I had never been camping until a few years ago when my husband and I thought it would be a fun tradition for our family to start. Our first trip was not long after our oldest daughter turned two. I was slightly hesitant because I was about to embark on an unfamiliar experience with a toddler. My husband assured me that it would be a great escape from our every day stresses and he couldn’t have been more right about that. We didn’t stray far from home and headed to a camping site near Sedona, Arizona called Lo Lo Mai Springs, which was recommended to us by a friend. It turned out to be the perfect spot for us first timers for so many reasons. There was a convenience store on site for all the things we forgot to pack, as well as a swimming pool and playground that kept our little one very happy. Our tent site was a short walk away from the beautiful Oak Creek and not too far from the bathrooms and showers, which I told my husband was a necessity for my first outdoors adventure. Our love for camping was quickly solidified after we took this trip and we could not wait to start planning the next one.
For the following camping expedition, we traveled up to Utah, right outside of Zion National Park and decided to camp at a place called Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort. This time we chose to reserve a cabin since our tent was no longer big enough to fit our family of four and with our youngest just turning one we thought a cabin would be more convenient. This getaway offered more for us to do since it was a larger campsite, such as horseback riding, miniature golf, a wagon ride dinner and the list goes on and on. The girls still got to go swimming at their onsite swimming pool and play on the playground, usually after we enjoyed our daily breakfast that was included in our reservations. One of the most exciting things we did was visit Zion National Park, and it was absolutely breathtaking. Unfortunately, we did not see as much of the park as we anticipated but that just gives us another reason to make the trek back. I highly recommend enduring the six-hour drive to witness how incredibly stunning Zion is. This experience was probably more of a glamping trip with all the amenities at our fingertips but it was just as much fun.
This year we are planning on exploring Durango, Colorado before ski season starts and we can’t wait! These annual adventures bring us together, slow us down, and make us realize what is truly important to us and that is family. I am always looking forward to where our next journey will take us because seeing new places is exhilarating and doing it together is comforting. My hope is that our camping tradition continues as our children grow and that we keep on making unforgettable memories as a family.
Great post-Megan. Sounds like a lot of fun. I bet you all had a wonderful time.