LADDventure

Jeep Journal - Crown King Camping

We decided rather on a whim a few weeks ago, to head to the mountains and try our hand at some camping again.  We have gone a few times, and have all the gear, but this was the first time we'd be heading up our own trip and the first time we were brave enough to bring the dogs.

The last time we were camping, I was sniffed by a bear.  But that was in a different state, with many more bears. So we decided to give it another shot, loaded up the beasts, and invited Mr. Ladd's brother and fellow Jeeper, to come with us.

We just made it a one-nighter this time since we weren't sure how the dogs would do, and if we'd forget some essential piece of equipment.  But, we could have easily done two nights and the dogs were so good, I think we will next time.

We found a spot just down the road from Crown King, an old mining town that you can only get to on a dirt trail up the mountain.  The town itself is literally a saloon, one gas pump, and a general store for the most part.  We headed past the town a bit, set up camp and proceeded to chill...

all of us...

all day...

It was lovely.

There was exploring, lizard hunting, and dirty paws.

There was cast iron over an open fire, s'mores, and a chilly evening under a crisp night sky.

At this point in the summer there are burn restrictions, because it's so dry, which means you have to camp in a designated campground with a metal fire ring.  But, at the time we went, there were no restrictions yet, and one of the really cool things about Arizona is you can just camp pretty much anywhere.  So there are these great little secluded spots that have obviously been used by others because rocks are formed into a fire ring, but otherwise it truly is being one with nature.  I never thought I'd want to be quite so familiar with nature, but the nature here is oh so worth it.  There is nothing like escaping up into the cooler mountains when the summer heat starts to creep into the valley.

Jeep Journal - Predator and Lower Terminator Edition

It had been a long time since we really had the Jeep out and about, so Mr. Ladd signed us up for an organized wheeling class through the AZ Virtual Jeep Club.  It was a full day of trails in the Table Mesa Recreation Area in the Northwest part of the Valley.  We were signed up for the 202 class - the Predator trail, and then had extra time so decided to do Lower Terminator with the group as well.

Apparently the people who named the trails we were on 2 weekends ago were big Schwarzenegger fans, but it definitely fits.  They were less like trails and more like large rock obstacle after large obstacle all day long.

The day started off with this view...

...which is the only benefit to being up that early, ever.

We met up with all the other off-roaders, probably about 100 vehicles all together.  Some kind Jeepers were making everybody pancakes and sausage with their clumsy blue heeler pup greeting us as we aired down tires and had a quick talk on safety and technique from the Virtual Jeep Club.  The Bureau of Land Managment also gave a quick overview of what they're doing to keep trails like this open for recreational use and mapping/designating areas for off-roading.
It was interesting, but I was freezing.  It was definitely the coldest weekend we've had this year with temps in the 20's when we started and climbing up to 45-50 eventually. (See, it's not always 100 here.)

Then we set off and most of the day looked like this...

With some breaks to help this poor stuck Toyota FJ - nice girl, but she needs a Jeep.

And a break to watch this craziness.  Don't worry Grandma. Our Jeep is not set up to be quite that adventurous and neither are we.  These guys we ran into on the trail had insane rock-crawling rigs built for such things as this...

And this...

Pulled it back upright.  Good as new. 


And there was of course the scenery - the reason I get up early, pull on hiking boots and layers, and am willing to pee in the wilderness.

Wordless Wednesday - Predator Trail

2012 - The Year of New

I'm back! I think the teacher in me is still used to a long Christmas break of doing nothing particularly productive.  So, I've been absent from writing  (among other things like laundry or anything else that didn't sound festive).

But, I wished for presence this holiday season, and I got it. I was present on a 12 day trip back to Wisconsin for an early Christmas with my family; present in a quiet Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in our house for the first time at home in Arizona, just the two of us! Can you tell I thought it lovely?  Then I was present playing hostess to Jeremiah's family right after that for our Christmas with them.

So now that the cookies are gone (mercifully), the guest beds are empty, and the world is returning to normal...I am left to linger in 2012 for one last day and reflect. It can be all too easy when the tree needles are falling and the house is quiet again to jump into resolutions, and what you need to get done or be better at.  While I love the opportunity for a fresh start and improvement after cleaning up the tinsel (Does anyone still decorate with tinsel?), I don't want to miss the chance to ponder all that has happened this year.  Resolutions without reflection on where you are and how you got there seem kind of pointless to me.

So, I have dubbed this past year, 2012, the Year Of New for the following reasons...

New Career

This was by far the biggest of the new things that happened this year.  After a very difficult 2011-2012 school year, I needed a change, not just a job change or school change, but a chance to work at something new; a chance to pour all that energy into other pursuits, myself, and my family.  So we decided that I would not sign a contract for the following year and that I would take an indefinite break from teaching to pursue writing full time.  It was not an easy decision, and it has been an adjustment, but I can honestly say I have not regretted that decision once, and feel so incredibly lucky to do what I do every day.


New Health

With the career change, came major changes in my health.  I started seeing a chiropractor back around the time I decided to quit teaching.  She helped me realize that I needed adjustments in more areas than one, and just how much stress was contributing to very poor habits and poor overall health.  I now have very few migraines, get 8-9 hours of sleep a night, and literally have not been sick one time since I started going to the chiropractor back in March.  While there is much room for improvement and other health goals, I am happy about taking control of my stress and finding some peace and balance in 2012.


New Adventures

We invested in our new favorite hobby, modifying our Jeep to turn it into a bit of an off-road beast.  So, we hit the Rubicon Trail in California for our summer vacation this year.  We got really dirty, climbed huge boulders, almost got eaten by a bear, and it was awesome.

