Time 4 Learning

 Good grief....it's only the first week in August and the back to school enthusiasts are at it. What happened to summer? Since our family leans more towards a learning all the time style than a formal school year, the calendar doesn't have a huge impact on what do, but it would be pretty hard not to have the seasons effect us in some way or another. There are actually a few things I really do like about this time of year.

1) I can get my fill of ridiculously cheap school supplies. As much as I try to reduce clutter and stop buying things I don't need, I simply cannot resist $1 packs of Sharpies, or 50 cent notebooks and glue sticks.

2) The local lakes and parks will soon be much less crowded. I do feel kind of bad for all the kids who will be stuck in classrooms while we are out exploring, but since I really can't do anything about that, I might as well go out and enjoy.

We've started thinking about our next "school year." Those who know us know that we are not the "schooliest" of homeschoolers, but I do love the freshness that a new school year brings with it. Planning, dreaming and scheming is all very exciting.

We're always on the lookout for fun ways of learning, and on that note:

*** I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. Time4Learning can be used for homeschool, afterschool and summer skill sharpening. Be sure to come back and read about my experience. ***

Stitches

Sometimes you just think something seems like a bad idea. You just get a little feeling that whatever is happening is probably not going to work out for the best, and maybe you ought to stop and go with your instincts.

But then, you might think you're just being overprotective and worrying too much, and that everything will be fine, and besides if you just let it alone, you might get a moment of peace and quiet- a chance to relax while the young ones do their thing.

Actually, I might recommend plan A, because sometimes plan B backfires and your child ends up with a big bloody wound full of sand on their face, and that does not result in any peace and quiet, none at all.

Such was the case on a recent trip to the coast with my children's youth group. I am generally happy to be the spare adult / chaperone / driver etc on these deals because:
1) You get to go to fun places, and I love going to fun places, and
2) I enjoy kids and find them quite entertaining.

So, I am along on this adventure as the extra driver, happy as can be in my rental PT Cruiser full of dancing giggling kids (within the confines of their seat belts, of course) and trying to keep up with our convoy in Bay Area traffic. We camped and hiked in the redwoods and played on the beach everyday. I'm pretty sure that the redwoods and the ocean are two of the best things in the world for a person, and I was in the company of good people as well, so all in all it was a splendid trip.

Then, things went slightly amiss. We were on a beach in Capitola, gathering driftwood for our beach fire when we came across a lovely, and very hard wooden burl in the shape of a baseball. The males amongst us had the idea to fashion a bat by whacking another piece of driftwood into shape so they play a game. Being a non-male, this did not seem like the best idea to me at the time.

In fact, I distinctly remember thinking, "Oh, this ought to work out well...." in the usual sarcastic voice in my head. I could sort of picture the bat in process flying back in someone's face and giving them a painful lump, but I can tend to have a slightly dramatic imagination on occasion, and they seemed to have it under control. The bat was fashioned without incident or injury, so I didn't pay too much more attention to that feeling.

My Boy Child was running with the big kids, and the fire, a blanket and my book were just sitting there calling me towards a moment of solitude. I settled in cozily with the sounds of laughter, waves and gulls in the background. It was lovely.

My moment lasted about a minute and a half. Then, I heard the crack of the bat and the wooden ball colliding, a whoosh, a thud, a collective gasp and a muffled scream. My head whipped around to see my Boy Child face down in the sand with his hands over his mouth and large quantities of blood streaming from between his fingers. As I rushed towards him from behind, his sister came towards from the front. She saw his face before I did and looked up in horror gasping something about his teeth being missing.

It's funny how the mind works. I had a brief second of panic where my eyes literally felt like saucers, before something kicked in and my mind calmly decided that no matter what I would buy my boy new teeth if I needed too, no matter the cost. I would drive my old Volvo for another 5 years if I had to, because even in the little mountain town we call home, having your teeth is important after the age of 10 or so.

A few more steps and a deep breath, and I reached him. Thanks be to God, his teeth were still attached, albeit 3 permanent ones were loose. He had a small, but gaping wound on his upper lip which was filthy with beach grit and bleeding like crazy. Once we got the bleeding to stop, it looked like he might need stitches. It was also obvious that there was no way I was the best person to clean out that sandy gross wound. There are people who are good at doing that kind of thing without contorting their own faces into looks of shock and disgust, gagging and muttering prayers. I am not one of those people. Those people go to medical school and make lots of money sewing up people like us, and we needed to find one of those people.

