April 21
The sunset at the Grand Canyon and we quickly found an abandoned road for some sleep about 25 miles north of Flagstaff.
When we woke up, we found we were somewhere entirely different. The ground was made of flat, yellowish red sand that went on for miles! We thought maybe we had landed on MARS! Then we heard the cows. HAHA. Not too far from us was a watering hole. This road is looking less abandoned by the minute and more like a cow pasture! ACK!! This is what driving in the dark can do to you I guess?
After breakfast we found that we were close to a whole load of inactive volcanoes.
We decided to hike to the top of SP crater (above). Rumor has it that the land owner back in the 1800’s named it that way because from a certain angle the lava flow looks like an overflow disaster from a chamber pot (aka Sh!t pot).
It was a LONG drive through some soft dirt roads to get there. We were nervous quite a few times that the Maj wouldn’t make it. She pulled through like a champ.
A few fun landmarks, like this giant “Beer Can” helped us know we were on the right trail.
We pulled up to the cinder cone and parked the Maj. The hiking guide said this was only a 1.9 mile hike to the top of the cone. I packed a small back with some water and a couple snacks for the kids. What we didn’t realize was the whole hike was at a nearly 45 degree angle. It felt straight up!
Imagine climbing up a mountain of marbles. That’s about what this hike felt like. The entire surface was loose lava rock. Not just loose, but 1-2 feet deep loose lava rock. It took some effort not to sink in and slide back down. There is also no “official” trail. Probably because the rocks all slide about and cover up the last trail. So we all found our own zig-zag way up the steep volcano.
About 10 minutes in Fletcher decided his legs were broken and requested I carry him “froggy style” for the remainder of the hike. Not sure how he decided this was a thing, but it is now! His favorite way to travel. Oddly enough, I think I like it better than him on my hip or back. Weight distribution seemed to work out JUST right.
It was such an amazing feeling when we finally reached the top. We maybe climbed a mile but we gained nearly 700 ft in elevation during that short time. That doesn’t sound like much, but if you’ve ever been to the top of the Stratosphere in Vegas, it’s about 900 ft which made my legs wobbly just being near the edge! Wait, now thinking about it, we basically climbed 100 floors worth of stairs! Mushy stairs…
The views were amazing!! Land that went on for MILES in every direction, and not a soul to be seen. You could see multiple crater tops around us.
To the north of our crater was about 4 miles of dark lava flow. Such a contrast to the light colors around it. Riley had a blast finding odd shaped lava rocks.
This section of lava was about the size of a tractor tire. So odd to see it round and smooth. Cool to think that it was liquid at some point. Lava is awesome.
We let the kids rest up before our descent. This was the perfect place to do their favorite thing. Throw rocks! And there were millions of tiny light weight rocks for them to throw as far as they possibly could!
The hike down went a LOT faster. Brian and Riley ran and slid the whole way down in about 10 minutes. Brian would run and Riley would hold his hand and plant her feet to “ski” down through the rocks. Fletcher decided it was a giant slide and scooted his bottom the whole way down. Those poor pants were done by the end.
Back at the Maj we filled our tired bellies with some lunch and took a nap to make sure we had energy for the next stop. We only saw one other car on the dirt road the whole afternoon. They actually passed by us twice and mentioned how surprised they were that we got the RV out that far. So were we.
Once everyone was awake again we drove to Sunset Crater Volcano which is a National Monument in Arizona. As we drove in we remembered why we prefer to visit unknown sites versus national parks or monuments. Too many people and rules!
After having just climbed to the top of a volcano we were excited to do it again. Turns out, it’s protected. There are multiple hikes that take you through the flat lava fields surrounding the volcano. Nothing seemed exciting enough at the time. Since our crew doesn’t do well staying on a trail, we opted for a quick viewpoint of Sunset Crater and then a quick exit.
We drove on through Flagstaff with good speed. Good news RV friends. Flagstaff gas stations let you dump sewage AND fill up on water FOR FREE!! The gas attendant thought I was crazy for thinking this was a golden find. They clearly haven’t driven an RV through California.
We pulled off the side of the freeway and boondocked it that night. Due to a slight error on my part though….. no one got any sleep. I love MIO in my water. It gives it enough flavor for me to chug water all day. Of course I got my kids addicted to it as well. Usually after a day like this the kids would pass out by 8 pm. This night was different. Riley was screaming at me that she physically couldn’t close her eyes and that sleep was impossible. She’s 5. I just thought maybe she just doesn’t want to sleep?
By 11 pm I was wondering why on earth I was so awake and how the kids were still at it. I was about to lose my patience entirely when I realized something. I was so awake that I was shaking. I COULDN’T even close my eyes to sleep. Then it clicked. I must have had caffeine today! (Side note: I rarely drink soda for this exact reason. It affects me intensely. I won’t sleep at night if I have any caffeine after 2 pm.)
I jumped out of bed and opened the cabinet where I keep my MIO. Written in tiny letters on the bottom…. contains caffeine. AHHH!! After the volcano hike I was so worried about dehydration that I made sure everyone was drinking a TON of water. At dinner alone I had gone through 2 full water bottles of caffeinated MIO!!! My kids had each had at LEAST a full water bottle full today.
HARD Mom fail moment. It was 3 am. We were all still awake and could do nothing about it but stare at the ceiling and pray for this night to END!
RV Life Crisis 