camping in malibu, california!

tips for staying fit on the road!

 Yoga Mat: Great for those impromptu moments when you want to stand on your head and watch the sunset. No really, possibilities are endless. And I did in fact stand on my head while the sun was setting in the Badlands! This has been one of my most beloved travel companions. While you might not want to carry a full size mat like I do, they make great travel options. Click Here! or Here!

 

 Yoga Belt: Great for stretching and rolls up to practically nothing! Super easy to pack!

8 lb Hand Weights: Yes, you read that correctly, I travel with 8 lb weights. I'm quite certain my fellow campers think I'm a little off when I start doing lateral raises and overhead presses right outside my teardrop. Funny thing about that: I don't care what anyone else thinks! :) 

 

Resistance Band Weight Training: I love my weights but this helps with legs not just arms. For those of you that don't feel like lugging around weights, this is the perfect option! So many workout possibilities. Click Here for a list! 

Push Ups: I can always count on this classic standby to keep my arms in shape. I just do about 20 everyday. Nothing major but it's enough! Little bit everyday makes a difference! When I'm at a campground, I usually place my hands on the picnic table bench and do them on an angle. Not sure why, I just do. 

thanks for the memories, zion. it was great to finally meet you!

Zion is beautiful, but I'll need to go back to fully appreciate its full glory. I'd love to hike the Narrows, but I need a permit and full all-weather gear (most of the hike is waste deep water). I've learned to accept that I can't do EVERYTHING the first go around. It's not like this is the last time I'll travel! I'm taking notes... 

Zion is the "greenest" park I've visited so far. There's barely any parking within the park itself, so they force you to take a shuttle everywhere. While it's environmentally friendly, it drove me a bit crazy. If you want to hike the Emerald Pools, for example, you need to shuttle to your stop and then wait for the shuttle to take you back errrr. I like to be spontaneous and change my mind on a dime. I'm not the best "planner" (clearly), so it was a bit hard to adjust.    

Now I know for next time! :)

Once again, I woke lulu up for this photo! She's such a funny little bugger.

Btw: this pic is funny because I got about 10 miles outside the park when I realized I didn't take a pic near the sign! I had to go back! lol

hello grand canyon!

Only visited the spectacular North Rim. I'll cover the South Rim and rest of canyon soon! 

tips for the road!

Ok, so I've been compiling a list of some helpful tips for traveling the road! Here are a few:

 
 • GSI OUTDOORS FAIRSHARE MUG: This mug/bowl/tupperware has too many uses to list. Just buy it. Trust me. I just noticed they sell a collapsable one... even better! 

• ORGANIC VALLEY ORGANIC NONFAT DRY MILK: I understand the thought of dry milk probably makes you want to dry heave, but don't let it! This is truly one of my best discoveries. Put a few tablespoons of dry milk in your Fairshare mug (above), add water, close the lid and shake! WALLA! You have milk! Now just add your favorite cereal (directly to the mug) and you have breakfast! No need to cry over spoiled milk! Instead you can just cry over the fact you've turned into your grandmother!

UPDATE: I checked to make sure this link still worked and it appears Organic Valley Dry Milk is not available anywhere! REAL FOOD makes an organic dry milk that seems just as good. 

• DUSTBUSTER: Growing up, there were times we barely had enough money for food, but we had a Dustbuster! Ironically, it sat charged gathering "dust" most of the time. NOW, it's my best friend (next to Lulu of course). It's impossible not to track dirt into the camper and the only way to get it (all) is with this clever little gadget from 1979.

• RAIN X BUG REMOVER WIND SHEILD FLUID: I highly recommend bug remover, always. But it's an absolute neccessity when you're traveling through Wisconsin and Minnesota. YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT! The creators of Mothra vs Godzilla must've gotten the story idea after driving through these two states. I had no idea bugs could be so big. Seriously, they look like prehistoric monsters out there. The only way to get the large splats of bug guts off your windshield is with this stuff! Regular wiper fluid just smears it (dry heave). Even with this Bug Remover you'll still need to stop at the gas station every 20 miles to wash your windshield, but at least it helps.

• UNBREAKABLE FRENCH PRESS: I've broken a french press on the road, so trust me, buy shatterproof. 