Teenagers and their smart phones are handy to have when you need to find a doctor in a strange town after 6 pm. Twelve members of our party crowded the waiting room while I watched my boy's face be flushed out and stitched up. What a good group of kids to wait for their friend, hungry, sandy and wet without complaint.

The poor kid that had wielded the bat looked like he felt awful. I tried to convince him that we didn't blame him, but he still looked miserable. I think my jokes about him having a future in lip piercing or orthodontia baffled him more than comforted him, but the thing is, sometimes you have to either find a way to laugh about something or you'll start crying about it, and as a supposed adult in charge, I figured bad jokes were better than the hysterics. 

The stitches are out now, and the scar is pretty small. The loose teeth, thankfully firmed up, and are actually straighter than they were before, straighter than the ones on other side of his mouth too. If it had been more centered, perhaps we could have saved a ton on braces in a few years, although I don't really recommend filthy pieces of wood as a means of straightening teeth.

Of course it would have been nice if this little incident never happened, but since it did, I actually feel really lucky that it hit where it did. The whole thing could have been so very much worse. Lost teeth, broken nose, eye socket, concussion. Yikes. In gives me a horrible feeling in my stomach to think about it.

So, that's why I'm thinking that listening to that little voice is a good idea. When you feel a little skeptical, like something probably is not the best idea, you might just be right.

Pool Side Lessons

Learning really does happen all the time, summer included. Recently, we've had more pool side life lessons than I can count, none of them involving curriculum, but all of them things I'm hoping my kids take note of, as they will probably make life a whole lot easier.

Lesson 1:  Neglect: If you love something, or even if you just want to have it around a while, you might want to actually take care of it. When you neglect things, they are generally much more work to fix than if you had just maintained them in the first place.
We had some trouble with our pool filter at the end of last summer and not to name names, but a certain man that I am married to neglected to add chemicals or run it at all while I was out of town for 5 days. It was about 100 degrees and the pool had a solar cover on it, so we came home to a big, warm swamp. Honestly, it was beyond overwhelming, and since the weather started to cool off, we just left it covered and forgot about it all winter.
Fast forward to this spring... it was hideous. The weather was getting hot and we had 12,000 gallons of stinking, nasty water to clean up. We couldn't just drain it and start over for a couple of reasons- namely, my well will not easily give up 12,000 gallons of water, and even if we did have that much water, the liner is not meant to dry out once it's been installed, and where on earth could I dump all that salt water anyway?
We vowed not to neglect it in such an extreme way again, but in the mean time, we had to clean it up. Let me tell you, it was SO MUCH WORK, which leads me to my next lesson.

Lesson 2: Persistence and Hard Work - it often pays off, at least in this case it did, but I'm not kidding when I say it was hard. I am not exactly an expert at manual labor, and dismantling and scrubbing filters 4 times a day or more was really physically exhausting. Since the kids are big swimmers and love playing in the pool, I made them help too. There were tears, complaints and fits of bad behavior, and that was just me. There were times I wanted to give up, to just smash the pool with a bulldozer and move someplace else where a pool boy handled all of the work. But, we kept at it. We had to vacuum out hundreds of gallons of gross stuff off the bottom, and since the water had salt in it, the kids had to haul it in buckets away from all of our trees. By this point, I was over the fact that this was hard, and had to squelch the bickering and complaints, lest I lose my mind.
After weeks of work, and it just in time for the temperatures to reach triple digits, we hopped in our sparkling blue water. I was so happy, I thought I could cry. If it were possible to hug water, I would have. We all agree, it was worth it.

Lesson 3: Perspective on Cost: A couple of years ago, we acquired this 24 foot diameter hard side Dough Boy pool with wrap around deck from an estate sale for a ridiculously low price. And by ridiculously low, I mean $50. It was in really good shape and a similar new model was selling for around $4500 at the pool store. Of course, by the time we added a new liner, yards of sand to go under it and several water trucks driving way out to our place in the sticks to fill it, it cost a whole lot more. We were lucky enough to have a friend with a tractor who leveled the ground for us and more friends who help us set it up. The $50 bargain pool ended up being more like $1000 to set up, and that didn't even include the new filter and the salt water generator and the ongoing chemical costs. Factoring in all the work involved makes it even higher, but when you live in a place as hot as we do, sometimes it's worth it to eat beans and rice as long as you can swim.


