Great, Grand, Magical: Part I

I have little tolerance for false pretenses. Should I have decided to proceed with sharing the absolutely epic adventure we were on without demonstrating some struggle along the way, a true appreciation of the depth of our experiences would be lacking. This is why I shared my prior post, “Yelling at Cows”, prior to this account of the best few weeks my family of four has shared to date. Just as in life, the peaks are more beautiful because they are surrounded by valleys.

Two other points to clarify before proceeding with this recount is the timing of the events as they took place as well as the fact that my kids are good kids. No, they’re great kids, and they are doing really well in this unconventional upbringing mode thus far. As far as the timing goes, we left Tucson on February 23rd having no clue how drastically the world stage and environment would change. Without being able to see into the future, we planned on Leah gaining licensure and working in Washington State well before the Coronovirus took hold. As you know, this has escalated quickly, and we are doing our best to stay safe and socially distance ourselves as all of you are doing. I mean we have a mobile 5th wheel and love the wide-open spaces of the outdoors, so I think we are suited pretty well to be able to continue to thrive even in this odd time. I pray for our world, country and you. I am confident that the best of us will end up shining through once this plays out.

Alright, now I would like to share what we were able to explore after Tucson. Our first stop was a five night stay in Cottonwood, AZ, just outside of Sedona. This was Leah and the kids’ first visit to Sedona, so I figured a crash course in the beauty of the red rocks would best occur on a Pink Jeep Tour. This was a blast! I was able to watch Faith and Fisher bounce and giggle as our guide rather quickly navigated some very rough BLM terrain. We gained a fair amount of elevation on the way to a gorgeous red rock panoramic vista.

Knowing where our travel stops would take us in the next few weeks, we figured we would help get the kids’ legs warmed up by choosing a couple low key out-and-back trails. We set off on both hikes donning our kid carriers as a way to give the kids breaks and carry snacks. It turns out with a few rocks to climb, some hiking vitamins (Skittles), and some creative encouragement, the packs were used to carry the kids much less than we thought. The first Sedona Hike took us through Faye Canyon – 2.5 mile out-and-back with a rock scramble for a view a the end. On the way back, Faith found her alter hiking ego: “Rose Thunderdash” – who is has crazy rock skills and mad ninja moves! Fisher pulled off some pretty sweet moves himself…. but he claims them all as his own. Fully understanding the made up name, he still wanted his ninja name to be Fisher.

The trail guides are born!

So Rose Thunderdash and Fisher continued to lead us on our next hike up to Cathedral Rock. To my surprise both kids charged up the hill to the rock face…. and kept going! Leah and I helped, but had to call it quits as we became the nervous parents for the first time, not wanting the kids to get hurt on a climb. What goes around, comes around, right Mom and Dad? We enjoyed the rest of the time at Cathedral Rock within the peace of the area and views, helped Faith learn to stack cairns, and let Fisher knock a few over.

While in the Cottonwood area, we visited the Tuzigoot National Monument and Montezuma’s Castle to appreciate the ancient history of the region. It is so cool how much Faith is getting to learn first hand – she really has no idea. What became more memorable for my family is what “tuzigoot” now stands for. You know those times a stench will enter the room that requires the parental; “who needs to use the restroom”, or “who needs to check their pants”? It’s now “who tuzigooted?” in my family.

I think we caught both kiddos “Tuzigootin” in this shot!

One challenge during our time in Sedona was the fact that we were there during the Film Festival. That along with some major construction downtown meant that the usually manageable tourist town of Sedona was almost impossible to enjoy and navigate, especially in a dually truck! We made it work so we could enjoy the Pink Jeep Tour and breakfast at “The Coffee Pot” but we decided to stay clear the rest of our stay and instead explore the town of Cottonwood. We were so pleasantly surprised at this quaint and welcoming town! It was much more our speed without any crowds but still plenty of cute shops, cafes, and family-friendly restaurants. We spent some time hanging out at “The State Bar” which had giant Jenga and a fire pit table for us to play our new family favorite- Yahtzee!! We ended our day with a fantastic experience at Bocce Pizza. We would highly recommend checking out this great town if you want a break from the hustle-bustle of Sedona!

