in Arizona – WamiesWorld

a cacti goodbye to Arizona

Published on November 5, 2018 by Jamie Shugart3 Comments

Arizona, what do we say? We had an absolute blast. Four months is just not enough time to really explore and get to know you.

For our last Saturday in the desert, we drove out to Saguaro National Park to see the nation’s largest cacti. Little known fact, they are actually called saguaros. Will had the great idea to drive out to see them around golden hour and sunset, and then to have a farewell dinner in Tucson.

We stamped our National Parks Passports at their visitor center, drove a dirt road loop, and took photos on the side of the road as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Instead of embellishing this experience with words, I think that I will allow our photos to do the talking this time around. If you find yourself in Tucson at any point in the future, Saguaro National Park should be high on your list of things to experience.

If you enjoyed this post, please give it a like and let us know in the comments! If you haven’t joined the family yet, hit that subscribe button and we’ll see you next time!

Until then,

Jamie out.

our disastrous first camping trip together

Published on October 8, 2018 by Jamie Shugart4 Comments

Our first time camping together was slightly spontaneous and outrageously under-planned. We did little to no research, left much later than we intended to, brought no smaller bills to pay for our camping spot, and ending up setting our tent up with the use of flashlights and the very last bits of orange on the skyline as the sunset had already passed.

Parker Canyon Lake

The camping spot was actually super cute and had a great view. It’s five or ten dollars a night, all the spots have easy access to the bathrooms, and the break in monsoons had left the place nice and green for us.

As far as we could tell, the camping sites were first come first serve. We packed up some odds and ends for breakfast, brought some extra water, and then stopped at Subway to grab dinner on our drive out. Unfortunately, our navigation took us the long way to get there so it took twice as long as anticipated. We watched the sunset during our drive instead of from our campsite.

Despite a somewhat frustrating start to our spontaneous camping trip, we made the most of it. We resolved to be a little more prepared next time, because a camping trip without firewood (and s’mores) may not even be a camping trip at all.

Despite having purchased my tent almost two years ago, I had never actually used it. It was super nice to break it out and realize that the six-person tent is huge for just the two of us.

Will is a very experienced and avid camper and backpacker. He has all the gear. Despite having brought all of it to Arizona with us, we unfortunately didn’t plan well enough in advance to use most of it. The consequence of spontaneity, I suppose. Hopefully in a few years we’ll have this down to a science.

We woke up a little after six, as you do while you’re camping, got dressed and ate breakfast. We didn’t bring any kind of camping stove or firewood, so I made do with a few creative food items from our hotel room back home. One item on my wish list is definitely a french press, or at minimum instant coffee and a means to heat up water. Your girl had the worst migraine of her entire life later that afternoon and starting off the day with zero coffee didn’t help.

After we ate breakfast, we packed up the tent in the already eighty degree weather and then drove down to the lake to take in its views and enjoy its peace for a bit.

Items I added to my camping wish list:

Table cloth
Bug spray
Tiny broom
Mallet
Better stakes
COFFEE

Let’s be real. It was NOT the best camping trip in the world. Hopefully we’ll do better in the future, but hey, not every adventure and spontaneous trip is going to be golden. Despite some loud neighbors (who arrived after we did and left before us as well—what a whirlwind!) the camp site was great. You can rent boats at the lake, go fishing, or even swimming. It seems like a great way to spend the weekend, honestly! Next time we’ll arrive earlier, bring fire wood and coffee, and it will be ten times better.

Any suggestions for whirlwind camping trips? I’d love to hear some easy ideas! I’m used to tent trailers and campers, so tent camping as an adult is new to me! I need all your advice in the comments!

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Much love,
Jamie out.

a very old castle

Published on October 4, 2018 by Jamie ShugartLeave a comment

Labor Day Weekend Part IV

Let’s be honest, Will and I had a very successful weekend trip. We visited the site of a volcano, witnessed the sun rising over the Grand Canyon, and hiked almost thirteen miles along its rim. Come Sunday morning, we were beat and ready to go home.

We ate breakfast at the hotel, packed up, and then took some quick shots in the wild flowers beside the parking lot because we forgot to take our traditional selfies with our National Parks Passports that weekend.

We got on the road pretty early but encountered a detour as we searched for Starbucks and my Pumpkin Spiced Latte fix. We enjoyed the first part of our drive through Flagstaff as we discussed the future and what life is going to be like once we are back in North Carolina.

What we did not anticipate or plan for was almost being out of gas, but then deciding to push it and drive thirty more miles to get cheaper gas, and then seeing a sign right beside that gas station for a National Monument just six miles down the road.