As I mentioned, we learned countless other lessons from the pool. It's been like one big metaphor. But, since I want to go out and enjoy it right now, the last lesson I'll share is this:

Lesson 4: Summer doesn't last forever. So, get out there, soak up some sun and have fun while you can.

Just Doing It

Lately, I keep hearing the old Nike commercials, "Just do it" running through my head. Remember those? When that slogan was flying around and on t-shirts everywhere, I frankly did not get it. "Just do what? And why?" is what I usually thought.

Now, I get it, and I am totally feeling it on a daily basis. It's not like I'm running marathons or performing any amazing athletic feats, but I have been seeing a real difference when I just decide what has to be done, stop thinking about it, and start getting busy doing something about it.

It's not just about exercise, although I have been more active. It's about life and the fact that time is going to pass whether you are sitting around on your butt or actually doing things you love.

I've been reading a ton since I practically quit my job and have so much more time and energy, and a recurring theme that successful people mention is action. Thinking about goals and making lists is nice, but taking action is what gets things done.

So, I want to write. I'm just doing it. I'm clicking away on a daily basis and for a few weeks anyway, I've been sending something out into the paid writing world weekly. As you can imagine, I have not struck it rich in my couple of weeks at it, but I'm getting some responses, and I'm feeling very productive. I'm feeling like maybe I'm a writer.

I also want more music in my life, and I want to play it. I'm trying to just do it. We have guitars and keyboards here, there are a bazillion free lessons on YouTube, so there's really no excuse. If I want to play, I just need to do it. I am well aware that I am not a musical prodigy. In fact, I have a rather painful memory of my college roommates referring to me as "tone deaf." But you know what? I like playing with instruments, and who cares if I will never be a pro? I want to play because I like to play, and I can do that for myself. I no longer live with those roommates, so they don't have to suffer my practice, and my family is generally more accepting of beginning musicians (more so if they are in the other room.) Besides, they are beginners and practice a lot too.

Then there's art. I love creating things, but for a while, it just fell to the back burner. I am a pretty crafty homeschooling mom and have always been into the hands on projects with my kids, but now, I'm also wanting to make sure I make art because I want to, not just squeezing it in as a lesson for my kids. Actually, I think just doing it and creating because it is fun is probably the best lesson I could give them. 

I'm also wanting to be stronger and healthier, physically that is. I feel blessed that I've never had a weight problem, especially considering the horrible processed food products I grew up eating, but skinny isn't the same as strong. I reformed my eating habits long ago when I was growing babies, and while I've always walked my dogs and liked hiking, I never really "exercised." Sweating has been something that I have avoided if at all possible. Well, as you can guess, wishing for muscles doesn't make them happen. Visualizing probably helps, but unless it's accompanied by some action, there isn't likely to be any magical muscle transformation.So, I'm doing it. I started with yoga and then pilates, and an occasional dance class, and it feels great. Well, not while I'm doing it- all that core work in pilates makes my eyes loll about in my head and causes me pain in muscles I never knew existed, but later...later I feel great- more energy, better mood and all.

I want to cook. I want to see the world. I want to speak Spanish. I want so many things. And if I am the one that wants these things, I am the one that needs to go for them. For the first time in my life, instead of just thinking about the things I want to do, I am just doing them.

Just doing it actually feels great. It's all baby steps, no book contracts, art shows, concerts, or marathons just yet, but it's at least steps in the right direction.

Early Morning Camp Week

Five days in a row, I have managed to wake my children up, and had them ready and out the door by 7:20 in the morning! I suppose other people do this kind of thing all the time, but I'm feeling rather proud of this week. This is an amazing feat for us, and one that really makes me appreciate our laid back homeschooling and lounge act all the more.

My kids have been going to an amazing science day camp, which is a terrific experience and all, but it just starts really, really early, and goes all day long. Since we live in the boonies, everything is at least a 30 minute commute for us too, hence the ridiculously early departure. I suppose many people in cities have half hour commutes that are a lot more frustrating than ours, so we really shouldn't complain (but I still do.) While we're passing cows and occasionally getting stuck behind a slow RV, millions of people are stuck in a sea of actual traffic. Still, all that time in the car is not any of of our favorite things.

