WEEK 8: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

We sought warm weather and boy, did it deliver. After leaving Telluride, we drove straight to Santa Fe, a place neither of us had been before. The sun was setting and the city was glowing – tourists and locals alike were bustling around, shopping, eating and drinking. We fit right in. Some local Mexican fare (cricket tostadas and a margarita) at Sazon, we then dined at The Shed for dinner. Situated right off the main plaza and tucked behind a beautiful courtyard, this colorfully decorated and incredibly crowded restaurant lived up to all its hype. We ate and drank well beyond our means, only making us eager to come back for more.

After grabbing some breakfast at The Shack, a local establishment famous for their green-chili burgers, we spent the day meandering around the shops. That afternoon, we took the short drive to Ten Thousand Waves, a traditional Japanese style onsen tucked near the mountains of Sierra Nevada. If you know us, you know how much we love Japan, and to find this oasis in Santa Fe felt like a godsend. It was far enough from the city that we felt like we had “gotten away” but close enough that we could still make dinner that night in town. We rejuvenated and relaxed ourselves into serenity, only to find ourselves back at The Shed for another meal after some negotiating with local shop owners for their prized Navajo crafts.

Sad to leave, we hit the road for New Orleans. It was a long, long journey. With nothing but endless cow pastures, Walmart parking lots and chain restaurants, we were fueled by the warm sun and wind in our hair. We finally reached New Orleans late in the evening on Friday and spent the next two nights at Ponchartrain Landing RV Park. Surrounded by palm trees, waterways, fresh grass and kind people, we settled in and made a few friends at the local restaurant. We even had our first “celebrity” moment. After speaking with the bartender and some other patrons at the bar, someone turned to us and said they had been following our adventure for the last few weeks!

We knew Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day and with full anticipation of the craziness we were about to endure, we hit the town. Bourbon Street was an absolute mad house, but we loved it. Fortunately, we found ourselves some good, relatively quiet, places to eat and drink. We dipped in Johnny’s Po – Boys for some, well, Po-Boys, and grabbed some beignets along the way. That night, we ate at Samuel’s Blind Pelican, a perfectly situated restaurant in the Lower Garden District that has a killer outdoor patio, crawfish and $0.25 oysters. Yes, that is correct. After completely overdoing it on the oysters, we called it a night.

After spending two nights at Ponchartrain Landing, we moved to The French Quarter RV Resort, a spot a bit more centrally located. Hitching up and preparing to leave/arrive is much easier when the temperature is above freezing. By the light of the giant billboard above us and the sweet sounds of the expressway, we settled in to our new spot. We proceeded to spend the next two nights exploring the city by foot, with some notable spots being: The Sazerac (our bartender was from VT), Café Du Monde (beignets), Bayou Beer Garden (killer crawfish in a casual outdoor setting), Parkway Po-Boy (so good, we went back twice).

At this point, we were craving to get out of the city, so we made our way down to the bayou and posted up outside of Barataria Preserve at the State Park. We were away from it all and it felt good to be reconnected with nature. Via recommendation, we sought out crawfish at the local favorite, Perino’s Boiling Pot. It would come to no surprise that we spent lunch mingling with some locals at the bar, while we filled up on Gator Bites and Crawfish. We scheduled a bayou swamp tour through Airboat Adventures and boy, was it worth it. We opted for the most private tour they offered (6-8 people per boat) and our guide Jay was incredibly knowledgeable. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend our last day in New Orleans. That night, we arbitrarily selected a restaurant off Google Maps, that was on the outskirts of the city: Jacques Imo’s Café. This place might have been one of the best meals of the entire trip. Between the eclectic decorations, traditional Creole cuisine, and green fluorescent hue cast upon the whole interior space, we couldn’t have been more pleased.

