Life On the Road Update Week 2

I can’t believe two weeks have gone by! We must be getting used to life on the road. Yesterday was actually the official two week mark but I didn’t have time to write. We are currently residing in Panguitch, Utah. It is about 25 minutes away from Bryce Canyon. When I looked to make reservations, everything closer was fully booked (though funnily enough, they all have vacancy signs when I drive by). The drive in has not bugged us at all and there are more services (grocery store, etc) than right next to the National Park.

We were in Yellowstone for our last update. Since then, we’ve visited Idaho Falls, ID, Pocatello, ID, Salt Lake City, UT and Panguitch, UT. We have kept our driving under 5 hours at a stretch for the most part (sometimes it is way less). Along the way we’ve visited Craters of the Moon National Monument, Dixie National Forest, Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Kodachrome Basin, a candy factory and the Mormon Temple Square. Phew! We also took some time off to just veg and to do laundry (because that never ends no matter where you are).

Oh and we now have a pet snail called Gumboot because of COURSE we do. Thankfully he doesn’t take up much room though he does kind of smell.

Evan and I are getting more in the swing of things. I’m getting a bit of work even though I am on the road (yay!) and he is learning that putting off his school work makes us both angry. I don’t back down and he is slowly figuring that out. He’s been journalling every day and we finally got another blog post up on his homeschooling blog (read about our visit to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana…you know you want to!). Today we sat down and did two chapters in his math book too. He totally knows how to do everything, he’s just a bit rusty and likes to tell me no.

Yesterday, we had a HUGE day hiking at Bryce Canyon. I had a few minutes of “OH MY GOD WHAT ARE WE DOING?” The trail wasn’t even that bad but there was a drop off on the side. I could just see Evan or I tripping and plunging off the edge. Thankfully, I was able to tell my anxiety to simmer down and finish the hike. We hiked almost 3 miles and at one end there were 27 switchbacks that you had to go up to get back to the top of the canyon. Evan and I had a blast and we are definitely planning on hiking more (in fact, we went hiking again today).

Day after tomorrow, Dewey will be joining us for almost a week. He’s been in Minneapolis for Emerson Exchange. It was a hard event to miss because I usually go with him (and went as an employee before that). One of my best friends from when I was in Austin is there this year too and I haven’t seen her in YEARS. So, I am having a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) especailly tonight as his band,When Pigs Fly, is playing a big event for the conference. Oh well, I guess you have to give up things to do cool things, right?

Once Dewey is here, we are heading to Zion National Park for more hiking and canyon adventures. I can’t wait to see him but Evan and I are both wondering how this will work. Our trailer is barely big enough for Evan, Cooper and I so we’re not sure where Dewey is going to fit. I guess we will figure it out! We may have to put all our stuff in the car so we’ll have enough people room.

Overall, everything is going great (though our water hose did freeze last night…eep!). Evan and I are both healthy and happy and enjoying ourselves (unless you catch Evan when he is tired or trying to avoid school work). We’ve met the nicest people every where we’ve been. The mass shooting in Vegas definitely threw me for a loop and left me wondering if I made a mistake coming here. I am saddened and angry by what happened but I am not currently compelled to decide to come home. However, I am taking our safety very seriously and will continue to make decisions as we go along.

Well, there ya go. Our update for the last week. Have you got questions about our life on the road? I am a *mostly* open book. Ask away in the comments! Also, make sure you are following our FB page for lots of pictures of our adventures and check out our previous posts about our RV adventure here.