A couple of years ago, I changed the whole look and feel of my blog and essentially wanted to re-brand. This blog started off strictly about running with the goal of trying to run a race in every state. While I’m still striving toward that goal (slowly), I also wanted it to be a place where I could write more about my whole lifestyle and interests, which includes traveling, the outdoors, and a lifestyle geared towards getting to actually partake in those things.
Traveling was always a big part of why I wanted to run a race in every state. I didn’t branch out of Colorado much growing up, minus a few big trips, or even in college, and when I hit 25 years old, I wanted to change that. I loved running and this goal was a great way to do that.
In my first year of blogging, I ran in seven states, which also meant I traveled to seven states, most of them places I had never been before. Then, of course, life happened, and I’ve been up and down in terms of jobs, finances, and other life struggles. When I re-branded from Racing the States to Racing & Wandering, it was my attempt to focus on making travel a bigger priority in life. And it worked…for a bit. Then life happened again and we haven’t gotten to travel as much as we would like.
The goal of traveling (and running a race in every state) is still there, and always will be there, it’s just a matter of rearranging priorities and making it happen within the parameters that are available to us. Something we are always learning.
Recently, we got the chance to do a quick trip to Moab for a mini family vacation. Moab is one of our favorite places and it close enough for a drive and can be an affordable vacation. So, we loaded up the car with all our camping stuff, hiking accessories, and Layton, then hit the road!
This was our first family camping trip with the little tornado on two feet and it was quite the ride! I wrote about HERE on my other Blog, Creating Mama (shameless plug: subscribe for stories about pregnancy, parenthood, crafting, children’s literature, and more!)
We spent four and a half days camping, hiking and just wandering around Moab. We actually spent a good part of one of the days walking around Downtown Moab, something we’ve never done before since we are usually only in Moab for a quick climbing trip.
We also checked off a new National Park from our list, Canyonlands! Ben had been there as a kid, but Layton and I had not! 😉 Canyonlands was pretty incredible and our day spent there left us wanting more (I’ve added a dozen more things to my Moab bucket list).
We also spend a day hiking in Dead Horse State Park. Honestly, we were aiming for Arches National Park but by the time we got there (9:30 AM!) it was already at capacity (which is currently lower than normal due to COVID). The closed door definitely opened up a HUGE window because Dead Horse State Park was an off-the-beaten-path gem. It was not crowded and had amazing views. We hiked the rim trails, 4+ miles roundtrip from the visitor’s center, to Dead Horse Point, and back. It was a nice flat trail that followed the rim of the canyon wall that offered up beautiful views of the canyons and river below.
Layton seemed to love all the camping, hiking, dirt to throw, sticks to bang with, and swimming in the campground pool. We didn’t want to leave Moab and come back to work. Luckily, it’s always just a 5-6 hour drive away!
Here’s to more WANDERING posts on Racing & Wandering!
Racing & Wandering 