First camping trip

Last month we bought a travel trailer (2016 Keystone Passport 2920BH) and this month was the first time we got to use it!  We wanted to go somewhere not too far away so we could work out the kinks and just get our feet on the ground with it before we try a longer haul.  We decided to go to Kernville and we stayed at Rivernook Campground and it did not disappoint.

 

We learned a few things about camping, met some nice people in the campground, partially froze our butts off and made a list of everything else we still need for the trailer.  The whole reason we wanted to get a trailer was to get our kiddos outside and up close to nature.  The entire ride up to Kernville they talked about how they were very nervous because of the bears.

One of the things I discovered is that when camping, it’s okay to over pack.  I was trying to not over pack, so I brought the kids outfits for each day and then 2 extras and they were both through 3 outfits in the first day.  Ben fell in the stream about 10 minutes after we got up the first day and soaked his only pair of shoes.  (Just got him a pair of rain boots for camping now.)  Abbie likes to play musical outfits on any given day anyway, so she changed 3 times the first day too.  Next time I’ll bring more clothes for both of them, plus more shoes.

 

The scenery at the camp ground was gorgeous.  There’s just something so refreshing about being out in nature, especially when you add water to it.  This camp was along the Kern River and then had 3 creeks running through it and one was right behind our camp site.  We had fun wandering the grounds taking it all in.  The kids can NOT go for a walk without bringing half of the things they pass back with them.  Leaves, sticks, shells, pine cones, moss, grass, dirt.  You name it, they pick it up and bring it back with them.  And our little Jamison is apparently a natural in front of the camera.  Every time he saw me take a picture of him he’d get a big cheesy grin on his face.  Mark says it’s in his DNA.  I think he’s just too cute!

    

There were a few walking trails north of the camp ground that we walked along.  Fall is my absolute favorite time of year to travel.  It doesn’t matter if you’re in Europe or the States – the fall colors are amazing and I love the cooler crisp air.  The fall colors along the river didn’t disappoint.

 

The first time we saw these little rock towers was in Santorini, Greece.  They were all over the volcano there.  They are known in Canada as “Inukshuk’s” which mean “You’re welcome here” or “You’re on the right path” so Mark made a little one.

One of my requirements for the trailer was to have an outdoor kitchen and I’m so glad we have one.  It’s nice to be able to cook outside and not stink up the whole trailer.  I just wish our outdoor sink had a drain.  Instead it’s just a “sink” that you dump out when it gets full.  At least there’s running water out there.  We also got an outdoor rug for under the canopy.

Kernville is just south of the Sequoia National Forest so we decided to take drive north and check it out.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  Thank God my husband is patient and stops the car every mile or so for me to jump out and snap photos.  I might print a few of these.

Seriously, every time I pointed the camera at him, he grinned.

And a few more from around the campground and the Kern River.  We’re hoping to come back in the summer!

 

 

Here’s to the first camping trip of many!!

 

Sedona in the fall

After Montezuma’s Castle we headed up to Sedona for a few days.  My parents were kind enough to let us use their travel club time share in Sedona and it was really nice.  I love Sedona anyway, but going there in the fall made it that much better.  The fall colors were beautiful against the red rocks!

We went on the Devil’s Bridge hike first.  I remember trying to do part of this hike a few years ago with the weinas, and we didn’t get very far.  (The weinas aren’t built for hiking, exactly..)  Driving to the trail head made me a bit nervous more than once as these “roads” are meant for off-roading vehicles only.  This time I got out to make sure we’d clear the rocks we were going over, which we did just fine, but I also saw one of the wheels of the Volvo come off the ground about a foot…

The hike to Devil’s Bridge was mostly uphill on the way there, usually a gradual incline, until the end where it got pretty darn steep, and made me pretty darn nervous.  Ben walked for part of the way, but he tends to like to take his time and stop and look at just about everything on the way, so we eventually put him on Mark’s back so it didn’t take us 3 weeks to get to the bridge.

I, as usual, had fun playing with my camera.  Plus, it’s a good excuse to stop occasionally to take pictures of things.  And in Sedona, there is LOTS to take pictures of.

Sedona is known for it’s vortex’s and it is said that the twisted juniper trees are a sign of the presence of a vortex.  I’m not sure I believe that’s true but they are pretty cool to look at.

Towards the end of the Devil’s Bridge trail, it got REALLY steep.  The parts below actually had stairs on them, which was nice, but further up the trail, it was essentially rock climbing, which is scary with a 4 year old and someone carrying a 2 year old.  However, Abbie did REALLY well climbing by herself and keeping up with the rest of us.  Mark and I were really careful with the kids and the really steep inclines/declines, but it still made me nervous.

We finally made it up to Devil’s Bridge and the view was beautiful.  A few people from other groups walked out onto the bridge and we took their pictures for them, and I talked to an older guy who was using a nice camera about his camera.  He had recently gotten the 6D and was using the same lens I was.  Someday I’ll upgrade to a full frame.

I had fun taking pictures of all the trees along the trails.  The bark of some of them were really neat and I thought they made interesting pictures.

I thought that these plants (trees?) were really neat because of the red bark on them, but I have no clue what they are.  Does anyone else know?

We found a cool view to take a few pictures on.  Below is a perfect example of why I like to remain behind the lens instead of in front of it…  =S

The girls were seeing if they could feel the energy from a vortex by the tree… Crazies!

I LOVE the picture of Mark jumping off the rocks with Ben on his back.  Ben’s face is one of pure joy, as it usually is when Mark is around.  I wish you could all have heard his laugh.  And Abbie found a snake skin and was showing it to Ben.

After this hike we made our way to Faye Canyon Trail for another hike to another natural stone bridge.  The views on the way were beautiful!

Abbie did another fantastic job of holding her own on the hike.  The last part of this trail up to the bridge was really steep and she walked it all by herself!  We were sure we were going to end up carrying her, but she was a little trooper!

The views from the top were really pretty, but it was really hard to get a decent picture of the bridge since it was so close.  There were old Indian dwellings almost right under the bridge and I thought it was neat that they used the huge rock overhang to shelter them a little more.  

This is where I got a bit nervous on this hike.  Mark carried Abbie down the steepest part of the trail, and I was envisioning him slipping and all three of them rolling down the rather steep hill…  Yikes!  But luckily he’s about as sure footed as a mule, so he was fine.  And then we let Benji down to burn off some energy on the flat terrain on the way back to the car.

After that hike, we drove the long way back to Sedona so we could see more of the area.  I’m not sure I’d ever get tired of taking pictures in Sedona.  It’s just a beautiful area.  I’ll let these photos speak for themselves.