Glampsgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, glampers!

This time of year I spend a lot of time wiping tears from my eyes. The crisp smell of the air alone will cause me to cry. The girls think I’m crazy, and TJ always laughs a little as he pulls out a hanky for me, but I can’t help it, its all too wonderful! And there is just so much to be thankful for. TJ and I are avid avoiders of the whole Black Friday nonsense and the immediate jump into Christmas as you clear the plates from the Thanksgiving table, so glamping with the best of friends for a long weekend outdoors was the perfect alternative. Last year we started what we hope to be a semi-regular tradition: Glampsgiving.

Posted by Laura Shanks

Photographer | Dreamer | Airstreamer

I Survived: A Parent’s Account of a Long Road Trip

Dear glampers,

I remember being absolutely terrified and adverse to drives over 30 minutes when our first child was born. We were living in Tacoma, WA, and nothing could persuade us to travel to Portland, OR (an hour and a half away–and a city filled with books, flowers, and craft beer… our favorite things!). But moving to southwest OK and becoming glampers has changed all of that. What’s that? A two-hour drive to go fishing for an hour before we hit triple digit heat? Let’s go! So let’s talk road trips!

Posted by Laura Shanks

Photographer | Dreamer | Airstreamer

Minnesota: Duluth

Dear glampers,

It was with a touch of madness that we embarked on our 2,200 mile glamping trip to Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin last year. There were things we needed to be in the area to do, baptisms, wedding celebrations, family visits, so why not turn it into one big old glamping trip?! And our first big trip after buying the Airstream just a couple of months earlier. So off we went, two adults, two children (our youngest was 18 months), and two 50+ lb dogs (one of whom had a torn ACL).

Posted by Laura Shanks

Photographer | Dreamer | Airstreamer

Texas: Pedernales Falls

It’s the height of summer in the southern plains and all you want to do is find some sort of water in which to wallow. Just thinking about Pedernales Falls State Park makes it feel ten degrees cooler here. And you have to see it!

Posted by Laura Shanks

Photographer | Dreamer | Airstreamer

New Mexico: Bandelier National Monument

There are very few absolutes in life, most of those I held so close in my 20s have been turned on their heads and life is better for it. But here is one that I can’t imagine leaving behind: always visit green shaded spaces on maps that begin with the word “National” because they are always worth the time, ALWAYS. Following this axiom, we set off for Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos.

Posted by Laura Shanks

Photographer | Dreamer | Airstreamer

Hiking with Kids

Dear glamper,

Ah, the joyful sounds of nature: wind rustling the leaves, birds singing, children whining. Wait, no.

Like so many things, once you have children, hiking just isn’t the same anymore, if it happens at all. We used to love packing up backpacks for day long outings and wandering a bit of trail for hours. But usually, young kids are not always so into that, and neither are you after you’ve been running on two hours sleep and your muscles ache from picking them up and putting them down 20 times an hour. And so we have left behind any preconceptions of the old vision of what it means “to hike” and have found joy in hiking with our kids with a few simple “kid hacks”. Here’s a short list of things that have worked for us, most of the time.

Posted by Laura Shanks

Photographer | Dreamer | Airstreamer

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