The good thing is that the kids are learning a ton, both academically and in the social world of middle school age kids, which is a place like none other. I do love seeing their excitement and hearing all of the adventures they are having. They're learning how to navigate tricky situations that aren't that serious, but are new and different for them, and they get to play with Ipads and make Lego robots and movies all day. They're meeting new friends, and working with adults who are passionate about science and technology, and who even seem to like their jobs as well as actually liking kids. They're having a great time, but they are also exhausted.

It makes me wonder how people can keep going on schedules like this year round. While we rarely sign up for classes before lunch, and try hard to protect good chunks of free time, lots of families seem to have kids scheduled for 10 to 12 hours a day between school and other activities. Then there is homework, and they even have the weekends booked with sports and church. It's no wonder so many kids get "bored" with any amount of unstructured time. They've forgotten what to do with themselves when no one directing them, and that is a sad situation.

In any case, I'm not what you would call a morning sunshine type of person, so that has a tad bit to do with our aversion to early activities. Even though I often wake up early, I just really prefer not to talk to many people until after 8 am. Prior to that, I am in my own little bubble of peace with coffee and a book or my laptop. Later, when I am up and fully caffeinated, I would much rather lounge around reading stories, playing games, exploring the creek or making crafts with my kids than rushing out the door in the morning. The kids seem to like having relaxed mornings when we use the time together to do the things we really like, and the days just seem to go better when we start at a leisurely pace and avoid the mad hurrying.

But, this week, we made it there before 8 AM every day, and we weren't even late once... another amazing feat for us. There was a little more bickering than usual due to the tired factor, but it wasn't as bad as I feared. It's odd to have such a quiet house, and I am trying to relish the small bits of freedom and solitude. I'm rarely home entirely alone, well, except for the animals. Even with the interruptions of furry friends, it's still pretty silent. At least I'm getting a decent amount of reading and writing done.

I am also feeling a bit disconnected though. We have done these week long camps before, and it always feels a little strange to have no responsibility for my kids all day for multiple days in a row. This year, lunch is even provided, so all I have to do is make sure they have a granola bar and water bottle. I don't even have to deal with feeding them. For a hands on mama, this is just bizarre. It's like part time parenting, and by the time we spend much time together, everyone is already tired and spent for the day. Is this what it would be like to have kids in school?

While I'm thrilled that my kids got to experience this camp, and I know they had a blast, we are all glad that it is just one week a year, and not a way of life. The kids are already asking what days we get to stay home and even gently suggesting we say no to a few things next week. They're wise little things- I think we can all use a little recovery period.

Vegas for Kids? Ummm, not so much.

I hadn't been to Vegas since my 21st birthday. Of course I was looking at things through very different eyes then, but what I remembered was lights, sparkle and glitter, plus some exotic animals and large quantities of horrible buffet food. So, when I across an advertisement touting Vegas as a family friendly destination, I thought it would be a fun change of pace from the tent camping and nature filled travel adventures we have been having. I tossed the idea out to my kids, and they loved it. Bling, sparkle, zing. A city that never sleeps. It sounded great.

So, we headed to Vegas. Navigating insanely busy freeways in a car that was so packed I couldn't see out the back windows was a bit stressful. Girl Child for the first time panicked about her lane changing approval duties, which doesn't work so well when your lane is ending and your going 75 miles an hour. While she mumbled "uuummm, uummm, ummm" I hollered something calm and reassuring like "We need to change lanes or we're gonna die!"

Well, we didn't die. We made it Vegas. Let me just say that it was a LOT different than I remember. Some things were the same- the lights, the crowds, the all night entertainment. But other things were different, shockingly different than I remember. In your face with more than you ever wanted to see kind of different.

As we pulled onto the strip, we were not only bombarded by people everywhere and noise, but by sign trucks- the ones that are basically a lit up billboard on wheels. I've seen these for soda and cars before, but these were selling women, or renting them at least. Each truck was plastered with about 5 larger than life and practically bare, thong wearing womens' backsides. They had a number you could call to get HOT GIRLS 2 U IN 20 MINS! There was one on every single block too.

It got worse when we parked and got out. On every corner there were at least 4 people trying to hand out fliers for the "hot girls." They all appeared to be fairly recent arrivals to the US, and I couldn't help but wonder if this was the American dream they had imagined. Standing on a street corner in a bright orange T-shirt advertising women for rent. Yes, I'm a little older now, and I'm a mother so that naturally changes my perceptions of the world, but I'm pretty sure I would have remembered the blatant selling of women and all those bare butts on signs.

