Grand Canyon Adventures!

We spent several days in Grand Canyon (on the South Rim) and it was a wonderful experience for us! We got lucky and was able to get an RV campsite at the Trailer Village inside Grand Canyon National Park. Trailer Village was super convenient because there was a shuttle stop right at the entrance of the village and it was close to the huge general store and the Yavapai Lodge which also had a cafeteria and a small restaurant. The best part of staying in Trailer Village was seeing the Elk roam freely around the campground, which I blogged about earlier. Dave got to ride his bike twice in the morning which was life-giving for him and a good exercise as well!

The first day, we spent our entire day on taking the shuttle bus from our campground to Hermit's Rest. The total bus ride takes about 40 minutes but there are 8 stops along the way where you can get off and take pictures and enjoy the scenery. It was a nice way to see the Grand Canyon from a different point of view. Plus, the girls loved riding the shuttle.

 The one thing that really made me nervous was the big openings in the railings at the edges or even no railings. Most definitely I was holding onto the girls' hands super tight till my knuckles turned white! The shuttle would come every 10 minutes so we never had to wait very long for the next shuttle. We even met a young couple who rented bikes and rode the same route, which is also a fun way to see the canyon. 

No railings behind Mae! Eek!

That's as far as Joi could go. Still made me nervous though.

Several places, there were some rocks for the girls to climb that were far enough away from the edge of the canyon and at one stop they found a pile of rocks that they made into a stage and began to sing for everyone to hear. It was a pretty precious moment to see.

We ended up at Hermit's Rest which is the last stop on the shuttle line. It had a cute little gift shop and a little place that had snacks, sandwiches, drinks, and ice cream to buy. So, we bought some ice cream sandwiches to share with the girls as a treat and checked out the gift shop. On our way back to the shuttle, we met a couple who literally live a couple blocks away from us in the same town! How funny that we would meet them in the Grand Canyon at Hermit's Rest! It was fun chatting with them while we rode the shuttle back to our starting point. 

We ended our day, playing outside in our campground, riding our scooter and bikes. But the best part of the end of the day was seeing elk roaming around our campground and watching them with our RV neighbors Butch and Ryan. Plus Pedro spent the afternoon just basking in the sun in his new camp chair. We discovered early on in the trip that he loves sitting by the campfire and just basking in the sun. So, we went to Walmart and bought him his own camp chair that has a pattern of bears on it! We ended our first day taking Pedro to see the sunset at Mather Point, which is one of the scenic points at the canyon. 

Yes, that kid camp chair is Pedro's. ;)

Look at that elk! That was one of group of 5 that was roaming around the campground!

Sunset from Mather Point

Pedro at Mather Point during sunset!

How deep and how wide!

If you haven't ever been to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, it's really breathtaking when you step out onto the cliff and look down. The canyon is so deep and so wide that there's no possible way to see everything from just one point. We spent 4 days at the Grand Canyon and at every different viewpoint, it was always "AMAZING!" (as the girls would say). The colors, the jagged rocks and
edges of the canyon, the depth of the canyon, it's all just so beautiful no matter where you look!

It just amazes me how much beauty there is in nature that literally is all around me. It just reminds me that I don't need to be at a place like the Grand Canyon to appreciate beauty in nature but I just need to slow down, look around, and notice. Yes this sounds simple but life somehow takes me for a spin and I loose my ability to step on the brake to slow down. Right? I know that I'm not the only one who feels this way at times.

One thing that I really enjoyed was the first night at the Grand Canyon, enjoying the sunset. It was the most the beautiful sunset with all the different colors in the vast immense desert sky and how it changed the look of the canyon to this mysterious looking but a different kind of beauty. The beauty of the canyon at that moment reminded me of how deep and how wide the Father's love is for us. To me, God is a mysterious Father whose love for me is something that is big and beautiful. I mean, seriously, with all my faults, sins, weakness, I find it amazing that God still loves me, "has my back", and continues to walk with me through everything and anything in life. Seriously His love is so deep and wide for me, deeper and wider than the Grand Canyon! How crazy and amazing is that?! I said it earlier in my Instagram post but I'll say it again because it's a truth that I need to be reminded of everyday. How great God is and how vast and deep His love is for me, Dave, and the girls. For He is good and He is bigger than all our biggest fears, worries, and struggles. 

