2021 Life Update | Jacob Lake Boondocking
This week is just a life update instead of a new travel vlog. We have been boondocking near Jacob Lake by the north rim of Grand Canyon National Park. A trip to the E.R. for our daughter plus our credit card getting stolen threw off our plans a little. Which is also a good reminder to always know where the nearest hospital is as you travel! Thankfully everything ended up okay. See the full story below:
Health Coverage On The Road
As you may know we originally hit the road from Denver, CO. Near the end of our first year we decided to become residents of Florida for a number of reasons.
One big factor was that Florida residents have access to the national Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance network through the healthcare exchange. However, it takes a bit of legwork to find in-network providers while out of state.
Searching for providers in Florida works really well. Not so much for the nationwide search feature. We’ve found it a lot easier to call and have Florida Blue provide a list over the phone.
The Vasovagal (Fainting) Reflex
Wow this was scary to see. I (Kevin) have been through it a number of times but none of us had ever actually watched it happen to someone else. What triggers it for me has always been needles. I’ve learned to look away whenever I’m getting a shot. If it’s a blood draw, chances are I’ll be saying goodnight briefly. The funny part is that I’m not squeamish about needles at all. I would actually prefer to be able to watch, but it triggers this reflex if I do. Even if I don’t fully lose consciousness my heart starts pounding and I feel really ill for a time.
I wasn’t always this way. It seems to have developed in my 30’s. Now that we know our daughter has it too we will have to be on the lookout for what exactly triggers it for her. In this particular case it seems to have been a combination of dehydration and standing up too fast while we were at 8,000+ feet in elevation. In the past we haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to our kids’ water intake. We figured if they’re thirsty, they’ll drink, right?
Now we’re paying a lot more attention to it. While our son drinks plenty of fluids all by himself, apparently our daughter does not. She needs consistent reminders to stay hydrated.
World Famous Jacob Lake Cookies
Jacob Lake is pretty small. The Jacob Lake Inn has made quite the name for itself with its cookies. It also has the only gas station in the area. There is also a Kaibab National Forest Visitor Center, two campgrounds, and that’s about it!
The Inn was established in 1923 to host visitors to the north rim of Grand Canyon. It still does that to this day. Nowadays, it also has it’s famous bakery, a small restaurant, gift shop, and even some groceries. It’s easy to see why it is the hub of this small town. Do yourself a favor and stop by if you are driving to the north rim! We can’t help but think this life update wouldn’t have been complete without cookies.
Kaibab National Forest Boondocking
Kaibab National Forest is massive! It’s actually split into three ranger districts: North, Tusayan, and Williams. For this life update we were camped in the North section.
There are lots of places around here to camp for free. Our particular spot was about 2 miles down FR 248. The cell reception by the highway was fantastic, but not very good by our spot due having to come down a large hill. Despite that, this campsite ranks in our top 3 favorite boondocking sites to date!
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If you’d like to read about our RV and other RV adventures, then check out some of our other posts :
- Cathedral Wash Slot Canyon | Lees Ferry Arizona
- 5 Places To Stay Near Page, Arizona
- 5 Things To Do In Page, Arizona
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument | Flagstaff AZ
- Chiricahua National Monument | Echo Canyon Loop Hike
- Petrified Forest National Park
- Portable RV Waste Tank, Freshwater Tank and Pumps
- RV Solar System Lessons Learned
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