These are the kind of times when I lament that my children are so inquisitive because now they were asking questions, and I had some explaining to do. I basically said that it was like a dating service and that people paid for other people to go out with them.

Girl Child said "So, they must kind of be losers if they have to pay for a date, right?" Yes, that's right. 
Boy Child could not fathom why we had to look at all those butts. When he saw one billboard with a backside that had a playing card and another had a dollar bill in the tiny fabric covering them, he was baffled and noted "That's not very sanitary."

At least the folks handing out the leaflets would generally avoid trying to hand them to me when they saw I had kids in tow. They did however try to hand them to lots of other folks who didn't look like they would be customers- elderly couples, single women, pretty much everyone who did not have a kid with them. One poor fellow didn't see my kids and tried to hand me a flier, I shot him a flaming glare and added a sharp and loud lecture about his mistake that sent him scurrying off. I don't think he could understand the words, but the meaning was clear.

We even noticed a woman who looked to be in her late 60's handing out the date for hire fliers. Seriously? Girl Child couldn't believe that a Grandma was doing that job. We wondered if she was probably the real "hot girl" you got a date with after you pre-payed. Boy Child said "It's like those fast food burgers that look all big and tasty on the commercial, and then you buy it and it's flat and gross." I nearly spit my coffee out on the street laughing at that one. I suppose if my sweet, innocent kids did have to be exposed to these unpleasantries, at least they realize the evil and deceptive ways of marketing.

We did find some positive things while in Vegas. We got an amazing deal on a room at Excalibur, and the kids loved the whole castle and knights theme. We loved all the amazing architecture, although some properties were better than others about carrying their themes inside and out. Luxor was amazing with ancient Egyptian motif. Treasure Island was neat on the outside, but thoroughly confused us with the scantily clas cowgirls inside. Where were the pirates? One thing they all had in common was that they were incredibly difficult to find your way out of. Everyplace we went to see some exhibit, signs directed us round and round through the casino. It was like a maze that was really hard to escape.

The people on the street provided even more entertainment. For tip, you could get your picture with Elvis, Superman and all sorts of other characters. Some were amazing in their likeness. Others, well...not so much. There was a seedy, creepy kind of feeling trying to make your way through the crowds. I definitely kept my kids close at hand. There were plenty of young and intoxicated people, but also lots of people with kids. I wasn't the only silly one who thought Vegas could be for families. The Belagio was a sharp contrast to the streets, with calm, beautiful and very pricey stores and amazing glass and flower art displays.

After being overwhelmed by the strip, we headed to the pool where some really nice lady bought us lunch and drinks. I don't know if we looked really haggard from traveling for so long, or if she was just really nice. We decided on nice, and enjoyed the gifts.

The roads out of Vegas were as difficult to maneuver as the casinos. It felt eerily like the whole place was specifically designed to keep you from leaving. We persevered and after driving in circles with children yelling about having to use the bathroom again, we finally made it out. My exhausted co-pilots fell asleep on me somewhere in the lonely desert. That was probably good because the shock waves followed us through Nevada for a while. I pulled in to what appeared to be an all night gas station in the middle of nowhere to look at my map, thinking the sign said "Brother." When I realized it said "Brothel" I decided to keep diving by instinct and look at my directions later, glad I didn't have to explain that one to my kids too.

I was oh so happy when we crossed the state lines back into California, and while we did find some interesting things in Vegas, I don't think I"ll be back there anytime soon.

Real

 I recently signed up for 30 days worth of writing prompts with a Self Reliance theme. I'm actually enjoying all the deep thinking and self analysis that goes along with this challenge, and while I am not quite organized enough to have polished versions ready to publish on a daily basis, I am going to try to share a few of my repsonses here as I get to them.

The first is on being real. Here goes:

Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself; never imitate. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

I guess that we all have a tendency to emulate others. We see something cool and we want to try, have, or be it. That's why so many teenagers spend hours so their hair and make up look just right. Even after all the effort, they still aren't happy. It always feels fake when you are trying to be someone else. Not that there is anything wrong with role models, or trying to be our own best, but that's all we can ever truly be- ourselves.

