Every February, Traverse City, Michigan holds the Cherry Capital Winter Wow!Fest on its West Bay Shoreline. From February 17th to the 20th, the city has planned a packed schedule  filled with events and activities for all ages.  One event that is particularly fun for the whole family is the snow sculpture competition, an outdoor gallery of meltable art located in the City’s Festival Open Space Park on West Grand Traverse Bay.

Additionally, the festival includes sled racing, a snow ball softball tournament, ice sculptures on the streets, a pancake breakfast, a soup tasting competition, an ice-cream eating contest, and more. Also offered are events specifically for adults, such as the ”Winter, Wine and Wow!” event (featuring local wines, craft brews, edibles and live entertainment), and an 80s-themed party. The festival is wrapped up with its traditional fireworks display on Sunday above the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa. Many of the events are free, while others require the purchase of tickets. Essentially, there’s something for everyone in Traverse City on this wintery weekend in February.

“Winter Wow!fest is all about getting out and enjoying some winter fun with friends in our beautiful area,” says Brad Van Dommelen, president of the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We’ve added many new activities this year, and brought back lots of favorites from last winter.”

Be sure to check it out, And click here for more information on what else is offered in Traverse City .

Who wouldn’t be? We were going to live in a beautiful lakefront cottage with an amazing property surrounding it. The best part: we would be staying for six months, our longest time in one place for over two and a half years! How could it get any better?

That was before they told me about the bugs.

There I was, floating on a cloud of anticipation and excitement. I could hardly contain myself! Then, Mom burst my bubble of joy by announcing that for the first few weeks, we could expect a few scorpions living with us, but “don’t worry, they’ll clear out quickly I imagine.”

SCORPIONS!

My expectations plummeted like a banana crepe dropped off the Eiffel Tower. Scorpions! You’ve got to be joking! And we’ll be living with them!?!

The day we arrived I kept a sharp lookout for any of our armor-plated enemies. None were found. Until that night. Mom had one on her dresser. We were all awaked by her frightened screams, the slaps of Dad’s shoe on the dresser and finally a swift crunch. The rest of us didn’t sleep very well that night.

Surprise!

The next day we found our first black widow spider in one of the school boxes. “They didn’t mention black widows!” I yelped. “Oh, Hannah!” Mom said “It’s not a black widow! Look how beautiful it is!” She then stuck her hand in the box with it as I looked on in horror. It wasn’t until Dad explained that it was in fact a black widow that she realized the truth. We found three more that week.

But I couldn’t go on for six months in agonized fear of these creepy-crawlies.

To do so would be childish and unreasonable. So I set about realizing my fears, and learning to deal with them. Every time we would find a spider or scorpion, I would smash it. There were some exceptions –of course, I still freaked out now and then. But no matter how it scared me, I would kill the spider. One of my favorite poems is this:

When facing your horrible, nervous, tense fears,

clench the emotion, don`t grab those dreadful tears.

Take a deep breath, stand straight, stay strong,

keep your head up, don`t encounter the wrong.

Face the mad, sad fear, get yourself involved,

till you overcome it…and the problems solved.”

Ricky Owen

And it is true.

Now, months later, I have no qualms about smashing a scorpion or a black widow. It is satisfying to conquer your fears and regain the ability to think rationally about what exactly you are afraid of. Some fears, although you never quite get over them, can be brought into your control and tamed to a certain point so that they don’t hinder you.

If you have decided against going somewhere with poisonous bugs, or heights, or any of your fears, think again. Conquer them and experience something new!

“Alright everybody, load up!” Mrs Wood calls.

Soon we are all in, buckled, and ready for our very last day on the road. After two months of nonstop travel, fun and education, we are finally on the long road home. And a long road it is; we in the Mama Bus has a seven hour ride ahead of us.

I press my forehead against the cool window and marvel at how quickly it has gotten chilly. In just four days of travel we have gone from the high seventies to the low thirties and forties. Brrr! The trees we fly past change as we go. From a variety of lovely dark greens, light greens and dusty yellows they have transformed themselves into a magnificent array of bright gold, stunning  orange, mousy browns and flashing reds as they enrobe New England with their glory. The falling leaves swirl and spin in the crisp cold October breeze, lightly embracing our van before whirling uncontrollably away again.

It seemed to take years before we were in familiar territory.

As we crossed the state line a uniform cheer and round of applause went up for all we’ve accomplished thus far.  Everyone ooh’d and ahh’d as they recognized well-known landmarks along our route. Excitement buzzed in the air as we neared our destination.

