Amazing Wonders

Every place that we have traveled, I continue to be amazed by the grandeur and beauty that I see. Seriously, being in God’s creation is not just relaxing and brings peace to my soul but it gives me a greater sense of how majestic God is to have created all this for us to enjoy. Spending 5 days in the Lake Powell/Page area was so worth it. Let’s begin with Horseshoe Bend. 

Horseshoe Bend

It’s a short hike in and down to the cliff where you literally stand (there’s no railing whatsoever!) on the edge of the cliff that surrounds Horseshoe Bend and you look down! I mean look at how close you can get to the edge! I definitely was scared of falling over so I literally sat down and scooted myself to as close as I could without falling. There were quite a few people lying on their stomachs. Dave and I took turns walking up to the edge of the cliff so that one of us could watch girls because you know for sure I wasn’t going to let the girls run around near that cliff! Right before we left, we each held the girls and walked them to a point where they could see the Horseshoe Bend. I highly recommend coming here to see this if you’re in the area or even if you’re at Grand Canyon (it’s only a 2 hour drive from Grand Canyon to Horseshoe Bend). 

Lower Antelope Canyon

The next amazing place and number one of my list in this area is taking a tour of Lower Antelope Canyon. There’s also tours for the Upper Antelope Canyon which takes you into the canyon where most people are familiar with based on photographs you’ve seen. The Upper Antelope Canyons is definitely much more expensive like $50/person and they drive you in from the town of Page. Dave and I of course wanted a less expensive experience and found out about the Lower Antelope Canyon tour which was only $25/person! It’s a steeper climb down into the canyon but just as beautiful! It’s a 1.5 hour tour where a guide walks you through the canyon pointing out different features of the canyon that look like certain images, like a dragon, or an animal, etc. I highly recommend taking Ken’s Tour of the lower antelope canyon. We definitely want to come back when the girls are old enough to make the steep climb down the stairs into the canyon. Dave and I did this tour separately so that one of us was watching the girls while the other one enjoyed their time in the canyon. Seriously, I was in awe the entire time in the canyon. AMAZING!

Monument Valley

Second favorite place in this area, well 2 hours away from the town of Page is Monument Valley.  We didn’t plan on going here at all because it seemed out of the way but thanks to David’s spontaneity, we decided at 3pm in the afternoon to make the drive out to Monument Valley. Best spontaneous decision of the trip. If you don’t know about Monument Valley, think about the old John Wayne western movies; that scenery in the background is Monument Valley. We were lucky enough to get there in time to drive the off-roading loop in the valley. We had a grand time off-roading with our trusty Odyssey, well mostly, I had a great time driving the dusty dirt roads. Here’s a little video clip of us off-roading in the valley. The most amazing scenery was watching the sunset set across Monument Valley. The colors were so beautiful and it was breathtaking. 

Carl Hayden Visitor Center and Glen Canyon Dam

If you’re ever in the Page area, I would recommend stopping by the Carl Hayden Visitor Center and take a tour of the Glen Canyon Dam. The visitor center was a fun place also for the kids to explore  but the tour itself was also pretty neat. We were able to go inside the Dam and hear about the history and purpose of the Dam. 

Grand Canyon Adventure Day 2

It's been awhile since I've blogged because I'm backlogged in blogging! Sorry about that guys! It's been hard to blog on the spot because of the lack of wifi at the places we are at. If you would like to see more updates real-time, you can follow us on Instagram @embracingourlifejourney.

Our second day at the grand canyon started off to a slow start which was totally fine by me. If you can’t tell by now through my blog, I love slow mornings. We decided by the recommendation of our RV neighbor Butch to eat an early lunch at the El Tovar restaurant at the nicest lodge in Grand Canyon. So, we went for an early lunch which was a great tip from Butch because we got seated right away and it was crowded at all! It was a nice break from eating in the trailer or even at just regular restaurants because El Tovar was a pretty fancy restaurant that was decorated like an old lodge. We ordered ourselves some yummy food and then we went on our way to Desert View Watch Tower which was about 30-40minutes drive. 

Desert View Watch Tower is a great stop at the Grand Canyon National Park because it gives you a different perspective of the canyon and you get see how the canyon slowly changes into the desert view, hence the name “Desert View Watch Tower”. We told the girls we were going to see a castle because the watch tower kinda looks like a castle. They loved climbing up the stairs to the very top of the tower which was pretty cool. I really loved the little porthole windows at each level of the tower.

The biggest surprise and find of the day was this verse that was placed against one of the rock walls on one of the outside levels of the watch tower. 

 On the drive back to Trailer Village, of course we run into some Elk just walking down the road! Check out this video! This Elk literally walked right beside our van and then in front of it! Can you tell I’m still jazzed that we saw Elk so close! I’ve literally blogged about 3 times I think.  We ended the day with enjoying our last Grand Canyon 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. 

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