Visiting Utah and Nevada's State Parks!

It's Monday! I hope yours is happy :) As I get ready to go to work this Monday, I started thinking about my last vacation...about how I didn't get to go the National Parks that we had planned to visit. Instead we visited some amazing state parks in Utah and Nevada. I love my job as  National Park ranger, and so was disappointed that we didn't get to go. However, I was completely surprised at how amazing the State Parks were!

While we missed out on Arches and Canyonlands, we got to see Goblin Valley State Park, Snow Valley State Park and Dead Horse State Park and Valley of Fire State Park. We rappelled, hiked, explored canyons and more. I had an amazing time. I will have to go back to see Arches and Canyonlands one day, however, we really enjoyed our trip even without visiting them!

What are you happy about? Anything you were disappointed in actually turn out better than expected? I can't wait to read some happy posts and comments :) Have a wonderful week!

So Welcome to the Happy Monday link-up. Link-up a post that made you happy this week, if you don't blog, feel free to write what made you happy in the comments. I'd love it if you'd link back to this blog and comment on some others. Feel free to take the button too!

Our Southern Utah Adventure - Zion!

We just got back from an awesome family vacation. It was not the vacation that we had planned - but it ended up being pretty amazing nonetheless.

The first part of our vacation went as planned :) We spent some time exploring Zion National Park, and it was beautiful. My parents came with us, so not only did we get to do some hiking with them and A, we also got to hike the Narrows - not something we could have done with the little guy in tow!

He LOVED, loved, loved the shuttle. Probably better than the hiking...

The views were stunning....

The amazing hike we went on? The Narrows. Miles of hiking in water, through a stunning canyon. It was cold (the water and the air!). Very cold, but we rented gear so that it wasn't that bad. I soon forgot about the cold because the scenery was so beautiful - and the light in the morning was perfect.

My parents went on two hikes with us - I think we may have hiked them a bit too much! But the views were amazing and it was adorable watching A hike with his grandparents :)

We stayed at a very unique and affordable Bed & Breakfast called "The Bunkhouse." It had beautiful scenery, friendly and kind hosts, yummy breakfasts and it was perfectly located. It was a great set up for the five of us!

The next part of our vacation was supposed to be Cedar Breaks National Monument, Arches national Park and Canyonlands National Park. Needless to say, due to the government shutdown, that didn't happen. I am so sad that we didn't make it to those parks, I'd been looking forward to it for quite some time. We are, however, pretty resourceful, so we came up with a new itinerary and ended up having a great time!

More on that soon :)

You Know You're Lucky...

...when on a Friday morning, you can decide on the spur of the moment to go with your family to go whale watching in a beautiful location!

Last Friday we got in the car and went to Point Dume Nature Preserve in Malibu. It's a breathtaking little state park right on the Pacific Ocean. We were lucky enough to get one of the 8 free parking spots and be able to enjoy two hours of amazing views.

We saw five whales! In addition, we saw sea lions, dolphins, and amazing sea birds. We had a good half hour of an entire beach to ourselves - where A had fits of giggles as he jumped and ran in the waves.

We saw the Biggest Losers, and A enjoyed four helicopters flying pretty low overhead! Everyone we ran in to was so happy to be seeing whales, people were spontaneously applauding for them and clapping when they breached. It was an amazing scene. Of course, being Southern CA, the weather was perfect as well.

I can't remember when I've had a more enjoyable morning!

Exercising

I'm training for the Miles for Melanoma 5k coming up in one month ~  my husband and son are running too - well, sort of, we'll be pushing the little guy in a stroller!




Today I actually got out of the office for lunch and ran! There are some benefits to working in a National Park :) Beautiful scenery and running trails!

Supporting research for Melanoma is incredibly important for our family. Someone we love very, very much has been hit hard by this disease so this is just a small way I feel like I can maybe do something.

If you are interesting in donating to support us in our run for this cause - Donate here!

Brought to you by the letter "E"

part of the A-Z blog challenge

p.s. love you E!

