Government Shut Down and a Trip through Utah's Canyon Country

[upcruiser]

Took the family out for a foray into the desert this past weekend. We soaked in the sights and enjoyed some time away from the day to day, being unplugged if you will. Our little guy Kruz is just shy of 3 months old and this was his 3rd camping trip. Here are some teaser pics....







The rest of the pics and the story are here... http://kristiansaile.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/through-the-heart-of-utahs-canyon-country-lockhart-basin/#more-147

 

[ROKTAXI]

Nice TR with great px! Brings back memories of when I was raising 3 kids. Never gave it a second thought about not going wheelin' in the Jeep because of having the kids!!

 

[mph]

Looks like u found the goods! Enjoyed your write up on the blog...thanks!

 

[Silver dude]

Great as usual! Epic place, great write up.

 

[lysol]

I really like that first picture. It just screams relaxation.

 

[98roamer]

Great TR and time with the family! So good to see TR from you again, everyone looks very happy.

 

[upcruiser]

Thanks guys! Wish we would have had more days to spend. It is easy to take good pictures when your landscapes are so striking, and I can't take credit for that ;-)

 

[Willman]

Priceless shot of the young one.

 

[luk4mud]

My boys are now teenagers, have traveled alot in country and out of country. All 3 will tell you that the best trips they have taken, and continue to take, are of this kind. They still like to go ... well, as long as there is some shooting involved somewhere along the way.

 

[Kiwi-Yank]

i guess your youngest one must not roll over very much while sleeping.
interesting way to test the hypothesis.
Hahahahha!!!

K-Y

 

[YotaPilot]

Great write up and pics. Where do you find a miniature sleeping bag like this? Did he actually sleep in it? Looks like you did some pretty technical off roading. So he just sleeps the whole time and the big bumps and twists of the vehicle don't bother him? It's great to see a couple traveling with a young baby. My wife and I are ready to start a family and I don't want our traveling to stop. You are an inspiration.

 

[upcruiser]

Great write up and pics. Where do you find a miniature sleeping bag like this? Did he actually sleep in it? Looks like you did some pretty technical off roading. So he just sleeps the whole time and the big bumps and twists of the vehicle don't bother him? It's great to see a couple traveling with a young baby. My wife and I are ready to start a family and I don't want our traveling to stop. You are an inspiration.

Justin, sorry for a super delayed response to this, I haven't been on Expo much lately. That sleeping bag is a Therma rest with a built in air mattress. We were in an outdoor store in Moab picking up some WAG bags and other supplies on our way through for this trip. That was hanging on the wall as a miniature display in the sleeping bag section. Jokingly I asked the gal at the counter how much they wanted for it since it was perfect size for our little man Kruz. The owner walked over, snagged it off the wall and said $10. Done! It worked great for giving him a cozy place to chill out in at camp and sleep in when we weren't in the tent for the night. We started travelling with Kruz when he was 1 week old, in fact, he did his first 14'er at one week old. We moved from Jackson, WY to Minturn, CO that week. At 3 weeks old we did our first overland/camping trip with him. He actually sleeps the longest, and most sound when we are bumping around offroad. He is way less content when we are stopped and sitting or when he is confined indoors. Sometimes when he gets really tired and won't sleep, Jules will put him in her car and drive around and he falls asleep instantly. Perhaps we are just really lucky or maybe its because he started off riding in vehicles on long trips right away, not sure. We are planning a trip to Mexico with him next spring and it hasn't slowed us down a bit. He has added another level of complexity to the camping process with his feedings and needs but its been pretty doable. Our goal is to raise him with an appreciation of travel and expose him to a good amount of time abroad once he gets old enough to appreciate it. Jules is a talented mountain biker, skier, surfer, and motorcyclist and so is my background, so most of our adventures will be getting back into a skiing/mountain biking or surfing type of theme here again by next year. We are dying to get back on motos as well, not sure how that is going to work. Already looking at striders and mini bikes for Kruz. I think in the meantime we might get a dualsport bike and take turns using it. Anyway, if you want to keep the travelling going, a kid won't stop you. Everyone told us it would, but if anything, we did more initially. The only reason it has tapered in the last month is due to my new job's incredibly busy schedule in the winter. If anything, doing this stuff with your family adds a whole new level of value to the experiences.

 

[upcruiser]

Priceless shot of the young one.

Thanks Nic. We are planning to make some nice photo albums for Kruz to give him when he turns 18 with some chronicles of his travels as a child.

 

[upcruiser]

My boys are now teenagers, have traveled alot in country and out of country. All 3 will tell you that the best trips they have taken, and continue to take, are of this kind. They still like to go ... well, as long as there is some shooting involved somewhere along the way.

The things I recall the fondest as a kid were my camping trips with my father and my brother. Compared to the stuff we did then, what I am doing now is luxurious. I have to admit though, some of the luxuries of this overlanding hobby are pretty nice.

 

[upcruiser]

i guess your youngest one must not roll over very much while sleeping.
interesting way to test the hypothesis.
Hahahahha!!!

K-Y

He wasn't able to roll over yet at this age, in fact he is just starting now. Honestly though, we staged that picture to give a shock of fear to the grandparents and for a bit of a chuckle for ourselves. Our camp was 20 yards from the edge and he was well propped in his boppy on a chair when not in the tent with us sleeping. ;-)