“Let’s do it!” We were so excited.

We decided early on in our trip planning that we didn’t want to go to a National Park because “we might as well since it’s right there.” If we aren’t feeling it, we aren’t going to go—the passports aren’t an obligation. But this castle opportunity was just too good to pass up.

Montezuma Castle National Monument

Structures like this capture my heart. I absolutely love learning about and exploring places where people actually lived. Old houses, forts, castles—you name it, I would probably love to explore it. Case and point—Will and I met at an outing where we explored an abandoned school house (read about it here).

In order to see the castle, you have to go through the Visitor Center, which was ridiculously busy on Labor Day. We patiently waded through the crowds to stamp our passports and then to read about the history of the 800 year old cliff dwelling and its inhabitants. The diagram above is a map of the castle floor plans, which the public is not allowed to explore any more. Back in the day a lot of vandalism occurred and visitors would take pieces of the castle as souvenirs, so in an effort to preserve the history, we can only look at it from afar these days.

Montezuma Castle was named one of the first four National Monuments in 1906 by President Roosevelt. He called it a place “of the greatest ethnological value and scientific interest.” The well preserved site has been protected ever since. Early visitors could actually climb up to the castle using ladders (I’m so jealous), but as of 1951 we can now only gaze at it from paved paths.

What is super interesting about the site is 1) why the inhabitants built so high up into the cliff, and 2) why they randomly disappeared and moved on after living there for several hundred years. Learning about the people who once made this place home is the benefit of spending some time in the Visitor Center before jumping outside to see the structure.

It was super interesting to see up close. It made us wonder about older generations who had to climb ladders to get home and what inspired them to build in the cliff face in the first place.

As you can see, it’s pretty high up from the ground. At least this would offer protection from elements and predators.

To the left of Montezuma Castle is another structure, “Castle A” that was excavated. Because a lot of artifacts were lost when Montezuma was looted, the second dwelling offered a lot of information and understanding for anthropologists.

This diorama was another cool picture into what life would have been like living in a cliff 800 years ago. Check out their website here for more information and photos.

We headed straight home after the castle to get some much needed rest and relaxation before heading back to work that week.

Next up in our adventures—our first camping trip together! Join the family and hit that subscribe button so you don’t miss the next post. If you liked those castle photos, give this post a like and let us know in the comments the favorite historical site you’ve ever visited!

Until next time,
Jamie out

Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim Trail

Published on September 27, 2018 by Jamie Shugart1 Comment

Ron Swanson said it’s okay to cry at the Grand Canyon.

September 1, 2018 | Labor Day Part III

Will and I woke up at three o’clock in the morning—probably the earliest I have ever woken up in my life—to get ready, eat breakfast, and drive from our hotel to the south rim of The Grand Canyon. We arrived right around five in the morning, parked in a super close parking spot, took a trip to the bathrooms (which was literally the most disgusting bathroom I have ever been in in my entire life—I’ll spare you the details), and then booked it to Mather Point, where we arrived just as golden hour began.

If you don’t know, golden hour is right around sunrise or sunset and the lighting, colors, and atmosphere are spectacular.

God bless. It was an incredible experience. Click here to see the photos we snapped of the sun rising over the canyon walls.

We hung out for essentially all of golden hour, just drinking in the beauty, and then quickly ran back to the car to drop off a couple things before beginning our hike.

The Rim Trail

Perhaps the most ambitious decision of my hiking life so far was to decide to hike the Rim Trail at the Grand Canyon. A thirteen mile trail that follows the rim for almost its entire length, the trial is “easy,” with very few elevation changes and a great deal of it is paved.

I have never hiked or walked or ran anything close to thirteen miles straight. I had minimal faith in us completing the entire trail, and in actuality we started at Mather Point, which is not the trail head but about 0.8 miles from it. Will, on the other hand (remember the guy who can run a six minute mile and crush me with his pinky finger?) is very accustomed to twelve+ mile treks. He was exceedingly optimistic.

We set out around 6:30 in the morning with packs on our backs. I brought all of the camera gear because when are you ever going to hike the rim trail at the Grand Canyon again? Probably never. Will brought all of the snacks and water.

Literally every turn and bend in the trail had us stopping in awe. For photos, for staring, for moments of sheer joy and amazement. God spent a little more time on you, Grand Canyon.

There are a few great things about the Rim Trail. Like I said above, the trail has very few elevation changes, so it is a fairly flat hike. You aren’t climbing down into the canyon. If you want to do that and you are very fit, the Bright Angel Trail might be for you. Click here for some other day hikes at the south rim.

