Contrary to what you see here, I actually do keep up to date with my adventure travel posts! 

If you want to follow along to all my adventures, check out my Patreon Blog, Facebook, or Instagram. 

It's been exactly three months since I hit the road. And I feel like you have come along for the ride so WE'VE been on the road for 3 months. 😂

In those 92 days, I've driven 11,442.4 miles alone through 10 US states and 4 Canadian Provinces. 

I've shared over 100 images and taken thousands of pictures.

I've filled up my gas tank 76 times, spending more money than I'd like to calculate (I'll hit you with that number later). 

I've seen almost 92 sunsets and way fewer sunrises.

I've brushed my teeth 120 times and had about 276 meals.

But more than all that, I've learned thousands of things.

I've learned about our National Parks, about Canada, about the states I've traveled through, about how to live in a van, how to work on the road, and I've learned about dozens of strangers and heard stories from so many people. 

I have learned how to accept help from others and how to make the road a less lonely place by sharing my journey with you, which made me feel like I was on the road with more friends than would actually fit into my van.

I've also learned a lot about myself in the last three months and have started taking care of myself better. 

I started focusing on my health. Listening to my body, stretching and walking and working out. 
I've started eating more healthy, being conscious of what I consume.
I make time for Rocky daily, almost hourly.
I constantly put positivity in my head, listening to uplifting audiobooks and watching funny shows. 
I journal every night and have recently said goodbye to some things that were causing me a lot of anxiety. 
I got accepted into a program with a life coach and started setting realistic goals in my personal and professional life. 
I started looking at my wardrobe and consciously choose to wear only the clothes that make me feel happy. 

I feel strong mentally and physically. 
I feel like I'm on the right path. 
I feel loved and supported. 

These last few months have been crazy, challenging and amazing, and I've had the support of so many new and old friends. 

Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. 

I know this is just the beginning and I feel so ready to take on the future with you all joining the ride. 😊

Sometimes when I'm feel anxious and unbalanced I go to Google Maps and type in "park". 
I go to the nearest park and find their swing set. 

Sometimes I put in my headphones and listen to calming music, sometimes I just listen to the natural sounds around me. 

I've gone in the sunshine, and in the rain, in the morning and at night. 
I've walked around, waiting for a small child to give up their swing, and I've been alone in the park. 

I've done this since I was a kid, feeling an instant calm and peace wash over me when the wind hits my face and my feet swing through the air. 

Today was one of those days. 

I took a break from my journey at a friends house in Austin to go to a Travel conference, then after the conference I felt wiped out, dreading getting back on the road, every morning feeling more exhausted than the last until today I finally woke up, ready to go. 

As I hit the road, I felt unsteady and unbalanced but the more I drove, the more ready for my next destination I got. Excited to see Big Bend National Park. 

I stopped for gas and when I looked over at this swing set, backlit by a stunning sun set, I was drawn to it like moth to a flame. 

As I was swinging, my heart filled with peace and comfort. I felt like I belonged. 

Is there anything better than this feeling? 

What gives you this feeling of peace and belonging?

​I catch myself using the word "only" a lot lately... I've only been to 5 countries, I've only been to 19 National Parks, I've only been on the road for almost 3 months.
But it's all relative.
To someone that hadn't been too many countries or National Parks, and has never lived on the road, that is a lot. 

Who am I comparing myself to?
When will it be enough for me to feel comfortable dropping the "only"? Have you caught yourself saying "only" with your experiences? 

I think I'm going to practice taking this use of "only" out of my vocabulary and -only- compare my future self with my previous self. 

How about you? 

Also, check out how enthusiastic I am behind the wheel of this fake Australian jeep. 😂
Since Australia is one of the countries I've been to, I even remembered to get in on the correct side of the car!

​In the last few years, you must have felt the division in our county. 
No matter what "side of the aisle" you're on... That's just it. We've chosen "sides" instead of coming together to find solutions. 

A few years ago, I had an idea of what I wanted my life after college to look like. 
I was dating a good guy, interning for a great job. I was asked to create my own position at a nonprofit. 
I was going to graduate Summa Cum Laude with straight A's in a Journalism and Sociology degree. 
I was working four jobs, living comfortably. 

First, my romanic relationship fell apart and we broke up.
I quit my jobs in preparation for my new full time job. 
Then, a new governor got elected and non-profits saw budget cuts that eliminated my position. I didn't get the job. 
I didn't resign my apartment lease. 

I walked across the stage with 3 credits to go and found myself jobless, homeless, and single with one last student loan. 

