Wanders – Page 3 – WamiesWorld

Coronado National Memorial

Published on August 23, 2018 by Jamie Shugart5 Comments

A lot of people love going on adventures. Often times they are small—making a run to the gas station for ice cream, only to find that they’re closed and instead of admitting defeat, you run all around town searching for your favorite treat. Sometimes the adventures are quite large—a honeymoon to Maine or an Alaskan cruise.

When it comes to adventures, Will and I really enjoy National Parks.

Will used to work for the Utah Conservation Corps, which means that he lived and worked outdoors while working conservation projects around the state. I say this to impress upon you how much he loves and is accustomed to backpacking, camping, hiking, and the great outdoors. He grew up in a state that has Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Arches, to name only a few.

I grew up in a family that loved camping, albeit most of the time in a tent-trailer. “Glamping,” some might call it. My sister and I begrudgingly joined in on hikes and it wasn’t until after college that I started to love them.

I took a trip with my family to the Appalachians and the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina a few years ago and found some National Parks Passports at their visitor center. The passports are like any passport, except that they’re to National Parks, not to other countries. Every National Park has an visitor center and a stamp station for the passports.

Being of limited means, I eyed the passports longingly and then left. A couple years later, I took Will back to the same spot and we each picked up a passport, deciding that our new life goals were going to be filling them up with stamps.

Arizona, we are happily discovering, is FULL of National Parks for us to explore.

The Coronado National Memorial is one beautiful contribution to the National Parks community. Located along the border of Arizona and Mexico, it climbs up from the valley and into the Huachuca Mountains. Conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado conducted the first expedition into the southwest in 1540 and the memorial serves to recognize the ties that bind the United States and Mexico. Check out this website if you want to learn more about the “journey of conquest filled with exploration, wonder—and cruelty” that the europeans and Aztecs experienced.

Interestingly to myself and William, the memorial was established on November 5, 1952. He and I met on November 5, 2016, so it’s always a date that sticks out to us. (If you want to read about how we met, click here)

The Visitor Center

Our first stop was, obviously, to stamp our passports.

The visitor centers has a small exhibit that mostly talks about the blending of cultures, emphasizing food and spices and highlighting the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos). They also have a cute little book store!

God bless the Spanish for brining coffee and cacao beans.

There are no entrance fees for Coronado National Memorial, by the way, so it’s a super easy trip! It’s only half an hour from Sierra Vista and has a couple hiking trails and a lot of picnic tables.

Coronado Cave Trail

Unlike our recent trip to Bisbee, we were smart enough to do a little bit of research before we visited the park. We discovered that there is a cave trail leading to a 600 foot deep cave that hikers are welcome and encouraged to explore. You don’t need a permit, but it is encouraged for explorers to get information at the visitor center.

The trailhead is just a short drive from the visitor center and it’s a half mile hike up the mountain. See—THIS is why I’m working out five days a week. So that I can climb half a mile up a mountain and survive! Haha! (I’m only half joking, by the way.)

Also, more advice—Arizona is HOT. If it’s going to be in the mid to upper 90s, don’t hike after 10am. We were lucky that it was only about 89 degrees that day and therefore we had until about 2pm to get all of our hiking in. Heat stroke is real, people!

The Coronado Cave

600 feet long, about 70 feet wide at most spots, and home to a select few stalactites and stalagmites, this was one of the coolest caves I’ve ever been in (without a tour guide).

Literally. So much fun.

We climbed down the rocks (pictured above) and then took a few minutes to get our flashlights situated before heading in deeper.

It is PITCH BLACK inside of that cave, y’all. Will gave me the head lamp and he used a flashlight. I was surprised at how massive the cave felt, especially with our limited light sources. We climbed all around and explored a lot of side tunnels, but mainly kept to the real deal. It was so much fun! And a lot cooler than outside in the sunshine, that’s for sure.

At one point we turned off all of our lights to just sit in the dark. It was nuts. I couldn’t handle it. I just kept picturing the creatures from the movie The Descent and had to turn my head lamp back on.

After a proper adventure and exploring all of the nooks and crannies, we climbed back out feeling excited and accomplished. The half mile hike back to our car felt like nothing.

After spotting some deer who were crossing the road, we got back in the car and drove the winding road up to the Coronado Peak to sneak some views of the canyon before we had to head home.

The valley is definitely greener than normal because of monsoon season. I’m not complaining, though. Apparently they get to experience all four season at Coronado. I would love to see this place with some snow.

Honestly, we have nothing but good things to say about the Coronado National Memorial. We had a great time! We’re super glad that we looked it up ahead of time, otherwise we would not have been prepared for the cave trail. Ending the trip with a windy drive up the mountain followed by a view of the valley was perfect.

Do you like exploring caves or do you get freaked out by the dark?

