Rob was intent on going...good weather or not. The last several weekends, the weather had deterred his efforts to embark on a camping adventure. We decided to go to "the Swell" even though the forecast that morning called for rain mixed with snow across the entire state. It was raining by the time we made it to Spanish Fork, at Soldier Summit it was snowing. Floyd was having a great old time in the back seat, reading books and dancing to mom and dad's music. He held it together for 4 hours while mom and dad "calmly" looked for a campsite in Buckhorn Wash despite the fact that every Billybob Joe, their family and all there ATV's had staked out every conceivable spot.
We let Floyd out for a breather while we checked out the our options. We set out towards BLM land. We finally found a spot overlooking the wash, far away from the ATV traffic. As we pulled into the spot it started to snow. Rob set up camp, Porter escaped the truck, and FLoyd and I waited in the truck.
Despite all the mud, and the dog being soaking wet. The tent was toasty warm. We played a few games of Yahtzee then, when the rain stopped we went out side to throw some rocks and play in the dirt.
This was our view.
Obligatory self-timer family photo.
Floyd loving the tent. Hogging the bed, and sleeping better that both Rob and I. The furnace kept us warm all night long. We had a super breakfast of bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns.
Then we packed up and headed out to explore the "Little Grand Canyon."
All in all it was a successful trip. Floyd had a great time, and Rob was a proud father. The only drama happened when Rob got the trailer stuck in the mud...in our backyard.
We went to Zion over Easter weekend. We of coarse took the pop-up trailer and parked it up on Gooseberry Mesa. We did a little biking in the park and played with the other Jones crew. Fletch and Floyd loved camping, and the Easter bunny even found us.
Well I survived the Boards with a great result. My family, immediate and extended, survived my psychoses surrounding said event. Many thanks to all. Needless to say the JonesZees where in great need of a vacation; enter Rob-Vacation planner extraordinaire. Given that we have a tent-trailer, no trip is a trip without it. Hence we headed out on a Northern California Road Trip early in the morning on the 14th after my graduation party. We left at 4am with the truck packed to the roof with gear and Floyd paraphernalia. We were intent on eating healthy along the way. Which lasted until St.George for Grand Slam breakfasts at Denny's, then In-And-Out burger in Barstow.
We arrived in Sequoia National Park around 7pm Utah time after 16 hours of travel. Floyd was a superstar in the car, so we just pushed through. We woke up in a giant sequoia grove. See the white dot in the picture above, that is my head. Note the size discrepancy between a 5 month pregnant woman and the General Grant Tree, the third biggest tree in the world. Floyd was in heaven with an abundance of sticks, rocks, and small rodents.
We went on a few short hikes in the park. Floyd has become very intense and independent. He hiked 1 mile and 1400 feet of elevation all by himself.
After three days in the park, we headed for the coast. We made it to highway 1 just south of a cute town called Cambria. We headed north to a great campsite just outside the Big Sur. We had great ocean views and a fabulous fresh fish dinner. Floyd wanted to be just like dad and pulled his shirt off to bask in the sun.
So ends part 1 of the big one. The next day we headed into Carmel for my half of the vacation which does not involve camping. Stay tuned.
We did some primitive camping outside of Moab. Floyd was so psyched for his very own giant sand box.
We hit the Needles area Saturday morning. FLoyd was able to walk the majority of the way.
Later that afternoon , after a trip to Moab for some ice cream, we went to the Island in the Sky area of canyon lands. This is Mesa arch. I strategically placed Floyd over my belly.
This was the Grand Overlook in Canyonlands. It was a great Mother's Day weekend.
