camping – Simply Intentional

* Michelle Thoughts, Other Travels, Videos

Redwoods and the Oregon Coast

July 3, 2011November 22, 2017 mcmeeshi

Thanks for tuning in to our adventures! This is the final video blog post of our month-long road trip. After Yosemite, we had one of our longer driving days to get to the Redwoods. We decided to spend only one night in the Redwoods area so we could meet up with my (Michelle’s) family. It has been family tradition since the 1950’s for my Mom’s side to camp at Honeyman State Park in Florence, Oregon. I grew up going there every summer with all the cousins but now many of them have gone separate ways. So this time was a very small gathering of the clan. As you’ll see in the video, Jedd was very excited to end the trip catching two fish back to back since his other catches the week beforehand were too small to keep.

We are now in the Portland and Salem areas enjoying more time with family. What does the rest of the summer hold for us? Well, we’ve been pretty successful lining up house-sitting and work-exchange-for-rent (but we can always do more- let us know), so we continue to be nomadic. We’re excited to do some more traveling as well, with a trip to celebrate Mère’s (Michelle’s grandma’s) 90th birthday in New Orleans and then help Jedd’s great aunt get ready to move from Florida in September. Jedd is working about 3/4 time with Relevant Studios while I am basically doing odd jobs around other people’s houses. We expect to have more information from Peace Corps at the end of the summer, whether that be a final placement or more waiting.

* Michelle Thoughts, Other Travels, Videos

Yosemite!

June 26, 2011November 16, 2013 mcmeeshi

Many say Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places in the country, so we decided to spend five nights there. After an arduous hike, the view from the top of Yosemite Falls was well worth the climb. Another hike took us to an unforgettable waterfall at Hetch Hetchy Resevoir in a section of the park that has fewer visitors and allowed us to escape the weekend crowds. One of Jedd’s college friends, Tyler, was able to fly out to meet us to experience this leg of the epic road trip together. We’re appreciative that he made the effort to join us! As in many of the other parks, we also took advantage of the Ranger programs, which always provides deeper insight to our experience (and usually good laughs from the cute things enthusiastic children contribute to the talks).

* Michelle Thoughts, Other Travels, Videos

Sequoia and King’s Canyon

June 25, 2011November 16, 2013 mcmeeshi

We had a great three nights camping in King’s Canyon where we could explore the canyon, rivers, lakes, huge trees, neighboring Sequoia National Park, and- of course- encounter more wildlife! The highlight of this part of the road trip was definitely the bear on our hiking trail.

* Michelle Thoughts, Other Travels, Videos

Grand Canyon

June 23, 2011November 16, 2013 mcmeeshi

While, yes, the Grand Canyon is in fact very grand, it doesn’t quite stand up to the footage we’ve gotten from some of the other places on our trip. Highlights of our stay at the North Rim included scoring a sweet camping spot near the rim and encountering some interesting wildlife while out on our hike. Can anyone identify the large reptile on the trail?

I’m beginning to work on more videos again now that we are back in town, so look for more in the next few days!

* Michelle Thoughts, Other Travels, Videos

Bryce and Zion

June 11, 2011November 16, 2013 mcmeeshi

(Added late:) Bryce and Zion were certainly two of the most spectacular parks we’ve seen- so unique and intriguing. We loved our hikes on the Navajo/Queen’s Trail (Bryce) and Angel’s Landing (Zion).

Our next stop was the Grand Canyon, followed by Las Vegas of all places, and then Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks. Although Las Vegas was nowhere to be found on our list of places to see, we stayed there a weekend because it was on the way and my parents and brother were able to come meet us there to see some fantastic Cirque du Soleil shows. Though definitely not a National Park, Vegas is a spectacle all it’s own and will likely warrant another video post. (By the way, I probably won’t be able to finish any more videos until we’re in “civilization” again- another week or more. Stay tuned!)

* Michelle Thoughts, Other Travels, Videos

Exploring Utah

June 8, 2011November 16, 2013 mcmeeshi

We didn’t have much internet access while in Utah, so we’re doing some catching up on the video posting. First, we stopped in Salt Lake City, so here’s a real quick video of what we experienced there:

After Salt Lake City, we started our big tour of Utah’s National Parks. Since the weather didn’t permit camping in Yellowstone, the parks in Utah ended up being our first chance to camp. From one of the most unique camping sites in Arches I’ve ever seen, we were able to explore areas that seemed to be from another planet. Here’s a look at our time in Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef National Parks:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: