Colorado!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well since Winter is rapidly approaching upon us, we will not be doing trips in Az for the next few months. All the places we like to camp- which is Northern Az will start to see snow soon. All parks closed down as of Nov. 4th. We don't do any local camping as camping in the desert is not what we consider "Fun". On to being more creative!!!

Nov. 15th we will be driving out to Colorado!!!! This is our favorite state to visit and where we plan on retiring to. Our friends live near Boulder and we usually try to visit every other Thanksgiving. This year will be a little different- we will actually be looking at homes and checking in on some job oppurtunities. We may actually be retiring and moving sooner than we thought. In the near future, we would like to see "We're Crazy Like That" be our full time job rather than a part time passion.

During our drive up to Colorado, we plan on stopping and staying the night in Durango, exploring our favorite town of Silverton. Silverton is an old mining town with lots of history. Last time we stopped for hot chocolate, looked around and had to go on. This time we decided to extend our drive from 13 hours to 2 days. Wow, with 4 kids this is going to be a LONG drive!! Ha ha, actually this drive is usually when I see my kids the most quiet. They are to busy looking around saying "ooh- aah" at all the marvelous sites. We can make an adventure out of anything..thats why WE'RE CRAZY LIKE THAT!

Stay tuned for posts during our trip and I will be posting pictures as we go!!!

 

Glennwood Springs

Sedona in the Fall

We took a quick trip up to Sedona to see the beautiful fall colors. We camped in Oak Creek Canyon, Cave Springs campground.

Branching Out Tweet Tweet

We're on Twitter! We're doing our best to expand our site..We now have a Twitter account, it's still under construction. What's the point? Good question..we're gonna attempt to add a "how to" section. How to travel on a budget, how to travel with kids, how to have fun and truly enjoy your destination! More details to come.....

You can still follow us on Facebook too! http://www.facebook.com/metzler.fam

Peppersauce Cave, Tucson

One of our most favorite caving trips- Peppersauce cave. We camped out in the Catalina State park, made the drive to the cave and explored underground all day. We managed to find all 4 lakes inside, squeezed our way in to the book signing room and hauled out 3 bags of trash! (http://caves.org/grotto/cag2/pcleanup.html)

This has to be one of the prettiest caves I've ever been in. It's so sad that people who visit this cave can destroy it with carelessness and disregard to one of natures greatest gifts the earth has to offer. We made a 2nd trip the next day, picked up a Canadian family who decided to follow us once inside the cave and managed to show them that they to can make a difference. We didn't know each other but once they saw us cleaning as we explored, they asked if they could help. They filled up one garbage bag and said that they would forever encourage other friends and families to do the same. We didn't get paid to clean, no one asked us too, we simply read about it online and decided to show our kids that one small gesture can make a huge impact.

 

Our nieces joined us on the trip- it was their first time caving!

 

Not my favorite part of caving....

 

Did I mention the Catalina State Park also has ruins you can hike to??

The Native Americans lived here, some of the huts still stand today, the hike was beautiful!

 

***On a side note- we never recommend caving by yourself and always make sure you have the proper equipment. We do not provide locations of most caves, 1. to preserve the cave and 2. for safety reasons..if you really want to cave, you know what it takes and know the rules of revealing locations. Show caves are different and locations are available through simple web research. Just remember the cavers creed - TAKE ONLY PICTURES, LEAVE ONLY CAREFULLY PLACED FOOTSTEPS, KILL NOTHING  BUT TIME!

Grand Canyon 2012

We're Addicted to the Grand canyon! This year we decided to skip the most difficult trail and try out Bright Angel Trail. Ha!! 9 miles and 11 hours later we completed this so called "easy" trail. It was worth every minute of it and the kids enjoyed it. Yep, we didn't scare them off after the last trip. I highly recommend you refrain from hiking any of these trails during the summer months. When we reached the bottom, the canyon temp was 100 degrees. We cooled off in the natural pools at Indian Gardens, had lunch and played with dragon flies.

My Brother-in-law Michael flew in from Hawaii to join us on our hike. His First time hiking the Grand Canyon!

Little did Emily know that on our way back up, she would be feeling this way. It was a little warmer than we anticipated, however we made sure to bring plenty of water and refilled our packs at every rest house

The views always amaze me!

The hike back up, a bit tired but ready to do it!

We stayed at Mather Campground again. We didn't see as much wildlife as we did last time, but we still had a lot of fun. Our In-laws and nieces joined us. My Sis and Brother in-law joined us from Hawaii too. We took advantage of the beautiful weather, early morning bike rides, evening walks and nature talks. One night the park offered a program called "night out with the stars". The kids learned about constellations and planets. Bright Angel lodge has some of the best shops and we even got ice cream one day while looking at the condors who made a nest in the area. We explored the museums and art centers and used the shuttles to go here and there. We have decided that we are going to do the river rafting tour in 2014.. I hear it's a 2 year waiting list for the 7 day trip. I think we can do a few more small trips while we wait....

Fossil Creek Springs

9 miles round trip hike to Fossil Creek Springs near Strawberry Arizona. The waterfall was gorgeous, the water was clear and the scenery was heaven!

It was so lush and green, the area was glowing neon green

always have time to soak our feetsies!



Guess who found a cave........

I take back every curse word I spewed on this hike, it was all worth it!!!!!

All I could say was "this cannot be Arizona!"

I stopped to have lunch and take a load off my feet. Pete wanted to explore a little more. One bite into my sandwich and I spotted someone swimming by that I recognized..in his boxers...crazy dude!

Rascal was happy!

We were slightly out of breath on the way back, we needed a moment to sit, Rascal needed a break too...poor baby

So long Fossil Creek, until next time.....