I also have another series of posts filled with advice for cross-country camping trips that was supposed to be completed before we departed. So on the one hand I was obviously unsuccessful in getting those out but I guess the upside is that I’ll have even more experience to share with you given the educational experience this trip has been so far. It has been unlike any other road trip I’ve ever taken, I can tell you that with extreme certainty.

The point being that I have a lot of things I should be finishing up for you but I can’t help but throw in this little update considering the events of this trip and the incredulous mood it has put me in.

Oh my poor, poor Blubaru…

Four weeks in…

So today marks the end of four weeks on the road. From a statistical picture our journey looks like this…

• Miles: 7,600
• U.S. States: 20
• Canadian Provinces: 4
• Time Zones Changes: 8
• Days: 28
• Oil Changes: 2
• Border Crossings: 8
• Geocaches: only 29

Amazing things…

I’ve seen and experienced amazing things that are the reason I do this…

• The friendships of fellow bloggers at Overland Expo & the beauty of Mormon Lake, Arizona
• The surprise of Lake Havasu National Wildlife Refuge
• Feeling at home at Great Sand Dunes, Colorado
• Reflecting on history and purpose at the Women’s Rights National Historic Park, Seneca Falls NY
• Going out of my comfort zone in Toronto & the education of TBEX
• Enjoying the impression Niagara Falls made upon Fred and George
• Feeling like a kid again at The Museum of Play in Rochester, NY
• Awakening the latent geologist in me at Franconia Notch State Park, NH
• Falling in love with Fundy National Park, New Brunswick, Canada
• Moments of great connection with my little guys everywhere along the way
• The joy of watching my boys be amazed by these remarkable places and embracing the adventure of travel.
• Allowing myself the same amazement and education that comes with travel and exploration.

Hop on over to my Overland Expo to TBEX Flickr set for images of the journey so far…

Camping with my boys is always an adventure!

The cost…

Unlike the minor hiccups of previous journeys, this one has been marked by fairly major ones. Nothing life-threatening or trip-ending mind you, but we’ve hit bump after bump after bump that have had extremely high hassle-factors and/or monetary costs.

• Tent failure: Had to ship our FD6 back to Big Agnes for significant repairs. That in and of itself is no cheap undertaking… she weighs in excess of 15 pounds. Of course, that means we were without a tent so I not only shelled out for a new one but had to detour to two different REI stores to get all the pieces.
• Fred’s sandals: Out of the blue Fred’s sandals broke. They’re not terribly old but they were decidedly unrepairable. Cue wild goose chase for correct size and style to meet Fred’s needs.
• The untimely demise of my iPhone: This is probably an entire blog post in and of itself, particularly since it was a result of my own bad decisions but again, it’s in draft. The result of this mistake required me to detour fairly widely to southern Maine i.e. the nearest Apple store.
• Food poisoning: Some locals recommended the fried clams at a local dive in New Brunswick. Generally the advice of locals is a great thing to have when you like to get off the beaten path. Did not pay off this time… Have you ever been camping and that sick? Not fun.
• Tropical Storm Andrea: I think we’ve seen all of two days of sun since leaving Toronto. Besides having heinous timing and reaching the New England coast just and the remnants of Tropical Storm Andrea were drenching the area. And even after that has run its course, it seems we’ve hit here at monsoon season?!? As we re-entered the U.S. today, even the border guard laughed at our timing.
• Cracked windshield: Courtesy of a passing semi as we entered Fundy National Park. Required deductible payment as well as yet-another detour.
• The icing on the hiccup cake: While detoured for the windshield matter, I opted to get Blubaru her next oil change… I’m efficient that way. Except she carries quite a load as we tool about the country. (As you can see from this month’s header image, she rides unusually low in the rear when we’re fully packed.) The result? New rear ball-joints…

There simply nothing better than sharing the world with my boys. (And yes, he carries that Atlas just about everywhere.)

