This vagabond is feeling a little extra emotional (grateful) this holiday season.  I want to say a big thank you to our parents; it wasn't the route you expected our life to take, but you've encouraged us to do what makes us happy even if you think we're nuts. To our families and friends, who … Continue reading Grateful.

Oh Canada!  We left the spectacular Glacier NP to see it's beautiful Canadian sister, Waterton Lakes NP.  In order to get there we needed to cross the Canadian border... in a shady white van.  This was the first time we had ever driven over the border so we were definitely a bit nervous.  Rolling up to … Continue reading National Parks: Canadian Edition

We made it to Glacier NP on August 25th, for our 6 year wedding anniversary.  As we were headed there we knew that half of Glacier NP was literally on fire.  The west side of the park was closed off to visitors.  Due to the forest fires, there was a huge possibility of the east … Continue reading National Park #5: Glacier

We left the unbelievable Grand Teton NP and made our way into eastern Idaho.  Looking for a place to sleep for the night can be tricky, especially when we prefer to boondock (aka camp for free).  An app that we use to find BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Land is US Public Lands .  Through this we … Continue reading Craters of the Moon National Monument

Fun Fact: The entrance fee for Yellowstone also applies to Grand Teton, two parks for the price of one! Thursday, August 2nd we made our way to Grand Teton from the south end of Yellowstone.  We went to the Colter Bay Visitor Center to get information on the park. Jason had done some research and … Continue reading National Park #4: Grand Teton.

Before we could get to Yellowstone our route was dictated by Verizon stores.  Remember Jason sat on his phone and broke it?  Well, it took THREE different Verizon stores before we could get him a new phone.  On one of those stops, we were also able to pick up some bear spray and bear bells.  … Continue reading National Park #3: Yellowstone.

On our way to TRNP (Theodore Roosevelt National Park) we drove through Jamestown, ND to see the World's Largest Buffalo and after that making our way to Zap, ND for the night.  We found fields of sunflowers on our drive, and stopped for a photo.  As we were walking down to the field, Jason said … Continue reading National Park #2: Theodore Roosevelt- Go Left.

Before we talk about Voyageurs, we had to get to Voyageurs which meant driving up the north shore of Lake Superior and through Superior National Forest. On the north shore, Tettegouche State Park in Silver Bay, MN is a force to be reckoned with.  Already this is my favorite thing we have seen.  The rugged … Continue reading National Park #1: Voyageurs & I didn’t love it.

  We finally left the cabin!  We originally wanted to leaved July 9th, then July 12 but due to rain we waited until Friday, July 13th.  I am a little superstitious so, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of leaving on that day but, lucky for us everything turned out just fine.  We were on … Continue reading Rookie Mistakes.

Although we spent 3 long years putting our blood, sweat and tears into the van build, we actually only took MichelVangelo on two weekend camping trips (each about an hour away).  A few 2 hour round trips should suffice for year-long 20,000 mile drive around the U.S. right?  We had hoped to get a few … Continue reading The Maiden Voyage.