Until next time,
Jamie out

Coronado National Memorial — We aren’t dorks at all.

a tiny mountain town | Bisbee, AZ

Published on August 16, 2018 by Jamie ShugartLeave a comment

Bisbee is a tiny little mountain town just thirty minutes southeast of Sierra Vista. Fewer than six thousand people live in this historic location that was once a thriving mining town. It has flourished with tourist activity lately, drawing crowds with its charming historic district and filling storefronts with galleries, humans who love all things organic, and tasty restaurants. Its tiny shops sell jewelry, hand made soap, and homemade organic dog treats.

On one of our first weekends in Arizona, Will and I took a quick afternoon trip to the mountains. We had heard great things, but hadn’t done any of our research ahead of time. We discovered their mine first, kind of accidentally and mostly just because we needed a bathroom.

We perused their gift shop and examined the small displays. As Will made a work call, I made big plans for us to come back at a later date to go on the mine tour.

Bisbee is perched in the mountains, surrounded by red hills and rocks, swooping birds of prey, and cacti. In amongst what might be perceived as a harsh desert are colorful buildings, strings of lights, music and coffee. It’s a picturesque scene.

We didn’t stay long on this particular visit because neither of us were feeling well. Despite that, I made sure to photograph the plethora of beard oils for our beard-loving-friends back home before we took off.

Have you been to Bisbee? What is your top recommendation for this mountain escape?

Until Monday,
Jamie out.

our 4 favorite things in Arizona

Published on August 13, 2018 by Jamie Shugart3 Comments

Happy Monday, friends!

I super love writing favorites posts, because I get to share a little piece of what I have been loving. My standard favorites posts from back in the day (click here for examples) would have me all up in my personal day-to-day, and you know I have been getting down with some T-Swift and Gilmore Girls these days, but what I want to share with you today are four things we have loved the most so far in Arizona!

#1—The food!

My new life goal is to only eat Mexican food for the rest of our time in Arizona.

No but seriously, the tacos are out of this world. My parents grew up in southern California, I have lived in San Diego, and have been to Mexico twice. I am well versed in consuming authentic Mexican food. Any time I move somewhere far away from the border, I get a little sad about leaving the legit carnitas tacos and sopapillas behind!

When Will and I found out we were temporarily relocating to Arizona, the FIRST thing I got excited for was Mexican food. My first taco that I bit into was pork and pineapple and I never ever want to eat anything else ever again.

Okay well… maybe I’ll make an exception for In-N-Out, because their animal style burger satisfies my soul, and I cannot get away with a trip to this iconic California dining experience without one of their chocolate shakes. It may stick to my hips temporarily, but it will live in my heart forever.

#2—The storms

We are dead in the middle of monsoon season, and it is to die for. Every roll of thunder, every crash of lightning, every gust of wind has me running to the window or outside my suite to get a peek at the incredible weather sweeping across the desert valley that we are blessed to call home.

The air quality is so exquisite that as you drive across the plains, you can see the billows of clouds for miles and miles. You can see a rain storm from a great distance because it looks like a great black cloud has been smudged down to earth.

There is lightning almost every day, whether near by or far off, and it slices through the sky and clouds with an incredible ferocity. Unlike Florida’s typical afternoon storms that make you feel like you need to get indoors immediately otherwise you will be drenched and electrocuted, the monsoons here are more of a spectator’s storm. Usually.

#3—The mountains

Mountains vs. Beach.

I PICK MOUNTAINS! Everywhere you go, they are different. Will grew up in a Utah valley and I was born in Nevada, in the shadow of the Carson and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. The desert mountains have their own unique beauty and characteristics that just scream home for us. We both love camping, hiking, national parks, and lakes. Mountains are just home.

There are some great mountains right around us here on the Arizona-Mexico border. We had the blessing to explore Ramsey Canyon a couple weeks ago, but we also have a great mountain right behind our hotel that we love to climb in the evenings at golden hour.

#4—The friendly neighborhood dinosaur

Last but certainly not least, is this dinosaur we discovered one day as we were driving home from Tucson. He lives outside a McDonalds in Benson and we pulled over immediately upon seeing him so that we could introduce ourselves.

According to the internet, this ravenous raptor is not the only prehistoric dino that lives at Arizona McDonalds across the state. Apparently there is a T-Rex at a Tucson location and he has lived there since 1994, shortly after Jurassic Park came out. I definitely think he deserves a visit next time we go to Tucson!

If there’s anything to love about Arizona, it is that the state appears to share my love for dinosaurs.

As Will and I marvel at how fast our time in the desert is slipping by, we are definitely trying to take advantage of this opportunity to explore a new place. There’s so much to love here! If you have been to southern Arizona, let us know what your favorite things are!

If you enjoyed this post, give it a like or leave us a comment about what you would like to see next. Don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already and we’ll see you next time!