It is remarkable to think that our trip is coming to a close. From New Orleans, we drove to Memphis Tennessee as we made our way back to Jackson Center, Ohio. Were grateful for the hospitality The Graceland Guesthouse has shown us, and the RV park across the street was perfectly located for our needs. Having not grown up in the hay-day of Elvis, we were blown away by our privately guided tour of Elvis Enterprises. It was fascinating to see all the memorabilia and documentation of Elvis’s life, and we were even motivated to put some Elvis on in the car. After putting some south in our mouth at Central BBQ, we bee-lined straight for Louisville, KY. Big bourbon fans, this was a must-stop on our journey home. Angel’s Envy took the cake, but we checked out Jim Beam, Four Roses, and Evan Williams too.  Our last meal on the road was at Royals Hot Chicken, a fried chicken institution in Nulu. We’d recommend not trying the Gonzo, if you’re planning on doing anything afterwards.

Ending the same way we started and as promised, we threw our welcome home party at the local watering hole in Jackson Center, The Heideout. And by party, we mean a small group of us hanging out at the bar. But what we lacked in numbers, we made up for with incredible people and great conversation. We truly can’t say enough about the genuine kind-heartedness of the people in Jackson Center. We weren’t sure if they’d remember us, but we were wrongly mistaken. As soon as we got out of the car, we were instantly greeted by a smiling face and a loving “is your trip over already!?” We knew we made the right choice. Upon entering, more familiar faces couldn’t wait to hear about our travels. We spent the next few hours telling stories of our adventure by the sounds of live music and laughter. We were sad to leave, but we know it won’t be long till we’re back in that bar, with those friends.

 

WEEK 7: Be Present

We’ve had a lot of new friends and followers ask us how we are able to afford our lifestyle or maintain any sort of career, for that matter. Frankly, we are big believers in building relationships, with individuals and companies alike. This trip wouldn’t be possible without our sponsor, Airstream, and the other brands that have signed on to support us. We are incredibly grateful for Burton, who provided us with hard and soft goods to keep us active and warm during our cold adventures, and for Tubbs Snowshoes, for their gear to keep us exploring the untracked backcountry. We’ve found that there is an art to conducting business without exchanging money, and that the act of barter trading is not a dying currency. We encourage everyone we meet to think outside the box and to realize that you have so much more to offer than a dollar (or many.)

Being surrounded by so much beauty, it can be overwhelming to balance work and play. It is critical for us to constantly stay on top of our work, allowing us the opportunity to be fully present in the moment. Being in the wild wilderness is the ultimate reset button. Nature has an unparalleled capability of alleviating life’s complications with it’s beauty. Step outside and within a short period of time, your mind clears and you can focus on what really matters.

We were fortunate to connect with old friends and family during our time in Utah. Ryan’s cousin, Damian, met us for dinner and drinks at Wasatch Brewery and came along for our mountain adventure the following day. We spent our last day in Utah at Snowbird, and while it might have been one of our favorite mountains to explore, we were even more stoked to spend time with our friends at Tribal West Lacrosse. A frequent local of Alta and Snowbird, Fish Bartlett, the patriarch of Utah lacrosse, was our private guide to the hidden corners of the mountain.

We knew we had to be more cognizant of our schedule, as we only have two weeks left of this journey. We cut our visit shorter than we’d like and began making our way to Colorado for a planned shoot with The Public Works. We drove to Dead Horse Point State Park (Moab) and spent the night under the stars, completely alone. Unfortunately, we ran out of propane – apparently they don’t fill propane after dark in Utah. With cold feet and kind hearts, we curled up to our handy space heater. It was so quiet and incredibly dark, that you almost felt like you lost your hearing. With the sunrise as our alarm clock, we awoke to an incredible setting that we didn’t know existed when we arrived the night before.

Fast forward to our arrival in Keystone, Colorado, later that day. We linked up with Mike of The Public Works and some of his crew for a backcountry photoshoot. After setting up shop at the trailhead, we lit a fire and shared stories of our adventure so far. Rested and ready, we woke up to the sound of roaring snowmobiles and the scent of fresh coffee. After being interviewed for their video documentary of our trip, we all hit the backcountry for some fresh lines in a snow covered basin.

