THE UNITED STATES OF US

Thinking back to November 20, 2016, preparing for re-entry was 12,000 miles and 6 months away. Fast forward half a year later - here we are entering the Ohio orbit.  Truth .... having fun + time = a quick journey! Explore these ingredients for a moment: A tiny home, 5 family members, 1 Bulldog, 12,000 miles, 33 states, 3 countries. Does this mixture sound appealing to you? Exhausting? Intriguing? Scarey? Well, it was all that and more to us, and still, we felt the fear and di

Minnesota you beautiful state you, you blind-sided us! Minnesota, with it's lush farmlands and panoramic views that seem to extend to the edge of the Earth - left us wanting more. Minnesota, in our humble opinion, was just another Big 10 state, we were quickly self-corrected! It's cool-list almost rivals Ohio, almost: - They're really nice here in Minnie and have the best accents, you betcha! - We need to thank Minnesota for Bob Dylan, Prince and Morris Day. - Their unemploym

What's that billboard say? Wait there's another one! What is this the 5th, 6th sign about Wall Drug? What is this Wall Drug? The power of advertising.....especially in the middle of the Great Plains! Wall Drug: It is said to be one of the world’s most well-known tourist stops, The store got it's start in the 1930's with the promise of free ice water, for thirsty travelers heading West, or East. The Hustead's turned free ice water into a million dollar idea, with determination

I really never knew what 'The Badlands' were. I slightly remember from geography class, castle-like formations somewhere near the Dakotas, but then the AMC film feature, "Into the Badlands" pops up and all memory is twisted and translated. In my wildest dreams, I never thought a place like this existed in the Great Plains! Why call it 'Badlands'? The Lakota Indians were the first to call this place "mako sica" or "land bad." Probably because of the unpredictable temperatures

Mount Rushmore, not an easy monument to get to, not even on a good travel day, but we made it there, twice! Our first encounter was our worst nightmare - thick fog, snow, rain, ice. The presidents were no where to be seen, heck the mountain was no where to be seen. We took a few photos - in jest - and moved on. Telling ourselves, 'we didn't come all this way for nothing" - we trekked up to see Mount Rushmore the next day, with thoughts of clear views. The drive was much like

We thought we were experts on caves, because you see, we have explored the Ohio Caverns for years via grade school field trips:) Most recently, well a few months back, we travelled to Carlsbad Caverns and spent a good deal of time within those bat homes. Now it was Wind Caves turn. Upon entry we devoured our National Geographic edition of National Parks, specifically Wind Cave - The first cave to be designated a national park. Wind Cave National Park features the world’s lar

"By carving Crazy Horse, if I can give back to the Indian some of his pride and create a means to keep alive his culture and heritage, my life will have been worthwhile.” Korczak Ziolkowski, 1948 The hype in South Dakota is all about, The Black Hills, Wind Cave, Badlands and, of course, Mount Rushmore. Sure all are amazing, and Mount Rushmore is an unbelievable feat -cutting the likeness of presidents into the side of a mountain. What we did not know, is that down the road fr

Our home away from home, our go-to for 'peace-of-mind', our exhale....Colorado. This post is tricky, while we've 'been here, done that' for years in Colorado, we are looking at this mountain side with new, refreshed eyes. Having been on the road for some 5 months, we are learning how best to explore - and we have never really 'explored' Colorado. We are blessed with having relatives in Colorado, 'boon-docking' with them in Fort Collins - an area we have not explored. We fi

Yes, it's a ski town, yes, there are movie stars abound - but what's most appealing about this neck of the woods is it's prime location near Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks! Here we found the start of the Snake River, which we have been traveling next to for the past 1,000 miles. Snake River is the sixth largest river in the US, which we have camped on and near for the past three states. Jackson Hole calls to all outdoors enthusiasts. You can hike, bike, ski, raft.

You would think that after six months traveling the US, we could say we've about seen it all. Zion, Yosemite, Sequoia, Big Bend, Grand Canyon, White Sands...to name a few hot spots, with their jaw-dropping views. These national parks took us to another place, then, we entered Yellowstone, and put the rest to shame! Our original vision of Yellowstone; Yogi Bear, Jellystone and Boo-Boo, not hypnotic hot springs, or up-close grizzly cubs! To add to the experience, we had the pri