BTW: Here's the recipe for Cowboy Coffee. You haven't lived until you've tried it (not really, but it sounds good). Some new friends in Michigan gave me the tip. I chose NOT to include the eggshell as I couldn't figure out why the heck it was in the recipe in the first place. Seemed to have no brewing merit what-so-ever. End result: my coffee didn't taste very good and I kinda made a large mess (again, I know you're gonna blame user error, or the lack of egg). NOoooooooo  

• WINDEX WIPES: If your travel companion has four legs (or even two) and likes pressing and smearing her wet nose against the glass and sometimes licking it, then you need Windex handy! Otherwise the smudges will drive you crazy.

Note: If your 2 legged companion is licking the glass, you might need more than Windex. 

 
• KOOLATRON THERMOELECTRIC COOLER: I've said it before and I'll say it again, BEST PURCHASE EVER! This little fridge has saved my diet. It's a must for road trippin' but I also highly recommend for families traveling around town (smaller model). 

• QUARTERS! You'll always need them, trust me! And not just for laundry and pay meters! I stood chilly and naked trying to get the shower to work, in Wisconsin's Wyalusing State Park, only to peak outside the curtain and notice the pay machine! I had to run outside naked, wrapped a towel, to look for quarters! I only found 2! errrr (2 = 6 mins) :(

• WET WIPES: You can never have enough wipes!! NEVER!

• REI ONE CUP COFFEE MAKER: My friend, Robin, gave me this coffee tip and I thought it was worth adding to the tip list!

you don't see this everyday!

Less than 400 of these little vehicles of teardrop wonder, made by Camp-Inn, exist! Harder to spot an endangered Ash-Breasted Tit-Tyrant in Bolivia than another one of these on the road, never mind camp next to one!

 

328 days

Can you believe it took me 328 days to travel across the country? I still can't! This journey isn't over, and in so many ways it's only just begun! 

So often it feels like a wild, farfetched dream. I spend hours going through my blog just to remind myself this extraordinary journey is real. The most real, organic, authentic, scary, crazy, joyous, preposterous, come-to-Jesus experience of my life. Just me and Lulu, alone on the road. No plan. No direction. Hmmm, should I take a left or right? Should I stay in this campground or that campground? In that instant, with that one quick decision, the path of my journey changes forever: who I meet, where I go, what I experience. It's been an Olympic size leap of faith, all the while singing country music at the top of my lungs and smiling until my teeth hurt. I didn't know what it was like to truly live, until now.  

Click to read more ...

grand canyon north rim!

Looking for tranquility and solitude? While I highly recommend quitting your job, buying a teardrop camper and traveling the country, I realize that might be a little out of reach for most grown ups. If that's the case, then do the next best thing: take a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and stay at the Grand Canyon Lodge! You'll thank me, I promise!  

The best view of the North Rim is located through the sunroom of the Lodge. You don't need to stay at the Lodge to take advantage of the spectacular view -- although I recommend it and when I start vacationing in establishments that provide real beds again, this is top on my list. 

The walk from the sunroom to the various view points is breathtaking. You can't help but sigh and smile. :)

Adirondack chairs are very New England and make me very happy. They line the overlook on both the east and west entrance of the sunroom. I sat for awhile just smiling -- because that's all you can do; it's involuntary. :)  

Sunroom of the Grand Canyon Lodge. Amazing view in the most tranquil, sublime setting.

zion national park : emerald pools

First off, I should begin by telling you the "Emerald" Pools are not emerald! At least not yet anyway. When I asked about this obvious problem, the ranger said they'll turn "emerald" in about a month. Helpful information I could have used YESTERDAY! Apparently the "green" algae needs time to grow, which then gives the pools their "emerald" effect. While "emerald" pools would be much prettier (because now it just looks like dirty water), it was a nice hike.

view from under the falls!

view of the "not so emerald" lower pool. Told you it looked like dirty water!

lower falls
upper falls (middle was closed). 

zion: hebrew for refuge or sanctuary

MORE DESERT BIG HORN SHEEP! 

Other than spotting a rocky mountain big horn from a distance in Glacier National Park, I've never really seen one, and definitely not this many! Hence why I took so many photos! These are desert big horn here in Zion, but BIG HORN none-the-less (well, little horn in this case)! I loved photographing these guys!