The Blackeyed Peas beat to the sound of our growing anticipation and gravel crunched under our tires as we turned into the driveway of the Wood’s house. The Dad’s waited, arms open as the herd of kids, filled to overflowing with excitement and joy, stampeded over each other in their haste to be the first ones out of the van and hugged! Madison, the dog, was also wild with excitement she couldn’t contain and more than one person was bowled over by her ferocious and loving attack on her kids.

The trip is over.

Strange isn’t it, how when you first start something of epic proportions you believe somehow that it will never end. And then in the blink of an eye adventures are had, friends made, goodbyes said and the trip is at an end. But although it has been fast, it has been one of the most entertaining journeys I’ve ever made.

It was an epic adventure, and one that we all will always remember.

While some call it a “hole in the desert”, I found it both incredible and inspiring and I don’t think I could ever honestly name it so.

The cerulean sky contrasts sharply with the gorgeous reds, oranges and yellows of the canyon. Deep below a dusty blue grey river — the mighty Colorado River — winds defiantly through the high enclosing walls of the majestic canyon, slowly carving deeper and deeper down through the layers of desert sediment. Here and there wildly green bushes clamber to grab a hold on the crumbly canyon walls and add yet another spot of color to the scene.

A raven caws as it beats its wings hard to reach the rim. Once there it sits calmly next to the trail, preening in the shining glory of the tourists oooh’s and ah’s. Jessy pulls on my hand and looks up at me, her face glowing with pure excitement. “Hannah, Hannah, let’s go see the big birdie, ok?!”  As I walk towards it with Jessie skipping merrily at my side I’m super grateful for the strong railings lining the walkway. After watching the raven for a while we moved on.

Birds bigger than eagles!

As it turns out, ravens aren’t the only kind of large bird to be seen soaring between the walls of the canyon. Nor are they even close to being the largest! On our walk we met a man who was using radar technology to locate condors.

A condor is a gigantic bird with a wingspan of 9 feet. It weighs around twenty pounds and is bigger than an eagle. A kind of vulture, they live in the Grand Canyon along with a few other kinds of large bird, namely eagles.

Take a mule ride!

One of the very coolest things to do while in the Grand Canyon is take a mule ride.  There are multiple companies who provide services to tourists and there are many different amounts of time you can choose to be out for. Some can go for two days! However if you’re planning to go, be sure to find out the limits. It can be costly and for safety reasons there is an age and weight restriction.

The mules will take you down into the canyon where you can fully appreciate the depth and immensity of the canyon.
The Grand Canyon is definitely one of the most incredible and amazing parts of American geology. The way it has been sculpted slowly out of the dry and dusty landscape surrounding it is unbelievable.

It is much more than a “hole in the desert”!

Quite a few people have asked us what our everyday life is like in the Mama Bus. Here’s a window into our world!

Every day is slightly different, but the basic routine is the same.

Morning:

The sun peaks over the mountains, warming the chill air in our tents. We curl tighter into our sleeping bags and pretend morning hasn’t arrived yet. The birds chirp loudly above us and we hear giggles and rustling from the little girls in the mama tent as they wake up. One of the mamas yells to the surrounding tents “Up and at em’ guys! Roll those mats and stuff your sacks! It’s time to get up!” Everyone groans, but after a minute or so we’re mostly up.

Breakfast tends to be a very simple and speedy affair, consisting mainly of cereal or oatmeal. A few times we have eaten breakfast bars and fruit in the car when we’ve had an especially long day ahead of us, but we usually make time in the morning, just after the tents have been pulled down.

It’s Gotta Be Noisy?!

Most people (including myself) worried that the amount of noise in the Mama Bus resulting from the combined efforts of eleven kids would be too much for everyone. However, much to my surprise, the long hours we spend in the car each day are pretty quiet. The older children have school and other responsibilities to occupy them, while the younger kids have a few toys and books to enjoy. Overall, we haven’t had more than a few times where the noise level has gotten out of hand!

Night:

When we arrive at our destination it doesn’t take more than a half hour to set up all of our tents and cook dinner over our camp stoves. Then, around a campfire, Jeremiah (15) plays guitar and I play my violin and guitar to round off the day before we snuggle back down into our sleeping bags and fall asleep, awaiting the dawn that will bring another adventure into our lives.

Happy Trails

Catch Some Wind!

