Hiking White Owl Canyon

Miss the 1st part of our spontaneous road-trip to Lake Mead?

Catch up here...

By now you know that:
    1) I'm a slave to spontaneity,
    2)the rangers at the Lake Mead visitor center are moderately helpful, extremely entertaining, &
    3)the hike we chose looked promising...

So, let's get on it!

First, we found the tunnel...

Then, we found the slot canyon...

...and took some time to learn some things...

Learning all about owl poo

We saw a coyote.  We almost lost the kids (more on that coming, I promise).  We fought a little bit. We laughed a lot. And at the end of the day when we asked B & P what their favorite part of the day had been, they shouted at the top of their lungs, "THE HIKING!"  Me, too, boys.  Me, too.

More Information:
More information about Lake Mead

The White Owl Canyon Trailhead starts at

the 33 Hole Road Parking Area

off the Lake Mead Highway.

Stay to the left as you come to the 

3 parking areas. 

The trail drops down 

at the 2nd shelter house from the left.

The entire trail does make a big loop if you 

don't want to turn around like we did. 

A detailed description can be found here.

One caution: There is a LOT of trash and broken glass
along the trail 
before you reach the canyon.  
It is obviously a party hangout.
Especially with kids, be careful-
or turn it into a great service project for them!

The Grand Canyon and the Scariest Thing I've Ever Done With My Kids!

I know, I know, the Grand Canyon is one of the epic (translate over-populated with tourists) national parks, and if I espouse the virtues of getting away from the tourist-trap, it seems like a strange park to start off with.  It's precisely for that reason that I'm going to start with it.

Our trip to this most monstrous of geological wonders was completely an act of spontaneity.  We got a call from family two days before they were leaving for there on spring break and without hesitating we dropped what we were doing and started packing our bags.  Having never been to The Grand Canyon before, the 8-hour drive gave me plenty of time to think about what I knew about the park...

• It was big
• A river runs through it
• You can stand at the top and look down into it

That is embarrassing.  Thank goodness we were not there by ourselves, or that is probably all we would still know.  Fortunately, our the family were with was gung-ho to get their money's worth and we gladly went along for the ride...well, the hike.

That's what I can teach you about The Grand Canyon-the only way to truly experience it is to step off the lip and get down in it!  We hiked 3.5 miles of the South Kaibab Trail, but there are several other hikes to choose from.  Any one of them is going to be strenuous and taxing, but one trillion percent worth it.  

For us, the start was a little stop and go.  They were doing trail maintenance, which consisted of a throng of college-aged ranger interns throwing rocks and boulders over the side onto the trail below.  Once we were able to pass them, though, the hiking down got a lot more adventuresome.  And this is where I explain why The Grand Canyon is the scariest thing I've ever done with my kids.

My niece resting precariously close to the edge to watch the action down below

The canyon is STEEP and the drop-offs are HIGH!  I'm used to hiking with my kids, but this poor mama's heart did more than one pitter-patter as we made our way down into this desert hole.  It took awhile, but we finally mastered what we called, "Wall-side, Canyon-side."  At the end of each switchback, the adults and kids craftily traded sides of the trail we were walking.  Doing that tremendously cut down the number of times I found my hand reflexively reaching out to grab at a child's collar.

After mastering that, the 7-mile hike was just long, hard, and a load of fun!  

Passing a mule train

Perched on the top-This rock was literally cradled on top of another ,
which we didn't know until we were hiking further down below.

To sum up the Grand Canyon, yes, it can be packed FULL of people...at the top.  Definitely spend a little time there, and then immerse yourself fully in the landscape that is just below them all.  You'll find a park there that far fewer people have seen!

Have you been to the Grand Canyon?

What's your favorite thing to do there?

More information:

The Grand Canyon National Park website

Looking for an historic adventure while you're there?

Ride the Grand Canyon Railway that boards in Williams, AZ.

It's super cheesy, but gives you a unique perspective 

and keeps you out of traffic 

Please, remember, if you're hiking here to bring PLENTY of water.

The trails are long, and the air is dry.  

You're going to need it.  

And watch for condors!  

My husband and his brother saw one flying 

and ran chasing half-way around the Canyon Rim to watch it land.

25 Fun Things To Do At the Salt Flats

What do you do on a summer Saturday morning when everyone is bored and needs to get out of the house?  In Utah the possibilities are endless and there isn't much need to venture far from home. Sometimes, however, the moment calls for a solution spontaneous and grand.  It might just be time to pack the water bottles, put gas in the car, and head west to the Salt Flats of Bonneville!

This photo of Bonneville Salt Flats is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Are You Cool Enough To Know About Sidecar Racing?

Have you discovered the little-known sport of motorcycle sidecar racing?  B had a sidecar toy several years ago that we turned into a school lesson and then turned into yet another of those slightly odd, absolutely cool things we love to see and do!

B "driving" his very first sidecar

It might surprise you to hear that sidecar racing isn't the most popular of motorsports.  Hence, if you're a devoted fan, it's likely you'll have to get up very early to drive to a race track that is WAAAYYY farther out of town than you'd been expecting.  The upside?  Visiting a part of your state you've never paid attention to before and finding out it is as unique and beautiful as your favorite haunts.  

Prepare to feel like you're the only spectators at the raceway.  But that makes for prime viewing!  Do you see it?  The passenger leaning clear over and down to the racetrack?  Each sidecar team has their own strategy-some dragging their bums on the asphalt, some waving their ponytails precariously close to the rotating tires.  All of them risking life and limb to make it first across the finish line.

The sidecar "circuit" comes to Salt Lake once a year, always on Labor Day weekend, during the Vintage Motorcycle race event at Miller Motorsports Park. With the uncertainty of the racetrack's future looming, it's possible sidecar racing in Utah will come to an end.  Come check on us if it does...our family will be mourning.  Or make us really happy by looking up where the sidecars race where you live, and letting us know that you're going to go!