The day was exhausting, but we were fortunate that the US Open was taking place at the same time in Vail, Colorado. We drove to Vail just in time to do what we do best: eat and drink. We spent some time connecting with locals at 10^th Mountain Distillery and grabbed some grub at Vendettas Pizza. Vail Brewing Co pulled at our heart strings and reminded us of home (Vermont) with their New England Style DIPA. While Vail might not be our cup of tea (or pint of beer), we thoroughly enjoyed supporting Burton and the US Open. Leaving as quickly as we arrived, we hit the road again for Telluride, CO.

Telluride is tucked away within the San Juan Mountains and from research, we knew we couldn’t stay too close to town with the rig. We also knew we REALLY needed to shower, do laundry, and re-organize our lives after our time in Utah and Colorado. Oasis was found at the local Chili’s in Montrose, CO, followed by a picturesque Walmart parking lot. We’re pretty sure we were the only patrons in Chili’s that night who were outside of the gossip circles.

With our laundry pile getting quite large and a serious need for a long hot shower, we spent the day “spring” cleaning and pampering ourselves at Jellystone RV Resort, before heading to the neighboring mountain town of Ouray, where we of course hit the local brewery and western style cowboy saloon. This famous watering hole was a frequent spot for John Wayne while filming True Grit. Refreshed and ready, we drove into (as close as we could) to downtown Telluride and explored town. The beauty about National Forests is the ability to disperse camp – and we did just that. We found a gorgeous overlook high in the mountains and slept amongst tall trees and steep gorges.

We have just over one week to go and we are going to take some much needed R&R in warmer temperatures. We’ll be making our way south to Santa Fe and across Texas to New Orleans for some window-down driving and crawfish. Heck, we might even turn the AC on.

WEEK 6: Winter Wonderland

 

The last time we were in Lake Tahoe, the weather was much different. It was warm, sunny, and we were wearing bathing suits while stand up paddle boarding across the lake. Fast forward three years and its nothing but snow, snow and a whole lot more snow. We knew Tahoe was getting a big snow storm, but we didn’t know it was going to be the storm of the year. With multiple feet in the forecast, we kissed our warm weather goodbye and began making our way across California. Our gas stop at Donner’s Pass was more than we signed up for, as we left with two new sets of chains and a knowledge of the California chain laws.

We pitter-pattered across the pass, experimenting with how to even put the chains on in the first place.  After a few initially difficult tries (pinned to a small pull off on a very windy and snow covered highway), we committed to getting dirty and properly installing the chains.

Our home base for the week was Coachland RV, a perfectly situated spot for our daily jaunts to Squaw and Northstar. We woke up the next morning to 1’ on the mountains and took advantage of the surprise Bluebird at Heavenly – it really does have the best views. After some live music and pizza at Base Camp Pizza Co we came home for some R&R. In an effort to explore as many of the Tahoe mountains as we could, we spent the next day at Northstar, waiting for yet another snow storm.

We were beyond excited when we woke up the next morning to a blizzard, so we headed straight for Squaw. Our tired legs lasted half a day and we knew we wanted to rest up for all the snow to come. That night, we rested our legs and worked out our stomachs with (hands down) the best Caesar salad both of us have ever had at Cottonwood, a slightly removed, quaint and friendly restaurant in Truckee. It was absolutely nuking snow (it was a blizzard), and we may have been some of the only people on the road, but it was worth it.

Mother Nature sure was busy that night after dropping another 2’ on top of the already 1.5’ Tahoe got the few days prior. We made our way back to Squaw that AM, but unfortunately, the entire mountain was shut down due to search and rescue, as well as avalanche control. Instead of fighting the crowds at Alpine, we made our way to Park City, as we were meeting up with a close friend who was flying out to see us.

