Our New York Grand-daughter, Willa, is nearly 5 this year.  Just old enough to go off on a week – long adventure with Grandpa and Nana.  We are heading for the California high desert along the Colorado River.

We are all up and loaded into the car before sunrise to catch an early morning flight from Albany to Detroit then on to Las Vegas.  Goodbyes are stressful; first Mom’s at home and Dad’s at the airport but once we get into the airport and on our way spirits are high.

Flights go smoothly and we all enjoy the many moving sidewalks and escalators at the various airports.  Willa takes window seats and keeps pretty busy checking out the airplane and coloring.  She got her Wings on the very first flight.  We spend about 6 hours in the air so there is a bit of “are we there yet” but overall, a fun adventure.  Tack on a 2-hour drive to camp at Havasu Landing and everyone is ready to be home!  We snack and settle in a bit then off to bed for everyone.

Camp is on the shore of Lake Havasu.  We have been talking about going out in the “big boat” with Willa (our 16ft aluminum fishing boat with at 40 hp motor).  She is anxious for her first ride.  Our first order of business day one is to unload and ready the boat.  She jumps right in to help and we have no trouble getting everything ready.

Days are full of adventure.

Her first boat ride Willa sits in my lap arms tightly around her wearing a tight smile.  Grandpa gives her complete speed control with thumbs up, flat hand and thumbs down for go fast, maintain speed and slow down.  By the next day she is in her own seat and smiling broadly into the wind.  We go super-fast a lot!

We all fish but do no catching the first two days.  Willa is very patient.  We use all artificial lures to start but, ultimately, we all agree to try real live nightcrawlers for bait.  Good decision.  Willa catches her first fish (the only one of the trip too).  It is a nice bass that she reels in, Kent nets, then she lips and returns to the lake to live another day.

Boat rides take us across to Lake Havasu City to cruise the channel, visit a nice wading beach, the lake is a bit too cold to actually swim, check out a playground and grab lunch at a food truck.  A day later, treasure maps, X marks the spot, emerge from an early project session so of course, we have to go on treasure hunts.   Willa directs Kent as we zip across the lake in search of the perfect island beach and high mountain to climb to find the treasure.  Two such excursions result in fun hikes and shore lunch with our treasures being fields of wildflowers and cactus blossoms.

We take the ferry over to Lake Havasu City to check out more playgrounds and do a little shopping.  We come home with a swimming mermaid, Ariel.

Around camp we play lots of Bocci.  Willa is really quite good at it and wins all but one round that went to Nana.  There is a Gnome Garden and Cactus plantings to explore and a rustic beach with plenty of rocks and sticks to toss in and write on the beach.  We play school and all sorts of pretend: Mom and Dad and kids, Pets, Mermaids, sisters…. Kent and I could hardly keep up with who we were and how old we were much of the time.

Time to move on.  We want to let Willa see high desert that is less developed so we are heading to Mohave National Preserve.  It is a couple hour drive with Willa in the truck with me and Kent bringing the motorhome.  Our time is filled with songs and storytelling created as we took turns developing a story.  Gabby the knight rescuing his princess was a favorite.

Hole in the Wall Campground at Mohave is more primitive; no power or water.  The view in every direction is rugged tan red and grey hued mountains.  Hiking is THE thing to do for fun.  No problem there.

Willa is anxious to hike the Ring Trail through the hole in the mountain cliffs.  Kent has prepped her and she is ready to try it.  The walk begins in a sandy wash, crisscrosses rocky cactus strewn areas and passes a pictograph area where we check out ancient rock drawings.  Then the featured event, a climb through boulder filled narrow cracks in the mountain aided by metal pins and rings driven into the rock.  Willa heads right into the climb making careful foot placement and never faltering.  Quite the accomplishment.