I know I have tried to be more like others. Sometimes I am inspired to do a better job, but it always comes back to the fact that I can never be what someone else is. As a mom, I always wanted to be one of those calm and patient mothers, the ones who always have homemade organic cookies baking, and all natural crafts laid out in their beautifully furnished and uncluttered homes- they don't yell or cuss and when they do have a mess, they smile and patiently take care of it through their magical mama-ness. Whatever. I am sick of trying to be that mom.

I'm not that mom. I have the cookies and crafts going, but the house is a mess. There's flour and glitter and even dog hair in the corners. At least it's not in the cookies though, right? Even when it's at its' cleanest, this old house is not exactly not beautiful. Calm is not the best word to describe me either. I have a fiery Latina temper, and I try to keep it in check, but when I'm pushed- well....it's ugly.

I am patient about kids exploring and playing and being kids. I am not patient with whining or attitudes though. I yell more than I'd like to, and I sometimes cuss too. Good grief, I even drink margaritas- in a mason jar no less. And I hate cleaning. The Martha Stewart moms would be appalled, I'm sure.

Whenever I set my sights on being that perfect mom in her perfect house with her perfect kids, I am going to fail though, and end up feeling lousy about the whole thing. I could work on the yelling, and maybe get some real margarita glasses. A maid would be nice too, but other than that, I give up. I accept that I am a pretty fun mom and my kids love our home and being with me. Their friends seem to like it too.

Who wants an imitation anyway? I mean, real crab or imitation? Real cheese or imitation? Duh- real is better. And why would I want an imitation me, when I can have the real one? Even if I am both crabby and cheesy at times, I am happy to be the real me.

Nomads Turned Homebodies

 It's the little things that I am most appreciative of on coming home after a long journey.

After spending 5 weeks on the road, living mostly in a tent, it is quite a luxury just to have a home and not to have to pack and move every few days. We have all been so happy to be home with our own bathroom that we don't have to share with the general public, and our real stove that's easy to light, and a refrigerator that doesn't rely on melting ice or leave us with soggy food. And my dear dishwasher....I do love her.

The kids are spending hours with their things, playing, building, reading, drawing, writing. I am pretty much doing the same- just enjoying home. Our animals apparently really missed us because they followed us around and would not let us leave their sight for days. It's good to be loved.

And it's good to be home. So good, that we have barely been wanting to leave. We've become uncharacteristically hermit like, turning down invitations, passing on commitments, avoiding errands, and pretty much staying home as much as we possibly can. We're even saying no to fun stuff like going to the lake and playing baseball, just because we really want to hang out here right now.

I know it's just a phase, but it's feeling great to just say no to things, and to just relax and enjoy summer. At some point, we will be back on the road exploring again. We still have 43 states to cover in the next few years, and there's a great big world beyond our borders waiting for us. Before I know it, we will be signing up for classes again too, and there will be rehearsals and practices and performances, and our schedule will be crazy, and we'll still be squeezing in traveling adventures in between it all. But for now, these nomads are really enjoying being homebodies.

A Grand 11th Birthday

As we neared the end of our Great Southwestern Adventure, we had to decide where on the road to spend Boy Child's 11th birthday. He requested the Grand Canyon, and as luck would have it, we were close enough to make it happen.

We started the day with an attempt at making strawberry pancakes on the Coleman camp stove. They were some of the ugliest pancakes any of us had ever seen, but thankfully, he is not a picky or judgmental child, and he enjoyed our efforts, and the fact that they actually tasted pretty good.

This was followed by presents, which Girl Child and I had to be extremely sneaky to pull off the purchasing of since Boy Child was with us 24 hours a day. We orchestrated elaborate distraction schemes that sent them on made up errands all over the store while I stashed things in the cart. I think I looked a bit like a deranged shoplifter with my attempts at hiding everything, but we managed to get the birthday loot paid for, back to the tent and wrapped in brochures without him being able to identify any of his goodies.

We packed up camp, cramming everything in the car and heading west driving through some isolated and desolate landscapes top the eastern entrance of the Canyon. The Ranger at the kiosk did not seem all that happy about her job and made a semi scowling face of contempt when I asked her about campgrounds.

