month one: the good, the bad and the ugly

i am NEVER going camping again!

Oh, the irony. Sixteen years ago this month, we embarked upon our first family camping trip. Much like the Griswolds, we were ready enjoy the open road with the kids. Our destination? Taylor Park Reservoir, a dirt-bike-riding mecca that friends and family members have been enjoying since the 60s. The same spot where I’m sitting right now, writing in our camper.

This took place in 1998, so the kids were 4 and almost 6. The perfect ages to get them started on the joys of camping in the mountains, right? That was the plan. We lived just north of Kansas City at that time, in Smithville, Missouri. Escaping the heat sounded pretty good. Continue reading

Jul 10

home, home on the road

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My road captains at the wheel.

Our first “home, home on the road” at Yampa River State Park.

That’s a happy camper relaxing after the move.

The visitor center and shower facility at Yampa River State Park.

Leaving our “land home” for a year on the road!

Today, home is where the deer and the antelope play. We finished packing and moving on Tuesday, closed the sale on the house Wednesday and are spending day one of our new life on the road at Yampa River State Park, near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. There will be posts about downsizing, saying goodbye and life on the road soon. Stay tuned for more Tales From the Empty Nest!

Jun 20

this nest is going mobile!

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The empty nest is hitting the road!

“Someday we’re going to sell everything and travel around the country in our RV.” That’s what we’ve been saying for years, and now it’s finally coming true. In about three weeks, we will head out for a year of travel and adventure. I’ll be chronicling the journey on this blog, so stay tuned here and follow me on Twitter (@EmptyNestTales) and Facebook.

In the meantime, here are answers to some questions that are probably starting to form. Continue reading

May 17

because I said so, that’s why

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Perfect weather for camping on Mother’s Day.

If you don’t think God has a sense of humor, explain to me why the teenage years and the first years of the empty nest so often coincide with peri-menopause. Talk about ups and downs. Face it: You’re going to make some illogical decisions based purely on emotions. Accept it, forgive yourself and move on.

I’m still working on that “forgive yourself” thing for a recent mandate that I was going to spend Mother’s Day with my kids, no matter what. We live in the mountains on Colorado’s Western Slope. Our kids are in Denver and Laramie. To save them the long drive home since both had been here at spring break, I decided that we would take the RV to Fort Collins, which is about halfway in between them. We booked the campsite and started planning. Continue reading

Feb 18

confessions of a packaholic

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Ready for the weekend!

We just returned from a spontaneous four-night trip to Arizona, planned just two days before we left. As we were getting ready to leave, the differences in our packing styles and thought processes were pretty entertaining.

It was snowing as we left Colorado and headed to Phoenix, where record-high temperatures were supposed to be near 90. Our plan was to have a nice Valentine’s Day dinner in Phoenix, then head out the next morning for the Grand Canyon, which meant higher elevations and hiking.

If you’re keeping track, that means we were packing for snow, sunshine, hiking, a night out, cold temps, warm temps, hot temps and several long drives. Not counting toiletries or what we were wearing when we left the house, here’s what we each ended up bringing along.

Feb 18

a few of my favorite things

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A snowy Christmas Eve at the Pine Creek Cookhouse.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love everything about it: the music, the movies, the decorations, the hustle and bustle, even the bell ringers. I love the spirituality and kindness that spread throughout families and communities as people come together to celebrate and to help each other. I love the traditions and the memories it brings up of holidays past.

In addition to raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, here are a few of my favorite things about the holidays: Continue reading

Oct 27

the bucket list

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Blarney Castle: Check!

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately checking things off of a non-existent bucket list, so it seems like a good time to get one started. Like all good list makers, I’m including items I’ve already checked off. There’s no shame in that.

These are in no particular order, and the list is subject to change:

— Visit all 50 states

✓ Ride a Harley-Davidson

— See wild horses with manes and tails blowing in the wind

— Drive or ride Highway 101 from Los Angeles to Tumwater, WA

— Watch bears catching salmon in Alaska

— Never get caught twerking on video (so far, so good) Continue reading

Sep 30

three things that i have learned

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Leaving, on a jet plane.

They say that with age comes wisdom. Since I turned 50 over the weekend, I thought I would share three of the most important things I learned during my first half century.

1. There’s no such thing as a small tear in the seat of your jeans. Throw them away. Think you’ll keep them and just wear them around the house? You’ll forget. Throw them away. Think you can sew and that you’ll get around to fixing them? You won’t. Throw them away. Throw them away before you wear them Christmas shopping.

2. I should not drink wine and attend an auction of any sort. At a live auction, I will drink wine and bid against myself. It’s true. I’ve seen me do it. At silent auctions, I will drink wine and become so fixated on something that I lose perspective and try to keep other people from the bid sheets … without being obvious. I often succeed on obtaining the item, sometimes at a cost that far outweighs its actual value, but I rarely succeed at the not being obvious part. Continue reading