If you've read my About Page, you know I'm a mom, and that role is my highest priority. When I travel, my kids travel with me, and if my husband is working and can't go with us, that limits where we go and what I can shoot (can't have a kid falling off a cliff or playing with a rattlesnake while I'm shooting in the other direction, for one thing...). Plus, one kid is very intolerant of heat. And one always waits until the very last minute to tell me she has to pee! Pitching a tent in the dark while the baby cries: not so much fun. And my urge to go wandering has been growing again, as the children get a little bigger. So a couple of months ago, we bought this beast! And last week, we had a break in the classic South Bay May Gray dreariness that can be so draining, and that sunny blue sky gave me the energy I needed to throw some food and clothes in the camper and hit the road! The kids and I traveled up the 395 to Alabama Hills and the Whitney Portal, played on the rocks, and hiked into the John Muir Wilderness. Pictures and more detailed stories from the trip will be coming up soon! The truck (I haven't decided yet what to name it), with its high clearance, lets me go places our minivan can't take us, and the camper makes it easy to hit the road on a whim and sleep comfortably and securely. I will drive that thing into the dirt! (Literally.) And it will be integral part of my kit as we work towards my goal of visiting all the (continental) U.S. National Parks in the next 11 years. The only downsides are the horrendous gas mileage and the likelihood that I won't be able to change a tire without help if the need ever arrises. The rig is a beast! And I love it.