Without trying, it seems like each week has “themed” itself. Last week, we were making new friends and connecting with strangers on the road. This week, it seems like we were really putting our winter driving to the test. We checked the forecasts to make sure we were not going to be driving in a blizzard, and all was well until we reached ¾ of the way across Nevada. We were instantly hit with a full white-out blizzard, not a plow in sight (guess that’s what happens in a tax-free state) and at least 40 miles till the Utah border. With visibility only 10ft in front of us, we slowly made our way to the closest safe pull-off where we could accurately asses the situation. We found out that the snow was stopping once we hit Utah, so we powered through for the next 40 miles and really gave our brains a workout. Needless to say, beers that night were much deserved.

Yes, we are chasing powder across America, but we were beyond excited when we realized we would be timing out arrival to Park City perfectly with a solid 8” overnight storm on Saturday night. After faring the crowds on Saturday, we hit the town and enjoyed some libations at High West Distillery, followed by some competitive UNO and wine back at the Airstream. The next morning, we awoke to that promised 8-10” of fresh powder, grabbed a lift at 9am and spent the entire day exploring the mountain. Unfortunately, we were having so much fun at the Canyons side of the mountain, that we missed the gondola back to Park City and grabbed an Uber instead. Word to the wise: make sure you know what time the lifts close.

 

We will be finishing our time in Utah at Snowbird with another close friend and then hitting the road back to Colorado as we begin the last few legs of our journey. Looking forward to some fun upcoming shoots we have planned in Keystone!

 

Week 5: When Strangers Become Friends

If you’ve never been to Bellingham, WA, we highly recommend you go – especially if you like beer. A hidden gem and brewing mecca, Bellingham had some unique spots we enjoyed checking out: Aslan Brewing, Melvin, Chuckanut. After two nights at Bellingham RV, we finally thawed out our icicle from a full-vessel deep freeze at Mt. Baker and hit the road for Crystal Mountain.

Our arrival at Crystal was our official turn-around point for the Endless Caravan adventure. Our time there was nothing short of interesting. After getting our tickets in the morning, we blindly navigated our way around the mountain, doing our best to get lost and find the undiscovered stashes of fresh powder. We were blessed to have met a solo rider, Manuela, who knew the mountain much better than we. She showed us around, led us to some hidden spots, and became a fast friend. If you visit Crystal, be sure to pack some extra Benjamins too. They loosely hand out $100 fines for what seems like every wrong step you make – especially the RV parking situation, which is not at all “crystal clear.” Either way, we were grateful to be able to recover the mood and celebrate Ryan’s birthday that night with some newly acquired friends at The Snorting Elk.

After riding with one of Ryan’s clients the next day, followed by an intimate dinner party, we planned our departure for the next morning.

A visiting family member and craving for warmer weather, we hit the road for Napa Valley. After an overnight stop in Shasta Lake, we arrived into Napa on Saturday afternoon, guided by the light of In-N-Out Burger.

One of the most rewarding parts about traveling is the ability to connect with different people in so many different places. We received a direct message via Instagram a couple weeks back from a follower in Napa, who openly invited us to reach out if we ever found ourselves in the area. Fortunately, we did find ourselves in the area and had the pleasure of meeting him at Robert Mondavi Vineyard, where he is a winemaker. We were grateful for his hospitality, tour of the vineyard and incredible tasting. We were even more grateful for how welcoming he and his wife were, sharing a meal and swapping travel stories. Whether it was the wine or the sunshine, we made many new friends during our time in Napa, including our new dear friends at Revik Wine.

Our time in Napa was the longest we had gone without wearing a jacket on this entire trip. After recharging our batteries, solar style and a delicious meal with family at Mustards, we said goodbye to Napa and hit the road for snowy Tahoe. We timed the travel just right to be arriving during their best snow week yet. We’re ready to hit the slopes again, although this time, we’ll be swapping out beer for all of our newly acquired vino!

