Hi guys! Hope you all had a safe and relaxing holiday weekend. We have been making the most of Michael’s time off. We did our weekly grocery shopping Friday and got it out of the way. Friday night, we rented Identity Thief and played some 2 hand euchre.
We are trying very hard to adjust to life in the small camper but to be honest, it’s been a rough few days. The trailer is just not made to accommodate a family of 4. Plus, we are not used to living all together and sharing space with other people. So we are trying very hard to make it comfortable but it’s been a struggle! It’s hard to even pass by each other in such close living quarters, let alone be in the kitchenette/dining area at the same time. It makes us edgy knowing we are “stuck” in a tiny space. Zeke fussing is amplified because we are RIGHT next to him. Norah’s shrieks and yelling seems more irritating when theres nowhere else for her to play. If anything is left out, the whole trailer immediately feels cluttered so Im am in a constant state of cleaning/putting things away. I can only hope it will get better and easier until we have the funds to upgrade to a larger travel trailer. It makes me laugh to think I used to complain about our 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house being too crowded for Norah, Zeke, and I.
So Saturday morning, we were feeling a little claustrophobic. Michael made us all a delicious Scrambled egg and ham breakfast and we decided to do some exploring. I had read about Lewis Canyon in Battle Mountain and was really interested in going out there. Supposedly it was like a little forest oasis tucked away in the mountains. So following some directions I found (which read like “take the fork in the road left past the ranch”), we meandered outside of town and started creeping up a path into the foothills. Norah really got a kick out of seeing “wild” free roaming cattle next to the road.
As we drove along the road, the scenery gradually started to change. We started seeing full, towering green bushes and trees. Yes TREES! Growing up in Michigan, I was always surrounded by trees, so the Nevada landscape which is barren and dusty (beautiful in its own right) was a huge change. Now suddenly we were seeing trees like back home– white birch! We crawled up further and further and could tell we were getting pretty high. On either side of the truck were jagged vertical rock “walls” and bright blue sky overhead. We opened the sunroof and enjoyed the sunshine.
I truly felt like I was back in Michigan in the woods behind my house. Birds were chirping and flying all over the place. And BUTTERFLIES! They were flying all around and landing on trees. It was gorgeous. And they we started seeing water trickling in the gravel road. And we came across a real stream, no doubt the source that was nourishing all the plant life we were seeing. Moss even growing on the rocks.
It was really was so so neat to experience a total change of scenery from what we have become accustomed to. There were wooded areas that were totally shaded by the huge canopy of trees woven overhead. Pine needles on the ground, logs forming chairs around fire pits. It’s obvious some people come out to visit Lewis Canyon, but it seems like its still a well kept secret. On our 2 hours of exploring, we saw only 2 vehicles; one empty and one belonging to a photographer capturing some images of Lewis Canyon.
As we drove, the path became more narrow, more rocky and bumpy. We finally decided to turn around, but not because the truck couldn’t handle it 😉 The ride down the mountain was pretty intense. The kids carseats were bouncing all over, luckily they were both secured completely. Soon we started seeing the sagebrush and dry sand and we knew the forest was behind us.
It was a really cool drive. Norah enjoyed it, I took lots of pictures, Zeke slept the whole time, and I think my husband was glad to take the truck off-roading and see what his 4 wheel drive was capable of! Not for the first time since we have been out here, I thought “Dang I really am glad we have a truck!”
After our morning expedition, we came home and napped! I made a late lunch, we watched Chasing Mavericks (good movie!) and then we were feeling stir crazy again! Staring at the same 4 walls gets old after awhile– so we took the kids to the park in town to let Norah burn off some energy. She played on the swings and slide and climber. Our plan worked because not an hour after being back home, she was out for the night and slept great in her own bed.
Today (Sunday) is Michael’s last day of vacation before going back to work tomorrow. I have been catching up on much needed cleaning and washing dishes while he tackles laundry. Great teamwork and it keeps us from sitting around getting cabin (trailer?) fever. Hope everyone has a blessed week! Thanks for reading 🙂
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