Today marks one year since we started living, working and traveling full time in our Airstream. One year ago feels both so incredibly distant, but also like it flew by! We have learned a lot in the last twelve months — about ourselves, about our airstream, and about what we hope to get out of this lifestyle. Here’s a look back at our first year as nomads:
We travelled 7,997 miles across 16 states:
California
Alabama Hills – Lone Pine, CATrinidad, CAPoway, CANewport Beach, CA
Nevada
Valley of Fire State Park – Overton, NVLas Vegas, NVZephyr Cove (Lake Tahoe), NV
Utah
Snow Canyon State Park – Ivins, UTSnow Canyon State Park – Ivins, UT
Arizona
Page, AZAntelope Canyon – Page, AZ
New Mexico
Santa Fe, NM (We were in Santa Fe for only one night and checked out Meow Wolf, which we highly recommend!)
Colorado
Pueblo, COLake Pueblo State Park – Pueblo, COLake Pueblo State Park – Pueblo, CO
Kansas
Dodge City, KS (It was VERY cold and windy the couple of nights we were there, so we didn’t get a chance to explore.)
Missouri
National World War I Museum and Memorial – Kansas City, MOThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art – Kansas City, MOHarry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum – Independence, MO
Iowa
(We spent two isolated, quiet nights in Cedar Point, IA and have nothing to show for it. Sorry, Iowa)
Wisconsin
Breezy Hills Campground – Fond du Lac, WIVan Dyne, WINeshonoc Lakeside Camp Resort – West Salem, WI
Minnesota
Minneopa State Park – Mankato, MNBunker Hills Campground – Coon Rapids, MNBunker Hills Campground – Coon Rapids, MN
South Dakota
Dignity Statue – Chamberlain, SDBlack Elk Peak – Black Hills of SDBlack Elk Peak – Black Hills of SDCuster State Park – Custer, SD
Wyoming
Devils Tower, WY
Montana
Max was super excited for Montana!Garryowen, MTBillings, MT (with cotton from the Cottonwood trees floating in the air)Along the ‘M’ Trail in Bozeman, MT
Washington
Spokane, WASpokane, WA
Oregon
Cannon Beach, OROtis, OROna Beach State Park – Newport, ORReedsport, ORWinchester Bay, ORCoos Bay, OR
We visited 24 National Park Service sites:
Joshua Tree National Park
Death Valley National Park
Saguaro National Park
Petrified Forest National Park
Badlands National Park
Wind Cave National Park
Glacier National Park
Redwood National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Yosemite National Park
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Devils Tower National Monument
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Cabrillo National Monument
Harry S. Truman National Historic Site
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Manzanar National Historic Site
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area
…and one ghost town (Bodie, CA)…
…the world’s only corn palace (Mitchell, SD)…
…and a cheese factory (Tillamook, OR).
We drank some beer…
Santa Fe, NMYachats, ORCoos Bay, OR
…and some liquor…
Coram, MT
…and some wine!
Pahrump, NVTemecula, CA
We boondocked for the first time in Wisconsin on a family friend’s farm…
…and stayed at a Harvest Hosts for the first time in Nevada.
Travis ran a half marathon in Death Valley…
…and we learned how to play pickle ball.
We did a lot of hiking…
…and a bit of relaxing.
But most importantly, we were able to spend a lot of time with family and friends!
As you can see, it was a great year! We have a lot of amazing adventures planned for 2019, and we look forward to sharing them with you!
Snow Canyon State Park is a 7400-acre park tucked amid lava flows and sandstone cliffs in Southwest Utah. Within the park is the 31-site Snow Canyon Campground.
Campground Info:
Address: 1002 Snow Canyon Drive, Ivins, UT 84738
Phone Number: (435) 628-2255
14 Sites with Electric and Water and 4 Sites with Electric Only ($25/night)
13 Sites without Hookups ($20/Night)
Restrooms with Flush Toilets
Showers (Free)
Dump Station
Water Spigots for Drinking Water
Group Campsites
Park Office Located within Campground
Recycle/Trash
We stayed in site 14, which is at the end of the row of 14 pull-through sites in the middle of the campground. These 14 sites are tight and even though they are paved, are not very level. Each one of the pull-through sites has a covered picnic table and a grill. If we were to return to Snow Canyon, we would try to get site 15A or 15B, which offer more privacy and nicer views.
Site 14 – It looks large enough, but this photo was taken when the site next to us was empty. A second rig fits in the spot to the left of the shade structure on the right side of the photo.It’s hard to tell from the photo, but there are 5 sites pictured here. They are quite narrow and the website warns that you may not be able to use your slideouts in these sites.
Park Info:
We checked in late Tuesday afternoon and left early Saturday morning, so we really only had three days to explore the park. Seeing as those three days were week days and we need to work most of the time during the week, we didn’t really explore this park as much as we could have. There are more than 38 miles of hiking trails, a three-mile paved walking/biking trail, technical climbing and more than 15 miles of equestrian trails. However, dogs are only allowed on two trails, so this park isn’t as dog-friendly as other state parks.
We were able to get in a few different hikes:
Cinder Cone Trail: 1.5 miles. Difficult. Steep slopes, loose uneven surfaces. Hike among “lava clinkers” as you corkscrew 500 feet to the top of an extinct volcano where you can view a volcano crater and panoramic scenery.
The cinder cone wasn’t as impressive as we were expecting, but it was still interesting to see. The Cinder Cone Trail is accessible from outside the north end of the park.
Petrified Dunes to Butterfly Trail to Lava Flow Trail:
Petrified Dunes: 1.2 miles. Moderate. Some steep slopes, uneven surfaces. This route crosses massive Navajo sandstone outcrops and sand dunes frozen in time.
Butterfly Trail: 2 miles. Moderate. Some steep slopes, steps and uneven surfaces. Winding along the west side of Petrified Dunes, this trail leads to West Canyon Overlook and lava tubes.
Lava Flow Trail: 2.5 miles. Moderate. Uneven surfaces. Hike through a jumbled lava field, the vivid remains of a long-ago volcanic eruption.
Petrified Sand DunesPetrified Sand DunesAt the intersection of the Butterfly Trail and Lava Flow Trail is a lava tube, which was formed during the most recent eruption (more than 27,000 years ago) of the now extinct volcano to the northeast.The entrance to the lava tube. The tube is fairly long and fun to explore — just remember to bring your headlamp as it’s very dark inside!Lava Field
Johnson Canyon: Closed annually from March 15 to September 14 – 2 miles. Easy. Level with some rocky slopes and steps. Leads to a sheltered canyon of willow and cottonwood, winding through lava flows and red rock to an arch spanning 200 feet.
Along the trail to the canyon…The entrance to the canyon…The arch from a distance. I really enjoyed this trail because it was a nice departure from the trails we’d been experiencing in the Southwest. There were trees, and a small stream, and toads croaking — it was just nice to hear nature.The Arch (and this is as close as you can get)
In the Area:
The city of St. George (population 82,000+) is about a 20-minute drive from the campground. You’ll find grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, a post office, movie theatre, shopping, and basically anything you could need. There’s a cute, downtown historic area where we ate dinner at a fantastic restaurant called The Painted Pony and got delicious cupcakes from TwentyFive Main. There is also an airport in St. George, which is the second busiest airport in Utah after Salt Lake City.
Just south of the south entrance of the park is the Red Mountain Resort that has a spa where I got massage one day. It was nice to get a little pampering after being on the road for so long!
Zion National Park is less than 60 miles away — about an hour and fifteen minute drive.
