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Posted on June 30, 2018

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“The friends we made recently”

Sweet Friends, Amazing Caves, and Our First True Dust Storm in New Mexico

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And that’s a wrap on this Adventure. Yesterday w

And that’s a wrap on this Adventure. Yesterday we moved into our new house and today we put Stumbo into storage until it is sold. We spent 1,043 days on the road and had the adventure of a lifetime.
It’s been a weird transition as we are now so fully consumed by our new lives that it’s been hard to reflect on the journey we are finishing. But the places we went, people we saw, and time we spent together will shape us for countless years to come.

Our life has undergone massive transformation. Not

Our life has undergone massive transformation. Not that long ago we owned our days, did what we wanted when we wanted, and spent all of our time together. Now, we separate in the morning to go to work and school and camp, and come back together in the evening for just a few hours before we all crash from exhaustion.
One of the best parts of my day is seeing these two again and getting to hear about all the fun experiences they’ve had during the day.

Syllabus day is always the hardest for me. But I t

Syllabus day is always the hardest for me. But I think we’re gonna be okay this time.
Life is about to look real different than it has though, that’s for sure.

Really impressed with the trails all around Spokan

Really impressed with the trails all around Spokane. Good stuff everywhere.
View from today’s run - Antoine Peak and Emerald Loop and the best-smelling forest I’ve ever smelt.

11-mile, 2-day backpacking trip with these awesome

11-mile, 2-day backpacking trip with these awesome girls. We had great conversations and made up stories, skipped rocks, swung in the hammock, read Narnia, and ate lots of Nutella. We also got rained on a bit, got sore shoulders and ankles, got a few hundred mosquito bites, and crammed into a small tent. Overall, some wonderful time in Nature.

“Dad, today is your last day of Apt Design, righ

“Dad, today is your last day of Apt Design, right? Do you feel sad?”
“Well, not sad exactly. But kinda weird. It’s just kind of the end, you know?”
“Yeah, but it’s okay. The end is not the end, but a new beginning.”

School’s out!

View from runs over the last few weekends - Dishma

View from runs over the last few weekends - Dishman Hills, Iller Creek, Beacon Hill, Liberty Lake.
These beautiful trails really have me wanting to train back up to some big mileage again.

With Sarah going back to work sooner than we expec

With Sarah going back to work sooner than we expected it’s been on me to finish up the girls from homeschooling. Coming up with plans and teaching these two has been one of the joys of the trip for me. They have grown so much, we have all learned so much from their studies, and they have shown great perseverance. We’re all excited about public school next year, but this is been a special time that we won’t forget.

One thing we want to take out of this Adventure is

One thing we want to take out of this Adventure is to keep a “tourist mindset.” This means that even though we may live here for years, we want to keep exploring and visiting places that make this town great. It would be easy to get complacent and just stay at home every weekend, but we are going to attempt to get out and try new experiences and see new things.

A month in and so far, so good. We’ve hiked lots of new trails (including the staple Centennial Trail), explored the Riverfront district (including the roaring Great Falls), and began the process of visiting every park in the city (including the fabulous flower-strewn Manito Park).

Today marks 1,000 days of us living and traveling

Today marks 1,000 days of us living and traveling in our camper. In commemoration of the event we built a Lego creation using exactly 1,000 pieces. And the end result feels a lot like our trip: messy, outside the box, original. Each of us adding our own pieces to make something that somehow turned out altogether beautiful.

For the past two years I’ve gotten up at 6am to

For the past two years I’ve gotten up at 6am to do an hour or two of school before anything else. I’ve studied in all sorts of circumstances - parking lots, the cold dark of winter boondocking, from the cab of the truck because I had to drive to get cell service, sitting in front of mountain ranges... I often get to see the sun rise.
At the beginning, after 13 years away from school, I started with Gross Anatomy and it hit me like a front-kick to the stomach. Since then I’ve remembered how to study, write papers, and learn new things again. Some of the classes have been exciting and taught by amazing professors (like my Anatomy and Physiology), some have been complete wastes of time that leave me frustrated at the teacher for not creating a great course (looking at you Abnormal Psych). Most have been in between. But overall they moved me towards my goal of getting into an OT program and reinventing my career.
Today I took my final for my last prereq, and I’m so looking forward to becoming a full-time student for the next two years.

THIS IS CALLED A WHIRLWIND: Thursday (April 25):

THIS IS CALLED A WHIRLWIND:

Thursday (April 25): Pack up Stumbo for the last time and drive to Spokane.
Friday morning: Sarah has two job interviews.
Friday afternoon: Sarah gets two job offers for the interviews she had in the morning. She accepts one of them.
Friday night: Go out to eat to celebrate new job.
Saturday: Look at houses all day with realtor.
Sunday and Monday: I work all morning, then look at houses for the rest of the day with the realtor.
Monday evening: Spend hours shopping for an entire new professional wardrobe for Sarah.
Tuesday afternoon: Look at one more house.
Tuesday evening: Put offer on house.
Wednesday morning: Sarah starts her new job.
Wednesday evening: Offer on new house accepted.
Thursday: Realize cat is missing.
Friday: Spend all day getting cat back from the pound.
Saturday morning: Shop for car for Sarah.
Saturday afternoon: Buy car for Sarah.
Saturday evening: Go out to eat to celebrate new car, house, job, life…
Sunday: Begin looking for a babysitter so I can finish up work over the next few weeks.
Some unknown point in the future: Rest.

“Oooh! A magic place!”

“Oooh! A magic place!”

View from today’s run - Iller Creek.

View from today’s run - Iller Creek.

New manager...who dis? Today Sarah starts her new

New manager...who dis?

Today Sarah starts her new job as Aquatics Manager for Spokane County and I couldn’t be more proud of her and excited for her. She’s leveling up as a professional and as a person.

This morning I got my first Spokane trail run in a

This morning I got my first Spokane trail run in and it was very, very nice.

And then, suddenly, we’re at our final destinati

And then, suddenly, we’re at our final destination.
Suddenly because we trimmed a few days off the end (which we had no real plans for anyways) so that my amazing wife can go to not one but two(!) job interviews tomorrow.

Views from today’s climb. The map said almost 3

Views from today’s climb.
The map said almost 3,000’ of gain in 1 mile.
Somehow it was still steeper than I imagined.
Saw dozens of deer at the top and startled another sleeping elk, as is my custom.

Our last night on the road...

Our last night on the road...

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