Travel Planning This Month
Gosh, I feel like all I’ve done this month is plan travel, and I mean that in the very best way! I’ve really started to plan out my “wanderlist” for our upcoming trip to Big Bend in March. I’ve found a few cool hikes I’ve never done and some favorites to show Matt for his first visit. My mom has graciously offered to watch the kids one morning so we can do a difficult trail together that is at the top of my list.
I’ve started booking up a ton of camping weekends for the spring, summer and fall. I have to wait on a couple until booking opens up (I’m looking at you Palo Duro Canyon), but I’ve gotten a few new campgrounds in Arkansas booked (Petit Jean State Park, Hot Springs National Park and Eureka Springs) and we’ve booked a campsite in the Wisconsin Dells this fall too! We’re really trying to expand where we camp in 2024. I’ve basically been glued to Google Maps for the entire month of January.
I also, have been doing this thing for the last 6 months or so that I’ve told a handful of people about that they’ve been interested in, so I thought I’d share it with you guys too. I started building itineraries for trips I want to take and saving them as word documents in a folder on my computer. I have basic things like broad destination, for example, the Black Hills region of South Dakota. So for that trip I’ve found what towns, sites and hiking destinations I’d like to visit. I do some trail research, coffee shop and breweries to visit and what campground we should stay at. It’s a lot of fun, keeps me inspired and if we end up getting a long weekend free, we have a handful of planned trips to choose from.
Travel This Month
January is typically pretty slow for us. It’s so cold in the Ozarks and we often get ice instead of snow – we had one mini-ice storm this month, so it’s not the most fun to get out, especially with little ones. But I did make my way down to Arkansas mid-month for my third tattoo session on my nature-inspired sleeve. I always love these sessions because it’s something I do just for me, and I love the road trip aspect driving down to Arkansas. I just finished binging the “Out Alive” podcast and I was able to listen to 10 or so of them on the way down and I got a delicious sandwich from a local shop.
Travel Laughs and Mishaps This Month
As we haven’t really had any travel, we haven’t had any travel mishaps in 2024… yet. We all know they’re bound to happen!
Blog Posts from January
Looking Ahead to My Life in 2024 – This was a little resolution post to set intentions for the year.
New Trails We Hiked in 2023 – This was a fun little recap for 2023. We did a good amount of new hiking trails, and I loved seeing them in one location.
How We Spent 4 Days in Yosemite National Park – I’m finally getting around to the travel posts about Yosemite. It’s one of my favorite destinations and it’s been hard to write about because then it’s like shutting the door on our adventure.
Sentinel Dome Trail in Yosemite National Park, California – This is such a special hike that we did in Yosemite, and the best sunset I saw all year.
How to Not Be An Asshole on Hiking Trails – This is a little tongue-in-cheek and sassy post about, well, how not to be an asshole on hiking trails.
Most Popular Instagram Post and Reel from This Month
People love Yosemite. And I can’t blame them, I do too! Both our most popular post and reel are from our trip there last fall.
Best Thing I Ate in January
We spent the vast majority of the month trying to eat in as much as possible, and I’m very happy to report that we made some really delicious meals at home. I made the best batch of chili I’ve ever made and Alaina made creamy chicken chili for an NFL watch party at our house and it was amazing! So clearly, I’m just really into chilis this month. BUT, the best thing I ate was also my favorite local find, which is the next category.
Favorite Local Find
I have been dying to eat from an amazing Puerto Rican food truck, El Maseton Lechonera. Guys, the food was amazing! I had a daily plate with seasoned rice, roasted pork that was so tender it melted in my mouth and delicious tostones – fried plantains tossed with garlic dressing. Everything I ate was incredible and look at that presentation!
Favorite Local Adventure
We’ve gotten the annual membership to Wonders of Wildlife for a couple of years now, and it never gets old. We are so lucky to live 20 minutes from the best aquarium in the nation, according to . The kids love the penguins and we all love all the animals and the historic natural and national park dioramas. It’s a place that we all genuinely love to visit. We went twice this month and it’s just so fun.
A Request for Help from You, My Dear Readers
I’ll be publishing an entire blog post on this topic next month, but it came to my attention mid-month, that a large development company has purchased a large chunk of land along Kane Creek Road in my beloved Moab, Utah. This property sits at the edge of the Colorado River and building it has already torn down cottonwood trees and other vegetation, scraped dirt from the top of ancient mesas to build up the land that would be a floodplain without them building up 10 feet of dirt, many of these luxury rentals are meant to be short-term rentals, only making the issue of housing in Moab worse, along many other environmental, archaeological and infrastructure, issues. The county meeting in January had an incredible turnout with locals lining the halls. People, including me, watched and spoke via zoom. Every single person except the one person who spoke on behalf of the development is in opposition of this construction. But IT’S NOT TO LATE. Although, moving the dirt and tearing down the trees has already started, we can maybe still make a difference. I urger you, as a lover of nature, of desertscapes, of our planet and especially if you’re a lover of Moab, please, please, please sign this petition and learn more info from the KANE CREEK WATCH website.
Life Updates in January
We’ve been doing some home updates. We switched out some light fixtures, all our kitchen hardware, added a buffet to our kitchen and have been completely revamping our office/craft room/music room. It has been fun, rewarding and super inspiring to have a space that is just mine to be creative.
I’ve been working more at the brewery this year. I’ve come up with some new events for it as well, which have been super fun! My favorite, though, is a Bullet Journal Club. I’ve been leading a bullet journal class each month that also has an added bonus self-care aspect to each and it has been amazing. I find so much fulfillment in it for myself as well!
What’s Coming in February
Our sweet little Charleigh Jo will turn 3 in February and we’re really excited to celebrate that with her. Plus, we’re having the party at our house, so it’s a great excuse to finally have our basement in the shape we’d like it to be in.
Travel-wise, it’s our last calm month before we start hitting the ground running… well, hiking and exploring. I do have a tattoo session booked again down in Arkansas next month, one of my besties and I are going to Tulsa for a concert and I’m hoping to have a couple of day trips that we can get away either as a family, or with some friends.
I hope you all had an amazing kickoff to January and I hope nothing but positive things, health and adventure in the coming month! Don’t forget, it’s a Leap Year, so you get an extra day – I hope you’re able to do something fun with it!
1 Comment
Theron Heller
February 13, 2024 at 11:46 amI’m constantly amazed by the depth of your knowledge on these subjects.