We always appreciate restaurants remembering those of us with young kids and providing options for them to have fun so we can all enjoy the dining experience!!

After five nights in Cottonwood, it was time to move from the “great” in Sedona to the Grand Canyon. We drove to the south rim and found ourselves parked in Trailer Village, just a short bike ride to the rim! It was so fun to see the light spark in Leah’s eyes when we walked up to the first initial look-out. She felt the rush of being alive while standing on the edge of something so immense one cannot help but feel tiny, almost insignificant. The one physical thing that scares me is ledges and heights (I’ll refer you to an earlier post “Leave Nothing at the Table” for a further explanation of that fear of mine). However, Leah needed to feel it. To be on the edge – so I volunteered to look after the kids while she walked to the very edge of a rock ledge. She felt it – it sparked her, and I saw it. That was cool.

Leah is ALIVE!!

The following day we enjoyed a great bike ride with the kids along the rim, and found the ability to find another lookout off the paved path, away from all the tourists. It was a special moment we shared as a family of four. The sun came out enough to warm us out of our layers, and we were able to bask in the glory of our Creator in an absolutely marvelous setting. Ok – maybe not bask. But we had a great five seconds of silence until we needed to scurry and contain the kids away from the ledges…. but it was cool.

A quick, but meaningful 5 seconds of serenity… There was the beautiful sunset we were able to catch too!

We only stayed two nights in the Grand Canyon, as the task of leading our kiddos in a true exploration into it will have to come in a future visit. Our next stop was Zion National Park, and the drive we took had to be up and around the southern rim of the Grand canyon, and then west, still south of Bryce and Zion. Finally uncharted territory for me! The “faster” route would have been through Bryce to Zion, however there is what is called the Zion-Mt. Caramel tunnel. Bowen Arrow (our truck and 5th wheel) would be turned around at first glance entering the park – no entrada. Our research ahead of time made us aware that a special permit pass would have to be purchased for Bowen (the truck) to make the passage through the tunnel – which was awesome, and I’ll share more here shortly.

The drive to Zion itself was way cool. We had an awesome lunch stop in Marble Canyon. The mountains and cliffs in the background were extremely unique to view as we ate our sandwiches, and the wind was howling. The kids and I chased after each other in the wind as we stretched our willies out. This was the moment I really felt like we were doing what we set out to do with this adventure. We were able to stop in the middle of nowhere, with no one else around and just be – enjoying each other and the moment. This wasn’t a special monument, or park, or attraction. It was just a very unique place we stopped because it was lunch time, and we had the time and means to enjoy it!

A few hours later, we drove into Springdale, Utah. Springdale is a very clean and quaint town that boarders the southern entrance to Zion. It is almost as if you take one turn into Springdale and Zion is literally upon you. The cliffs of the canyons tower above, not roaring, but kind of giving off the sound a choir might make in the moment of glory… “Ahhhh”. Watchman’s campground, where we were to be parked for the next few nights was located directly underneath these first few cliffs along the Virgin River. This was soooo cool! I was finally at Zion – a park that has been on my list for the last decade! I couldn’t wait to explore….but first we had to park Arrow. We had a great site – it was huge, with a long parking drive, quick access to the beach along the river and million dollar view, but I do think it is the site for which the campsite gets its name. Anytime a rig as big as ours pulls in and prepares to park in this ridiculously positioned entrance located around a tight left handed drive, all the rest of the campers come out and say to the next guy… “Hey watch this, man.” I did feel like all eyes were on me with restless kids in the back seat and a still very green guide (Leah) trying to direct me via walkie-talkies to back this thing in. WHICH I HATE! Anyhow, with some non-assuming suggestions from a seasoned vet, we were able to park Arrow. This was my only qualm with the park. Otherwise, IT WAS FANTASTIC!!!! Magical. But…. I am going to have to end this post here and finish off in a Part II.

Stay tuned for part two of our tip from Tuscon, AZ to Washington!