Day 2 we head for the dunes.  She knows they are huge.  We have been talking about them but reality sets in as we drive closer to them and set out across the fore dunes toward the peaks.  Willa is adamant, she is going to the top.  She is equally adamant that any trip to a place with this much sand MUST include sand castle building.  We have packed tools and extra water just for that task. We skip and run then trudge and finally even crawl across 2 miles of soft sand.  She and I make it tantalizingly close to the top but the sand is just too hot to go on.  Looking back toward the tiny dot that is Grandpa below us we decide we have accomplished enough and race down the steep slopes to about the half way point where we stop for a cool drink and some epic sand castle building.  Climbing was so difficult that we had to drink our extra castle water but are thrilled to find that if one digs below the dry top sand, a seemingly endless supply of perfect damp castle sand can be found.   The building was a blast and I think Willa enjoyed the demolition phase even more.  It is a significant trek back to the trail head.  We will all sleep well tonight.

But first, we make S’mores.

Amboy Crater, a hike into a volcano.   The cinder cone rises high above the desert floor making it an exciting adventure and a bit daunting.  There is no real hesitation, Willa wants to climb the volcano; but, “next time can we take a break and not hike two big hike two days in a row? Take a day off?”.  I agree, that is a good plan.  We continue on with couple snack and drink breaks at conveniently placed benches then navigate steep switchbacks until we find ourselves on the high rim of the crater.  Ancient pumice type lava fields stretch out all around the cinder cone and a smooth solidified lava floor fills the center. We rest and have lunch as we marvel at the view.  Willa declares that yes, she wants to hike down into the crater to walk on the lava.  The walk is a little precarious, steep and lots of loose rock but most is safely navigated holding Grandpa’s hand.  Her biggest booboo of the trip happens just steps from the center of the cone where Willa slides on loose stone and lands on sharp edged volcanic rock.  There is no blood but some scratches and she is frustrated because she was trying so hard to walk the trail on her own like grandpa showed her.  There are a couple full throated screams then once the damage is inspected and nerves calm, she is anxious to check out the very middle of the volcano.  The journey back down goes smoothly with Willa staying a little closer to Grandpa and taking his hand a bit more than the uphill trek.  It was a great adventure that ended with a stop for ice cream, it is a hot day, and the purchase of a Route 66 magnet at Roy’s Diner.  We extend the day with a drive through the Preserve to check out the visitor center and look for blooming Joshua Trees.  We take the back way home on Wild Horse Canyon Drive. Willa got to see a group of beautiful wild horses, maybe just released horses, and we got to try out the truck 4-wheel drive.  It is nearly dark when we finally get home. Willa works on her Jr Ranger book.  She has nearly completed it.

Of course, the bunny finds Willa here in the desert! The day starts with a fun egg hunt filled with challenges and clues to find a hidden basket.  She thoroughly enjoys it.  The basket includes eggs to decorate and cookie cutters shaped like a bunny and a carrot, some other small toys, candy and a chocolate bunny.  Willa and I start with the egg coloring and decorating and Kent is making pancakes shaped like carrots and bunnies. Yum.  We spend our last day together finishing Easter activities and just goofing around in camp.

Homeward bound

Willa and I are flying back to New York.  We make the 2-hour drive to Vegas Sunday evening and stay in a hotel there to make the 6:00AM flight a bit more manageable.  Willa entertains me with an egg hunt she sets up for me and we read a little then off to bed.  We need to be up by 3:30AM.  Note to self, if you want to sleep at all you cannot share even a queen size bed with Willa.  She is a whirling dervish.  I had feet and arms in my face off and on all night.  I don’t think I slept more than an hour in a stretch!  We are up as planned and excited to soon see Mom and Dad.  We stand in line and make our way through security and to the gate.  With an hour to kill and having had no breakfast we share a giant Cinnabon.  Delicious!  Flight one is long…4 hours so a bit of WIFI brings an hour or so of Moana.  Our layover in Charlotte flies by as Willa meets another 5-year-old and they happily play the whole time.  She sleeps from wheels up to landing on the leg to Albany.  On the ground she finds Daddy at the airport and soon Mom at home.  All is back as it has always been and should be.  I’m pretty sure she had a great time with us though and I know that Kent and I certainly enjoyed ourselves.  Now we’ll rest up!