 

 

 

Week 4: Hitting a stride

Maybe we’re just hitting a stride but time really feels to be flying by. It’s hard to imagine that we are officially halfway through our trip. Four more weeks sounds like a long time, but when you are planning routes, making plans to meet friends and always adventuring, the four week second half of this trip almost doesn’t feel long enough!

This past week was an active one, as we covered some serious ground after leaving (finally) Jackson, Wyoming. We trekked all the way to Sun Valley, Idaho, where we spent two nights with Dottie, a sweet grandmotherly figure, who owns Riverside RV in Bellevue. Despite being a little bit of a drive from Sun Valley, we reaped the benefits of full hookups and empty holding tanks. After arriving, we hit Mahoney’s for lunch where we were delightfully reunited with the Juicy Lucy – a burger we hadn’t had since our last road trip nearly three years ago that some friends had introduced us to. Originating in Minnesota, this burger is jam-packed with delicious, gooey cheesiness that oozes from the center when you take a bite.

Everyone in town had been talking up a local restaurant called the Pioneer Saloon, known for their aged prime rib, strong drinks and famous Idaho baked potato called the Jim Spud.

After the high caloric intake, Ryan managed to track down some pick-up volleyball at a local rec center and burn off a few of those calories. Truth be told, we were hoping our time in Sun Valley would be filled with warm sunshine, after being Vitamin D deprived in Jackson, but we woke up the next morning to 2” of fresh snow.

 

As we’ve mentioned before, our itinerary bows down to snowstorms and where the snow gods intend for us to go. While our original plan was slated for Big Sky, Montana, catching wind of a looming storm at Mt. Baker had us re-routing yet again.

The thirteen hour haul straight from Sun Valley to Mt. Baker needed to be broken up especially since we wanted to be somewhere fun for Valentines Day and not a Walmart parking lot in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, our route wasn’t too far from beautiful Hood River, Oregon (a favorite town of ours.) We made new friends at Everybody’s Brewing and spent V-Day wine tasting, drinking sake and visiting some old nostalgic spots.

 

We knew timing was key when heading to Mt. Baker, especially with the Airstream in tow. Mt. Baker Highway is filled with narrow switchbacks, steep roads and high snow banks. Given that they close the parking lot gate (White Salmon lot) at 5pm, we wanted to make sure we arrived in time and missed traffic. All the while being cognizant to arrive before the giant snowstorm. Needless to say, we made it just in time and settled into our spot in the parking lot for the next four nights.

The RV culture in the Baker parking lot is awesome, filled with eager skiers, riders and like-minded folk who aren’t afraid of some winter adventuring, and just want to have a good time with good people. We made some friends, hung out by campfires, and reminisced about our powder turns on the mountain, which accumulated roughly 3’ just in the time we were there.

We will say, the lack of Internet and sunshine to charge our batteries off the solar panels made our lifestyle a bit more difficult; but the resort’s famous Baker Chowder (salmon chowder) and great conditions made up for it. Silver lining though, Ryan has really mastered trouble shooting the furnace and being creative with powering the rig in not so ideal situations. The sub zero night temps were taking a toll on our batteries and we really knew it was time to leave when we fully lost power and spent our last night sleeping in our snowboard gear to stay warm in our iced over Airstream.

Even after deciding to head out to warmer weather, the accumulation of snow made for departing a tad more difficult. Fortunately, everyone was incredibly helpful with shoveling us out and a gentleman named, Justice, helped tow us out with his old-school Ford F250.

Either way, if you live near Mt. Baker, you are lucky to have this place as a local spot.   It was the perfect place to celebrate my 29^th birthday. Thanks to the incredible staff at Mt. Baker Ski Resort for hosting us!

From Baker, we are headed down to Bellingham, WA to hook up to electric and thaw out. From there we will be continuing south to Crystal Mountain where we’ll be meeting up with some friends to make some turns before cruising on down to Lake Tahoe.