More Information

There are sidecar race associations, but I've found it's often easiest to

locate sidecar races by searching for your local vintage motorcycle club.

In years past, the Salt Lake sidecar races on Labor Day weekend are early in the morning.

There are 2 of them mixed in with 2 full days of motorcycle races.

I've had a difficult time finding the race schedule this year, 

so might recommend just making a day of it!

Know someone who would love the oddity of sidecar racing?

Share this post with them!

Nearing the End of Our Trip...Feel Like You Missed Something?

I have a habit of building up grand plans, executing them, then realizing I haven't got the time to spend writing about them.  Such has happened with our big summer road trip.  Wanting to give each experience it's due grandeur, I put off writing about Day 1 which backs up days 2-40+.  

Yesterday I had an epiphany.  We're finally nearing the end of actively living out of our van so why not start with today and work my way backwards.  Kind of a "deconstructing" of a summer-long roadtrip.  Rather than tell you where we started I'm going to first share where we ended and leave you wondering for a couple days each time how in the world we got there.

And so, without further ado, THIS is where we are on August 6, 2013, Day 68 of our epic summer adventure ...

...now, wait with baited breath to find out more 

about this awesome night's sleep...

Travel Memories Saturday (Washington D.C.)

Washington D.C., 1997
Borrowed/re-posted from Wandering Still

This photo comes from the time in my life I like to call my "fountain days."  What happy memories come flooding back as I think about the free-spirit I was back then feeling the invitation of refreshing bubbling water.  And its impossible to think about fountain-hopping without also thinking of my old friend Jason.

I started college when the internet was still a novelty.  Sitting in the campus library I signed up on a Christian dating site and quickly met two fantastic people.  One of those people was Jason and it was only a matter of months before I hopped on a plane to New Jersey to meet him. My mom dropped me off at the airport a little confused and a lot scared and horrified.  I figured that out when I didn't think to call her upon arrival and she hunted me down by phone at Jason's grandmothers home.(Important clarification: Jason and I were always just friends.  Our hotel rooms always had two beds and we never even held hands.  I'm not sure my family has ever believed me.)

I learned a lot of important life lessons while cavorting around the country to meet Jason.  Here area few of the gems that stayed with me:

Always have food available for the needy.
I met Jason's grandmother that very first weekend.  In her kitchen drawer, where you and I might keep the dishtowels or utensils, she had a full stock of SPAM, just in case somebody ever stopped by collecting for the food bank.

There really is a wrong side of the tracks.
On a business trip in Baltimore, Jason's company put us up in the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in .  One night while out on a walk we crossed a bridge and immediately found ourselves in the most run-down neighborhood I've ever been in.  I was terrified and even Jason gave pause as we walked in one block, over one block, and out one block.  A girl followed two steps behind singing the theme from "Reading Rainbow" until we reached the bridge where she stopped and we high-tailed it back to luxury.

Security guards do a lot of looking at you funny, not much anything else.
Washington D.C. is fountain mecca and where I took my first wet foray.  (Don't panic, I never got up the nerve to actually walk through the reflecting pool on the National Mall!) This is where I also learned that the Benjamin Franklin monument is very slippery and that getting on a subway train while soaking wet is a freezing cold terrible idea.

I don't know why I eat the way I do.
Slipping into a local diner and sharing an order of fries, Jason looked perplexed when I quit eating halfway through.  When he asked why I answered without thinking, "Those ones don't have ketchup on them."  Only then did I realize I had that little oddity.  I pour ketchup all over the top of my fries and quit eating as soon as the ketchup-ed fries are gone.

Any place can be interesting.
Several times Jason's work took him to Killeen, TX, and I'd meet him down there.   Killeen, TX, is to pawn shops what Washington D.C. is to water fountains.  Aside from the military base there is no reason to go there.  South of Killeen, however, is Georgetown, TX, and a beautiful bed and breakfast with rooms in the carriage house.  Heading north halfway to my home in Iowa you'll find Wichita, KS-also a very boring city.  But if you're their on the right night you'll witness the most incredible lightening storm and then have the adventure of getting stuck in flash flooding.

Criminals can look just like you and me.
Jason always told me his older brother had been exiled from the country for bank embezzling.  Once while on a country drive he nonchalantly asked if I'd ever done anything illegal and then told me the details of his entrepreneurial side business producing fake credit cards for teenagers.  One of the last times I saw him he got notice that he was to have a meeting at the Pentagon and shortly after that a letter letting me know he wouldn't be contacting me anymore.  Either the most elaborate "Hey, I don't want to see you anymore" I've ever received, or a guy who got himself into some big trouble.  I'm still leaning towards the later.

And that's a shame.  I will forever look back on that relationship as one of the truest and most free of my lifetime.  The adventures we had and experiences I gained still make my happy heart leap.  We all need that one moment in time where the person we're with and the places we are fit magically into place and continue making us feel giddy, happy, goofy, and free no matter how it ended or where it led. 

Now you're heard mine, so tell me, when were your "fountain days?"

We all have those classic shots that capture travel memories without having to say one word. 

 Each Saturday morning, Sharon (from State by State Travel) and I post photos that express emotion, tell a story or make you wish you could be there.   Be sure to also stop by State by State Travel and see what travel memories she is sharing today!

Do you want to hop into the picture and join in the fun? 

What's your favorite travel memory photo? We'd love to see! 

If you would like to have your travel memory photo used, 

email it to alocalwander@gmail.com 

with a brief description of where it is or what is happening

 and we will schedule it

  for one of our weekly Travel Memories posts. 

If you are a blogger, 

you will get a free link back to your blog below the photo.