So I decided it was time for a change of scenery. I packed my Kia Spectra (Mia) and took off for a two month road trip that would change my life.
Exploring 24 National Parks and Forests, I felt completely at peace for the first time in my life.
I connected with strangers like I never had before. 
I felt like I was Home. 

When I returned, I was jobless, homeless, single, and now completely broke. 
I easily felt myself slip into old habits and old stressors. 

I became a Store Manager and Marketing Director of a small business, then a year later, become a Marketing Director for an author, then a year after that served as Executive Assistant to CEO and Executive Marketing Support for a multi-million dollar company while also taking clients as a Freelance Marketing Consultant. 

I was pushing hard. I was working all the time.

I was constantly anxious and always in a rush, preoccupied by the next thing. 

And on top of that, I was falling out of love with my country. 

The division could be felt in my immediate family and friends, the people I loved most in the world, and with strangers I'd meet. I felt angry all of the time. Personally offended and separated from half of society. 

I got laid off in November 2017 and traveled to Australia because I needed to get away. I got offered a job there, and strongly considered taking it. 
But I loved my family and knew it would be a struggle to bring my dog there. 

But in order to make peace with staying, I needed to fall back in love with America. And I needed to find peace. 

I looked through my past, searching for a time when I felt peace and connection and remembered my road trip in 2015. I remembered the peace I felt in our National Parks. My heart swelled with the idea of going to all of them. Spending time by myself and on the road again. 

My heart would race whenever I thought of the idea. 

A plan started to formulate. 

My biggest worry was keeping it sustainable. 

I had to address the loneliness I had felt on the road, I knew that I had ran home after two months because I didn't maintain communication with friends and family. I wanted this to be different. I wanted to share my experiences with others and keep in contact with the new friends I met along the way. 

I wanted to utilize my Journalism passion and make a podcast to share my stories and help others fall in love with America and with our parks. 

I knew that financially I had to sustain my travels. So I posted on FB asking if anyone was looking for a virtual assistant. I found a couple of clients that I loved. Later, I would launch a Patreon to see if anyone wanted to support me personally.

Lastly, I knew that I had to be comfortable if I wanted to live on the road full time. So I started looking into renovating a van. 
I took out a loan for $8,000 and got a 2012 Ford Transit Connect. Friends and family helped me build it out. And YouTube tutorials became my Bible. 

In July, ready or not, I set off, chosing to start in Alaska so I could prove to myself and others that I was serious about this in a very big way. 

Right now, I still feel overwhelmed. I have dozens of recorded interviews and no experience creating a podcast. It's hard to know where to start and I've put it off for months. 
I sometimes get stressed about where to park my home at night and I get exhausted after driving hundreds of miles. 
I lost my spare key and so I have to work in a cafe, with my car on and unlocked so Rocky doesn't get too hot or cold. 
I deal with migraines and am trying to get health insurance and get medical tests to get them figured out. 
I want to make sure I'm giving back as much, if not more, than people are giving me. I can't believe I have 41 people willing to not only give me the time of day, but also reach into their wallets to support me and this journey and the stories I'm going to share. 
It brings tears to my eyes. And it is not something I take lightly.

Ultimately, this journey is all about reconnecting with my country's landscapes and people to inspire me and hopefully to inspire you to fall back in love with the people and places of America. 

We have a lot more in common than we may realize. 
I've yet to meet a single person on the road that I didn't share at least one commonality with. 

And one thing that almost every single person can agree with is the beauty and awe of our National Parks. 

I know for a fact that my listeners and supporters are so wide and varied, across many spectrums, but we all can agree on our love of National Parks.

Thank you for inspiring me, my friends.
Thank you so much for coming along on this journey. 

What are your thoughts?
I'd love to hear from you. 

Let's be in this together. ♥️

Rocky and I have been on the road for exactly 2 months today. 