The Rim Trail follows the same route as many of the shuttles, so you get some fantastic (and occasionally crowded) view points along the way. However, because you’re hiking and not shuttle hopping, you also get the in-between view points that the shuttles don’t stop at. Granted, there won’t be stairs and railings and information plaques at these view points, but who needs that when you have… the Grand Canyon literally in front of you for thirteen miles?

Tip: get up early to get a parking spot inside of the park, set out exploring before it gets super hot, and even if you’re there during peak season (or Labor Day Weekend, like us), the crowds will be significantly more manageable at ungodly morning hours.

An interesting aspect of hiking at a place as widely known as The Grand Canyon is that you will encounter an incredible amount of ethnicities in just one day. In our experience, this was mostly wonderful and exciting. Occasionally you will encounter cultural differences that may be frustrating, such as a family camped out at a view point taking literally a hundred photos while you are obviously waiting (politely) for them to finish. But all-in-all, we had great experiences with everyone on the trail.

We came across four deer at one point who were not even ten feet from the trail. They were extremely comfortable with humans.

We stopped after three miles to eat some granola bars, drink some water, and apply sunscreen. The sun, having fully risen, was beginning to bathe the trail in its late summer light and my plaid shirt went in my backpack soon after we set off hiking again.

Some view points just get you. Right in the feels. Let me tell you, even when you are very tired and your legs and feet are killing you, this view never gets old.

We didn’t go to the Visitor Center prior to our hike—mostly because it wasn’t open yet—so it was nice to have certain pieces of information available along the trail. We wondered about who the first human to even see the canyon was. Well this guy, Major John Wesley Powell, was the first explorer of the Grand Canyon. He and his crew explored the Colorado River that cuts through the canyon in their row boats in 1869.

We later learned that the Grand Canyon was awarded federal protection in 1893, but was not made a National Park until 1919, which was three years after the National Park Service was established. The canyon was already receiving over forty thousand visitors a year, compared to today’s five million. If you want to read more about the park’s history, click here to visit the National Parks website.

I pulled out my zoom lens at this point as we took a small hiking break. We stood and stared at details like these for a long time. The shadows of passing clouds darkening the landscape below. The jagged white rocks with tufts of vegetation on their sides. The red rock, crumbling and sharp in stark contrast to the younger layers of white rock above them. You can see the erosion and passing of time in front of you.

Game time: can you spot Will?

(Disclaimer to Will’s mother. I’m sorry—it was his idea. And yes, he was terrified.)

Second game: can you spot the rain storm coming for us?

After stopping for lunch around eleven and then deciding to keep hiking after the comfort of a full stomach, the clouds began to roll in. At first this was pretty gracious of them, seeing as the sun was high above us and the desert summer was getting hot on our necks.

We began seeing rain storms in the distance, and even lightning farther away. It was gorgeous. It also made me a little nervous.

My legs had slowly begun to fall apart by this point of the hike. It started with my calves and ankles and traveled slowly from my knees, to my quads, and finally to my glutes. I was just about out of juice, but we only had a little over a mile left. We would be done in no time! Will’s encouragement was all I needed.

Well friends, with only a mile to go, the heavens opened and it began to absolutely pour on us. We quickly covered my backpack with my rain cover, pulled our hats snuggly to our heads, and clutched our freezing cold hands as we powered through the last mile of our day hike in a deluge of monsoon season rain. Our hike that had been in the mostly comfortable eighty degree range quickly plunged into the low sixties.

We did it! What ended up being 12.2 miles for us took about seven hours. My legs were falling off, I was limping the last mile, and our shoes were sodden. But we did it. We snapped a few pictures, climbed aboard a (very crowded) shuttle, and shivered the entire ride back to the Visitor Center. We quickly got our National Parks Passports stamped, watched a short film about the formation of the canyon, perused the gift shop, and then basically flat out ran back to our car through the wind and rain to finally turn on the heater and warm up our soaked, frozen little selves.

I could not walk like a proper human being for several days afterward. But we did it. When again in my life will I have the opportunity to walk almost the entire Grand Canyon South Rim Trail? I’m so proud of us, but I am especially proud of myself. I have been working out five days a week so that I could do THAT. And I DID IT.

Backpacking through Zion here I come.

What is the longest distance you have ever hiked?! Leave it in the comments below! If you enjoyed this post, let me know by giving it a “like,” and if you haven’t joined our family yet, hit that subscribe button!

Until next time,
Jamie out.

Read More:
Labor Day Part I | Labor Day Part II