119. How Do We All Handle The Rare Early Mornings Or Late Nights

I'll admit I was hesitant to break Jordan's routine to do some of these early morning/late nights, but these ended up being some of the best moments of the trips, with no significant change to Jordan's mood or energy level.

The first departure from the routine was to attend the balloon fiesta where we woke up at 4 something in the morning to drive to the shuttle at the mall, to then shuttle to the fiesta, to walk in and get there before sunrise to see the dawn patrol balloons go up and all of the balloons on the field start inflating. That was definitely worth it and was Jordan's first sunrise outside ever. We can't wait to go back and do it again.

That same day we really pushed it. After going back to the RV for a nice afternoon nap after the morning festivities, we headed back in shortly before sunset to attend the balloon glow where they fill all the balloons and stand them up on the field, kind of like a carnival atmosphere. Then there were skydivers, a drone show, and fireworks to end the night. Jordan did great the whole day and didn't even fall asleep on the way home, instead waiting until we got back to the RV. I can only imagine what she thought of the whole experience there.

Her next sunset out was at White Sands. Anjuli almost drove in by herself for the sunset to avoid disrupting the baby routine, but we decided to all go together and it turned into a pivotal moment for Jordan's photography career, and one of our favorite moments from the trips. Again, no harm to the Jordan routine and she stayed awake for the drive home.

The sunset at the cholla cactus garden followed by stargazing in the truck bed at Joshua Tree NP was another fun evening without incident.

Jordan's only other sunrise was as we drove out to glacier point road in Yosemite to ride our bikes up the road in the week before cars were allowed. She did fine with the early wakeup and most of the ride with the exception of a meltdown on the way up when she wanted out of the trailer, but we think that had more to do with the length of the ride and not eating enough perhaps.

Another fun sunset without incident at Tunnel View in Yosemite.

Same story with the sunset at Ecola state park overlooking Haystack rock at Cannon Beach. We all rallied together for the sunset. Jordan did actually fall asleep briefly in the car while Anjuli scouted out the location, but other than that had no issue. She was quite the smiley munchkin that evening and wanted to keep taking family photos.

The sunset at Thompson Pass by Valdez, AK, was another amazing experience that we chose to take a chance and go out on a whim when it seemed like the rain was stopping. The clouds made it even more incredible.

We had wanted Jordan to see the Northern lights in Fairbanks and along Kluane Lake, but she was well asleep for those and so we let her stay sleeping. However, she was still up the last time the aurora was out when we were driving back through Canada and so we got her out to take some photos. They came out early enough that night that there was no disruption to when she would have gone to sleep anyway. The milky way was even out.

The sunset at Lake Louise was our last intentional sunset of the trip (we had a few late drives on the way back). It was fun cuddling up in the blankets by the water. We even stopped at Morant's curve on the way back.

It was always nice when the nice view of the sunset was right outside the RV door, or even from inside in some cases.

So, in the end, each of these early or late outings were well worth it. I don't know that I would do it every day or even every week while she is this young, but when there is a good opportunity, no need to fear.

Summary:

• Anjuli - Basically, doesn't need to sleep.

• Bruce - Needs to sleep, especially if more than one night is disrupted.

• Jordan - Flexible, goes with the flow.