In that time I have:
•Driven 7,307.4 miles alone
•Gone through 5 US States and 4 Canadian Provinces
•Gone to 3 US National Parks
•Gotten behind schedule almost every day 
•Eaten over 150 Meals 
•Taken Rocky outside more than 186 times 
•Gotten my oil changed 2 times
•Given Rocky 4 bones and dozens of treats
•Brushed my teeth 124 times and Rocky's 62 times 
•Drank over 45 cups of coffee 
•Used 22 Gb of data on my phone plan
•Eaten at Wendy's over 20 times (+McDonald's, Burger King, A&W, & Pizza Hut 1 time each)
•Eaten about 8 jars of peanut butter 
•Met countless strangers and dozens of new friends
•Seen 18 wild bears, more than 55 wild Buffalo, over 20 reindeer, 2 foxes, 4 porkupines, 1 humpback whale, 1 sea otter, goats, sheep, rabbits, squirrels, sea lions, seals, puffins, jellyfish, moose, elk, 3 eagles, and hundreds of ravens 
•Listened to 5 audiobooks and over a hundred songs 
•Watched 81 episodes of the Office (and finished 0 books, oops)
•Written 128 & 1/4 pages in my journal 
•Bought one shirt, one swim suit, 2 jeans, 1 hat for a total of $23 
•Taken over 20 showers 
•Done more than 20 interviews 
•Slept in my bed 62 times
•Stopped for gas 52 times
•Had 6 car mishaps (destroying 2 tires) 
•Done my laundry 4 times 
•Drank over 25 gallons of water (+ 10 Dr peppers, and 8 red bulls)
•Have written and sent 76 post cards
•Taken thousands of digital pictures (and 6 Polaroids)
•Regretted taking the VanLife Leap 0 times 🚐

So it's been a month and a half since I started this journey and committed to #VanLife. And in the spirit of transparency, and because it's been an insane ride, I'm going to share all the bumps, bruises, and mud baths my van, Rocky, and I have gotten along the way. 🚐
It all started on day one of my trip, not even 100 miles outside of my starting point in Illinois. The car in front of me swerved to the right and all the sudden, there was a large, round traffic cone in front of me, off center. It made contact with my driver's side mirror and smacked against the window, loudly shattering. 
I sighed and refused to make this a bad omen for my trip. After all, I had thought to pack a small 360 mirror "in case of emergency". So I Gorilla Tapped the small mirror to my shattered wreckage of a mirror and sought out the nearest Auto Zone for a temp mirror. I found a temporary mirror  (cut to fit style), and of course cut it the wrong way (hello blondness). 
The next day, while driving through Iowa, I was clocked going 8 over (by an aircraft). I was pulled over, but the previous owner had gifted me the "support the troopers" license plate cover, and the officer asked me about it, I was able to tell him that my Pops was a correctional officer for 27 years. WAHLAH, no ticket (shout out to my Pops!). 
Still, I refused to feel like a cloud was hanging over my trip. ☁️
Since then, a rock has hit my windshield, chipping it (apparently welcoming me to Alaska with what locals refer to as the 'Alaskan Windshield'). 
And we have gotten VERY dirty (pictured) as we went through the bumpy and rainy dirt roads of the Top of the World highway (WORTH IT!).
Lastly, we had a small accident in Anchorage about a week ago. 
While turning right on a red light, as I waited for a motorcycle to pass, I was hit from behind. Luckily the damage was minimal and the driver was a mechanic who popped my bumper off and hammered it back into place! 😂
Rocky was okay, and I was only sore for a few days afterward. 
*whew* It's been quite a ride, but honestly it's to be expected when you are driving so much and living out of a van. 
Everything has turned out alright and has helped me make new friends and maintain a positive perspective in the face of obstacles. And yes, I am learning to be more and more careful. 
#VanLife isn't all about beautiful pictures in breathtaking places. It's still real life and there are still bumps and bruises along the way. 
But for me, it's all worth it. 


Considering #VanLife? Tell me about it in the comments! 😊

Ever wonder what a Fjord is? Or even a Glacier?
Well you're definitely not alone! I had no idea until yesterday!

So I asked a lot of questions and here's what I learned!

A Fjord (pronounced Fee-YORD) is when two cliffs come together with an area of sea between them that is caused by glacier run off. Think of two big mountains with water between them. Sometimes a big chunk of ice right at the top between them. They're usually flat on the top because they were covered with glaciers are one point.

Glaciers are massive iceberg like structures that are super dense. They're a blue color because they don't have much air in them (less than 20%) so the only color they can reflect is blue. It's like a toilet bowl with that blue cleaning agent in it.
They grind up rocks as they form, melt, and fall which releases minerals called Rock Flour into the water, making it a bright blue.
When ice breaks off the glaciers, they are called icebergs, unless they're small then they're called bergies (bergy bits) or growlers (less than 3ft).
They can be bigger than a house, or as small as a tennis ball (or smaller).
It's called calving when they fall off.
​
It's insane. I saw two huge pieces calve.
One was as big as a house, one was car size.
First you hear an eerie cracking, then it starts falling and you hear the ice scraping then a huge crash as it hits the ocean and other ice bergs.

Want to hear what a calving glacier sounds like? 
I actually captured one on this episode!