Little Rangers need to get their kits out at least once a month. They need to explore outside, learn valuable skills like tracking, stamina, waking at dawn, building fires, watching the stars....they need SKILLS and they are only going to get said skills by going out and roughing it in the wilderness.
Alas, one skill for a ranger mom trapped in the valley of the Sun, is to reserve campsites far in advance. Five months in advance....
If we were really cool, we'd figure out how to make camp in the site-less wilderness...preferably under bracken where the Crebain of Dunland cannot sight us....but we aren't at that awesome yet. So we'll stick with reserved sites, until our skills are much much better.
Nov--AZ Desert, Lost Dutchman [Hidden Valley, Pioneer Museum? Fat Man's pass, Sears-Kay Ruin (Hohokam)]
Dec--AZ Desert, Lost Dutchman
Jan--Huddle at home and work on our kits.
Feb --AZ Desert, Lost Dutchman
March--AZ Desert, Lost Dutchman
[I need to reserve the Spring and Summer reservations by Feb/March]
April -- AZ Rim-country, Prescott, Payson [Mingus Mountain, Mogollon Campground on Rim, Yavapai, Christopher creek]
May -- AZ Rim-country, Prescott, Payson
June -- AZ Rim-country, Prescott, Payson
July--Mountains or Creeks, Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona [bc of Oak creek. Also Manzanita is COOLER they say, Pine Flats, Bootlegger, Cave Springs], or Christopher Creek in Payson [bc of Christopher creek], Mogollon is 2mi from a lake....OR THE ROCKIES
Aug--Mountains or Creeks, Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona...OR THE ROCKIES
Sept--Mountains or Creeks, Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona...
Oct -- AZ Rim-country, Prescott, Payson
And how to homestead...when we are in a little quarter-acre lot in a desert, and may move in the near-ish future?
Homestead, but not as the homestead being the goal---as we may need to sell, and later owners destroy it. Plant fruit trees, for the future if owners keep it. And always garden with the kids. Involve my little rangers as much as possible...because its about the memories being forged WITH them, and the skills being forged IN them, and not about the physical garden or home so much. We are traveling, but we can make these way-stations along the way as beautiful as we can. As green as we can. As productive as we can.
But it should always be about the little Rangers, and not the way-station.