Trip Planning This Month
We started planning in a bit more detail some of our upcoming camping trips. We haven’t booked anything new, though. I have been daydreaming about some trips next year, including something solo for me next year. Time will tell.
Travel in April
We took our first trip of the month to Doniphan, Missouri to see the total eclipse along the Current River in Mark Twain National Forest. I will never miss totality in the US. I will drive wherever to experience it. We had a group of 25 of us. We spent the majority of the day along the river. We had a picnic, made tinfoil hats – just for laughs, skipped rocks on the river and marveled in the wonder of our universe as day slipped into night for 4 minutes at 1:55pm and then slipped back into daylight. It was totally worth it.
We had another beautiful weekend in Ponca, Arkansas. We attempted a new trail on night one this time, but we didn’t get to do the whole thing because there were a lot of downed trees and it just didn’t seem like a great idea to do it with the toddlers. Saturday, Alaina and Hashmat came down to spend the day with us. It was so great to get to show them some of our favorite spots: Hawksbill Crag, Ozark Cafe and Twin/Triple Falls. They went home after that, we let the kids nap/relax and then after dinner, we all went out to do the little sunset trail across the street from our campground. We were rewarded with a pretty spectacular view.
We took a weekend trip up to hike in Illinois. We went for one particular state park, but ended up spontaneously going to two other places that were so much cooler than where we initially planned to go! First was the amazing Lincoln Memorial Gardens in Springfield, IL. It was so charming and beautiful. We went to Illinois with the intention of spending our time in Starved Rock State Park. Truthfully, Matt wasn’t feeling well, so from the get-go it wasn’t the trip I hoped and wanted because he didn’t feel well, but then we were pretty disappointed in Starved Rock. To give it credit, we didn’t do any of the canyon trails, but the hikes we did were pretty… meh. We decided to give Matthiessen State Park a go on the second day and wowza! This park is incredible. We did the Upper Dells Trail and what a little adventure! We had to do multiple stream crossings, saw 4 waterfalls and walked through the dells. We fell in love with this park. I’d really like to go back there someday and do more! We left a day early because Matt wasn’t feeling well, and his eye started oozing on the way home, but it was still overall such a good trip.
We went to Petit Jean State Park… for 14 hours. We got our new camper the day we were leaving, so we had to remove everything from the old camper and put it in the new on. So we didn’t leave until 2.5 hours after we had planned. So, we got to our campsite Petit Jean a little after midnight. Shortly after that, we realized that Liam had pink eye! What the heck!? So, the next morning, we slept in and had a cozy morning in our brand new camper. I went to a coffee shop just outside of the state park boundary, we did the Rock House Cave Trail real quick and then went back and hitched up and headed home. We left early because Liam just didn’t feel well and the weather was looking rough. Potential for tornadoes and everything. So it just seemed like the right move to go ahead and come home.
Travel Laughs and Mishaps This Month
Our whole first day in Doniphan was kinda a travel mishap. I woke up the morning we were leaving with an insane case of pink eye. So, I had to go to Urgent Care to get eyedrops, I couldn’t wear my contacts which meant no sunglasses, my eye was just about swollen shut, my head hurt, my eye hurt, it was just not a good day, but I told Matt the eclipse would be worth it. Then, we got to our hotel – it was not a nice hotel, we knew that going into it, but we managed to get the only room in the hotel that wreaked of cigarette smoke. They came down and “sprayed it” but it just smelled like lysol and cigarettes. We spent as much time as possible out of the room, but sleeping there was horrid. All of us woke up all night unable to breathe from congestion coughing. I was not impressed with this place and the owners weren’t exceptionally compassionate.
Charleigh had an accident while hiking in Matthiessen State Park, Illinois. There were mere seconds between her telling us she needed to pee and the accident. Matt picked her up to find a good spot to bushwee and she just emptied her bladder and wet her pants… And Matt’s. Matt was a really good sport about it. The best part, though, was that you couldn’t see any pee on Charleigh’s black pants, but the way it hit Matt made him look like he had wet his pants. Haha. But the funniest part is when we passed a woman hiking who said hi to Charleigh and Charleigh promptly responded with, “I’m Charleigh who peed her pants.” We all had a good laugh.
Our first camping trip in the new camper, we were stopped at a gas station and I went to go inside the camper to change Liam’s diaper – it’s one of the greatest things about having a camper behind you – and when I put the stairs back up, I broke them. The ledge that is supposed to catch, slipped in and we couldn’t get the stairs back down.
Blog Posts from April
A Monthly Recap: March 2024 – This is recap just like this one, but from last month. Check out what we got into last month.
Top 10 Things to Do in Big Bend National Park – I’m finally getting around to publishing my Big Bend posts. So, I figured, the best one to start with would be our top 10 things to do there! We’ll add links to more detailed posts as they’re published as well.
The Earth Is What We Have in Common – Earth Day 2024 – My annual Earth Day post centered around sustainability goals, beautiful places on earth and my annual Earth Day cleanup.
How I’d Spend One Day in Big Bend National Park – This is exactly how I’d spend one very active day in Big Bend National Park – trails, where to stay and what to pack!
Most Popular Instagram Post and Reel from April
My most popular post and reel in April are both from experiencing the total eclipse at the beginning of the month! There’s such a magic about it and I’ll never miss it in the US so long as I can help it!
What I’m Reading in April
Harmony by Whitney Hanson: (10/10) I found Whitney Hanson on Instagram, and as soon as I heard one of her poems, I instantly bought her books. I finished this one in a week. Many of the poems are short & sweet, but they are so emotive, so moving and so worth the read.
Crescent City by Sarah J Maas: (5.5/10) This is the last of her series that I’ve started and honestly, I like it the least. I really only got super into it in the last 10 or so chapters. I’m going to continue to read it because the end of the book was really good, but definitely know it’s a super slow burn.
Into the Wilderness Series by Sara Donati: (8/10) This is a re-listen to me. I’m on the last book of this series and it’s a comfort series for me. It’s a historical fiction/romance series set from the late 1700s through the early 1800s.
Life Updates in April
We started rock climbing in April and it’s so much fun! Charleigh climbed for the first time at the beginning of the month. I also climbed that day for the first time since early college, and I have to say I’ve become obsessed. I’m trying to go at least once a week on my own and it’s been so good for me too.
We bought a new camper!!! I have a post I’m working on about that: pics of the new one and sharing in detail while a year in we decided to get a new camper. Spoiler alert, it’s bigger and better! We’re on our second camping trip with it current and madly in love with our new (and hopefully last for a decade) home away from home.
What’s Coming in May
In May we have a couple of camping weekends lined up; both in places we’ve been before but never camped before. Then I have a girls trip in Oregon with Alaina and Em! I’m really excited to see what we manage to get ourselves into. I haven’t truly visited Oregon since I was 13, so it’ll be fun to experience as an adult. Lastly, my book comes out on the 21st, and I’m so excited for that! If you’re interested in owning your own copy of my national park journal. It’s available for pre-order now; just click this link!
1 Comment
Flyway better
May 9, 2024 at 7:42 amVery beautiful photography of kids.