The upside…

I’m not a fan of warranties for smaller items but in the case of my automobiles and electronics, I typically shell out for them. It has paid off tremendously on the trip. They didn’t remove the hassle-factor of course but the savings on the replacement iPhone and Blubaru repair were significant. I will say that the folks of REI, Apple, and Subaru have all been extremely helpful throughout and I would be sorely remiss in not giving them a shout-out for taking the sting out of the unpleasant…

These hiccups have indeed colored this trip quite differently than I would have imagined. The overriding theme seems to be damage control instead of exploration. Admittedly I’m feeling a bit fatigued as I sit here at the Subaru dealer awaiting repairs and facing more tomorrow (the additional repairs to the ball joints forced me to postpone the windshield until morning… resulting in an unexpected hotel stay. Cha-ching!). Hopefully a good night’s sleep will remedy my fatigue though. Thus far I would say it has still been worth it. If much more goes wrong I’m not sure I’ll still feel the same way but let’s just see how it goes shall we?

…And no, I’m not going to add all of this up until I get back because I don’t want to make myself cry in my cornflakes.

And now for your moment of green…

What do you think… if you were in my shoes, would the discovery of this amazing place make it all worthwhile?

The post Overland Expo to TBEX: Of hiccups and detours… appeared first on Val in Real Life.

But it seems our journey is going to be dictated by circumstances for a bit and “getting out the map” has changed meaning for us. Instead of viewing the map as a treasure trove of possibilities, we’re returning to the old-fashioned map as our means of navigation. A mishap yesterday in Franconia Notch State Park (NH) has resulted in the untimely death of my iPhone and thus, my GPS. So we’re going old-school to plot our detour to the nearest Apple store. Mind you, we’ve already had significant detours due to our tent fiasco, so this is hardly the first hiccup of the trip.

This particular detour is taking us to southern Maine and means we’ll be dropping a couple of more northerly Maine destinations off the wish list. Hopefully we’ll still be able to make it to the next place on the list, Fundy National Park in Nova Scotia but we’ll just see how things roll tomorrow. Flexibility is going to be key in keeping this journey fun.

At any rate, the title for this post comes from one of my favorite songs. We all have our favorite road music of course, and awhile back, Fred declared that the Indigo Girls “Get Out the Map” should be my theme song, especially when we’re on the road. If you’re not familiar with the song, I hope you’ll go check it out (it’s on the Shaming of the Sun album & here’s an Amazon link) and that it will inspire you to get out the map, go exploring, and weather all of the bumps life throws at you on the road.

Cheers!

Of course I’ll detail the soggy iPhone story later but for now I’m happy to have found a Dunkin Donuts with free wifi…

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This journey has been interstate heavy, much to my dislike, but I have managed to take the scenic route in some areas.

So at the end of three weeks, the Overland Expo to TBEX expedition looks like this…

Miles: 6,085
U.S. States: 18
Canadian Provinces: 1
Time Zones: 4
Days: 21
Laundry list of events:

• Spent 3 days at Overland Expo in Flagstaff with awesome blogger folks
• Put our feet into the Pacific Ocean for the first time
• Nabbed our westernmost geocache
• Reconnected with old friends in California
• Cooled our jets in the delightfully slow pace of Taos
• Returned to Great Sand Dunes


This place always feels like home.

• Drove three days from Colorado to Toronto
• Detoured through two REI stores to remedy a tent emergency
• Made it through TBEX in Toronto
• Visited Niagara Falls
• Fell in love with the Museum of Play in Rochester, NY
• Visited the Women’s Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls, NY

But all those are just stats and bullet points. More important is…

What I’ve learned so far.

• The pace thus far has made balance very hard to achieve. I’ve learned to set expectations of image processing and posting the story as we go aside so I can enjoy most of the journey in between long hard driving days. Of course, I’ll face the daunting task of playing catch up later…
• Don’t underestimate the toll that days of hard driving can take. After the haul from Atlanta to Flagstaff as well as the one from Colorado to Toronto, I was completely drained. One good night’s sleep was not enough to recuperate, diminishing the quality of my time at Overland Expo and TBEX.
• Facetime with colleagues is not only fun and awesome but essential for true connections to be forged.
• The conversations with the boys that are prompted by what we see in our travels are amazing. Those unguarded, honest moments provide great insight into their hearts and minds.
• Long-distance travel with and without the kids are completely different beasts.
• Urban travel is very taxing to me. I go into survival mode until I can get back into my tent.
• The power of visiting places in person simply cannot duplicated by reading books and watching videos. Travel is crucial to understanding the world around us and our individual place in it.
• And, as always… you absolutely have to roll with the punches. Your second-most vital piece of equipment (i.e. tent) craps out? You just have to solve the problem on the fly and keep on.

