We left our heart in the rainforests of Kauai

The totally trailer gang ditched our trailer and left the continental United States for some island time!

We exchanged our desert hiking gear for swimsuits and rainforest hiking gear as we ventured deep into jungles looking for secret waterfalls.

From the Na Pali Coast to Waimea Canyon, we explored just about every inch of the island and took in the normal tourist attractions too.

Hiking to the Ho’opi’ Falls was one of our highlights along with tubing down the irrigation ditch. Being surrounded by so much green was intoxicating. We loved the huge elephant ear leaves, the invasive vines that grew hundreds of feet in the air, the endless rainbows and never-ending WARMTH!!

Our home base was near Kapa’a and it was a great location to access everything we wanted to see and explore. We spent the first day just exploring the “rainy side” of the island and venturing down to Ke’e Beach for an awesome sunset down the Na Pali coastline. What made the journey were the little stops along the way to see rustic churches, jagged coastlines, sea caves, ancient sites, numerous rainbows and fun shops. 

The second day we toured the “sunny side” of the island by cruising through Lihue, Poipu and up to Waimea Canyon overlook. From tree-lined roads to protected Hawaiian monk seals, spouting blow holes, Grand Canyon-esque views and more rainbows….we were in heaven!

After the normal “touristy” things, we jumped right into some exploration on our own determined to find the Ho’opi’i Falls, the Secret Falls, rustic swinging bridges and old Hawaiian villages.

We kayaked the Wailua River from the Kamokila Hawaiian Village (which was an absolutely perfect day) of seeing the sacred falls, Fern Grotto and the Hawaiian village. We also thoroughly enjoyed our “white water” tubing down an old irrigation ditch with Kauai Back Country Adventures. Our guide “Pooh” was humorous, informative and a lot of fun. We had so much fun, we wanted to do it again immediately after the tour was complete! The road to the arboretum made us feel like we were lost in some jungle and the rain forest put on a magical display for us.

Between spending quality time with family and enjoying all that this lush island had to offer, it was difficult to get me on a plane to leave.

We still managed to get muddy, get wet, get a little lost, find caves and have a ton of fun doing it. Which just proves that you can take the family out of the trailer, but you can’t take the trailer out of the family! 

http://kauaibackcountry.com/tubing/

http://villagekauai.com/

Beautiful old church in Kilauea 

Little one and Wailua Falls in the background

Wailua Falls close up with the Totally Trailer gang

Kauai Tree Tunnel on Maluhia Road which dates back almost 150 years          

The impressive Waimea Canyon overlook complete with rainbows!

The road to the arboretum

Giant taro leaves are almost bigger than we are!

Safe from a rainy day under a taro leaf umbrella

Tropical jungle complete with swinging vines and everything!

Over the river and through the jungle.....

                  

Lost in the jungle looking for Ho'opi'i Falls

SUCCESS!!! The magical Ho'opi'i Falls, Kauai

Hiking our way out of the rain forest 

Crazy walkway thought the rainforest

Kayaking on the Wailua River

All smiles from this jungle adventurer

Wailua River Secret Falls

After swimming behind and underneath we posed for a digital memory (p.s. it was cold)!

Kauai dry cave near Haena Beach 

The Swinging Bridge in Hanapepe Kauai. I loved it, little one...not so much

Tanks for the memories General Patton

The Desert Training Center is sure to be a hit with military and history buffs and anyone fascinated by big old, lean-mean-fighting-tank machines!

General Patton may be well known for his leadership in France and Germany following the invasion of Normandy, but his preparation and training started back at the world’s largest Army post (Camp Young).

Camp Young served as a World War II training facility that extended from Southern California to Phoenix, AZ and down to Yuma, AZ. This training zone was 350 miles wide and 250 miles long and General George Patton was the first commanding officer for the maneuver site.

The sole purpose of this camp was to train and prepare soldiers for fighting in extreme desert conditions. It also served well for testing vehicles and equipment and developing wartime tactical techniques. Between 800,000 and 1,000,000 soldiers were prepped for war, while the focus remained heavily on tank warfare.

We explored the General Patton Memorial Museum to find many interesting artifacts from the training center as well as other local camps. The museum provided quite a bit of history of the infamous general (including family and personal information on the Patton family).  There are books, maps, dioramas, tanks, cannons, remembrance walls and memorabilia and did I mention there were tanks…lots of them!

Being that this facility focused on tank training, it is no wonder that this museum looks like a tank graveyard. Tanks range in every size from beginner tanks to super-sized tanks on steroids.

These artifacts and images allow history to come alive in a very real and tangible way at the General Patton Memorial Museum in Indio, CA.

http://generalpattonmuseum.com/

The museum is next to a very busy travel stop and gas station. There is plenty of room to park your RV or trailer and even a restaurant and gift shop to pass the time.

General George Patton and his beloved terrier Willie, guard the memorial museum in Indio, CA 

A plethora of information, dioramas and old photographs provide history on this old training center 

Little one actually looks "little" next to this 1963 M60a3 tank. Used in the Cold War and Desert Storm

Oh no...who let her drive?

The "Catholic Chapel" or altar where General Patton and many soldiers must have prayed before going off to battle