April 17
Left our house for the final time and started our FULL time adventure. Finally. I feel like we’ve done this 3 times now. But this time…it’s for REAL. The house is booked out for the next 3 straight months and we are so excited to be on the road!
First stop is the ladder trail at Painted Canyon just outside Mecca CA. Our good friends told us about this one and we were so excited to give it a go. What we DIDN’T know is that it is a 5 mile drive on a dirt road to get to the trail head. No problem right? Wrong. The road was a vibrating machine for our little tin can of a home. Believe it or not, a few bolts screwed themselves loose during the drive. Not to mention the kids brains turning to mush! (Payback for not listening to mom while we drove on the smooth roads….). Ha ha.
We got to the trail head about 8 pm and took a look around. There was one other camper there so we decided to set up shop for the night. The stars were SO bright. I forgot what it’s like to be in the desert at midnight. Beautiful!
5 AM the next morning I was in a panic standing on the roof of the Maj trying to get a message to our house cleaners before the next renters arrived. I’m sure I looked like a crazy person! Luckily it went through and all went well. Phew!
By 6 am we had the kids dressed and ready to hike! The first mile was a flat wash and luckily the kids were excited to find some ladders that they didn’t mind. At the sight of the first ladder they exploded with excitement. Slot canyons, mixed with ladders and boulders to jump off? It’s like a grown up playground!
The hike was circular. The first half was through the canyons and boulders down below. Then you climb to the top where you can see all the fingers of the canyons meet. It took about 2.5 hours to reach the top. 4 snack breaks, 5 drink breaks and endless potty breaks. We knew noon was coming soon and was going to get hot, so we let the kids play for a bit before racing back down.
The 2nd half of the hike was a bit less fun. Mostly large spacious canyons and dirt wash trails. Still beautiful, but harder for toddlers to appreciate.
Then exhaustion set in. It was all we could do to keep the kids walking for 5 minutes at a time. The last 2 miles probably took us a good 3 hours. We don’t carry our kids in backpacks or strollers. We want them to learn to walk and handle their own. This also means we have to be very patient and take LOTS of breaks. The good news, is that we planned for it.
Fletcher ended up on my shoulders for a good portion of the final mile, and then fell asleep in Brian’s arms for the last 10 minutes! Ha ha. The video of Brian leaving the mouth of the canyon with a toddler asleep in his arms, walking in slow motion, might be one of my favorite memories of all time. WHAT A MAN!! Way to carry that baby through the maze of stone! (So lucky we have him!!!)
We finished the hike about 2 pm and were beyond ready for a full size lunch. The kids passed out and we found it a good time to drive to our next destination.
During our drive we took Hwy 62 through Rice, CA and came across the strangest thing. The shoe fence. 
For as far as you can see there are MILLIONS of shoes, hung on a fence, on an abandoned gas station, and anywhere else you can see! Read the history in the link. It’s even more odd that this used to be the site of a tree filled with underwear….
We made it to King man AZ late that night and found a spot to camp near the next trail-head. We could hear the coyotes in the distance. Such an odd thing to fall asleep to.
The kids were still pretty tired from the hike the day before so we took turns riding Monolith Gardens. Brian just purchase an ebike from Pivot and we both wanted to try it out. He took off first while I spent time with the kiddos. Riley is just starting to learn to love to draw. I made sure to pack plenty of paper and pencils for these project times.
Meanwhile, Fletcher is outside rolling in the dirt. Yup. He’s all boy, for sure!
Brian got back about 10 am so we traded and I got to go for a ride. His bike was a bit large for me and I was so nervous to break it, so I was extra cautious. I was quickly converted. On an ebike I can climb hills that would normally stop me. I could power through sections that were rocky and technical. It was a whole new world! This was one of those perfect rides.
This trail has so many different views Large towering rocks, canyons, and endless fields. At one point while riding I saw a bench in the middle of a large field. I stopped to see why it was there. As I got closer the bench turned out to be on the edge of a giant canyon! I would have missed it otherwise. 
At one point during my ride I had to lay the bike down. I stood next to a big rock and looked out at the ENDLESS amount of land ahead of me. It was one of those moments where you feel so small. Brings life into perspective to be in the wild like this. I can’t wait to see what we have next on our list!
RV Life Crisis 