Facetime with great folks is well worth the brutal drive.

What’s Coming Up…

I have indeed deviated from the final plan as it stood on the eve of departure but I’ll detail the whys and wherefores as time permits. The remainder of the journey will take still take us through the northeast US and Eastern Canadian provinces but probably not as slowly as I’d like. That remains to be seen however…

Keeping up with Camp Granola…

Again, getting blog posts written and pictures edited for them is proving very difficult. Hopefully the slower pace will allow me at least some catch-up time but I am posting vigorously to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Flickr so be sure to follow along on those channels.

So you other crazy road-trippers out there… what have you learned on the road?

And now for your moment of green…

Behind Overland Expo was a view of Arizona at it’s finest. It usually pays off to search out all angles…

The post Overland Expo to TBEX: Three weeks in… appeared first on Val in Real Life.

While the pace has been fast and furious, operating on the fly is invigorating. It’s also something I’ve discovered I do well. My theory is that it has everything to do with not having expectations… just letting life happen as you travel. It not only opens you up to new experiences you might have avoided or overlooked but it has helped me find new solutions to older traveling dilemmas and glitches.

In the big picture, this journey in particular has been about connections so far… reconnecting with the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants aspect of myself, reconnecting with friends I haven’t seen in many years, reconnecting with Fred and George after their week-long adventure in San Francisco, and building new connections with virtual friends I’ve gotten to know but had never met in person.

More on the details of the adventures are to come of course but the pace is still hectic and may be for a bit. Next stops include Petrified Forest National Park, Taos (NM), and Great Sand Dunes before we boogie back east to Toronto for TBEX.

So I leave you with this brief update for now because even on the road, laundry duty calls and I must get back to it… Cheers friends!

Feeling the Pacific Ocean was a first for Fred and George too…

As always, be sure to follow along on Overland Expo to TBEX adventure, I’m posting to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Flickr throughout our travels.

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So far it’s been interesting to see a very different approach to outdoor fun. I’ll probably never be a convert to horse-powered backcountry exploration but there have been plenty of things I’ve seen that apply to my type of fun and I’ve met lots of great people in the process.

If you’re following along on my Overland Expo to TBEX adventure, I’m posting to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter regularly but I’ve also got a Flickr set for the trip going as well.

I’m going to leave it at that for today. Arizona winds are notorious and they’re not making posting from the road an easy task! Stay tuned…

A sea of overland enthusiasts.

The post Postcards from Camp Granola: Overland Expo appeared first on Val in Real Life.

We’re once again putting Blubaru’s moxie to the test…

Thinking back to last year’s Geowoodstock and TBEX expedition, our plans did vary quite a bit even once we hit the road which isn’t surprising. Journeys of this length can’t help but take on a life of their own. And since this expedition will be even longer and more complicated, I thought it would be a fine time for a little Camp Granola experiment to see how close we stay to the actual plan as it stands the evening before we depart, which is as follows…

Stage 1…

This stage is what I think of as the “sanity-tester” based on the sheer… insanity of it. It’s on the order of 5,000 miles, crossing through 18 states over the course of 16 days.

