everyday life

Photo of the day: Our evening stroll around camp. Have you ever taken inventory of what’s most important to you? At the top of my list would be spending time in nature and nurturing my mental health. (And for me, those things conveniently go hand in hand) There are many reasons why I love living a nomadic lifestyle but the fact that it honors those things that are most important to me is...

Photo of the day: Enjoying snacks, sunshine and good conversation with Claire (and Luna). The last few days have included some great conversations with my dear friend Claire.  I love that every time we’re together we go deeper in conversation and because of it we continue to grow closer as friends.  I tend to be an open book with my friends. I believe good things come from being honest...

{Photo of the day: Camping with Claire & Brandon, Almo, ID.} I can’t let our time with Claire & Brandon pass by without telling the story of how our friendship began. I love it too much to not share. Claire & I met at a yoga studio in Nampa, Idaho. I was 6 months in to living in Idaho, was struggling with the lack of access to public lands for exercise and was at a total loss as...

Last year, through a very wonderful and random chain of events, our 19 year old niece from Iowa moved out to Idaho to live with us for the summer. Three months turned in to a year and this past June we parted ways. Saying goodbye was harder than I ever would have imagined. I didn’t know Mackenzie all that well before she moved in with us. I quickly learned that she has a huge heart, a...

{Smoke from several fires across the state has settled in making for an eerie evening glow.} What’s the plan? We’re asked this question a lot. It seems as though anyone that knows us would love to know where we’re headed next, how long we plan on living like this, when Mark will resume being a flight instructor, etc. The answer? There is no plan. There was a plan. Back in...

Quiet forest service roads are my favorite for biking. San Isabel National Forest. I really enjoy the challenge and the reward of living with less. While the American way is to constantly strive for more money and more stuff, we’ve always felt like the fastest way to have more wealth is to spend less money. For us, less stuff and less debt has always equaled more freedom. In the spring, as...

Ptarmigan Lake Trail, San Isabel National Forest, Colorado. We broke the number one rule for hiking in Colorado today and it bit us, or I should say, hit us in the face in the shape of cold, icy hail. The rule of thumb is that you should never be on a trail in the mountains between 2ish and 6ish during the summer. You can bet on thunderstorms within that timeframe, and high elevation (especially...

Almost to the top. Bison Peak, Lost Creek Wilderness, Colorado. About a month ago we hiked to the top of Mt Royal in Frisco.  It wasn’t long (5 miles round-trip) but it was straight up and straight down.  After that hike Mark asked if we could refrain from doing any summits for awhile.  He wanted a chance to get reacclimatized to the altitude and in better hiking shape before going straight up...

Views for days from the top of Mt. Royal. Frisco, Colorado. It’s been a while since we last did a summit so the prospect of climbing 1400 vertical feet in 2 miles felt a bit daunting.  But our family was in town and our 17 year old nephew was itching to climb to the top of this peak that was located right across the street from their rental house.  We couldn’t let him go home without...