Car Wash

I'm a terrible car owner. I keep up on the maintenance so it runs well and I am pretty good about keeping the inside clean. (Because otherwise it starts to stink!) I am NOT good at keeping the outside clean. When we lived on the East coast it was easy to maintain.... because it rained. Not so much out here!

James thought washing the car was the greatest adventure to date! He was particularly upset if you washed behind him as that was *his* area!

Mount San Jacinto

Have I mentioned it's a bit toasty here right now? Today's high in the hi desert is 89 degrees. It's December! We decided it was time to explore some of the hiking trails around and give Mommy some mountains.

Mount San Jacinto is ranked 6th in topographically prominent peaks in the 48 contiguous states. We drove up through the mountains and took the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to the Mountain Station at 8,516 ft.

The Mountain Station is beautiful with amazing views, a museum, small theater, and restaurants. There are many hiking trails that start, or continue, from this point. We opted for a short trail that would take us to see the Coachella Valley and the Salton Sea.

The smell was amazing. Crisp, clean... with a hint of butterscotch. Ponderosa pines were scattered around. James thought we were quite silly walking up and smelling the trees. He wanted to eat them!

The kids have become pros at hiking trails and enjoy running ahead. The top of the mountains is an entirely different ecosystem than just a few thousand feet below. Coniferous trees, plants, wildlife... all different than what we are used to in the desert.

Coachella Valley

The best change was the temperature! The day was a perfect 65 degrees while the sun was out. It slowly got colder as the day waned.

Definitely an amazing day and an adventure we would gladly repeat. We still want to make it to the peak at 10,834 feet and are planning that for a warmer day.

Noah Purifoy

We've been having a little bit of cabin fever here recently. With all the moving, unpacking, and adjusting to life back in a military town.... well, we need an adventure! So let's go explore the desert a bit. First up, is the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Sculpture. Say that three times fast.

Noah Purifoy was an assemblage sculptor known for creating work from the concerns of his life. Many are politically charged as he was a participant in many activities during the Civil Rights era. 

The ten acres of his high desert studio are free to the public and open during daylight hours. There is a brochure that offers a guided walking path throughout the area but we had fun just meandering and then guessing the names of the exhibits. 

Golden Gate Bridge

Cafeteria Trays

The kids had a blast walking through the exhibits. They were quite excited to see toys and bicycles used in creative ways.

Christmas 2017

I'm THAT mom. I make my family wear matching pajamas for Christmas card photos in the desert.

It doesn't help that it happened to be extremely cold and windy that day either. So our red noses are quite festive! Merry Christmas from the Tice family!

Road Trip

When you have extra time off and you have two small kids... you make moving across the country a two week affair. We spent many hours in the car but also had many adventures along the way.

We hiked through Rock City on Lookout Mountain, GA.

We spent four days in Washington D.C. enjoying the fall colors and many museums.

We visited the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum in Wheeling, WV.

We visited the best (and largest!) children's museum to date in Indianapolis, IN.

We rode to the top of the Gateway Arch in St Louis, MO.

We were the only patrons without cowboy hats at a restaurant in Oklahoma City, OK.

We spent the day at the zoo in Amarillo, TX.

We watched the fishies at an aquarium in Albuquerque, NM.

We hiked the rim and explored the museum of the Meteor Crater in Winslow, AZ.

We had one very long adventure across the United States. It's fascinating the diversity of this nation.

Grand Canyon

One of the greatest adventures we had while traveling across the US was in Williams, Arizona. The Grand Canyon Railroad offers an out and back train ride to the Grand Canyon. If you have a son who likes trains, are married to a man who likes trains, and if you know all the lyrics to Thomas and Friends.... do this. The train ride is decently long and went through varied Arizona biomes. 

James and his train

Absolutely fascinating

Little Miss was not impressed.

On the journey back, our train was robbed! James found this particularly delightful!

We plan on making it back to the Grand Canyon and spending more time exploring. It's a fascinating natural landmark. 

Halloween

Well, the Nashville house construction is finished and we have officially sold it. Yay!

Next on our vacation/moving out west we have a stop to visit family in Chattanooga. This year Elizabeth wanted to be Pikachu, and James went as Mario.