In my Spare Time....

Wait, spare time - what's that? In fact, I do have some spare time, both with and without the little guy. Though I may not go out as often as I used to and travel is a little more complicated, my hobbies haven't changed too much since I became a mom. I just have to think differently about how they are done!

Traveling and hiking is so much fun with the little guy :) 

Some of those that I try to do :)

1. Blogging - this is my newest hobby! I've really enjoyed "meeting" so many amazing people. I enjoying having some time to write at the end of the day. I enjoy sharing, writing and all the great stories out there.

2. Photography - I have had fun taking photos of A as a baby. Now that he is a little older, it's harder to capture him sitting still, but it also gives me time to take notice of the other things around. I've really enjoyed finding others who dabble in photography through blogging - and finding those that inspire me!

3. Reading - Little guy goes to bed at 7 pm, which means I have some time to read at night again. Though most books recently have been about parenting or blogging :)

4. Travel - We had an amazing vacation this year in the Canadian Rockies. Glad to have an international trip again! Also, we've had fun exploring California. A is actually pretty good at traveling, and we are also lucky enough to have my parents nearby so we can travel a little on our own!

5. Hiking/Running - Well, running, not so much lately, but hiking - always. We went last Friday and saw a beautiful waterfall! Since I'm a park ranger, it's just part of who I am. Luckily I live in a place where I can hike year round!

What are your hobbies? Any new things I should be taking up? :) This week I'm linking up over at Growing Up Geeky to talk about Hobbies.

My Dream Job

My first dream job was to be a ballerina, then a teacher, then the President of the United States. At some point I wanted to be an environmental lawyer, and finally, a public land manager. Which is pretty much what I am currently doing!

I think my current job is close to being my dream job. How lucky is that?

My amazing job had a very long title. Suffice it to say, that I get to run public programs, educational programs and outreach at a National Recreation Area. I work with amazing people. I have an amazing and supportive boss, co-workers and staff. I get to be creative and interact with dedicated and interesting people from all over the world.

I still consider myself fairly young (35 is still young, right?) and early on in my career (officially I can retire in 2034). So I can't be at the pinnacle of my career just yet. My dreams have always been to run a National Park. But the further up the "ladder" I go, the scarier that seems...I do think that the older I get, the less I realize that I know!

I love working for the National Park Service, I want to continue my career in the Service. I love my job now. I would love to work one day at a remote park, one of the iconic ones perhaps? But for now, I am incredibly fulfilled by the job that I have. Amazing really.

What's your dream job? Head over to Toddle Along Tuesday to share...or see what other's are saying!

My latest greatest work accomplishment

Ranger Me :)

Get your kid a National Parks Passport!

One of my coolest possessions is my National Parks Passport. I bought it in 1999 and it is nearly full...so I recently bought my second passport! There are 397 National Park units around the country and there is at least one passport cancellation stamp at each park. Some even have more than one...

It is still fun years later to go through the book and remember all the fun times I've had :)

My first National Parks Passport and my new one...ready for the first stamp!

Some of my first cancellation stamps

And yes, I have already bought a passport for A. If you'll notice...his first stamp was February 13, 2011. He was less than a month old when he got his first stamp. Hopefully this will be something he'll enjoy his whole life. So far he has six cancellations...so many more to go!

You can buy a passport at most National Parks or online here. It's fun for the whole family, I promise!

Top 5 free places to entertain toddlers!

Last week when I got home from work, A went straight to the car door and tried to open it. He clearly wanted to get in and go somewhere. It was 5:30 pm. I was tired, I didn't need anything at the store...but I buckled him in his carseat and started to drive. Where to go? where to go?

Ah-ha! Petco...I needed dog food anyway...and as a bonus there are animals to look at. It's like a free zoo. (Except, of course, for the 30 lb. bag of dog food). He LOVED it. We spent lots of time staring at the fish. Lots of happy noises ensued. Then we met another kid in front of the reptiles. He was a little older and was teaching A all about snakes and geckos. A listened intently!

