When we go back to the house we just hung out with the kids and finished packing and loading the cars.\u00a0 The plan was that we were all going to go to bed early since we had planned on leaving at 7 the next morning.\u00a0 I’m not one for plans, so of course Coral and I stayed up late talking and catching up.<\/p>\n Day 1<\/strong><\/span> – Not only am I not one for plans, but neither are my parents.\u00a0 The whole 7am thing turned into Normally we do back country camping.\u00a0 Basically we just drive down a road until we find a good place to set up camp.\u00a0 This year we stayed at the actual campground instead.\u00a0 We wanted to have access to water and the store<\/a> and the main road because of the kids.\u00a0 Soooo<\/span>, we finally get the the campground and start setting up.\u00a0 The kids totally loved playing in the dirt and running around screaming while we tried setting up.\u00a0 I got a new 10 person tent, so Coral and I had to figure out how to set this monstrosity up.\u00a0 It was actually pretty easy.\u00a0 Once it was up, it was obvious this thing was more like a castle than a little tent.\u00a0 When the kids realized they got to sleep on an air mattress, they broke it in by jumping all over it.\u00a0 Once it was broken in to their satisfaction, it was bed time.<\/span><\/p>\n Day 3<\/strong><\/span> – There are certain things that are pretty predictable about a desert trip, especially if there are new people going.\u00a0 One of those things is a drive to Inyo<\/span> Mine<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Now, Inyo<\/span> is probably one of the coolest Did I hike up to the mine shaft?\u00a0 Nope.\u00a0 I have seen it about a million times and I didn’t want the kids up there.\u00a0 Instead I stayed below with the grandmas and Coral.\u00a0 I took a ton of photos and showed the kids all the cool old buildings.\u00a0 Ella really liked the one that I call the sunburst building.\u00a0 We had lunch and played with trucks and shovels while we waited for the others to come down.\u00a0 Once they got down, my dad informed us they were going to go up the road and look for more Indian crap.\u00a0 Soooo<\/span>, we headed back to camp.\u00a0 Once we got back to camp we had to find a way to stay cool.\u00a0 It was about 100 degrees and we didn’t have any shade.\u00a0 We found a little area under a tree but the kids wanted no part of it.\u00a0 Instead, Ella went and made dirt angles and Jack played with his trucks out in the sun.\u00a0 They got a little red.\u00a0 I think we had a camp fire that night, but I don’t really remember.<\/span><\/p>\n Day 4<\/strong><\/span> – So, this was our “cool off” day.\u00a0 It started off super early with everyone except Coral, the kids, We got back to camp and decided it was shower day!\u00a0 The store has a pool and shower that are open to the public if you buy a ticket, but if you go during the down time, no one is there checking tickets.\u00a0 Ella screamed through the shower so that everyone in the pool could hear her!\u00a0 She was not a happy camper.\u00a0 After we were nice and clean we went to the saloon and had pizza and beer.\u00a0 Yum!<\/p>\n Day 5<\/strong><\/span> – Again, predictability played apart in the days activities.\u00a0 I actually got to choose what we did, so I Titus is a one way canyon that actually involves some 4-wheel drive.\u00a0 It takes a couple of hours, but it’s totally worth it.\u00a0 About halfway through the canyon there is an old mining town called Leadfield<\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 We went exploring and the kids discovered how to bang rocks on the metal pipes to make super loud “music.”\u00a0 After our explorations, we headed down the road.\u00a0 The narrows were just amazing and the kids kept looking up saying, “Wow.”\u00a0 Once we got out of the canyon we Day 6<\/strong><\/span> – This was our pack up and head home day.\u00a0 Our castle was pretty easy to take down once we got it all cleaned out.\u00a0 Somehow, my car ended up much fuller this time around or maybe I just didn’t pack it right.\u00a0 Once we got everything loaded up, we went over to the visitor center and the kids got their Jr. Ranger badges.\u00a0 After that we headed home!\u00a0 It was a pretty uneventful trip until we hit Tehachapi.\u00a0 There was an accident on the other side of the freeway and there was a helicopter sitting on the freeway.\u00a0 Jack thought it was just the coolest thing ever.\u00a0 After that we made it home and the unpacking began.<\/span><\/p>\n That was pretty much our whole trip.\u00a0 I really hope next year Pat can go with us.\u00a0 This summer we want to take a camping trip on our own.<\/p>\n Rather than include all the photos on the post, here are links to the galleries:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelorigans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_5533.jpg\" "\\"Dutch")
