May 8

Soaking in some recovery time at home after our adventures at sea. The Maj was in need of some renovations and our home needed a deep clean before more renters were to come in which means we got a week at home!

We took a quick break from cleaning and renovating to test out some new Camel-backs for the kids. They’ve been asking for their OWN water to drink while they ride.

Headed out to our favorite trails at Calvera Lake to give them a test run.

The good news is, we had enough water to do a 50 mile trail. The bad news is, they were tired of riding after about 8.

One of the benefits of an ebike is being able to get out farther on trails with the kids.  We probably wouldn’t have found as many “back woods” type places for them to play if we didn’t have the extra power to get a bit farther.

Watching them hop, skip, and jump across streams, throw rocks and climb trees makes me feel like a better parent.  This is how kids should grow up. Dirty, tired and full of imagination.

May 12

Maj is back in running condition and ready to go!  No coming back to the house for a few months  this time. Let’s hope the renters don’t burn it down! (I have this weird fear that someone is going to paint “I hate your house” in red on my white walls one day.  AHHH! The weird things you think of when you don’t know what’s happening in your home!)

Before heading out of town we loaded up on books at the library.  The Oceanside Library has become a weekly visit at our home.  If you don’t know this….libraries are the BEST!

I recently learned that the kids section has themed learning bags you can take for a week.  They have multiple books on one topic and usually a toy, puzzle or game as well. Like pre-school in a bag!

You can rent DVD’s and music as well.  They do story time each week for preschool age kids.  We didn’t miss a week of those when Riley was little.  Poor Fletcher hasn’t been able to go AS much.  But when we do he LOVES it!

Fully stocked on books, we headed for a loop through Southern Utah.  As we were headed north we caught wind that Brian’s sister was in Yermo at the Calico Ghost Town, so we decided to meet up!  We got there too late to see the ghost town, but soon enough to still have some fun.

They were staying at the local KOA and of course the FIRST stop was the pool! It was a little cold outside and the water was a few degrees cooler, making it NOT as tempting as you would think in the desert.  The kids were willing to stick it out to swim though!

The play area for kids was filled with the strangest mixture of things. First….this abandoned train car.  This was heaven for Fletcher. We could barely keep him off it.  The boy LOVES trains.  Who knew this could be it’s own playground.

This might have to also double as our Christmas card this year.  Swimwear on a train car in the desert. Yup. Feels fitting for us!

Tether ball! When is the last time you played tether ball. Also, I forgot how dangerous and fun this game is.  A few bops to the head will teach you quickly!

If you ever had a teeter totter like this old one then you remember one VERY important thing. DON’T LET YOUR FEET TOUCH THE GROUND. Why? Because the one time you do, the iron rails will roll over your toes and you’ll never feel them again. I think older playground equipment taught us A LOT about life.  Figure out what’s going to kill you, and find a way to survive while still having fun :).

After fun with cousins, we packed up and drove off into the desert as far as we could through the dark. Then found an empty road for some boondocking.  The stars were AMAZING that night.

May 13

Happy Mother’s day to me!  Today we have the most exciting hike.  We arrived at the trail head for White Rock Canyon Bridge near the Hoover Dam about 10 am. Big plans for the day as we wanted to visit the Arizona Hot Springs. 

We started off late and didn’t even get out of the RV until nearly 10.30 am. We probably should have left about 7 am for this one.  We had one backpack loaded with 4 giant water bottles and countless snacks and sandwiches as provisions.  I hadn’t reviewed this trail before we took it and didn’t know we were in for a 6 mile hike with kids….

The first leg was the White Rock Canyon Trail to the Colorado River.  This trail was mostly loose gravel for about the first mile or so in open desert.

The kids enjoyed finding big boulders to jump off and…..throwing the smaller rocks as usual.  Fletcher was hard to keep moving as he would pick up 2 rocks.  Take 3 steps. Throw his rocks. Then stop to find the next 2 rocks that were perfect to throw.

