Same place, new experience

We've been going to the Desert for years. We have mixed it up a time or five but for the most part we go to Ocotillo. We prefer to camp off of Pole Line Rd but we have gone everywhere out there. It's funny to me just how many times we can camp in the same general vicinity, the same time of year, usually even with the same people and the experience can be different every time. We even go to the same destinations while we are there. It's fun to go visit other people we know who happen to be camping out there the same weekend we are.

When we first started going to Ocotillo, we thought it was amazing that Ed, our soon to be brother in law, knew how to get from one place to another and back again. As the years have passed, we are now the same way. We can tell that just over that hill, or just pass that bump in the trail, we can navigate our way to where we might be going. We even have traditions that my kids look forward to. The one they like the best is the Twizzler tradition. Every time we go camping, I buy a HUGE bag of Twizzlers and pack it up with me so the minute we hit the dirt, I can start passing them out. We also break the trip up into "pieces" for the kids. Instead of asking "are we there yet?" our kids ask which piece of the trip we are on. We break it up into ten pieces and will tell them what portion we are on. Might be lame, but it works for us. Trust me, we don't have the luck to have the kids all fall asleep on the road anymore. There is usually someone wondering just how much farther we have to travel to get there.

I This trip we camped with the Adens. Erin, Jeremy, and their two adorable boys Jared and Andrew. We even had a day visit from our friends Michele and Glenn, their boys Jack & Brady, and roomy Amanda. Glenn just had the same surgery Matt had a few months ago. He is doing well and it was good to have him well enough to be out in the dirt with us. Neither of the guys are riding like they used to but it's still nice to be out there.

Megan never has been too into getting messy. Like the eewww look?

I would love to take all the pictures I have taken over the years in this very spot and compare them. We love being out there mid week, when we have no one else out there with us. Kinda fun, and kinda scary if you think of having any mechanical issues.

I want to put more pics on this post but I'm afraid it will take ma another week to finish and post.

OK, so to get 'er done...I'm done. More to come later. I hope to scrap something in the next few days and I'll show you what I get done.

See y'all later.

Lauren :O)))