<\/a>Ok<\/span>, so since Pat was on travel the week before we left I decided to head up to Lockwood a few days before the trip and leave from there so I wasn’t driving to the desert alone.\u00a0 On Saturday (The day before we left), Jane, my MIL, and Coral, my BFF, headed to Lockwood so we could go to the Dutch Oven Event that was put on to raise money for the Nacitone<\/span> Regional Interpretive Center.\u00a0 There were a ton of cooks there all using dutch ovens to prepare amazing dishes.\u00a0 The chuck wagon that my dad has been working on was also there and it looked great!\u00a0 During this outdoors event, it just happened to be pouring down rain.\u00a0 The kids thought it was the greatest thing ever (until they got to the desert).\u00a0 I don’t think there was a single puddle there that they didn’t splash in.\u00a0 By the time we headed back to my parents house, both kids were soaking wet with huge smiles on their faces. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>8am.\u00a0 We met up with Teresa, James, and Mariah<\/span> at McDonald’s and then John and Jane showed up there too.\u00a0 After breakfast we officially hit the road.\u00a0 The kids did pretty good since they slept the first part of the drive.\u00a0 We made a stop in Tehachapi<\/span> at Denny’s for lunch.\u00a0 The kids liked seeing the big <\/span>windmills<\/a> as we went over the hill.\u00a0 After that we headed into Ridgecrest<\/span><\/span><\/a> were we had to stop and get last minute supplies that we forgot (my pillow).\u00a0 After Ridgecrest<\/span> we had a short stop in <\/span>Trona<\/span><\/span><\/a>, yuck, to wait for the rest of the group since I drive at a normal speed and not like a slow old lady.\u00a0 As we headed to Death Valley we had to stop and let the kiddos find a cache<\/a> and to get a group shot in front of the Death Valley sign.\u00a0 When we finally got over the hill and into DV, the real fun began<\/p>\n<\/a>Day 2<\/strong><\/span> – If you have ever gone anywhere with my dad, you know how he is on a hike.\u00a0 He has a general idea of what he wants to see, and that is all.\u00a0 So, we went on a little hike to find a rock.\u00a0 No, I am not kidding.\u00a0 It was a rock with some petroglyphs<\/span> on it and it was literally in a Vast area full of almost identical rocks.\u00a0 Somehow, we managed to find this rock and a couple others that were just like it.\u00a0 I think we ended up walking for just over a mile and the kids did great!\u00a0 Ella kept picking up rocks and putting them in her pocket.\u00a0 When she ran out of room, she started putting them in Jackson’s pockets and my pockets.\u00a0 It was really cute.\u00a0 On a side note, when I got home and started doing laundry, I kept finding rocks in the washer.\u00a0 After the <\/a>rock hike, my dad and some of the other people went off and did another more intense hike.\u00a0 Since I had the kiddos, we headed to the store and got some ice cream then washed up back at camp in a sink that was on the backside of the bathroom. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>places ever!\u00a0 You can take a short, but steep hike up a hill to the actual mine and unlike other mine shafts, this one is not covered.\u00a0 As long as you have a good flashlight you can go in and explore.\u00a0 There are places you have to be very careful because there are air shafts that go straight down.\u00a0 We have even seen people there with climbing equipment that were exploring the other levels.\u00a0 How cool would that be? <\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>and myself doing the Golden Canyon Hike<\/a>.\u00a0 Since we didn’t want to sit in the camp site and wait for them, we took off and went to the Salt Creek boardwalk<\/a> to see the pupfish<\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 The kids had a blast running up and down the boardwalk.\u00a0 I was glad they didn’t try bringing a fish back.\u00a0 It started to get super hot so what do you do?\u00a0 <\/a>You go to the store and get ice cream and beer, of course.\u00a0 After we finished up it was time for me to pick up the hikers.\u00a0 Since it was ridiculously hot, we headed to Scotty’s Castle<\/a> which is at 3000 feet elevation.\u00a0 It was nice and cool up there.\u00a0 Everyone did the tours except myself, the kids, and Grandma Jane.\u00a0 We hung out on the lawn and let the kids throw leaves in the little stream and watch them float away.\u00a0 They had soooooooo<\/span> much fun!\u00a0 They loved dropping the leaves in and running downstream to wait for them.\u00a0 We were there for awhile <\/a>because the weather was nice. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>picked Rhyolite<\/span><\/span><\/a> and Titus canyon<\/a>.\u00a0 Yes, we do this every year, but there is always something new to discover here for me.\u00a0 Usually I find something new to take a picture of, but this year it was fun watching the kids run around the ghost town and play in the old buildings.\u00a0 While we were here we ended up doing a little mini session photo shoot.\u00a0 Part of Rhyolite<\/span> is the <\/span>Bottle House<\/a>.\u00a0 It is a house made out of a gazillion bottles, but in 2005 they did\u00a0 some restoration work on it and now it has <\/a>pretty much lost it’s appeal.\u00a0 I hate when they take and old building that has character and paint it with new paint.\u00a0 At least the kids liked it.\u00a0 After we left, we headed into Beatty<\/span>, NV<\/span><\/a> to get some gas and lunch, then headed to Titus Canyon.<\/p>\n<\/a>got tired of waiting for the other people so we took off and did our own thing.\u00a0 At first we headed to the store and got more ice cream of course then we headed back to camp but it was way too hot!\u00a0 We went over to the little picnic area by the store and it was nice and “cool.”\u00a0 We stayed there for awhile and the kids worked on their Jr. Ranger books so they could earn their badges.\u00a0 After we got tired of <\/a>sitting there we went and did the Artist’s Palette drive<\/a> and went out to Devil’s Golf Course <\/a>so I could take some photos with the nice evening light.\u00a0 After that we raced down to Badwater<\/span><\/span><\/a> to catch the sunset.\u00a0 Now the kids can say they have been at the lowest point in North America.\u00a0 I got some cool photos then headed back to camp for dinner since I had two very hungry and very tired kiddos.\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n