This year’s TBEX event in Toronto will be very urban compared to the outdoorsy grooviness of Keystone last year…

• To Flagstaff: Two days hard drive to get to the Overland Expo. I don’t enjoy being that pressed for time but I couldn’t give myself more room here because of Fred’s birthday.
• Overland Expo: I’ll be attending solo while Fred and George are in San Francisco at Maker Faire.
• Los Angeles: After Overland, I’ll head all the way to the west coast to pick up Fred and George.
• Fluff Time: I’ve built in some squishy time to allow us to get from LA to Great Sand Dunes but still explore with some level of whimsy.
• Great Sand Dunes: I can’t possibly get this close to the Dunes and not go…
• To Toronto: Yes, that’s right! TBEX is in Toronto this year so I’ll be hauling our road-tripping selves all the way back east over the course of another two days(ish) hard drive.
• TBEX: We’ll spend 3-4 days in Toronto for the conference.

Stage 2…

One big difference this go-round… no Disapproving Beagle along for the ride. We’ll miss our little mascot but we’ll be much more able to travel freely without the limitations of having a pup in tow.

• Franconia Notch State Park, NH
• Screw Auger Falls, ME
• Baxter State Park, ME
• Schoodic Peninsula, ME
• Acadia National Park, ME
• Boston, MA
• Philadelphia, PA
• Washington, DC
• Kill Devil Hills, NC

Along the way…

Over the course of this lengthy journey, we will again be embracing the “No State Left Behind” policy for geocaching purposes. As a result, we’ll also be jumping back into Canada at times to get smileys in the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.

Keeping up with Camp Granola…

Hope you enjoy following along… both on the intended path as well as our departures from it. Let’s see what happens!

For best results, be sure to follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and Flickr… and don’t forget to tell us what’s on our path that we shouldn’t miss!

And now for your moment of green…

Let’s see what magic happens this time around…

The post Overland Expo to TBEX and beyond… appeared first on Val in Real Life.

He was born on Mother’s Day… late, just like his brother. But he’s filled with sweetness, a sarcastic sense of humor, and a creative mind that never ceases to amaze me. From being toted through the woods in a backpack to outgrowing his mom, we’ve covered lots of ground together both literally and figuratively.

As is the developmental process of the brain, now that he’s a teenager, his desire for independence is epic. So as we set off into the teen years my hope is that my efforts to raise a curious, open-minded, adventurous person has set in enough to stick with him. Let’s see what happens! I can guarantee you this ride won’t be boring…

Happy birthday Fred… keep living large buddy!

The post …and then Fred became a teenager. appeared first on Val in Real Life.

A roomy creekside site at Elkmont.

So many choices…

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to ten campgrounds within its 800+ square miles and they’re fairly uniform in their amenities in my experience. The campgrounds are equipped with toilets and sinks but no showers, electric hookups (except for ADA sites), or campsite water spigots. Water is available at the dishwashing sinks outside of the rest stations so it’s typically only a short haul to take water to your site. The sites have raised, gravel-bedded tent pads along with picnic tables and fire pits/grills.

The groovy things about the Smokies is that the mountains are rife with streams and many of the campgrounds boast creekside campsites as a result. You really can’t go wrong with any of the campground offerings in the park, creekside or not, but we’re partial to Elkmont due to it’s location right smack in the middle of the north side of the park, between Gatlinburg and Townsend. It’s a great jumping off point to the trails at Elkmont, to the Cades Cove and Tremont areas, and to Sugarlands and Hwy 441 that runs back south towards Clingman’s Dome.

And while Elkmont is the largest of the campgrounds in terms of number of campsites, the layout is such that it doesn’t feel crowded unlike other campgrounds in the park… especially compared to the chaos of the very popular Cades Cove campground or the tightly packed walk-in sites at Deep Creek. The campground also plays host to a variety of park programs throughout the year and you can stock up on basic supplies at the concessions stand without having to go into town.

If you do find you need to go into town, you’ll see that Gatlinburg is more accessible from Elkmont but be aware that it’s extremely crowded and touristy. If that’s not the experience you want out of your visit, the town of Townsend lies to the west and is a much more low-key option for the likes of stocking up on supplies and doing laundry. It is a little further away than Gatlinburg but the drive is fantastic as the road winds along the banks of the Little River.

