March was a whirlwind. This is the month that has felt jam-packed to the point of dragging along because I’m just waiting for the next thing on the to do list and flying by because of the fun we packed into it too! It was a month of stress, but also beauty; a month of growth and sitting with a lot of feelings. Through it all, though, recognizing the beauty awakening all around me as we welcomed spring – my favorite season!
Travel Planning This Month
My dad and I got everything booked for our New Mexico Trip and our route actually mapped out. We opted to cut Gila National Forest out this trip because of time, but it’s still on my list for my next trip to New Mexico and we’ll still be hitting up Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains, and White Sands National Parks, all of which are parks that neither of us have ever visited, so I’m so excited about that!
I also have lined up a quick little overnight trip with my mama to Memphis next month that I’m pretty excited about! It’s going to cross something off my list of travel goals for this year too and my mom will get to see something she’s been wanting to see too!
The biggest thing that I’ve planned, though, is my father/daughter hiking trip with my dad in 2026. We’re going to PATAGONIA! Yeah, you read that right! We’re crossing something pretty major off of our bucket lists and my dad will be leaving the continent for the first time ever and I’ll be visiting a new country for the first time since 2019. We’re going on a TrovaTrip tour hosted by a female traveler I’ve been following for a long time now, Wanderful Em. I’m excited to have the planning taken care of, but am nervous about doing a group thing again after a decade plus of independent travel. But I have a lot of confidence that it’s going to go beautifully!
Travel This Month
We started off this month on the road. We were on a camping trip to Ponca. It wasn’t exactly what we had planned, but it was still really wonderful. We tried to go to Richland Falls – but it was too big of a river crossing. Instead, we went to Falling Water Falls, Seven Finger Falls, and then hiked to Magnolia Falls – a favorite of mine.
We spent my birthday weekend in Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas. Matt took a vacation day so that we could do a nice, long weekend. We hiked to Cedar Falls, the Seven Hollows Trail, spent time around around campground and had just had quality time together. It was really nice.
On a random weekday, I had the joy of taking a day trip with one of my favorite people, Shea! And it wasn’t just any old day trip, I had the privilege of taking Shea on her very first hike! We went down to Arkansas and did the Big Bluff trail, which is my favorite hike in the Ozarks. She killed it and was so open to doing a strenuous 6.5 mile hike for her first hike ever and she says she’s a fan. Yay for women getting outside!
We had a weekend in Ponca that was a bit of a whomp whomp. It had a few really beautiful moments, but overall was kinda disappointing. The first night, Matt and I wanted to do different things, so we divided and conquered Matt drove to a dirt road, I went for a hike. CJ asked if she could hike with me, which was an of course from me. So, we did the simple sunset hike across from our RV Park and it was so much fun! We looked at nature items in her bug-noculars, played and watched the sun set below the horizon. It was really beautiful. We went to the tulip festival at Rivercrest Orchard. It was a really cool little festival with tons of kid-friendly activities. We played on playground equipment, jumped on those big jump things at festivals, went mining for crystals, and blew giant bubbles. The tulips were beautiful but weren’t all in bloom yet. The kids were not having it, though. Liam in general and CJ when it came to the tulips, so it wasn’t as incredible as I had expected as far as the blooms go. We went to Fossil Cove for pizza and beer, and that’s where the day went really downhill. Matt started to feel sick and we drove back to Ponca where he was in bed from 2pm on. It sucks, but sometimes we get sick on the road. And at least the whole trip wasn’t a bust.
Make that two whomp, whomp weekends. We went back down to Ponca with some fun new trails to tackle and this time I had the stomach bug. The added major bust of it was that Alaina and Hashmat recently also bought a camper and we were all camping together and I was in bed all day Saturday. It was brutal. We did start one trail and I loved seeing all the brightly colored spring things popping out before having to turn back due to the stomach bug. I managed to do the sunset hike at the campground, but it was just brutal.
Travel Laughs and Mistakes This Month
On Shea’s day hike trip, we were initially going to do the Hawksbill Crag trail but we got to the base of the dirt road that leads to the trailhead, it was closed! Apparently, they’re going to pave it! I think it’ll be nice, but I will miss the dirt road – it feels like so many of them are disappearing around the Ozarks and they always feel like an added bit of adventure. I finally saw it the last weekend I was in town down there and it’s even worse than I pictured. They cleared out so many trees to widen the road before paving it.
Blog Posts from March
February 2025: A Monthly Roundup – This is a roundup, just like this one, of everything we got into in February. Check it out!
Are We There Yet? 9 Screen-Free Things to Entertain Toddlers on Road Trips – This is a simple guide to the way we avoid screens on road trips, entertain our kids and have the best chance at happy road trips. Our kids have been traveling 1/3 of their little lives, so we have a lot of experience at this.
35 Travel Goals for Turning 35 – I am a big fan of goals. I find them very motivating, I love checking things off my lists. These are big and little adventures that I want to accomplish while I’m 35.
Things to Know Before Visiting the US National Parks – I’ve been doing posts on the things you need to know about individual, specific national parks across the US, but I decided to do a post that would apply to visiting national parks in general.
