I was recently doing some trip planning for the fall and happened upon the YouTube channel of a young couple living full time on the road with their two little kids. They are attempting to visit one state a week, and the pace was staring to wear them out, so they posted a video about some of the challenges they were facing in hopes of boosting their spirits.

You could tell they were tired and worn out, and that the experience had been more challenging then they had expected. Living and working from the road is challenging enough - but they are were homeschooling their two kids at the same time.

At one point the husband turned and looked at his wife and said, “the problem with living on the road is that you are always on the road”. I had to press pause and let the line sink in. Because it rang true for us as well.

“The problem with living on the road is that you are always on the road. “

There is this constancy to living on the road that is really hard to explain to others that are not doing it. It isn’t a bad thing. It isn’t something you want sympathy for. It just is.

And there are so many unexpected things that come up.

Like figuring out how to get a tire fixed on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of nowhere.

Or where to pull over for cover when a storm happens upon you full of hail and zero visibility.

Or what to do when you pull into camp and realize that a part of your awning disappeared somewhere down the road and you didn’t notice that it happened or know how to fix it.

These are just a few of the unexpected things we have encountered in the past month. And there have been so many more in the past year.

But there have also been amazing encounters and experiences - and in reality those experiences make it worth any challenge we encounter.

This summer we have been slowly making our way out west again. While in Des Moines I had to make an unexpected trip to Salt Lake City to attend to some family matters for a couple of weeks. And then we made our way to Minnesota to attend the yearly retreat for the Benedictine community I belong to. After that, we took a week off for vacation, dividing the time between the Badlands National Park and Grand Teton National Park - watching bison, scouting out wildflowers and oohing and awing over the awesome scenery.

Last week we spent a lovely week soaking in the hot mineral waters of Lava Hot Springs in between meetings and busy work schedules.

Last night we pulled into Salt Lake City - a place we came to right after we picked up the Airstream last fall. - and where much of our extended family is located.

It feels full circle in many ways. And we have been marking lots of “on the road” anniversaries lately.

May 5th marked the day we drove away from our house for the first time and hit the road.

In just a week we will mark the day in August when we turned in our teardrop trailer “Bigger Betty” and lived home-free for a few months.

In October we will mark one year from when we picked up our Airstream “Biggest Betty” and made our way to Salt Lake City to get set up.

Our pockets are full of experiences and memories - and we have just a bit of road burn from the the bumps we have encountered along the way.

We have lots of exciting plans coming up this fall including a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, a quick trip to Seattle to see one of favorite bands perform, a month on the Oregon coast, and so much more. We are looking forward to sharing it all - the sparkly moments and the rough roads.

It’s an exciting journey we are on right now. We are not sure what each day will hold but we are learning as we go. And getting braver and braver with each mile we cover.

As a special treat I thought you might enjoy seeing some of our experiences through the eyes of Brigid our road dog. She is a trooper and such a willing companion to this journey. Newfs like routine and consistency - not exactly the main components of life on the road - but she weathers it all with such a sweet spirit. As I thumbed through pictures of the last couple of months she kept popping up. She tells the story better than I ever could - so enjoy.