In honor of Miss Grumpy Ranger, I have a few suggestions for people visiting major National Parks on vacation:

1) Arriving on a Saturday afternoon with no campground reservation is apparently not the best idea.
2)When that Saturday lands during spring break, Free National Parks Week and is the day before Easter, it's even worse, and some of the rangers get really annoyed and look at you like your an idiot when you have the nerve to ask about where you might pitch a tent for the night.
3) The Grand Canyon would probably be a nightmare vacation to take a toddler on. Most of the trails have no railings, and if you aren't paying attention, you could just fall into the abyss. Hence, it is better suited for kids a bit older.

Since worrying about lodging wouldn't help anyway, we decided to just enjoy the drive along the rim, stopping to check out the sights and making our way towards the village. The canyon itself is obviously grand, but so are some of the buildings.

In the early 1900s, a woman named Mary Colter designed a number of really cool structures incorporating natural materials like stones from the park and Native American artwork into buildings that just fit really well into their environment. She was not only one of the few female architects of her time, but she had a terrific ability to bring to life buildings that work- they look like they belong in the landscape, and showcase the incredible views.

We also learned about the Kolb brothers, a couple of daredevils who are a big part of the history of the Grand Canyon. The two not only took insane boat rides down the river in the days of wooden boats and no life jackets, but also survived and brought back video tapes of their adventures. They set up a photography studio, which they lived in through many harsh seasons, and is now a museum.

By the time we made it to the village area, we knew we needed to start thinking about sleeping arrangements before night came. Of course all the campgrounds had "Full" signs, but I figured at least the Ranger might be able to tell me where the nearest open campground outside of the park was. Instead, she gave me a lecture.

I'm not sure what was with the gruff lady rangers there, but after she got done interrogating me about how important reservations are, and how difficult tourists with questions made her job, she said she would look in the computer and see what she could find. I could not believe when she said someone had just left early and we could have their site for 2 nights! This was an amazing bit of fortune because the closest campground outside of the park that was actually open for the season was 30 miles away! We were all beyond thrilled.

We froze at night, but were able to spend a few relaxing days hiking, riding the shuttles and checking out this big natural wonder. Another tip- it is much warmer in the buildings where the evening ranger programs are than it is in a tent. The programs were nice, but the warmth was wonderful.

When the wind settled down enough so that we weren't worried about being blown off the edge, we descended a few miles down into the canyon. We weren't  prepared for the multi day trek to the bottom and back, but met a group of cool people in their 60's going for it. Maybe we will try that on another trip.  For now, we were inspired by them.

Something else that sounded incredible, but was slightly out of the budget was a raft trip down the Colorado River which ended by being helicoptered out of the canyon. At $500 each plus tax and tip, we had to pass, but it really did sound fun.

In any case, Boy Child said that this was his funnest birthday yet, which I considered to be a compliment since we didn't have the usual big party with friends. We did have an adventure though, and he seems to be taking after me in that he loves the adventures. Plus, I didn't lose him like I did on his 10th birthday- that was a definite bonus, and is a story for another time.

After Zion and Bryce, then the Grand Canyon, I came away feeling an incredible sense of awe and faith. In the same way that each of these wonders can be so completely different, yet so amazing, I know that there are amazing and different adventures ahead for my family. I had not really had time to contemplate all of the life issues I had planned to on this trip, but somehow, I was feeling totally confident that things would turn out the way they were supposed to. It's been a fabulous adventure so far, and we're all looking forward to seeing where life takes us next.

Dinosaurs and Crazy Ladies at Lake Powell

Oh how I wish that I could spare my children the experience of coming across unpleasant people, but the world is full of them, so I can't.


When we left Utah, and headed back into Arizona on our way to see the Grand Canyon, we decided to stop and spend a few days at Lake Powell. It looks like a place that would be twelve thousand degrees in the summer, in which case we probably would have kept on driving, but it was spring, and except for the wind, the weather was quite lovely and so was the lake, so we stopped.

The Visitor Center at Glen Canyon Dam was well worth a visit with gorgeous views and interesting exhibits about the history of the area, the dam, the river and the really cool rare dinosaur that was discovered near there a few years ago. The land in this area is now barren desert, but was once under the ocean, and is apparently a hotbed of action for paleontologists, rock hounds, fossil hunters and the like.


A few years back a group of scientists and volunteers was exploring nearby in southern Utah and one of the amateurs came across a bone during his break. It turned about to be a previously unknown dinosaur called Therizinosaur, also known as the sickle claw dinosaur. I suggested that the sickle claws were used for harvesting wheat, but apparently the experts feel that disemboweling dinner was a more likely use.

