Little Sahara: Part 2

The day was beautiful today! Good riding, fabulous sunset, and Richard was able to join Abe in the afternoon for some riding!

For dinner we ate around the fire and soon after put the kids to bed. We chatted the night away!

The next day was windy, which turned into super windy, and then a full our sand hurricane! Craig and Chelsea came out but we spent most of our time in our camper. Then Richard rolled his atv down the side of the mountain after he tumbled off. We decided to load up early and head to the Sones home.

(The boys didn't mind being stuck in the trailer. The wrestled and played in the pile of blankets in the front)

After we were all washed up, Audra and Owen got home, we ate dinner, and we all enjoyed each others' company. We attended church in the morning and decided to head home after that.

Minus a strong head wind, the drive was pleasant and uneventful!!

Little Sahara

Last year we had so much fun going to Little Sahara, we decided to go again. Our plan was to drive half way there, sleep in our camper, and finish the drive in the morning. We were supposed to meet four families there, but they kept dropping out. The weather was also starting to look bad, but we decided to continue.

We stopped in Ely and the most horrible food place. I took one bite of my food and the kids didn't want any of theirs (minus the tater tots). It was gross! We drove an hour further and decided it was time to sleep. When we got out of the truck there was a horrible smell. One of our tires had been ripped to shreds and only a rim with some rubber around the bead was left. The tire must have flopped around the wheel for awhile because it beat off a piece of the camper, and it bent up the bracket for the air compressor. It was surprising that we couldn't tell we had a flat tire and it was depressing the damage it did. Due to the cold and need of sleep, we decided to delay repairs until morning. 

At 4 am I hear Crew say, "I am throwing up!" I am somewhat confused but try to quickly trapeze through the atvs and to him. In hind sight I should have grabbed a bowl from a cupboard, but instead I tried dragging him from bed to the bathroom. In the process he puked on his sleeping bag, his blanket, in my boot that was by his bed, and on the floor. After he was cleaned up I then started rinsing out his bedding in the shower, my boot, and the floor. I knew that food was gross and the restaurant!! Awhile later I was able to get back in bed and pray for no more excitement!

Delta was the closest place; a lot of road to limp along on our spare. As soon as I had reception I was on the phone calling on tire prices. Delta Glass and Tire had superb prices and we told them we would be there in an hour. When we got there we purchased 4 new tires (They were all internally falling apart) and had them all replaced. The best looking tire was kept as the spare.

We sat outside the shop and ate our cereal breakfast and passed the time away. Great service and great prices helped make the experience better.

Soon we were off and heading to Little Sahara. 

San Francisco: Golden Gate Bridge

This half of the adventure made me feel like I was accomplishing an iconic American moment: Walking across (or halfway and back) the Golden Gate Bridge. It was somewhat windy but very enjoyable!

After passing underneath the bridge we took off. I followed Sawyer at a faster pace while he ran, and the rest of the group chatted and took their time walking. 

Highlights: seeing a helicopter go underneath the bridge several times, getting workers on a boat below us to wave, and enjoying this moment with my family.

San Francisco: Urban Camping

Crew and I were the first to wake up. It was fun snuggling up, all night, to our cute boys!

The sunrise here was pretty crazy. It was so bright against the water that it washed everything out, just as my pictures show. The contrast and glare was intense.

We found tons of starfish! It was fun to  search for them in the rocks and of course put them back in the water.

 Sawyer was brave enough to hold a Starfish.

 All three of my boys throwing rocks; an endless supply!

 This cracks me up. I could hardly get the kids to stand still long enough to have a picture taken with them.

 I loved picking through the pebbles and rocks to see what treasure I could find!

We went back up to camp to consume our breakfast of biscuits and gravy. After chatting for a bit we spent some more time down on the beach. It was fun basking in the sun and snapping a few pictures with my phone.

The rocks felt warm and Sawyer laid down in them for a moment.

Next up Nate buried Crew.

All of those rocks were heavy and exhausting to move. Crew couldn't get out on his own but his brother came to the rescue to help dig him out! Eventually Nate hoped in to help as well.

We then broke down camp and packed up so we could head to the next part of our adventure.