Things to Know Before Visiting Gateway Arch National Park – Speaking of the posts about things to know in individual national parks, these are the things to know before visiting Gateway Arch National Park.
Local Adventures in March
We went to the zoo with my parents, which was so much fun! They were the ultimate grandparents getting them all the little experiences the kids wanted – it was really sweet. I also hit up a lot of the greenways in the area this month. A lot of my greenway walks were just sporadic, but I consistently went. I’m looking to carve out a bit more time for that as the sunrise comes earlier and the kids are out of school in the summer.
4 By 4 Women’s Hiking Club
This month, I started the 4 By 4 Women’s Hiking Club in collaboration with the brewery (4 By 4) that I work for. I have a passion for getting women outside and feeling comfortable and empowered to be on hiking trails or in the outdoors in general! I had quite a bit of interest, and was even interviewed as part of an article about groups of women in the outdoors for a local newspaper. Our first meetup brought 89 badass women together to get outside and hike! I am so moved by how many people showed up and I can’t wait to hit up more trails and to hike longer and foster a community of women who love the outdoors. This is going to be a monthly meetup and I’m beyond thrilled that I have the opportunity to do so.
What I Read in March
Why We Need to Be Wild: One Woman’s Quest for Ancient Human Answers to 21st Century Questions – I am still working my way through this book. I’m really enjoying it, but life has gotten so crazy that my time and focus to read a physical book is pretty non-existent. In April, I want to focus more on this. Even if it’s just taking 15 minutes after drop-off to sit in the park and read. Just take that time for me.
Earth Worship: A Woman’s Philosophical & Spiritual Connection to Our Wild World – I picked up this book because the sections were a little shorter and I thought it would be a quicker read. I am no more focused or have the time for this one than any other book. Haha. I am liking this one a lot, though, and am looking forward to diving in a little deeper on it.
On audiobook I’ve made my way through a handful of books. I read Babel by RF Kuang. I really ended up enjoying it. It was a little slow initially, but it definitely picked up and got really good. Since that, I’ve dived back into an old favorite and have be re-listening to Harry Potter. I typically do this once a year, usually in the fall, but I didn’t listen to it last fall and just wanted something I truly love and can fill all the blanks in on if I get a liiiiittle too distracted while cleaning or driving. I’m already on book 4, so I imagine I’ll be finished with these by mid-April.
Quote of the Month
“Don’t wait for the next day, the next life, the next healed version of yourself. If it’s worth thinking, seeing, loving – do it now, with all your imperfect edges. If it’s worth feeling, feel it all the way. Don’t hold back for some polished future self. Keep showing up, flawed, beautiful 0 let this moment take you as you are.”
Most Popular Post in March
Best Hikes in Northwest Arkansas – I love that this is my most popular post this month! I love the Ozarks and I love that more people are experiencing the wonder of the natural beauty in the region. Plus, I recently updated this post to include whether or not I would consider the hikes I listed as kid-friendly, which is a fun addition.
Home and Life Updates in March
I have had an unbelievably busy month! I have gone back to work a lot more, which is so bittersweet. I love my job (I beertend, run specific events, and am on the marketing team at a brewery in town), so it’s nice being able to dive back into that. I have really great co-workers and it scratches the social itch I often crave. But I miss my kids like crazy! I have to miss a lot of bedtimes and that’s really hard on me. So, I’m striving to find a better balance where I get more time with them. It’s definitely a learning curve, though.
I turned 35 this month and it feels really good. I have a confidence going into 35 about who I am, what I’m working toward, and more. It’s a really nice feeling, honestly. I know myself better than I ever have. I am prioritizing myself in a healthy way better than I ever have.
The kids had spring break and we tried to do a special activity at least once a day. We visited grandparents, had picnics with friends and Charleigh did her first multi-mile bike ride of 3.14 miles! So proud! We wore out pjs all day long and just enjoyed the time together – even if it took getting used to for a minute. Haha.
The earth is coming back to life for the season. I am so thankful for that. We have so many flowers that have already bloomed and even more that are about to bloom. I’m looking forward to doing more yard work this year and enjoying our outdoor space more and more. We have even had friends over for a picnic already! I love that we’re able to do that!
What’s Coming in April?
We have a pretty busy April as far as the weekends go! We’re going to a campground we’ve never been to before in Arkansas, I have Stacey’s Bachelorette Party – woohoo!, we’re going to Fayetteville for a weekend, and then a story-telling competition in Kansas that Matt has family ties to. We’ve got a lot of fun and unique travel coming this month! Plus, I have that super quick trip to Memphis with my mama that I mentioned above and I snagged a tattoo session in Arkansas next month that I’m pretty stoked about. I wasn’t in a huge rush to finish out this sleeve, but I am really excited that I’ll have a bit more of it filled in for Stacey’s wedding in May. It’ll look even better for wedding pics, I think.
At home, we don’t have anything crazy in the books. But I always look forward to celebrating Easter with my family. We’ve got a lot of little kids in the family and this is going to finally be the year that both of my kids are actually super into it – so I can’t wait for that!
I hope that everyone has a beautiful month of April. That you receive all the amazing reawakening energy that only spring can bring. I’d love to hear the best part of your March!
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