An important reminder…

As of last summer, the Emerald Ash Borer has been officially confirmed to have been sighted in the park. This presents a serious threat to the park’s ash tree population and there is a ban on firewood brought from quarantined areas. Firewood is readily available at the Elkmont concession booth so please do not bring your own from outlying areas. For more information, please visit Don’t Move Firewood.

An Elkmont visual…

To get a better sense of Elkmont, here are a few more images. Also click on over to my Great Smoky Mountains Flickr set for more on the park.

Fred and George never fail to find humor in our adventures… even at a campground. They found this sign positioning at Elkmont particularly amusing.

Our campsite backyard last fall at Elkmont.

Closer view of site setup at Elkmont.

The Elkmont area is ripe with the history of the Smokies.

Other goodies…

And just in case you’re wondering, my other non-southern favorite campgrounds are Great Sand Dunes (CO), Custer State Park (SD), and Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit (ND).

Be sure to check out the favorites of these great outdoor bloggers as well:

• The Best Provincial Park Campgrounds in Southern Alberta from Rockies Family Adventures
• Sandflats Recreational Area and Campground [Moab, UT] from The Kid Project
• Camping at The City of Rocks from Climb Run Lift Mom
• Top 5 Backcountry Campgrounds in Banff National Park from The Campsite
• Yellowstone Campground Review from Traveling Mel
• North America’s Best Campgrounds: Cloudland Canyon from yours truly over at GA Family Camping
• My Top 5 Favorite Campgrounds in the Moab Area from Adventure Tykes
• North America’s Best Campgrounds: Dolly Copp Campground in Gorham, NH from Adventurous Moms
• Best Family Campgrounds of Washington from Odyseey Outdoors
• San Elijo State Beach Camping for Urban Nature Fun from Walk Simply
• Camping in Ontario from Active Kids Club
• Our favorite campgrounds in the Western U.S. from Outside Mom
• Family Camp: Alaskans Share Their Favorite Campgrounds from AK on the Go
• Best Campgrounds in North America: Western Colorado Edition from The Brave Ski Mom
• West Coast Campground Review – Sweet Summer Spots to Relax & Recharge! from Mommy Hiker
• The best of West Coast Camping from Family Outdoor Adventures
• Classic Campsites: Murphy Hogback Campground, Canyonlands National Park from Adventure Parents

And now for your moment of green…

Come unfurl your cares in the Smokies…

The post North America’s Best Campgrounds: Elkmont appeared first on Val in Real Life.

When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road. ~William Moon

There is an intriguing truth to this quote. Although it’s not something I’ve ever articulated for myself, I have always had this feeling… the clean slate, the freedom from the baggage of your history, to be stripped down to the moment you’re in and be yourself with bare honesty because the people you meet have no preconceived notions of who you are or what you’re about.

That respite from your history allows you to return and face your past, both good and bad, with fresh perspective.

No yesterdays on the road…

The post Postcards from Camp Granola: No Yesterdays on the Road appeared first on Val in Real Life.

One of the most frequent questions I get about the program is why I chose to do it. Well for one, I’m a nature nerd at heart so learning all of this simply makes me happy and excited. It’s an enriching experience so why not right? But it’s also because this is a captivating place that pulls you in and learning it’s secrets leads only to more questions. It’s the beautiful cycle that happens when you fall in love with a place.

And if you follow along here regularly, you know I cover a lot of ground as I travel the country with Fred and George. We’ve seen a lot of tremendous things in those travels but this particular endeavor has allowed me delve deeper into the Smokies. To get to know this one place on an intimate level is a completely different experience than our more whirlwind adventures. That level of intimacy isn’t achieved without repeated, mindful visits… ones where you challenge your own curiosity to go beyond the surface and see a place from every possible angle, ones where you lose yourself in the enchantment and beauty so much that you ache when you leave.

Beyond those reasons, I do have a long-term vision for all of this immersive exploration. Eventually, Fred and George will be off on their own, leaving me to my own devices. By that time, I’ll have had plenty of time to hone my naturalist skills and hopefully be ready to take on the Smokies as my home and build my next career from that knowledge.

So that’s the long answer…

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. – Henry David Thoreau

Because when you fall in love, you want to know every detail…

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