Dear Maia, Isaac, and Virtual Wanderers,

Today, we set off for our week-long camping road trip to Utah. This is our third time to make this trip. The first time was after I graduated with my Doctorate – my celebration. The first trip was in September, because that is when I graduated. The second time was in 2019 and the only time I had off from work was in July. That trip was hot. This time, we headed for the middle and picked August. I chose Maia’s (and my mom’s) birth week on purpose.

It takes us forever to get going in the morning. So, I usually plan the first day’s trip with kind of short mileage. So, we spent the first night just over the Utah border in Green River (well, an hour or more into Utah). We got there mid afternoon. The campsite we were at was partially flooded – IDK if monsoons or the sprinkler system – but the table was in soup. I had gotten a new smaller tent (2 person) for this trip because of ease of set-up. I remember thinking how small it was at the beginning of the trip.

Green River State Park is adjacent to a large golf course that isn’t dog friendly, but the State Park side is. We walked down to the boat area after dinner. The river and bridge are worth seeing. The campground has nice facilities. My favorite part of the day was texting my happy birthday message.