Most summers there is a sailing class in either July or August. I’ve gone for three years and absolutely love it.  The feeling of the sails propelling the boat and on a good day pushing us till we fly through the water at incredible speeds, whooping through the howl of the wind till we lose our voices is a ton of fun. The teachers are awesome and at the end of an intense week you are a certified sailor, plus you’ve had an amazing time!

Check Out The Local Art And History

Wolfe Island recently instituted a museum that contains many old farming and household life artifacts from the 1900′s that have been donated by the residents of Wolfe Island. It’s very interesting for a short visit, but if you’re looking for a way to kill time for an hour or two I would have to suggest an additional trip to the art gallery. With a beautiful collection of paintings from all of the many brilliant artists of Wolfe Island, including my grandma, it’s well worth a visit.

Go For A Scenic Ride

Bring a bike and spend a couple of hours exploring the many nooks and crannies of Wolfe Island. It’s mostly flat so it makes for a great ride, especially if you have the wind at your back. On the way you will likely see many fields and some forest. The island is also home to more cows than people and will often moo gently as you ride swiftly (or not) past. If you listen closely you may hear the swooping sound of the windmills as they catch the wind and generate organic power.

Mendenhall Glacier is part of Tongass National Forest and generally only available for viewing from ground level. In the forest, there are a number of trails that lead to excellent views of the glacier and the lake at its foot. However, the real treat is up close and personal – hiking on it.

So, how does one get onto Mendenhall Glacier? Helicopter and small plane rides are available through a number of outfitters and cruise lines, and with an added bonus of a guided tour.

The helicopter ride is spectacular. In approaching the glacier, you pass over vast forests and rivers. The glacier itself ends right at Mendenhall Lake, a huge reservoir of water.

You can watch as the glacier breaks pieces off and into the lake, creating huge splashes. Looking from high up, it looks small, but the pieces that fall off into the lake are huge—the size of SUVs! If it isn’t your perfect blue-sky day, that’s actually better for watching the falling ice: on a rainy day, more ice calves off than on a clear one.

Off the helicopter, the first steps are surprisingly slippery. I almost fell down once or twice! Thankfully, crampons are provided for traction, as well as the rest of the outfit, complete with fanny pack.

The tour guide took us around the area, showing us deep crevasses and glacial streams.

The glacier itself is massive—it’s tough to tell, but those plants are a lot bigger than they look! Your sense of vision actually gets a little distorted: what looks like a short five-minute hike turns out to be a twenty-minute trek across the ice.

The glacial water is completely pure, since it’s too cold for anything to grow in it. As a result, the water is clean and some of the most delicious I’ve ever tasted.

The lengths of the tours vary—shorter tours like the one I took are only for a couple of hours, while all-day excursions are available.

All in all, walking on a glacier is an unforgettable event… not to mention an excellent way to beat the heat!

To visit the Mendenhall Glacier website, click here.

Montezuma’s Castle is a large cliff dwelling, hewn into the side of a huge canyon wall. Despite the name, the settlement had nothing to do with the Aztec ruler Montezuma: the ancient Sinagua Indians were the inhabitants. While it is no castle, the Sinagua built their home to last: the system is one of the best-kept cliff dwellings in North America.

The place itself is unreal. I got the impression of looking at a huge sandcastle. Surrounded by featureless cliff is a well-defined structure, although the castle isn’t falling down anytime soon.

Hiking around the monument is easy and family-friendly: the trail is a third of a mile and wheelchair/stroller accessible. Also available for your perusal is a museum within the park with artifacts and history of the Sinagua tribe.

If you’re interested in more cliff dwellings, Canyon de Chelly is a more expansive set of developments about three hours west of Flagstaff. It’s quite a bit off the beaten path, though, and the trails aren’t as easy.

If you’re looking for a place to stretch your legs a bit between Phoenix and Flagstaff, Montezuma’s Castle is an excellent place to do it. The sight is breathtaking, the trails are easy, and as a family destination it’s quite rewarding. This is definitely the Montezuma you’ll want on your travel checklist!

Click here to visit the Montezuma’s Castle website.

There are several lodges, the most famous of which is the El Tovar Hotel. Built in 1905, the hotel is one of the oldest National Park hotels, and is one of the first lodges to be built in the rustic style that is now the standard for the national parks… not to say that the El Tovar is by any means standard! The hotel itself is only 20 feet from the rim, and there is a lovely promenade that overlooks the canyon. There are several other available accommodations, some historic cabins, some lodges along the rim, some further into the woods, and even further still you’ll find campgrounds. If you want a canyon view, your best bet is to book well in advance.

