Road Trippin’

Everybody, meet Bessie!

~ modernbygone ~ Leave a comment

truck and trailer.jpeg

This last weekend, my family picked up our very first travel trailer.  I’m so excited!!  I named her Bessie.  We have been tent camping for the last thirteen years.  I love it, but I’m so done with sleeping on the ground and hoping the campground bathroom isn’t gross.  Also, the hubby would prefer to camp in undeveloped areas, which means no bathrooms at all.  Not my favorite thing.

Our goal with the travel trailer is to have everything ready and packed.  So that on Friday, after a long week at work, we can grab some food, grab the dogs, and head to the woods for some rest and a recharge.  We are spending the week getting her all packed and set up.  Friday we will be taking her out to camp for the very first time.  The weather is still all rainy and nasty here in the northwest, but I don’t care.  Woods here we come!

 

Follow our adventures on Instagram with the hashtag #inamedherbessie

Vacation Dreaming

~ modernbygone ~ Leave a comment

img_2627Today was a rainy nasty day in the Pacific Northwest. Days like today have me dreaming of our annual trip to Arizona. There is nothing like the sunset in the desert.  The wide expanse of sky with the mountains in the distance.  The temperature drops to reasonable and it is so peaceful.

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Also, I bought my very first pair of LuLaRu leggings. Every thing you have heard about how soft they are is true. I want 473 pairs. Seriously. I may live in nothing but these leggings for the rest of the weekend.

Summer Means Camping And Road Trips

~ modernbygone ~ Leave a comment

For my family, summer means camping and road trips.  There is nothing like taking all six members of my family and enough stuff to supply a small country, out on the road.  We pack the Suburban right up to the gills and head out on the open road to find adventure.

Packing up

We usually try to do at least one longer distance road trip as a family each year.  This year, we managed two!  Our first trip we went down to Arizona to visit family.  On our way back we stopped off in the California Redwoods.  Jedediah Smith park was lovely.  I especially enjoyed relaxing next to the river.  I’m sure we made quite the spectacle trying to air up our failing air mattress in the bathroom.
Redwoods

Our second road trip was Yellowstone National Park.  This is our third time camping in Yellowstone.  Each time we see new things.  This time was especially nice because we took a friend who was once an employee in the park.  He had lots of wonderful suggestions for spots to see.  I would love to stay and camp for an extended time someday.

Yellowstone National Park

We also did a few local camping weekends this summer.  I would love to be able to get out and explore more of our local parks.  Rainbow Falls state park, Cape Disappointment, and Bruceport county park were all fantastic.

Rainbow Falls has a beautiful river to walk along.  There were some areas that you could get down into the water.  We chose a poor weekend to camp though.  It seems a local farmer has been throwing an epic party for their local graduation weekend for the last few years.  The music and partying went on all night long and we could hear them clearly even with ear plugs.  I would like to try again another weekend to see if it is quieter.

Rainbow Falls

Bruceport offers stunning views of the bay.  I really enjoyed both the sunrise and sunset over the water.  The camp spot we had was nice and big.  Plenty enough room for all of our tents and people.  I really enjoyed drinking my coffee with the cool bay breeze in the morning.

July 14, 2016 Camping at Bruceport

Cape Disappointment was a wonderful beach camping area.  Plenty of rocks to climb for the boys, and a beach to walk in the evening for me.  It was nice and quiet, just the way I like it.Cape Disappointment Sunset

I’ll be back to give more details on all of our camping trips this summer with links, photos, and lots of great stories of camping and road tripping with three teenagers.

Camping Dinner Redwoods