Jamie out.

moving to Arizona

Published on August 1, 2018 by Jamie Shugart5 Comments

Moving was a huge part of my life growing up. I have lived in six states and two countries. For most of my life I have called the west coast home. From the deserts of Nevada, to the valleys and greenery of the Pacific Northwest, with the beach life of SoCal, I have experienced my fair share of American cultures.

In 2014 I moved from San Diego to North Carolina, where my guy Will moved in 2015. Will, unlike me, has not lived a lot of places. He grew up in Utah, went to school in Utah, and spent a few months in Colorado after completing his undergrad.

We met, we dated, we married, and just two months later, we packed up all of our belongings, put almost everything in storage, and moved to Arizona. (By the way, that adorable baby on the bed is my nephew James—Will and I have not procreated yet)

God bless my family for all of their help. My entire immediate family lives in North Carolina currently, which has been a huge blessing. One of the things I am missing most in Arizona is Sunday evenings at my parents’ house with the family. They were an immense help in getting us ready to move and my mom and dad put their many moves worth of experience to work in helping us pack, move everything to storage, and clean the apartment before we handed in our keys. They even let us crash at their place the night before we took off into the sunrise!

Will and I didn’t live together before we were married, and we knew that we would be moving right away so Will moved into my tiny apartment with me. It was definitely a challenge figuring out where to store things, and our second bedroom turned into a storage room/Will’s closet for a couple months. It was a relief to get everything out of there.

Day 1—Wednesday.

We were determined to make really good time on our drive. We had decided to bring both of our cars so we both drove all day every day—and my little Mazda doesn’t have cruise control! Our first 14 hour day was a real treat, I tell ya!

We listened to several chapters in The Hobbit and I definitely utilized Podcasts as, for the first time in my life, I just couldn’t bring myself to listen to hours and hours of music while on the road. I found some good marriage podcasts, and decided after one go at it to leave the political podcasts to someone else.

We drove all the way to Jackson, MS and discovered that a convention was happening in the area and almost every hotel was completely booked. We sat in the parking lot of our second attempted hotel and called almost everyone in the area before we found possibly the last available room in Jackson. We were so tired and delirious and just ready to crash, but we celebrated finding a room in a hotel with a pool and a complimentary breakfast. It’s the little things! Plus we had a sweet water view from our window, which we entered right at golden hour so the sunset was stunning.

Day 2—Thursday.

We didn’t push quite so far this day, as it was our two-monthiversary and Will picked a specific restaurant for us to celebrate at that evening.

Did I mention that we used walkie talkies the whole drive? Because we did. I was Raptor One and Will was Captain America. It made logistics super easy, and it also made the drive a lot less lonely.

No road trip is complete without tiny donuts, and I have discovered that it is specifically Hostess chocolate donuts. I’m partially blaming my newlywed-fifteen on these tiny donuts. (Did anyone else IMMEDIATELY start putting on the pounds once they got married? Because I’ve gone from a size 2 to a size 6 in three months.)

Day 3—Friday.

We made plans with my friend for dinner this day so our destination was set, and a good thing that was. We arrived at our hotel earlier than expected and crashed for almost two hours. We were absolutely exhausted. I was so tired on this trip that I never even pulled out my real camera—I just took a few iPhone photos and videos here and there!

We had a delicious steak dinner with my friend Regina and her husband and talked the night away. It was incredible getting to catch up with such a beautiful and generous soul who used to be such a light for me in North Carolina until she moved.

Day 4—Saturday.

Our shortest day, and thank goodness. We were excited, and exhausted, and nervous to see the hotel we would be living in for the next four months. Also, we had been driving across Texas for DAYS and finally seeing another state was a sight for sore eyes. The mountains rose around us and the desert heat came in waves.

As two humans who grew up on the west coast, were born in desert environments and small cities surrounded by mountains, we got very very excited when we finally pulled up to our new digs.

There is a pond, and trails up the mountain right behind us. There are cacti and free coffee in the lobby. There are sweet maids who deep clean our rooms and give us towels and pillow mints. There is a complimentary breakfast every morning, and a pool to dip in during the hot days and nights. And there is monsoon season—OH is there monsoon season!

We have a cute little suite (#SuiteLifeofWillandJamie) with couches and a kitchenette and a cute double bed that Will likes to hog. I have a little cabinet to put all of my workout stuff in and Will has a huge desk he can spread out on and work at to his heart’s content. There are big windows I can open to listen to the rain and the laundry is up one flight of stairs, which is only inconvenient if I choose to do laundry after leg day.

We are super happy and are having a blast on this little adventure of ours! I’ll let you know what we got up to in July pretty soon here, so make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss it! If you enjoyed this post, please like and comment to let me know what you would like to see from us next!

Until next time,
Jamie out ❤

To read about our first month in Arizona, click here.