C Denning

Friday February 25th -  Sunday, 27th Zion National Park     We got to our campsite on the 25th, and it was freezing. The temperature got down to 8 or 9 degrees overnight, which was just a bit too cold for comfort. However, the next day we powered through, wrapped ourselves warmly, and headed to Zion.     We went through the East entrance, which had a 1.1 mile tunnel through a mountain for driving. We had to fold our mirrors in because it was so narrow! Even after the tunnel it was an adventure, as the windy mountain roads were pretty icy. But thankfully, we made it down in one piece. We hopped on a tour bus and saw the entire park. At the end of the tour we started hiking on an a trail, but it got very icy very quickly, so we headed back closer to the entrance and hiked a different one.        The trail we decided to do was called the Emerald Pools trail, and it was incredibly beautiful, if a bit muddy. We saw some fantastic views, and got a ...

  Tuesday, February 22nd - Thursday, 24th Vegas, Baby!     Today, we drove to Vegas. Coming from the barren desert and then suddenly being in a bright, colorful oasis was a bit of a culture shock! Everything there was bright and busy and full of life.      We set up camp at a KOA and had some dinner. Then, we visited the casino right next door! Me, S, L, F, and A went with Dad and it was a blast. We didn't go on the gambling floors, but we did visit the arcade and their main attraction: a fully indoor town square-style area with fake trees, grass, and animatronics, but a real waterfall. We walked around the shops a bit, too.  (Sam's Town)     The next day, we decided to eat lunch in true Vegas fashion at an all-you-can-eat buffet. We went to a kid-friendly place called John's Incredible Pizza Company. They had pizza, chicken wings, mac and cheese, and an arcade! After eating a lot of lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the arcade pla...

Friday February 18th Horse Creek Campground     I'll have to admit, I think this campground was definitely one of the most memorable places we've stayed on our journey so far...      When we first arrived, it looked like a wonderful, small campground with absolutely breathtaking views. We picked a perfect spot, and everything was going to plan! Their website promised good, working bathrooms and warm showers, but that's not exactly what we got.     The campsite was pretty full, and there was only one set of working bathrooms, which included 4 rooms with a toilet and a shower each. So, four bathrooms for approximately 100 or so people. On top of this, at least one of the bathrooms was out of order for the entire time we were there.      So, 3 grimy bathrooms (2 of them without soap or lights), usually a 20 minute line to get to them, and a  shower that was essentially a pressure washer. Fun times!     Now that I'm done compl...

Monday, February 14th Valentines Day Treat     The morning of Valentines day, our parents woke us up and told us that we were going on a surprise trip. While driving to our mystery destination we excitedly guessed what it could be. We ended up at Sea World, San Diego! Armed with a backpack leash for T and unlimited food every hour, we headed into the park for a very full day of fun!  We went on many different rides... (Me and E on the Flying Elmo) (About 3 seconds away from being completely soaked) (A and Mom on a spinning ride) ...And saw many different sea animals!  (Beautiful orca!) (Absolutely massive walrus) ...And of course we saw the dolphin show! It was incredible watching them jump and swim around! They were very talented dolphins.  At the end of the day we were so tired, but it was truly a fun experience! Tuesday, February 15th - Friday, 18th Relaxing days on the Beach     The next few days we took a bit slower. We had a nice stay-at-home day...

Wednesday,   February 9th - Saturday, 12th Joshua Trees     On the 9th, we visited Joshua Tree National Park. At first, we were underwhelmed with the 1 hour + of driving through the park with nothing interesting other than desert, but it turns out we just went through the wrong entrance, and all the Joshua trees were at the other end of the park.       When we did finally reach our destination, however, it was well worth the trip. Not only were the trees super interesting to look at, but there were gigantic piles of rocks everywhere that were perfect for climbing. They had a very interesting concrete-like texture, and were very rough, but grippy. Everyone had tons of fun scrambling all over the piles of rocks!      Another interesting section of the park had acres of Cholla cacti, also known as teddy-bear cacti due to their soft and fluffy looking arms. However, they're anything but soft and fluffy. Their spines are long, thin, and ...

Tuesday, February 1st - Saturday, 5th Our First Taste of the Desert      On the first of February, we drove to Phoenix, Arizona and set up camp at a KOA. We swam at the pool there for several hours and had a blast. T had a lot of fun in the hot tub, but he took several cool-off breaks. The next day, we got a small propane fire and roasted marshmallows! (Roasting marshmallows!) Our next stop was more BLM land in  Quartzsite, Arizona, where we met up with my dad's work friend and his family.      The culture there was really interesting, as the vast majority of the population were snowbirds, and only lived there part-time during the winter. This meant that in the summer the town closed down most of its facilities. Gas stations, grocery stores, and laundromats were all temporary, at least for half the year. The area was known for having an abundance of crystals, geodes, and of course quartz, and driving through the town we saw many different rock and crys...

Starting our Journey!      Starting out on our massive-scale project, and finally getting to live in the camper we built was super exciting, but I'll admit I was worried, just a little bit. What if 9 people couldn't  live comfortably in a less-than 200 square foot space? What if living out of camp bathrooms was going to drive us insane? How could we possibly manage this?      Well, it turns out, most of my worries were not an issue. it's a bit tricky to live like this, even temporarily, but we've managed it somehow, so far. Here's our first 9 days of living in the camper.  Saturday, January 22nd - Tuesday, 25th Beautiful Views, Few Issues      We started our trip at a small campsite in the mountains of New Mexico located at Villanueva State Park. It was a gorgeous location, with dozens of pine trees lining the Pecos river right on the site, perfect for hammocks. Directly across from the river was a mountain range with be...