A New House

Well...I don't know how to say this but we decided to buy a new house in Arizona. We haven't set down roots, we haven't gotten a place with a yard or a garage, and we haven't decided that it would be better for us to sit still and grow old together with a garden (although someday Brenda would love to have a garden). We got a new home on wheels.

We have been on the road for about 6 weeks now and in those 6 weeks there have been tons of times that we wished we would have had something different than the home we had. Not that there was anything wrong with our little rolling home, but we just couldn't quite fit all of our toys in it. Our little home was just too little. We have been perfectly content with the small amount of living space in our camper, but the lack of storage for our toys created a bit of a problem for us. There was no room for our paddle boards, climbing gear, skis, fishing gear, etc.... So all of that stuff stayed back in Seattle in our good friend Mik's basement.

Since this whole trip is about experiencing everything, we have been feeling a bit like we have been missing out on some important aspects of the experience. Camping on the Colorado River would have been just a little bit better if we could have paddle boarded down the mighty river instead of just admiring it from the shore. Climbing to the top of some of these massive sheer cliffs would be much better than staring at them from the bottom. Fly fishing in Yellowstone has always been on my list. Pretty soon the snow will be falling and what better way to enjoy the rocky mountains than skiing down the slopes in knee deep dry powder. We also didn't really have any room for visitors that we are still hoping will come and visit (you). So, we have bought a new home that has more than tripled our living space, added enough storage for all of our toys, and a few extra beds for our good friends to come and visit. It's pretty sweet.

This really wasn't part of our big plan, but that seems to be the way we work...we have become pretty good at going with the flow. Our normal routine is to look at a map before we go to bed and say “what are we going to do tomorrow?” The night we spent at The Great Gooseneck's of the San Juan River followed the normal routine. We looked at the map and saw that we were only a couple of hours away from the Grand Canyon. We both have always wanted to see the Grand Canyon so why not go see it? Off we go and I have to say that whoever named the place did a pretty good job. It is Grand. It is almost too grand. It was so grand that it was really hard for us to feel like we really experienced it...and we tried to experience it.

We hiked 12 miles of the south rim trail on the first day and looked at every view point. We didn't feel like we really were able to soak it all in so on day 2 we decided to ride our bikes and see if we could get a better feel of the place. 30 miles later and we still didn't feel like we were able to absorb it all. We decided the best way to really get the full experience would be to hike down into the belly of the beast and come out on the other side. The park ranger that we talked to said that we should plan on 3 days across and 3 days back...maybe even 7 or 8 days to play it safe. Perfect. We have nothing but time and this sounds like the best way to really get the full Grand Canyon experience...a grand adventure into the beast.

Unfortunately some of our needed gear to safely accomplish this grand adventure was back in Seattle in our good friend's basement...bummer. The storage problem rears it's ugly head again. We couldn't bring everything with us in our little home and this is about the 28^th time we wished we had some of our little doo-dads that would help us on our adventure...hiking across the canyon ended before it started. We were a bit disappointed to say the least. So after we cried a little, we looked at our map again and noticed that we were only a couple hours from Sedona, Arizona (another place that I have heard great things about), and from Sedona, it's just another couple of hours to my brother's house in Mesa, Arizona.

Off to Sedona...and it is beautiful. I always thought that Arizona was just a desert wasteland. I was wrong (at least in the northern part). Northern Arizona has incredible trees, mountains, and rock formations. We spent a few days in the region and stayed at a “luxury” rv park for the first time, which was also pretty fun. We hiked and biked and explored our brains out around Sedona and then came back to our little home on wheels at the end of the day which was right next to a beautiful swimming pool, hot tub, tennis courts, and restaurant...all with wifi!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Since we had reliable internet access, we muddled around the web for our new home. It turned out that the Pheonix area is a great place to buy a RV. It also turned out that most RV dealers were dumping the last of their 2014 inventory to make way for the 2015's. Perfect. Since I am a cheapskate and this was really close to my brother's home, we could knock two things out at once...visit my brother and his family and get a new home on wheels at a bargain price.

We found the perfect home and were able to trade in our now ex-home. The only problem we had now is that all of our toys were up in Seattle and that's a long way from Mesa...about 24 hours of driving each way. Brenda and Tanya (my brother's wife) decided that a girly road trip was in order to go and get the needed toys. Without a moment's notice, the girls take off and say good riddance to me, the 4 kids, and my brother...see you in a handful of days. I am now Mr. Mom and all that entails. My brother works and is going to school so he is B-U-S-Y! With 4 kids and all of the associated activities, Tanya is also super busy, which means that I am now busy...but it's super fun. They are great kids and it's fun to hang with them for a handful of days, stuff them full of candy, watch their football games, drive all over town, and play around a bit.

So here I sit. Breakfast has been served. Teeth have been brushed. The kiddies are off to school. I am now going to watch the soap's and eat bon-bons until the little rug rats start showing up after school. Then it's candy, driving around town, football practice, dinner, more candy, homework, arm wrestling, beddy-bye time and start it all over again. They are great kids. Pretty fun.  

The Great Gooseneck's of the San Juan River...impossible for a picture to capture this place...OFF THE HOOK!!!

Grand Canyon baby!

Montezuma's Castle

The top speed of my Brother's Prius...yes that reads 144...down hill with a tailwind!  Who said Prius's are slow?!?!?  (kids...never try this at home!)

Somewhere near Moab

Good-bye old home sweet home...you served us well...and you will be missed...sniff, sniff........