Finding balance between the day-to-day and the bigger dreams of life, where reality and adventure meet.
Yep, you read that right. We failed the Tetons. Oh, and then we failed Yellowstone. Let me explain. This page may contain affiliate links. This means I receive a commission for purchases made through those links, at no cost to you. I only endorse products that I use and enjoy myself from businesses I trust. … Continue reading We Failed Yellowstone and the Tetons
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the prettiest little national park you’ve probably never heard of. It’s located in western North Dakota, right on I-94, next to the charming little town of Medora, North Dakota. Theodore Roosevelt National Park was not the first national park ever created. In fact, it wasn’t even created while Roosevelt … Continue reading Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Ah, summer. It's almost here. While our winter has been pretty mild this year, it has been very rainy, and all of us are ready for summer. We're ready for school to be out, we're ready to take the Monkey Barrel on another adventure, and we are ready to end our summer with a fun … Continue reading What the Shell?!? Oh, Sanibel!
On your way from Amarillo, Texas, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the lovely town of Santa Rosa. Located on the famed Route 66, Santa Rosa is also home to the Blue Hole, a circular, bell-shaped pool that is a popular destination for SCUBA diving and training. This page may contain affiliate links. This means that … Continue reading Santa Rosa, New Mexico: The Blue Hole
When we first started planning our spring break trip, Kyle heard about Garner State Park from a buddy of his who recommended it. So it was on our minds as we headed towards the Texas Hill Country. This page may contain affiliate links. This means that I receive a commission for purchases made through … Continue reading Garner State Park
The first day on the road is always an adjustment. The stress of our schedules and routines is sometimes hard to let go of, but as the Interstate, walled in by trees and barriers, gives way to open fields and rolling pastures, the stress becomes less burdensome and the possibilities of what lies ahead becomes … Continue reading Texas
Getting out the door for a trip is always an adventure in and of itself. There's the inevitable Case of Too Many Blankets. There's the drama of Saying Goodbye to the Dog. The mystery of What Am I Forgetting? (Even with my lists, I sometimes have this problem.) Today recalled a brief scene from Star … Continue reading On the Road Again
What’s better than a road trip to see friends? A road trip to see friends and visit a national park together! When some friends of ours relocated to Kentucky, we wanted to go see them, but we decided to make a trip of it and meet up with them at Mammoth Cave National Park. … Continue reading Mammoth Cave National Park
Spring break for us starts this Friday and I could not be more ready to hit the road and get out of town. Packing for a trip in the Monkey Barrel varies little from trip to trip, but there are some things that we simply never leave home without. Here is a list of my … Continue reading A Few of My Favorite Things
Great Sand Dunes National Park This page may contain affiliate links. This means that I receive a commission for purchases made through those links, at no cost to you. I only endorse products that I use and enjoy myself from businesses I trust. For more information, please read my Disclosure Statement. I’m not sure where … Continue reading Great Sand Dunes National Park
On the walk from the campground into town, Ouray, Colorado. This page may contain affiliate links. This means that I receive a commission for purchases made through those links, at no cost to you. I only endorse products that I use and enjoy myself from businesses I trust. For more information, please read my Disclosure … Continue reading Ouray, Colorado
Quite a few of my posts so far have been focused on our lives while we are home, and not on the road. This is simply because this is the time of year where we are home for the longest stretch of time, and I am merely giving insight to our home life, and how … Continue reading Have Airstream, Will Travel: Meet the Monkey Barrel
Valles Caldera National PreserveThose tiny dots are all elk! This page may contain affiliate links. This means that I receive a commission for purchases made through those links, at no cost to you. I only endorse products that I use and enjoy myself from businesses I trust. For more information, please read my Disclosure Statement. … Continue reading Valles Caldera National Preserve
“Where are y’all headed next?” and “What are you reading these days?” are probably the two most frequently asked questions I get from our friends and family. The second question is what I’d like to talk about today. While I’m constantly reading a wide range of books and magazines, there are books that, when it … Continue reading Books for On (and Off) the Road
Laundry. That seems like a pretty boring topic of conversation, but I actually get asked a lot about laundry. How do we do laundry on our trips? What is our method? Well, to be totally honest, sometimes, we don’t. There have been a few times where a laundromat is scarce, but a Walmart has been … Continue reading Airing Out Our Dirty Laundry
This page may contain affiliate links. This means that I receive a commission for purchases made through those links, at no cost to you. I only endorse products that I use and enjoy myself from businesses I trust. For more information, please read my Disclosure Statement. Do you hygge? You probably do and don’t even … Continue reading Winter Doldrums Part 1: How Do You Hygge?
Boondocking. Ever heard of it? It is otherwise known as “dry camping” and the term is derived from the idea that you are going out “in the boondocks,” i.e. where there are no amenities or hookups for your trailer. The Airstream trailer is perfectly designed for boondocking, and therefore is a popular activity for many … Continue reading Urban Boondocking: What You Need to Know
The Welcome Crew at Dinosaur Valley State Park. During our Christmas, 2017 trip, we stopped by Dinosaur Valley State Park. I had read about this place, a Texas state park not far from Fort Worth, where you can actually take a short hike and see dinosaur tracks in the rocks. It sounded intriguing (and honestly, … Continue reading Dinosaur Valley State Park
For some reason, I love taking photos of impending storms. As long as we can escape them (and to date, thankfully, we have), I find them arrestingly beautiful. So, I thought I would share some of my favorite weather photos. Somewhere in Wyoming Wyoming, trying to outrun the storm Wyoming, deciding not to boondock on … Continue reading Weather Photos