New Places, New Faces

One thing that has been really interesting, fun, and out of our comfort zone is meeting new people at each place that we stop at. We have met people from Montreal (Canada), Oregon, Ontario (Canada), Bakersfield, Jacksonville (Florida), and even people who live in Campbell down the street from us! It’s been fun having conversations about where people have traveled or are traveling to and what their lives are like. It’s also been fun sharing a little bit about ourselves as well. It’s definitely been interesting to hear from the older folks and what they share with us, it’s like they’re imparting wisdom to us. It's also fun hearing how seeing our little trailer camper brings them memories of when they started RVing with their own kids back in the days. I do feel like God has been giving us affirmation throughout this trip through the people we have met. One thing that has been consistent that people shared is the sentiment of “cherish this family time with your kids because they grow up fast.” There's so much truth in that because even though out here the days and weeks seem to slow down a bit, the time on our journey coming quickly to an end for now. I love being in new places and meeting new faces. 

Grand Canyon Trailer Village campsite

Elk!!

Let me just tell you that the best thing about camping in Trailer Village inside Grand Canyon National Park is not just easy accessibility to all things located in the park but the ELK! Literally, the Elk walked right into our Trailer Village and just walked amongst all the RVs and ate from the grass and trees. We saw a herd of Elk (at least 5 of them) just roaming the campgrounds eating right next to RVs and cars. It was the coolest thing and everyone was just in awe. We stood for awhile with our RV next door neighbors (Butch and Ryan) looking at the Elks and taking pictures. I mean seriously, look at how close they were to us!

The girls were a little bit hesitant at first when we saw them but after about an hour, they were watching them just walk by and shouting “Look, Elk!” And yes, we ate dinner outside with the Elk close by. Coolest family memory and how grand is that to experience it at the Grand Canyon! 

Out of Africa!

On our second day in Sedona, we spent the day at a privately owned wild safari park “Out of Africa” in Cottonwood, Arizona. We decided that the kids would like a day that involved things that they would be interested in versus looking at all the nature scenery. So Dave found this awesome wild safari park which was actually was an amazing place! As I said earlier, it’s a privately owned wild life safari park but let me tell you, it was pretty cool! Not only do they have a zipline course over the park (which we did not do), but with your entrance fee, you get a safari tour where you actually get to feed a giraffe that comes directly to you! How cool is that? Then we got to see zebras and other animals up close! 

Next, we saw the tiger splash show which was pretty fun to watch with the kids. Then we went to the critter show where the kids got to touch a big snake! Overall, it was a great time together as a family making new memories at “Out of Africa”, which is another reason for coming on this journey. Being together as a family, making memories with the kids and enjoying uninterrupted family time outdoors and in new places.

Lent Season in God’s creation

Lent season has started and I found it very fitting that the Sunday before we departed from home on our journey that Pastor Brad spoke about preparing ourselves during this season of Lent. Our journey for us has just begun and we have been away from the comforts of our Silicon Valley home for a full week now. It has been hard to slow down, be in the present, be at peace, and to really soak it all in when you’ve been running at such a fast pace for so long. A lot has happened for our family to be at this point in this season of our lives. God has truly led us to where we are today.

As fun as it is for me to post pictures, blog and write little snippets about our experiences and adventures we have had so far, this journey is so much more than an experience. So, if you have a few minutes or so, I’ll be sharing with you about how our little family got here and why we are on this journey in this season of our life.

