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| Petrified National Forest National Park 2013 I have been thinking. Thinking about how I want this year to look. What I would like to experience. Taking honest stock of who I am and what our family is about. What Clay and I are about. I find myself feeling the happiest when I am exploring or making with my family. But that always isn't compatible with our kids interests and activities. Our schedules have seemed to consume our life.Something I'd like to change in the new year. Maybe it is tell tale of where we live (ahem, Los Angeles). The need to get into nature. The need to escape through art. Breathe. Think. Like, think deeply. It's been awhile. It has been 19 months of just full - on go go go. I cannot tell you how weary I am. I see it in the eyes of my children too but maybe that's just a glazed over teenage look, ha. So, we have got to connect more to creation, that seems to make us all flow a little better. (that was my short answer, at least. the long answer is more complicated but we are working on that!) My sister Marcie and her family have taken up visiting every MLB stadiums while taking in a game(they love baseball) and seeing the surrounding sites. My favorite from last year was a picture shared from "Cornhedge" :) My sister in law Mandy has taken up to hiking the high peaks in each state with her family (they are avid outdoor adventurers). I loved their "high peaks" in the midwest where it just seems like a gopher hill :). Lucy had a young women's president who was ticking off a list of seeing all 50 states with her young family. These ideas appeal to me because they each have a theme. and like Marcie said, it makes it easy to plan trips:) I like easy! But I don't like planning trips at all :( And the one's I have planned have been hybrids of plans and nature. And they have been great. Not a lot but enough to give me confidence that I can do it now. We are far more in the "wing it" camp which makes road trips easy for us to do with the kids. But I need a theme. Chester came to me one day and asked if he could go to all the National Parks. BINGO 
So, I have thought back on all of our explorations.
Here we got off the 40 and visited the Petrified National Forest.
It was intriguing to me. The kids got out, stretched, I mean, maybe they were crying. Actually, I specifically remember Audrey melting down.
We stopped each way to and from Colorado to Arizona.
Connection.
Happy.
Petrified Forest National Park est. 1968
Cute little Chetty Bear.
On petrified wood.
It was allowed, I swear!
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| Badlands National Park 2012 We drove from Rapid City and our adventure at Mount Rushmore to see the unique landscape of Badlands. Driving through the South Dakota grasslands was beautiful and so different from the west coast. 
the best part of simple trips is the bonding :)
and the weird comes out in all of us, making memories all the more memorable
(we have been twinning art for a while now, hahaha, and monuments)
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| Badlands was first a national monument est. in 1939...later in 1978 made a national park |
When we lived in Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park became our playground. It was only 45 minutes away.
Here we are hiking up to Lake Bierstadt :)
It hailed hard on us that day.
Like, stinging hard and finding no cover, hahaha.
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| Rocky Mountain National Park was established in 1915 |
Dreamy Bear Lake
Connected.
Happy.
Happy and creating.
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| Bandelier National Monument |
Finding
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| Pecos National Monument Off the beaten path in New Mexico I am still in love with New Mexico. |
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| Devils Tower National Monument |
This place took my breath away.
There was something otherworldly about it.
And so it begins, we are going to start easy with those closest to us for now.
America's best idea just became our own personal experiment.
Let's see how we do!
Which national parks have you been too?
Give any tips or favorite hikes or places to eat and stay
or...stay away from...hahaha
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| Me and Marcie on a trip to see national parks the Summer of 1985 |
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