Time Flies – Part II – National Park Run

The kick-off to our planned epic Southwest to West US NP tour was off to a great start. Enchanted Rocks State Park was surprisingly very cool in its own right…yet to be able to experience natural rock climbing for the first time as a family here? So Rad. Also, I should again, lend some perspective on time. This was January of 2022 – Faith was 8.5 years old and Fisher only 5.5 years old, we were in-route to visit Oregon so I could work the next rotation, hopefully close to Grants Pass to visit friends.

I’ll touch on what I was pursuing at the time for work. Through a series of connections, I was very close to creating a deal to assist, by consulting, in creating some form of online PT check-in/monitoring program, and begin to run this portion of a program. I would likely need my CA PT license at the time – so I began that process. The process to attain licensure is quite the ordeal in CA, to say the least! While parked in Fredericksburg, I woke up early one morning to drive to a testing center to take a monitored CA PT legal exam! In the meantime, I was also checking prospects for a rotation either via Leah’s old employer or mine.

But…there was this in front of us as well: A drive to one of the most remote National Parks there is…Big Bend NP. I mean, you’ve got to want it to get here! After turning south off the southernmost interstate (I-10), it is a solid 2.5-hour tow to the entrance of the National Park. Then once entering the park it is nearly an hour drive to the visitor center, with an additional 45 minutes to the campground! Massive park!

Big Bend is in the desert, yet is somewhat of an oasis in itself with awesome wildlife, rock structures, hot springs and the Rio Grande River as the border of U.S. and Mexico. We took some awe-inspiring hikes up into the massive rock wall canyons, dazzled by the enormity and color of the stone and river.

We were told by the NP rangers that a few “entrepreneurial folks” from the neighboring Mexican town would leave handmade crafts in small displays, to sell to tourists, hidden just off the hiking trails after sneaking over early in the morning, crossing the river on horseback. Since this is illegal, we were to just leave them well alone and not purchase anything. Having seen a few of these displays on our first hike, I was anxious to run into one of these guys or gals, and sure enough, Fisher and I ran into one while taking a guys hike. It was a very friendly and non-threatening encounter, actually providing an opportunity to connect through very broken Spanish on my part, while the Mexican gentlemen sat atop his horse. Actually, on this specific hike, Fisher and I ran into a small heard of horses, unmarked except for a bell around the neck of one. It was amazing how peaceful and serene the environment including the people and animals were that we encountered.

We had desired to walk to the border crossing, and visit the local Mexican town in person. Unfortunately, we were informed that the kiddos needed more than birth certificates – they actually needed passports. Without these, we figured we might as well do what the locals do and touch the soil of the neighboring country on foot via water! We paddled (after poorly patching a leak in the inflatable kayak) upstream on the Rio Grande and floated back to the takeout, stopping for a break to toss some rocks from Mexico to the US. Earlier that day, we took an off-road drive to Ernst Tianja to hike along another incredible rock formation. So many unique areas and ways to enjoy this park!

Yet another feature we enjoyed was the hot springs right along the river’s edge. We found out that for a brief time, this was actually offered as somewhat of a resort in the early 1900’s. Some of the original structure and footing was still intact that was built around the hot springs. A soak and room would cost a little more than $1.25! I cannot imagine the journey to arrive at that destination in those days! Beautiful!

We definitely made the most of our 4 nights in Big Bend National Park – one very memorable moment while there, we were able to enjoy the evenings and early mornings of a Wolf Moon. Early in the morning, Leah and Fisher decided to check out the moon, and Fisher – part wolf, part boy – let it all out and howled. And he was answered by wolves! (Actually coyotes, but still awesome). If you listen closely, you can hear the answers to Fisher’s howling in the video below.

Riding on a high after Big Bend NP, we headed towards Las Cruces, NM. We stayed with Leah’s Aunt and Uncle for two nights, allowing us to slick up some snow saucers with wax and slide down the dunes at White Sands NP! White Sands is such a unique place as this is not normal “beach sand”.  In fact, it is almost purely gypsum, and was so remote and uninhabitable that is was previously used for military missile and weapons testing!

Just a side note; For kicks, and becuase it broke up the drive well for us, we stayed in Tuscon at the resort we lived at during our first contract on this crazy adventure in 2019!

From January 23-25 we boondocked on the boarder of Josua Tree National Park. With only two days to enjoy the park, we were extremely pleased with the availability of cool hikes along monstrous boulders, cactus gardens and surrounding mountains. The bouldering here was epic. Believe it or not, my friend Phil, who I worked with in Oregon had recently moved back to WI with his wife, however they decided to do travel therapy for some time….and their first contract was in Palm Springs, CA. And they were able to drive out to spend an evening at our campsite!

We did a long travel day on January 26th to make it up to Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP. The weather worked out, allowing the park to open only a week prior to our arrival. The areas to explore were limited due to snow, however we still thoroughly enjoyed sledding, snow hiking and marveling at the enormous Sequoia trees! PS – the picture that looks like a cave below? It is actually a hollowed-out sequoia that housed a small cavalry unit nearly 100 years ago!

It was at our campground outside Sequoia NP where I had the conversation with the owner of the company I worked with while living in Oregon. As the deal within the software company was not shaking out as quickly as we hoped, I agreed to do a three-month contract with them – so we would be living in Grants Pass, and I would be working in Medford – just like old times!

We left Sequoia and traveled up to Mariposa, CA – just outside the iconic Yosemite NP. Holy Toledo! The views did not disappoint. The roads were clear, yet there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground adding to the pristine beauty of this place. With all he explored and lived within, it is no wonder John Muir chose this magical place. We did some hiking up to and around the waterfalls and lakes, yet due to the snow and the kids’ ages, we did not venture on some of the more thrilling and challenging hikes (this visit – we’ll likely be back at some point!)

We did, however, try our hand at a few new winter sports. A first for each of us, we tried our hand at cross-country skiing. A beautiful way to enjoy a mountainside, yet very challenging for the kiddos to get the hang of. They tried their best and earned hot chocolate and brownies at the ski resort, which helped the tears and frustration melt away. On a separate day, Leah and Faith ice-staked in the shadows of the giant cliffs while Fisher and I had a snowball fight in the valley.

Choosing to forgo the push all the way to Mt. Lassen NP, we opted to travel and camp near Mount Shasta. This was the first mountain skiing experience for both Leah and I after having moved to Oregon in 2009 and would be the kids’ first experience with downhill skiing as well! This is a very pretty mountain, with some long easier routes to enjoy as a family. The kids actually did fairly well. Fisher stayed between my skis for the majority of the runs, however, Faith was able to pick up the maneuvering fairly quickly. We did find out that Faith inherited another quality of mine besides her stunning good looks; we are both challenged by momentum and have difficulty stopping. This led to Faith’s first broken bone at the very bottom of our very last run! She fell backward and broke her pinky – poor girl. She’s a tough one, and anyhow, was able to brag about it to her friends!

We left Troy, Alabama on January 2nd and arrived in Grants Pass, Oregon on February 4th. What a way to start a year, huh? So many new experiences for all of us as we enjoyed some of the most beautiful and diverse parks in our country.

Being back in Grants Pass, where Leah and I began our married lives together, purchased our first home, birthed our children and lived, worked and recreated for 10 years of our life was a very special and meaningful time for us. I really look forward to sharing our stories of these three months in the next installment of “Time Flies”.