September 29, 2025

We’ve been on the road for a month. I want to say it has been amazing, it has been incredible, but no. It’s change and even though it is exciting change, it is still change and change is hard.

We’ve had our moments of anger, of crying, of questioning and of laughter, of unforgettable moments, of blissfulness. This is what van life is about, this is what life is about. The highs and the lows. The light and the dark. The yin and the yang. Balance.

Let us go with a quick travel update. My time line will always be behind. This is for safety reasons. I will be anywhere from 1 week behind to a month. This will also be a challenge for me because I love sharing my profound thoughts, feelings and experiences with the world. Let you grow in your patience as well as I do mine. Because safety first!

Elle and I ditched the sticks and bricks on August 31^st. We left the apartment at 9 PM. I told her we were going to make it to Salida that night come hell or high water. And we fucking did it. Maybe a little after midnight, but we did it.

We spent our first week at Crawford State Park. Let’s be honest, it was rough. It was much hotter than expected, the lake was damn near dried up, we had no shade and well, Elle was recovering from being sick while we were moving out and I got the joy of getting it that first week on the road. Needless to say, it was rough. First week on the road and neither of us feels great.

Following that week, we head to Montrose to see an old co-worker of hers. I am reminded of my passion. Sometimes I really hate people, but damn, do I love meeting people, hearing their story, being able to see a glimpse of their life. What a privilege to live this way.

Next, we arrived at Ridgway State Park. This place was beautiful. The trail next to the campground had magnificent views. I found this chair that the park placed there and you walk of the trail a bit and see this beautiful overlook from the lake to the mountains. I could have sat there all day.

Friday night, we moved on into see Elle’s aunt and uncle. While we were both a bit nervous – they are step family and she hadn’t seen them in 23 years, we were pleasantly surprised. Her aunt aligned so much into our values and the energy she created around her home was incredible. We also had the privilege to stay in her yurt on property. We were also graced with a magnificent thunderstorm while we were there. Oh Pachamama put on such a wonderful show. I can’t wait to go back.

Next we skipped over to see the burn scar at the Black Canyon of Gunnison Forest, a stop before staying in Salida for two weeks. Ya’ll, Pachamama is hurting. We are poisoning beyond her return with us still existing. You could feel her crying, while her anger is only beginning to boil.

Salida is my old stomping ground. This is a town in which I had so much growth as a young person. I’ve done so much healing and growing up and memories in which I will forever cherish. The 18 months I lived there were some of the most happiest times of my life. I will always admire that version of my self and I feel like I will always be chasing it in a sense. Oh, what a time it was to be that innocent and free.

It’s like my experiences have molded me in a way I don’t like. In a way I’ve been molded into a version of myself that I don’t like, but what society says I should be. Salida allowed me to really explore who I was, I didn’t know about the mold. But sometime, between Salida and now, experiences have made me this person I don’t like, and I know only new experiences with an open mind will allow me to become the person I know I love.

And Salida continued to show me, as she always does, to step out of comfort zone. We stayed at an RV park across from Walmart. I won’t lie – I was a little worried, but rather I was pleasantly surprised. It was super cute and the lighting in the evenings was fantastic. We were right by a river and it was so peaceful. I also got a wild hair up my ass to try and fix the passenger seat. The swivel had become a little to lose and I was growing with safety concerns for Elle. So I was able to walk across the street, to get my tolls that I needed from Walmart and O’Rileys and fix the chair myself! Okay, well, I needed to get back in there and do an adjustment, but I was able to do the scary thing and increase my confidence.

Living in sticks and bricks would have allowed me to call someone to fix it, or to drive another vehicle. I knew I could fix it. I know I’m smart enough. When I live in sticks and bricks, I stop growing in some weird way. Like today, I tried to look at fixing my awning again. Sticks and bricks? Would have fallen into the same routine of walking the dogs, eating, watching tv, tiktok and sleeping. The world gets bigger when your living space gets smaller.

That weekend, we went to down town Salida to catch one of my favorite bands, Moontricks. It was such an experience to see one of my favorite bands, in one of my favorite places. It was amazing and incredible.

Following that incredible experience, we had rented a cabin on this old boy scout camp on Poncha Pass. A couple had bought the property a few years ago and turned it into this nature hotel. I have wanted to stay at it ever since, but have never managed to make it work. Well, I got one, at damn near peak season. This place was the coolest. The bath house was incredible. Anything you could think of, the guy had already done it. It was also right next to national forest and BLM land, so the dogs and I would sneak off in the mornings and evenings and they just did their thing and were dogs. Juneau did push her luck one evening, but she came back.

They also have a sauna and two hot tubs. I was super excited about the hot tub but Elle was disinterested. The sauna was broken, there was one at the employee housing, but it didn’t feel right invading their space. Finally on Thursday, we skipped over to the hot tub and well, I have changed her opinion of how she feels about hot tubs. She is rather excited we booked an air BnB in December with one.

On the final weekend of catch up, we swung back through Denver to attend Kirtan, take care of some errands and do last minute necessities before we leave Colorado for our first long haul journey.

As our first month comes to a close, I reflect back on the first month. I look at where we are still growing, how I can still grow and what do I want to work on for myself as a person. I was able to sit and watch the sunset this evening, I was reminded of why I love this life. I get a week in this beautiful campsite and I want to see every sunset. Pachamama has this beauty that only exists in that one moment and won’t ever exist again. I want to be apart of those. I want to be apart of those many moments we won’t ever be able to recreate. I want those stories, I want those adventures, those experiences, and those lessons. A life behind a screen and stuck in routine is not a life at all. I want a life of adventures.

“Born empty handed.
Die empty handed.
I witnessed life at it’s fullest,
empty handed.”