It was an 8-plus-hour excursion with gold panning and husky puppies along the way.

The tour started with the bus portion. The bus took us through the town of Skagway, through Tormented Valley, and then into the Yukon Territory of Canada. It followed the route the prospectors hoping to strike it rich took when the Yukon Gold Rush began. They would get all their gear and supplies to make the trek along the White Pass in Alaska into the Yukon. I can not imagine the bravery it took for the men and women to traverse such an environment to attempt to improve their lives. Only a few succeeded, and many died trying to get to the Yukon.

One of the areas we drove through was Tormented Valley. It was a harsh landscape with beautiful green lakes and imposing mountains. Photographs were tricky due to the cloudy and foggy weather. I did manage to find a flower blooming among the rocks.

After we summited White Pass, we entered the Yukon Territory in Canada. Our passports were checked at the border, and then we continued on to a recreation of a mining camp. Once there, we were fed a mediocre lunch, browsed the gift shop, visited the husky puppies (future sled dogs), and panned for Yukon gold. We also got to hang out with a few goats. Sean and Angie got the most gold of 7 or 8 flakes (and I mean SMALL flakes) each. Mom found 4 flakes, and I only found two. I guess I will have to find another way to strike it rich. In all honesty, this stop on the tour is very like a very cheesy tourist trap. I believe this stop was everyone’s least favorite experience of the entire cruise.

We got back on the bus and headed to the White Pass Summit Railway. On the way, we were treated to a beautiful rainbow. We were all very excited to take a train from the summit down into Skagway! The train ride did not disappoint. It was the highlight of the day. My favorite thing about the train is that we were allowed to stand outside while the train was moving to get better views.

After the train, we hopped back onto the bus, and our driver/guide made two more stops for us. We stopped at what they call Emerald Lake. The lake had multiple shades of green in the water and was a beautiful place to stop. Then, we stopped at a tourist shop area that showed off tribal totem poles and locally made items. I picked up a bottle of Canadian whiskey barrel-aged maple syrup for Aaron while we were there. He loves his pancakes and enjoys whiskey, so I decided this was the perfect gift for him.

A Few More Pictures From the Tour

Our next port on the cruise was a day spent on the ship cruising in Glacier Bay National Park. I will skip that for this blog; it deserves a post dedicated only to it. That will be next week’s post and my last post about Alaska.

Butchart Gardens

Our final stop on the cruise was Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. We did not get into port until 8:00 p.m., but we had a planned excursion to Butchart Gardens. It was going to be a unique experience since we would be touring the gardens at night instead of during the day. Sean and Angie decided to stay on the ship and pack for our arrival in Seattle the next day. Mom and I hopped on the bus and headed to the gardens.

We only had a little over an hour, so we did not get to explore the entire garden. We focused on the sunken garden, which was a quarry before it was turned into this beautiful garden.

We re-boarded the ship for our last night and slept really well. We had a tour of Seattle planned for after our disembarkation the next day.

The scenery on this excursion was beautiful, and the train ride was the day’s highlight. The totem poles were mesmerizing to look at, and the four of us really enjoyed spending the day together and sharing all of the new experiences.

Next week’s post will have tons of pictures of Glacier Bay National Park, as well as pictures of our Seattle tour. After that, back to wandering around in the Airstream with Aaron and Murphy.