Five months full of goodwill trips, garage sales, sponsorship negotiations, photo shoots, and sleepless nights have lead us up to today, and we are eager to hit the road.
Three months and 5000 miles are the figures that Samantha and I arrived at after a bottle of wine this past January 2019. Samantha was gearing up for 90 hour work weeks at her restaurant and I was struggling to get my photography business off the ground. We knew that staying put in Phoenix left us both feeling uninspired and we both agreed that purging our belongings in order to create memories on the road would put us on the path to being present in the moment and guide us closer to our mutual bliss.
We decided on a loose itinerary where our dates would be flexible and our destinations would be tentative at best. The idea is that if we are really enjoying where we are, then we stay for 2, 3, 4 or even 5 days to make the most of that location before moving on, and if we were not feeling a place we would simply just keep driving. Deliberately deciding to be flexible allows us to make changes to our trip at a moments notice, allowing us to shoot for more clients, explore a random waterfall hike tip from a local, or add other locations and side projects in that we didn’t originally know existed.
“The best journeys answer questions that in the beginning you didn't even think to ask.”
- Jeff Johnson, ”180 Degrees South”
Our gear sponsors really helped us maximize the “Adventure” side of our road trip by providing gear, financial support, and one even agreed to a few nights in a comfy bed with a shower (Thanks Alex).
GEAR SPONSORS:
Big Agnes: http://www.bigagnes.com
Kokopelli Packrafts: http://www.kokopellipackraft.com
Niner Mountain Bikes: http://www.ninerbikes.com
Rocky Mounts: http://www.RockyMounts.com
TRIP ITINERARY:
Durango, CO - Vail, CO - Go Pro Mountain Games - Aspen, CO - Grand Mesa, CO - Grand Junction, CO - Arches National Park, UT - Park City, UT - Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest - Jackson, WY - Grand Teton National Park - Yellowstone National Park - Big Sky, MT, Kalispell, MT - Glacier National Park - Waterton Lakes National Park, AB, Canada - Baniff, AB, Canada - Lake Louise, AB, Canada - Glacier National Park, AB, Canada - Revelstoke National Park, AB Canada - Victoria, BC - Olympic National Park - Seattle, WA - Portland, OR, Pacific City, OR - Oregon Coast - Crater Lake National Park - Lassen Volcanic National Park - South Lake Tahoe, CA - Yosemite National Park