Over the past few years, Dave and I have experienced the following as a family and as individuals: loss of loved ones due to cancer or health issues, personal struggles that we individually battle with, and the stress/busyness of living in Silicon Valley. Through all of this, we have been asking ourselves why is that God has placed us in these experiences of loss/grief, personal struggles, and the busyness/stress of living in the Bay. Thus, it has been a journey for both of us in listening for God’s voice in our lives and to listen with discernment through the prayers and words of our community of family and friends. So as we are in the season of Lent, we are leaning into slowing down in order to hear God’s voice more clearly in our lives; searching for His voice for healing, restoration, and what He is leading us into. Therefore, God has led us into this journey of leaving our “day-to-day” life to be in the midst of His creation so that we may be able to center ourselves, be filled, and be more deeply rooted in our faith in God. And so, it is very fitting that during this Lent season, we are giving up our comforts of our Silicon Valley home to take up living simply as a family together in the midst of God’s creation so that we may be able to hear His voice and let Him lead us into the next season of life, whatever that may be. We are living and traveling with open hearts and open hands. Thus, we are embracing our life journey that God is leading us on. 

In Awe of Red Rocks

Look closely and you can see the moon in the background!

On Tuesday, spent the day in Sedona, AZ exploring the red rock landscapes. We first visited Red Rock State Park which had a cute little visitor center that the girls loved. It had several kid activities for them to explore. Then we went for a short 1 mile hike where the girls loved playing with the red sand on the path and you were surrounded by the views of the red rocks. There’s something about being amongst majestic red rock landscapes. It’s stunning yet you can’t believe it’s real! 

Then we headed off to Chapel of the Holy Cross, the one where you see on postcards and it’s built into the rock. Being on top of there and seeing the 360 views of the other red rock landscapes was majestic. It was very peaceful and I absolutely loved sitting inside the chapel too with Dave and the girls and saying a prayer as a family. 

Photo taken by Dave

Panoramic view at the top of Chapel of the Holy Cross

Afterwards, we went into the town of Sedona and stopped by Tlaquepaque Art and Crafts Village shopping area. Surprisingly there was a cute little toy boutique where they had some toys outside for the girls to play with. Then we headed inside and you all know how that probably went. ;) We definitely used a tip from a church friend about “let’s put that on your birthday wish/Xmas wish list” to avoid buying anything and having a meltdown/tantrum. And let me say, it totally worked! So thanks Molly for sharing that tip! 

We ended our day by coming back to the campsite and met our new RV neighbors from Jacksonville, Florida! We found out they’re also headed to Grand Canyon at the same time as us and staying at the same RV village in Grand Canyon too! I got to put my Instant Pot to work again and made some delicious Taco Soup while Dave and the girls went to the camp playground with Pedro (our dog). We ended the evening with dinner outside by the campfire and quickly realized that Pedro loves the campfire and ended up taking Mae’s camp chair to lay on in front of the fire. Needless to say, we will be heading to the closest Walmart to find a kid camp chair for him to be by the campfire. :)

A dog and his campfire. Haha!

This time as a family has been a blessing. Dave and I ask each other everyday is this what we envisioned when we set out to do this? And yes, the time to be together has been wonderful and the girls continue to say “I love being together” which warms our hearts and makes us smile. 

Hidden Valley

We spent our last day at Joshua Tree National Park doing a little 1 mile hike in Hidden Valley. It was a great hike for the kids and the scenery was beautiful. You literally hike into a small valley where you are surrounded by all different rock pile formations. You could stop along your hike to see several rock climbers and that was fun for the girls to watch. There were so many photo opportunities for all of us to take pictures of. The girls really got into the spirit of taking their own pictures with their own cameras and Joi discovered making her own videos from seeing mommy making videos on her camera/phone. It was a nice and slow day of just enjoying the park before we head out to Sedona, AZ tomorrow. Today’s weather wasn’t as nice as yesterday. It was much colder and the sky was cloudy but still very pretty. There’s something about the wide expanse of the desert sky that is so beautiful. We ended our day going to the biggest ever Walmart we’ve ever seen to pick up some groceries and some essentials we needed more of. Then we headed back to our trailer to start packing up for an early departure the next morning. It’s a 6 hour drive from Joshua Tree to Sedona, AZ! While hanging out the trailer, the high winds began to pick up and those desert winds are pretty strong! Chopstick (our trailer) was swaying and moving with the wind but don’t worry, we didn’t tip over! We did have to put away our camp chairs and our outdoor rug so that it wouldn’t blow away. Looking for a new adventure in Sedona, AZ for the new couple of days! Wish us luck for the long drive!