There is all sorts of mystery surrounding this creature such as what exactly it was, how it got to be there- a land animal in the middle of the ocean, how it died, etc. It was cool to see the replica of the skeleton, along with other fossils and footprints from nearby, and it gave us a great chance to think and talk about the way science is not ever really a finished deal. Humans are always learning and what is thought to be certain in one age can change with the next new discovery. It's all about educated guesses based on evidence, but as long as we keep exploring, we'll keep finding new evidence.


We decided to do some exploring of our own with some hikes near the lake before we found a camp site. The wind was something fierce, so we opted not to camp in the open lakeside area, but instead at an RV Park in the nearby town of Page. I wasn't thrilled at first as it was not very scenic, and was clearly not geared towards tent campers (we were the only ones there,) but at least the sites offered some shelter from the wind. I became a bigger fan of the place when we found the indoor heated pool and hot tub, and decided I could do with a second day of relaxing before moving on. We made use of the electrical plug in where I could charge my phone and laptop, the laundry and showers, and Boy Child was thrilled that we had an excellent tree to climb.

When we returned from a wildflower hike, a look at the beautiful horseshoe bend in the Colorado River, and some shopping the next day, we found we had several tent camping neighbors. The sites were clearly separated, so we still had plenty of our own space. Everyone seemed quiet and friendly and after more swimming, we headed to bed.


Sometime around 1 am, I awoke to the sound of one of our new neighbors who was having a rambling and clearly drunken conversation. Since tent fabric is far from soundproof, I could hear every painful detail of the drama between this mother / daughter pair who really should have been in a counselors office. I was very, very glad that my kids were asleep and not hearing about all of the childhood traumas the daughter was ranting about, or the mothers foul mouthed reply. Every time I would think they had passed out, the daughter would start yelling / slurring at her mother, "Enlighten me mom- WHYYYYYYYY did you do that?" The mom denied everything and blamed it all on an absent father. All I could think was, "Holy cow, I'm gonna really have to make sure to not mess up that badly with my kids."

Eventually, my kids woke up, and were like "What the heck is with those people?" Their eyes were as big as saucers because they haven't had a lot of exposure to the daytime TV talk show crowds. So much for my attempts to shelter them from weirdos.


By this time, we all had to pee, but there was no way we were getting out of the tent with those two lunatics out there. I heard another camper shout at them to be quiet, but they were on a roll. Finally, the mom mumbled something along the lines of , "If I don't get some sleep, I'm gonna go get someone's gun."


Well, I have only called 911 once before in my life, and that was to report a car accident on the freeway, but when a crazy drunken lady mumbles the word gun, and her crazier daughter won't shut up and let the woman pass out, my fingers flew.

I have to hand it to the Page, Arizona police department. They had about 6 cop cars there in no time- just lights, no sirens thank goodness because it was like 3 am. The crazy ladies went silent as soon as they saw flashing lights, and hid out in their tents not making a peep. Another camper came out and told the cops which tent contained the ruckus makers. The officer was not at all like the typical TV cop who would whip out his gun and scream "Get on the ground!" Instead, he was more like a psychiatrist, all calm talking and keeping the ladies settled. He gave them a strict talking to about their behavior, made sure there were no weapons and no one was getting in any cars. We decided to sneak out and head to the bathrooms while the cops were still there, just in case the drama started back up, but luckily, the rest of the night was quiet.

The next morning, we were really surprised to see who these loud mouthed, drunken wackos were. They had a nicer, cleaner, newer and more expensive car than us, and what looked like brand new tents. They sat at their picnic table drinking coffee, looking a bit tired and camperish, but otherwise pretty normal, all acting like nothing even happened. We were all baffled because they way they had acted the night before, we would have expected a rougher looking bunch.


In any case, my Girl Child kept wondering "Why on earth are these people out camping together?" I didn't know... maybe an attempt at a Mother's Day bonding trip? I think we learned a couple of lessons out of this one. You can't judge a book by its' cover, and it's usually better to work out your issues now rather than holding on to them for years until you finally blow your top. Oh, and also, excessive alcohol consumption is not a pretty sight.


Other than the early morning drama fest, we enjoyed our stop at Lake Powell, and I just keep reminding myself and my kids that there are more good people in the world than nut jobs.