But the best part - the birds...I think A was just about as excited as I'd ever seen him. The birds answered his excited squeals, it was so very cute. So my new find is...

1. The pet store :) - sort of like a zoo?

Other great options that we have come across

2. Duck ponds (yes, A likes birds!)

Duck ponds are so entertaining!

3. Libraries - books, big teddy bears, little people sized chairs and hand puppets galore!

4. "First 5" Classes - if you are lucky enough to live in CA, in many communities there is a program called "First 5" - which offers free classes (like Mommy and Me) for kids 5 and under. All FREE.

5. Parks! Local parks, county parks, even some National parks (like Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area) - are free! A loves to be outdoors and I try to get him out as often as possible :)

Not only can National Parks be free...but apparently there are lots of great dog/coyote statues for kids to play with...who knew?

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

The National Mall in DC

DC Monuments

A loved DC...we had a morning to play around. We saw the first cherry blossoms, the new MLK memorial, the FDR memorial and the mall. The Mall was the clear favorite...more space to run then he's ever seen. I loved seeing him smile so much...just wish we had more time!

And of course, I'm excited that we added more National Parks to his repertoire :)

Dreaming of the Canadian Rockies

We are contemplating vacationing in the Canadian Rockies this fall. So I started to do some research - wow are the photos stunning! We've been trying to go for years, and things kept getting in the way. But I think we are serious about it this year. I'm excited about some hiking, snow, alpine lakes, moose....

I pinned some inspiration to share :)

Source: trekearth.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: bestindonesiantravel.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: bestindonesiantravel.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: tourandtraveling.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

National Park No. 3: U.S.S. Arizona

The third park A has had the opportunity to visit was the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. Unfortunately, it was a cold and rainy day, not what we expected from Hawaii :) But strangely appropo to the feeling of the memorial. We got tickets, got in line to enter the theater and watched a very moving short film on the attack on pearl harbor. Even A managed to make it through the film...and not disturb the audience. Then you take a short boat ride over to the actual memorial. A was not thrilled, as you can see, I'm not sure he enjoyed his first boat ride.

By the time we got to the memorial, it was pouring rain. So we didn't have much visibility. But I was moved by the stories, the names, the fact that people still choose to interred with their shipmates, the fact that the vessel is still leaking oil...

It was a somber day, a somber story, and A's mood fit the day. 

Without the memorial, you would never know that a ship was beneath the water. That many soldiers had lost their lives, and were buried there. It's important to tell even the hard stores. Back on land, we explored the exhibits, very well down, which told a greater story then I had previously known.

It might not be my first choice of national park's for a 10 month old, but A did amazingly well. Absolutely worth the trip for the adults, however!

So A's National Park count is now at 3...only 394 left to go!

National Park No. 2: Yosemite

Last July we decided to visit Yosemite. My first bit of advice - don't go in summer!! The traffic was amazingly bad. However, the scenery was amazingly good...so, good and bad.

So the first National Park in this country was the second one A visited - Santa Monica Mountains, of course, being his first!

A was quite the trooper - hanging out in the car seat for the hours in the car to get there and home. We stayed in 3 different places. We really enjoyed the Queen's Inn in Oakhurst...A slept inside while we enjoyed dinner on the patio watching the sunset.

The two hikes I enjoyed most with a 6 month old - McGurk Meadow and Mariposa Grove. Gorgeous trees, stunning flowers, everything Yosemite should be. Since we had a small one in tow, we also did something we'd never done before...hung out by the river. There were tons of families picnicking, swimming and not trying to do the super strenuous hikes (like I used to do!).

Of course, lunch at the Ahwahnee is  must - even with the crazy squirrels.

Oh, and don't forget to get your baby a National Park's passport :)

Cool hike! Baby-backpacks are awesome.

Please get me out of this car seat!

Water!!! Hanging out in the river.

Loving a hike - even with lots of mosquitos.

Cameras are cool! Crossing McGurk meadow.

Relaxing (staring at the fan) in the hotel after lots of hiking!