The activities at the South Rim are far more varied than at the North. The famous mule rides operate similarly to their North Rim counterparts: for those who want a shorter trip, there are short rides along the rim such as the Abyss Overlook, which provides an uninhibited view of the canyon’s majesty.

For those who want a trip that’s a little more robust, however, there is also the mule ride into the canyon to historic Phantom Ranch. These are overnight trips to the bottom of the canyon and back, so booking in advance is required. Unlike the North Rim, there is no age restriction, although you must be at least 55 inches tall. Phantom Ranch’s sleeping accommodations consist of cabins and dormitory-style spaces with several bunk beds inside. But mules aren’t the only way to travel, there are numerous trails to hike, both on the rim and down into the canyon.

The South Rim Trail, as the name suggests, stays up on the rim of the canyon and very accessible. This trail can be crowded during the summer, but it’s worth it: the scenes are spectacular, and there are so many to look at. For easy on/off transportation, there are free shuttle buses that regularly stop throughout the trail.

At sunset, being outdoors provides the best pictures as the colors and shadows change with the setting sun.

Eleven PM is the hour when, all the park lights turned off, you are treated to a crystal-clear panorama of the night sky. As in the North Rim, it’s a good idea to bring a flashlight for nighttime walks and Ranger-led programs.

But with all there is to do, the most remarkable moments are the simplest. Stop by Hermit’s Rest on the West end of the Rim Trail and you’ll often find Native American interpreters demonstrating weaving or giving talks on their culture.

Take a trip to the Eastern end of the park to the Desert View Tower at dawn.

Watch the sun come up over the Painted Desert and then look to the West to see the clouds lift up out of the depths of the canyon. Few people are at this point at this hour and it’s possible to have it all to yourself. It’s not to be missed.

Just like its northern companion, the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is truly a spectacle to behold. Theodore Roosevelt was right in calling it “the one great sight which every American should see.”

Click here to visit the Grand Canyon South Rim website.

In the spirit of starting out big, why not start out with the Grand Canyon? One of the largest canyons in the world, the Grand Canyon is located in Arizona, with the national park founded in 1919. There are two rims to the canyon, and both are accessible, although the South Rim is the one that most end up visiting. I’m going to concentrate on the North Rim today: while the South Rim is far more popular, I find the North Rim to be a more personal experience. The North Rim of the canyon is about 1,000 feet higher than the South, so it’s a lot cooler and there are forests.

The only lodging consists of several cabins, built on the rim. There are varying types of cabins, ranging in price and size. We opted for the Pioneer cabins, and what was excellent about them (and their step up, the Westerns) was the fact that several of them had windows facing directly onto the canyon. Staying overnight requires booking thirteen months in advance, so if you plan on going, be sure to plan ahead!

The lodge is built into the side of the cliff, with a sunroom that looks directly onto the canyon. The sunroom has a 180 degree view of the canyon. It’s the first time you truly get to see the canyon from the North Rim, and the picture is simply spectacular. The lodge also has two verandas on the front of the building on either side of the sunroom, and the scene is similarly amazing.

During the day, mule rides are available to go down the canyon, but be warned—if anyone in the group is younger than 10, you can only go for an hour along the rim. The half day mule rides go down to Supai Tunnel or to Uncle Jim’s Point. The rides themselves are definitely worth it: you’re right on the edge of the canyon trail, and looking across the canyon to the South Rim is as easy as turning your head. The mules are surefooted, so you’re not worrying for your life (although my mom’s turned out to be a little edge-happy).

If mules aren’t your thing, hiking is an option as well: Bright Angel Point is a half-hour hike away along the rim, and what you see is something else. For those who are a bit more adventurous, hiking down into the canyon is also a possibility, but remember that the mules have the right of way!

For dinner, the Canyon Lodge has a beautiful dining room, with floor-to-ceiling windows displaying the canyon. But for the sunset, nothing beats the veranda outside the sunroom. Getting a seat on the hickory rocking chairs available can be tricky, but the sunset is excellent no matter where you are.

At night, all the lights are turned off, so it’s a good idea to bring a flashlight. But if you want to stargaze, keep the flashlight off—with no lights on at all, the night sky is unfiltered and simply beautiful. The Milky Way is clear as day, and shooting stars are easily visible.

All in all, the Grand Canyon deserves its status as wonder of the world, whichever rim you visit. Just remember to watch your step!

Click HERE to visit the Grand Canyon website.