As we got closer to the river we entered a canyon.  The wind off the river came up through the canyon and started to cool us off as it was passed noon and VERY hot.

The canyons got steeper and steeper.

These giant rocks are my favorite places.  Like a giant fort for adults. They must seem crazy big to the kids!

The kids were more than ready for lunch, but we knew the river had to be close by.  A picnic by a cool river would be perfect.  We forged on thinking that at every turn we were nearly there. This is a terrible mentality and soon at every corner we were very hopeful….and then very sad.

It was nearly 1 pm by the time we got to the river.  3 hours to walk 3 miles. Sounds about right with tiny legs.  The water was MAYBE 50 degrees… but we all stripped down and jumped in as fast as we could.  Then got out just as fast!

We relaxed here for about an hour trying to get the energy up to hike the 3 miles back home.  The beach we were on was just down river of Ringbolt Rapids, which must be fun. The kids watched countless kayaks and rafts float down passed us.

Feeling refreshed we packed up and headed for the hot springs. This is when I realized I had somehow left Brian’s camera on video mode the ENTIRE time we were at the river. His battery was dead, mine was long since dead (because somehow it dies every 3 hours anyway).  There we were about to get to the funnest part with no camera.  Of course!

To get to the hot springs we had to hike down along the river around some cliffs. Then you jog back northwest and hike through a trickling stream through a slot canyon.  The canyon starts out narrow and then gets wider and taller as you get deeper in.  Finally you come to a big open area in the canyon were the only place you can go is UP.  Up a 20 ft ladder into the hot springs at the top.

Fletcher had fallen asleep in my arms at this point during our hike.  (He still needs a good 2 hour nap every once and awhile. I think the 3 mile morning hike meant he was MORE than ready for one today).  I didn’t want to wake him so I transferred him onto my back, put his legs through the straps of my back pack and put that on top of him.  I strung a towel underneath his legs and through the backpack straps to give him a seat and soft spot for him to rest on. It was a makeshift Ergo and it worked!  A couple at the bottom of the ladder were amazed we had made it so far with little kids.  They took this picture for me as I climbed the 20 ft ladder with Fletcher PASSED OUT on my back.

We got to the top and found the first hot spring. This one was the least hot. and still a good 105 degrees.  Sandbags created makeshift walls between each pool. Stepping from the first pool to the 2nd the heat increased dramatically.  The third and highest pool was TOO HOT to even wade through.  I read later that these pools can get up to 120! I believe it.  It nearly skinned my legs as I waded through on our way OUT of the canyon.

(Photo above from http://www.hikingproject.com. This is a picture from inside the highest hot spring looking down into the medium hot spring.  The slot canyon turns right at the end of the photo down to the coolest spring where we stayed.)

We were down to our last water bottle of fresh water and starting to get nervous about the hike back. It was nearly 2:30 and we had 3 miles to get back to the Maj and maybe a cup of water left.  The Regina from Flagstaff came to our rescue.  She was out hiking alone and we started chatting with her as we soaked in the pools.  She noticed we weren’t drinking much and then told Brian to take her portable water filter and hike back to the Colorado River to fill up.  This SAVED our lives. Note to self….own a portable water filter! Brian came back 30 minutes later with 4 full water bottles (nearly 2 gallons).

We hiked back along the  Hot Spring Canyon Trail. This trail seemed much shorter than the first!  The elevation gain was like walking up a flight of stairs the entire time. In retrospect, I think we should have done this hike backwards.  Every 50 ft we had to stop for a water break, or leg tired break.

When we saw the highway we all nearly RAN to the Maj.  We got to the parking lot and into the Maj at about 5 pm. It was a full 7 hour hike (including time sitting in the river and the hot springs).  A FULL day.  None of us could move.

Brian showered the kids while I made a quick dinner. We were clean, fed and in our beds as the sun started to set.

It was the LONGEST, funnest, most amazing day.  I’m so lucky to be a mom to these amazing kids who can do so much. Even more lucky to be married to this adventure bound man. Cheers to many more adventures on the way!