When I told people that we were about to embark on a 38-day camping trip, in our camper with our 3 and 5-year-olds, I got looks. Especially from people who don’t know me well. People who know me well often said things like, “Of course you are,” typically coupled with a little head shake or smirk. There’s one thing about Matt and me that we have always had in common – we aren’t afraid of a big adventure.
On night one, parked in a RV spot of a Love’s gas station just off I-40 in Tucumcari, New Mexico, 11 hours after embarking from our home, I was cozy in our bed writing away and Matt walked in with tears in his eyes and said, “I’m so happy we get to do this.” That’s after a the last two hours of the driving, the kids started to bicker a lot more, Matt accidentally scraped the camper into a gas pump, a bottle of maple syrup exploded when it fell out of the fridge in the camper, and running on fumes from days of very little sleep (because of preparation and excitement about our longest adventure with the kids). And that’s the thing. Even with the ups and downs travel bring, because even with the immense privilege of travel, there are indeed still downs, we find so much joy in this adventurous life that we’ve built together.
This Nomad Summer is different from last year. This year is going to include 15 days in southern Utah and 23 in Colorado. We have family coming to meet us for two of our weeks in Colorado and we’re excited to spend time with them in one of our favorite spots. We have a better idea of what we want to do and accomplish. I have a better understanding of what being on the road with the kids on my own for the majority of the days, while Matt works back at the camper – thank you for doing that, Matt! And we’re running a tighter ship on our budget. Rising costs, especially the cost of gas rising so intensely from November when we booked the trip to May when we left, have hurt the budget a bit, but we never stray from a challenge and when we put our minds to it, we’re pretty good at pinching pennies too.
This trip is about escape. About growth. About family time. About enjoying the great outdoors. About falling in love with all the simple, beautiful things in our lives. I love sharing all of this with our kids and raising them in a way that fosters adaptability, sparks curiosity, and creates a nature bond that will follow them for life. I can’t wait to see everything this trip brings.
I’m hoping to check in a bit more often, with more personal notes, like this one. For now, though, my message is after day one, of simply driving across four states, listening to Disney Storybook stories and more Chapel Roan than anyone should hear in a day, manic kid laughs and random little kid breakdowns, eating ham and cheese sandwiches and homemade banana muffins, we are filled to the brim with happiness. We. Are. Lucky.
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