This past weekend we had planned to do something extraordinary. Something we had wanted to do for several years now. We were going to go to Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio and hike to the area waterfalls that are supposed to be absolutely spectacular when they are frozen in the winter. Usually things are rather frozen here in the Midwest in the middle of January. No problem. Just pick a weekend and go. Everything will be great. Keep reading
This post contains affiliate links. Please see our Disclosure Statement for additional information.
I have been doing significant research over the past few months to find the essential pieces of equipment that we would need to acquire to begin our overnight backpacking adventures. As I thought through these items I looked to meet basic needs and prioritize them for purchase. For instance, we all need sleep, right? So, I ask myself, “What are people doing besides sleeping on the ground under the stars with a rock for a pillow?” This led me to sleeping pads and hammocks. Which brings up the question of size and weight of products. Now what do I carry them in? And on and on it goes. So, what’s #1 on the priority list? Backpack…sleeping pad…sleeping bag…clothing…shoes? Well, one last detail to consider and the #1 spot is easily decided—Randi’s going. Therefore, the #1 piece of equipment that is most vital and necessary to the happiness and well-being of all involved is a coffee press. Keep reading
Well, the preparation phase has begun. “Preparation for what,” you might ask. Why the Zombie Apocalypse, of course. The end of the world as we know it. No, we are preparing for our first great adventure into overnight backpacking in the backcountry of Utah.
Randi and I took the boys to Utah for the first time back in 2012. We took our truck and travel trailer and spent two weeks exploring the southern half of Utah. We thoroughly enjoyed camping with the RV and our day hikes into the national parks and monuments that make up so much of southern Utah. At the same time, there was an undeniable force drawing us to go deeper than day hikes would allow. Since that time, we have talked repeatedly about taking up backpacking. Well, enough talk. It’s time for action.
This fall, Justin will start his senior year of college. Honestly, once he graduates, our family has the potential to begin to change rapidly. This summer could possibly be the last chance we have to take a trip like this with our family as it has been for the last 18 years—dad, mom, and the three boys. We decided last year that May 2017 would be our grand adventure into backpacking in the backcountry of The Beehive State.
Over the next few months we will share with you what we are planning to do and what we are doing to prepare. Suggestions are welcome. We want to share what we learn as we go and also learn from those who have already been there and done that and have the blisters to prove it.
I don’t know about you, but I get hungry doing all this planning and prepping. No better way to take the edge off that hunger than with a good trail mix. Enjoy our second trail mix recipe—Justin’s Cracker Spectacular. Download the pdf and enjoy the video.
Here we are at the end of the year. And here we are at the beginning of yet another one. One set of opportunities is passed and another lies before us. I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, but I do find it a good time for reflecting on what has taken place over the last year. A good time for setting some goals for the future. Take a few minutes with me and let’s see where we’ve been and where we’re going. Keep reading
Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. A baby born in humility. Without the fanfare of a royal birth. But that’s exactly what he was—royalty…King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But he wasn’t born to live the life that we associate with a king. He was here on a mission. To provide the only means of redemption for fallen, sinful man. For you and for me. Keep reading
I love being outdoors, so I love bringing the outdoors in with my decorating. I love old flaking paint and rusted metals. I love using antlers, branches, pine cones, and rocks. Orange has been my favorite color for quite a few years now, probably since I fell in love with the orange rock and sand in Utah. You knew that Utah is one of our favorite places to hike, right? Slowly but surely our home has started to pick up accents of orange. An orange wall here, orange accent pillows there, in fact, Camden isn’t too happy with me right now because I just painted the stools in the kitchen orange. One of them is his. His brothers didn’t care, but Camden definitely did not want his stool to be orange. He feels so strongly about it that I had to buy him another stool that wasn’t orange to make him happy. So it didn’t seem strange to my guys at all when I went whole hog and changed our traditional red and green Christmas tree to orange. Keep reading
You’ve had that dream, right? You know, the one where you fall. Maybe it’s off the ladder, over the cliff, or out of a plane, but you know the dream. That nightmarish feeling of hopelessness as you plummet toward what will certainly be your swift, yet painful demise. That’s where we’re at folks. Plunging headlong into a freefall that ultimately ends in the abyss that is… Keep reading
Ok, so first off I don’t actually have a “bucket list.” It doesn’t exist. I have no real list of random things that I would like to do in my life. Maybe it’s partly because I’m just lame and boring, but there’s really nothing that I want to do so badly that it inspires me to compose a list. It’s not that I don’t want to do things; I just don’t feel like I have to do them to feel that my life is complete. To be honest though, I’m ok with that. I like to enjoy life as it comes. Keep reading
The question I keep asking myself as I consider my bucket list is…. How on God’s green earth did someone like me, who is so often hindered by fears both real and imaginary, ever manage to give birth to a child that would list jumping off Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park as the first item on their bucket list???? I am afraid of so many real things – the dark, lightning (for very good reason), telemarketers, spiders (I made the mistake of watching Arachnophobia as a young adult), falling (I’m already afraid of tripping and falling; you would never get me to jump from someplace high!!). As for the imaginary things, let me just say, I have a VERY good imagination. Keep reading
