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Category Archives: Out West Trip

Adventure Awaits!

21 Friday Apr 2017

Posted by Jennifer in Out West Trip, Reviewed Books, Travel

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Bloggingforbooks, Book Review, Roger W. Thompson, Travel Books, We Stood Upon Stars

We Stood Upon Stars

 

Two summers ago, my family of four set out on an adventure of a lifetime. We drove from Virginia to California and back on a mission to see as much of America’s preserved wilderness as possible. All together we visited 14 National Parks in a mere six weeks! It was an incredible trip that made us thirsty for more. Since then, we have found our way to two or there more National Parks on the East Coast. However, nothing quite gives you the goose bumps like Yosemite, Yellowstone, or Arches and Zion.  Because of our trip, I felt a kinship with Roger W. Thompson, author of We Stood Upon Stars.  I knew I had to read this book, for no other reason but to feel like I had a friend who has the fever for adventure.

We Stood Upon Stars is a collection of essays about Thompson’s mostly west coast adventures. He writes about many of the places I have traveled in a light but meaningful way. I love his conversational style and random musings. I also love that he includes illustrations with tips and recommendations for those who might venture out. Once you have seen a giant Sequoia or walked through Yosemite Valley…you know the next thing you must do is go back and do it again.

BIG TREE

Thompson’s description of the Badlands is just how I remember them:  untamable, broken, and beautiful. While words could never describe Yosemite…Thompson does a much better job than I could ever do.  He says it feels like a fantasy…and it absolutely does. I feel like this book is for anyone who has experienced the amazingness that is the landscape of the United States…or for the person who has never seen any of it.  I loved reading it. If We Stood Upon Stars doesn’t make you want to get out and have an adventure, nothing will.  I received a complimentary copy of this book by Blogging for Books. I was not required to give it a positive review. All opinions are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ROGER W. THOMPSON is a successful entrepreneur, collaborator, adventurer, and writer. He’s spent his career building innovative businesses and nonprofit organizations. In addition to creating the first mission tourism resort in Haiti with the Hands and Feet Project, he’s produced surf films, built skate parks, and outfitted adventure trips. Alongside his wife, he travels, surfs, snowboards, and fly-fishes—and is teaching his two young sons to do the same.

This #TripAroundTheSun

25 Monday May 2015

Posted by Jennifer in Out West Trip, Reviewed Books

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A Trip Around the Sun, Book Review, Mark Batterson, Richard Foth

A trip around the sun

What will you do with this day? How will you spend this trip around the sun? I honestly had never thought of it in those terms. I love the reminder from authors Mark Batterson and Richard Foth, that we are only granted a certain number of trips around the sun. It is totally up to us how we spend them. Batterson and Foth dare us to choose adventure. They ask us to consider experiences over possessions.

A Trip Around the Sun consists of twenty chapters with a contribution from each author in every chapter. My favorite of the twenty was Playing for Keeps (Chapter 11). Specifically, I loved Mark Batterson’s words regarding being famous in your home with your kids. Making memories and sharing moments with our kids while we have the opportunity is priceless. His thoughts were a good reminder to be intentional. This summer my husband and I are taking our boys on an extended vacation to visit some of the most beautiful places in the States. We have been counting down for the last year and I can’t wait to live this adventure with them for 42 trips around the sound. We decided on this trip long before I read this book, but I could not help but feel my excitement renewed. (The packing was making me regret a little.)

This book is a great encouragement and might be the nudge you need to live each day as if it were the only one you had left. Life is so short and I am always thankful for the reminder. I was given a complimentary copy of this book by its publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I have not been compensated in any way.

Glamping 101

13 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by Jennifer in Family, Out West Trip, Travel, Virginia

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Bay's Mountain, Benefits of GoodSam, Camping, Chevy 2500, fifth wheel, glamping, GoodSam, Locking yourself out of your camper, new camper, Sandpiper, Should I get GoodSam?, Tennessee

In one month and twenty-four days my family and I are heading out in a fifth wheel for six weeks to see 10 national parks. In the past we have always been tent people. Tent camping is cheap, and can be so much fun. Knowing we would be on the road for 42 days, we decided to upgrade our accommodations.

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We are pretty much newbies at the fifth wheel life and I can tell you from our limited experience…its a little complicated. There is more to buy than just the camper. You also need a fifth wheel hitch, a brake controller, and according to my husband…a second air conditioner and Ride Rite air bags. Also, if you live in Virginia, you have a wheel tax of sorts for your camper. Glamping is not cheap.

We made our practice run on our spring break, traveling 340 miles or so to Bay’s Mountain located in Kingsport, Tennessee. So much was learned on this first trip. In case you are new at this too…or just need a good laugh…here are just a few things we learned.

1. Even if you are too tired to find the hand towels and put out the toilet paper when you arrive, do it anyway. Your son might be first up in the morning and decide to use paper towels for his bathroom needs. Did I mention he flushed them?? In a camper potty??

2. Just because the gauge on your galley tank says its only 2/3 full, don’t bet on it. Water might back up and flow back out. Yes, that happened.

3. Hide a key that is accessible outside of your camper. And not in your car…it might be locked. After unlocking your camper, your son might turn the key back into the lock position without you knowing it. Yes, you can lock yourself out of your camper.

4. Subscribe to GoodSam. They take care of the locking yourself out of the camper ordeal..and quickly I might add. Even in far away places…like Bay’s Mountain. (I promise they did not pay me to say that…I am just really grateful!)

5. Lastly, if you add Mayo to your guacamole (I know it sounds weird…but it is so good) you will get food poisoning if you leave it out too long. And you will be glad you are in a camper and not in a tent. Food poisoning is not fun. Food poisoning without a toilet nearby is less fun.

Despite all of the “learning experiences,” we had so much fun!! The kids thought it was so cool to fuel up next to the big guys.

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And spring was happening before our eyes.

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We made time for exploring.

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And taking in the view.

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I would love to hear about any of your RV “learning experiences!”  Please feel free to share in the comments. Happy camping!

 

Go West, young man!

11 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by Jennifer in Family, Out West Trip

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America's Best Idea, Going out west, John Muir, Ken Burns, National Parks, national parks trip, The National Parks

image

Now that Christmas has passed, I felt like it was time to countdown to what has the potential to be the most amazing trip of my life. This summer we embark on a six week long National Parks trip with our two boys. We have been planning for months, saving for years, and finally the day is almost here. I love a paper chain because it allows you to see the days ahead. We are so excited!  Yellow Stone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon are all on the itinerary. All that is left is to survive the Winter, endure the Spring, and pack!

If you haven’t seen Ken Burns The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, you should definitely give it a watch. You might be inspired to take a trip of your own. You can also watch it on Amazon Prime or Netflix.

“Wilderness is a necessity … They will see what I meant in time. There must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls. Food and drink is not all. There is the spiritual. In some it is only a germ, of course, but the germ will grow.”

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”

“How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof. In such places, standing alone on the mountaintop, it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make — leaves and moss like the marmots and the birds, or tents or piled stone — we all dwell in a house of one room — the world with the firmament for its roof — and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving track.”

“The mountains are fountains of men as well as of rivers, of glaciers, of fertile soil. The great poets, philosophers, prophets, able men whose thoughts and deeds have moved the world, have come down from the moutnains — mountain-dwellers who have grown strong there with the forest trees in Nature’s work-shops.

– John Muir
Founder, The Sierra Club

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