Amazing Rock Landscapes!

Today we spent a good part of the late morning and early afternoon at Joshua Tree National Park. This time of year, the weather was perfect with the sun and breeze. The temperature was around 75 degrees and the park wasn’t too crowded with cars and visitors. We started off at the visitor center outside of the park to get information on the best things to do with little kids as well as have the girls get their National Park Passport stamped! We highly recommend having your kids when they’re little get a National Park Passport as a memory book to collect all the stamps from the different National Parks they visit. You get a stamp with the name of the park as well as the date that you visited. Plus they have a special themed stamp that relates to the park that you’re visiting. So for Joshua Tree National Park, the girls got to put a stamp of a Joshua tree in their passports. 

Since we had a late start to the day (which I absolutely love…slow mornings), we ate an early picnic lunch at Live Oak. Best place to have a picnic amongst all the rock formations/pilings. Then we headed off to Skull Rock where the girls could do some hiking and climbing on some big rocks/boulders. Another thing I highly recommend if you’re coming with kids of any age! Skull Rock is super fun to explore and easy for the entire family to do! There’s no set trails just walk and climb! We also got some amazing pictures! What’s even better is that Dave got time to take picture and get into his photographer artsy mode, which he hasn’t had the chance to do in awhile. Spending time on Skull Rock by far was the best thing about the day.  If you follow us on Instagram, I’ve posted some pictures and a short video about our day. 

Since we have another full day here at Joshua Tree, we decided to head back to our campground to spend time just hanging out and enjoying our campsite. It was a Friday afternoon and the campground was beginning to fill up with the weekend campers. There were definitely more families and we met some more people, even some friendly French Canadians (retired grandma/grandpa) from Montreal who have been traveling since January! They were our neighbors on one side. The other side, was another retired couple from Oregon who travel 8 months out of the year to get away from the rain and cold in Oregon. Then we noticed another young Asian family on the campground too! Say What?! That was pretty exciting and we hope to run into them on the campground and introduce ourselves! Anyways, thanks for reading everyone and following us here on the blog and on Instagram @embracingourlifejourney.  I realize that sometimes I can’t update quite as often on the blog due to limited wifi but am able to update on Instagram using my cell network and decided to update on Facebook from time to time. Thanks for your patience and joining us on this journey!

Our last Joshua Tree sunset

Hello Santa Barbara!

              

We had a great day on the coast of Santa Barbara! It was a slow start to the day and that was a great feeling. Dave got to ride his bike around the campground while the girls and I slowly got ready in the morning. We then headed down to Stearns Wharf to eat some yummy seafood at Santa Barbara Shellfish Company on the Wharf . Then we headed to Santa Barbara Sea Center that was located on the Wharf. It was wonderful weather with the sun shining and a warm 78 degrees! The girls loved the Sea Center because they could touch all the sea life and there was a cool black light jellyfish exhibit. Their favorite part was the Marine Puppet Theater where they got to play with puppets and make their own puppet show. It was the cutest thing watching the girls do imaginary play.

Afterwards we decided to run a few errands of grocery shopping, going to the bank, and going to the hardware store (yes things do need to be fixed in the trailer already). Life for the next month is going to be an adventure of seeing different places but we also have daily things to take care such as groceries and laundry. In the afternoon we explored our campground Cachuma Lake Recreation Area and found one of the playgrounds for the girls to play on. We took a walk from our campsite to the playground since it was such nice weather! Plus an added bonus was Pedro got a nice long walk! What's been so great so far is meeting new people! We met a young family from Ventura who had a little girl the same age as Mae! It was fun chatting with them a bit and watching the girls play a little.

One thing that I really enjoyed from today as I reflect on the day is the beauty of slowing down. Not having to rush anywhere or do anything on a "to do list" has been nice. Slowing down has been helping me see the simple beauty of the littlest things such as the nice weather, our kids' puppet shows, the beautiful nature around us, and the simple beauty of the sunsets. The question is... how can I be intentional about slowing down when we return back home