I went to my first blogging conference, BlogHer '12, in New York City for the first time by myself.  Still processing everything I learned about blogging and myself on that trip.

I got my first tattoo with my sister on her visit out to AZ in February.

New Friends

We are getting to the point where we are really getting to know the many acquaintances we first met when we moved here, and growing some friendships.  I'm looking at you bloggy buddy and next door neighbor :-)


New House Stuff

With extra time for creativity, the interior of our house that we've now lived in for 3 years is finally starting to shape up.  What was a glorified hallway of a front room is now full and inviting, and finishing touches like rugs and curtains are falling into place in the rest of the house.


New Niece News

Aidee Asuncion Luis was born on November 6th this year and I got to spend some snuggly newborn time with her.

Also, 3 of our other nieces started kindergarten this fall, and this former kindergarten teacher of an aunt can't get enough of their first day of school pictures and school stories.  I know full well how magical that year is for learning.


New Focus

We have begun really focusing on starting a family this year.  We're not sure exactly what that will look like just yet, but we know we both want a loud holiday table of our own someday filled with kids and grandkids, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Stay tuned.

Tomorrow I'll be back with some goals for 2013, but tonight we are celebrating the end of a great year with great friends.  There will be homemade pizza, pajamas, and champagne.  

Happy New Year everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Jeep Journal - Leaf Hunt

We were supposed to go camping this past weekend, but a cold front came through, and it got crazy cold up in the mountains at night.  The highest peaks even got snow, and we are not very seasoned campers, so we opted to just go Jeeping for the day on Saturday instead.  Our main goal was to get into some cooler temperatures and to see some fall color.  Mr. Ladd was convinced from his research that the Rim Road along the Mogollon Rim would be a great spot for some fall color.   I was less than convinced, because there are mostly pines from my experience, but I didn't argue (much).

At first, I was biting my tongue and holding back disappointment and "I told you so's" as we drove into the mountains.   Only an occasional little shrub along the side of the road was trying to change color.  But as we climbed, the 50 degree mountain air filled the Jeep, and we left the windows all the way down, soaking up the cold and savoring the goosebumps.  It was so nice to be chilly and to reach for sweatshirts and flannel in the backseat even if the leaves were not delivering.  Just then, we spotted a clump of blazing orange, pink, and gold through the pines.



We turned down the road to get closer, and after a hike down into a ravine, making sure to talk loudly to scare away the bears (still a little traumatized from this experience), we found what we'd been looking for!

The quiet was almost eerie as we stood in this hidden cove.  It felt like we shouldn't stay long, disturbing its perfection with our leaf crunching and camera clicking. 

Climbing back in the Jeep and continuing down the road, I was satisfied and could have left happy.   We stopped and ate our lunch on the rim with a spectacular view and then carried on.

We were hungry for more, and now carefully searching, eyes trained in every direction.  That's when the real show began.  First, shimmering gold aspens popped up nestled in the pines.

Then we turned down a few roads with the sole purpose of finding more leaves, and found all these deciduous beauties sheltering fabulous camp spots.  It made us wish we would have braved the cold and could just set up a tent right there and then!

Since moving here, we've known there is fall color to be had up in the mountains, and finally we  intentionally went looking for it.  It's not the lavish, mile after mile of blazing trees that you see in the Midwest.  I sadly took that for granted, mumbling about raking them as a kid, and not even stopping to look up when I walked out of my door at the canopy of color.  Here, it's more like fireworks - a single bright tree here, a hidden clump there, and you have to watch or you'll miss it.  You have to go carefully looking for it, which makes it all the more exciting when you find it.

I think a leaf hunt will be an annual tradition around here.  My autumn loving heart is happy!

Wordless Wednesday

Wanting some of this up in the much cooler and colorful mountains right now...

Wordless Wednesday

Home Again

Wow, it has been a crazy exciting couple of weeks.  My travels have ranged from the Hilton in midtown Manhattan one weekend, to a tent in the Sierra Nevada Mountains the next.  From the BlogHer '12 conference in New York City to the Rubicon Trail in the Jeep in Northern California. Coast to coast baby, without much time in between to unpack and repack bags.  And although the trips were not without their hiccups, like spending the night in the Chicago Midway airport and a bear sniffing at my tent in the middle of the night, it has been an amazing two weeks!

During both trips I met a lot of new people and the natural question that always came up was, "where are you from?"  I sometimes hesitate awkwardly at this question as I grew up and spent many years in Wisconsin, but now live in Arizona.  I don't feel like I've lived in Arizona long enough to claim to be "from here."  And although I love all kinds of things about living here,  I still miss the green and the autumn and the people in Wisconsin so much it hurts at times.  So, given this inner turmoil, when asked I usually go into a too long explanation of being from Wisconsin originally but moving to Arizona 3 years ago, and by that time the person has stopped listening.


Yesterday afternoon as we were on the 11th hour of our road trip back from California, we were remarking how our desert was prettier than the California desert.  We have saguaro cacti and bigger mountains.  Our skies are bluer and our clouds are puffier, and our rain has that smell.  While we had an amazing time on our trip, we were tired and dirty and so excited to be back to our dogs, our pool, our home.  It hit me that 3 years almost exactly since moving here, this has truly become home, and I can now answer that question more confidently.

After being without internet the last few days, I am catching up on writing, and there will be many more detailed blog posts later this week about recent adventures.  I am excited to tell some stories and share tons of pictures.   But for now I am unloading duffel bags, shaking off the dust, and doing umpteen loads of laundry.  Home is where you unpack, and there's nothing like being home.

Wordless Wednesday