Winter 24: A Month in Texas

on
0

Winter 2022: Wrap Up

on

Snowbirding 2022

London Bridge, Lake Havasu City

Our 2022 journey took us through 8 States (camping in 5), traveling 8063 miles (4284 towing the camper) and visiting 6 National Parks (and a few state parks and one national monument). We did around 125 miles of hiking, 23 breweries (and a Meadery!), a few miles on the bike with 3 flat tires due to cactus needles and 2 cracked water filters due to cold and the purchase of a heated hose for the RV.  We moved around a lot and didn't even cover every city in our blog!  For example, we spent a few nights in Lake Havasu City - it was gorgeous.  It was also about 45-50 degrees with 30-40 MPH winds.  

Average Gas Price: $3.52 with a high of $5.69 (guess what state that was in) and a low of $2.79. We had some ups and downs with the weather; camping in cold in the teens a couple of  nights, snow in Prescott, AZ but had a lot of good days as well.  We prefer to hike when it’s not too warm.

We connected with 19 family/friends (and Kira)  throughout our journey, only 2 rounds of golf and Tim got one tennis match in (it’s been awhile). 

Tim’s Top Five Moments: 

1) I saw an Instragram post of the Subway Cave near Sedona, so awesome we got to do that trail.

Boynton Canyon Trail and the Secret Subway Cave

2) While hiking we came across a hummingbird just sitting still on a branch, with another one doing multiple dive bombs, the still hummingbird would chirp every time the other swooped by; then I felt a tiny drop and thought the swooping one pooped on me, but shortly after we saw the two of them start mating and I said to Kersten that wasn’t poop it was jizz!

3) Kersten downloaded the NASA app that alerts you of any Space Station Sightings where you are and we were able to see at least 3, one of them lasted almost 5 minutes. 

4) Walking over 2 miles in a cave is pretty freaky, Carlsbad Caverns a must do experience.

5) How often do you get to sled on white sand dunes? We just had to purchase a sled while at White Sands National Park.

Kersten’s Top Five Moments: 

1) Road trip from Prescott to Jerome, AZ on 89A.  Amazing sights, topped by the scenic overlook just outside of town where you can see the expansive Verde River Valley with Flagstaff, the San Francisco Peaks, and the iconic red buttes of Sedona in the distance.  

Scenic view, hiway 89A

2) The sunset at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, across the expanse of the valley with the Andres Mountains in the west.

3) Hiking Doe Mountain in Sedona.  Driving to Sedona through the magical red rocks is stunningly beautiful, and this was a trail we took with Jackson, our youngest son, five years ago, and I had ‘quit’ about ⅓ of the way up.  Went to the top of this mesa, and walked almost the entire edge before descending. 

4) Exploring Carlsbad Caverns, overcoming my fear of being below ground especially with tons of rock hovering above (one sign said it was ‘unlikely’ there would be another large collapse in the future).

5) Last moment is actually made up of several - we were able to connect with friends - some we haven’t seen in years in their homes or just dinner in AZ, NV, TX and finally our boys in Winona and Minneapolis.

Closing out our 2022 travels with a chart of the places we'd consider for longer term stays, with the same criteria we used in 2021.  While the weather was consistently decent (except for the two days we were in Lake Havasu City!), the average weather in the southwest meets our criteria quite well.  The areas we still struggle with are having enough activities, having a great view, and meeting expectations when it comes to the monthly costs.  We'll keep searching until we find something that fits us! 


Links to all of the Winter 2022 entries here:

Of course we're already planning our summer travel, an exciting fall road trip, and our winter 2023 itinerary!

Have you ever roadtripped during the winter to avoid the cold?  What is your favorite place to avoid the winter?  Leave your comments below!  Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.

Comments

Post a Comment