The Trail Trippers

We had the pleasure of having one of my oldest friends come to visit! Emily was in my primary class going back as far as I can remember. We were the only girls our age at church most years, so we were tight. Emily is the type of friend that feels natural to be around, even if we haven't talked for years. 

Emily and her husband, Spencer, are on one of the coolest trips I have ever heard of. They had three months between when Spencer graduated and when he started medical school. They decided to fill this three months by visiting all 47 National Parks in the mainland United States while living out of a converted minivan. 

They took out the back seats and built this frame that lets them put storage bins under their mattress. The frame has hinges to let them lift the mattress and access the storage bins from the trunk and from the front. It is a genius set up. They let me try it out, and I can vouch that it was pretty comfy too! 

Elliot and I met up with Emily and Spencer at Saguaro National Park, about 40  minutes north of here. We went on a short hike together and had a picnic lunch. 

Old friends, older cactus

I always make people smell creosote when I'm in desert tour guide mode

I took Elliot home for a nap while they explored the park a bit more. They came over after that and spent the night with us. It was great catching up and getting to know Spencer. He's a great match for Emily. Elliot loved them both, and was quite impressed with their spaceship-drawing capabilities. At one point, Spencer did something cool with one of Elliot's toys and Elliot said "Wooooooooow, Spencer!" in a super cute voice. 

I used things like laundry machines, couches, and wifi to persuade them to stay well into the next day, even though they had a long drive ahead of them to their next stop. We hit up Manuel's for some Mexican food (a must when you are this close to the border). 

They have a neat blog documenting their adventures. Check it out at thetrailtrippers.com