Wow, what a fun couple of weeks it’s been! We have gotten to see and do so much on this trip that we are so grateful we’ve had the opportunity to do. There has been so much adventure these last couple of weeks on the road and we’ve had a great time balancing seeing friends and family, and doing fun things!

After another week on the road we have made it from North Carolina to Utah. There have been so many exciting things that we have done along the way. Driving across the country once a year has been an amazing way for me to see all of my friends, and this trip was no exception. Over the years of being in Summit County I’ve made a lot of friends who have dispersed to other areas of the country, and I’m so grateful to be able to see them occasionally still, due to the lifestyle Hunter and I live.

The first friend we saw was our friend from our EMT class in Sylva, North Carolina. The town was not as devastated as other areas from Hurricane Helene, but we did see some things that were damaged, and it was interesting to hear about all of the damage that came through the area. They are starting to recover, but North Carolina is going to need all of the help that they can get for the next little while. Sylva was a very cute town which had a lot of cool shops and was very fun to walk around in! I would definitely recommend visiting to anyone who is going to be in the area. It’s a hidden gem.

We spent a few days in Nashville, and visited with Hunter’s sister and her husband. I’ve been to Nashville once before, but being there with a local that knows all the good spots was definitely a great experience. We went to an amazing hot dog place, called Daddy’s Dogs, and it was easily the best hot dog I’ve ever had in my life. We also went to a store called McKay’s, which is a used book/record/game/electronics store. I had to ask Hunter to drag me out before I spent too much money on books. It was one of the coolest stores I have ever been to. After a quick oil change in Brittany’s apartment building parking lot we were on our way.

We managed to find high clearance parking and got to go to Gateway Arch National Park. We had both been, but Hunter before it was a National Park, and I when the inside of the arch was closed for renovations. This time we got to explore the museum a little bit, and go to the top of the arch. This was a great experience for both of us, as I had never done it, and Hunter hadn’t since he was a kid. It was an experience I would definitely recommend doing at least once. Many people believe that Gateway Arch isn’t worthy of being a National Park, but all of the history that comes with it makes me disagree. This trip I have learned there a lot of reasons for a place to be a National Park, besides the fact that they have a pretty landscape. History needs to be preserved and remembered as much as the beautiful landscapes in this country need to be preserved.

We headed from Gateway Arch to Kansas City, where we visited with my friend Kris, who I worked with at Red Buffalo. He took us to Grinderz pizza, which is iconic Kansas City pizza place. This was the third time I’ve visited Kris here, and I am consistently impressed by it. There are a lot of cool things going on in the area, and it doesn’t feel like as big of a city as it is. There are so many great coffee shops, restaurants, and sports fans here. I love having a friend there that I can go visit, without having to live there myself.

From Kansas City we headed out to Colorado. We watched the premiere of Torestein’s snowboard movie, Return. It was edited completely by him, and produced by his wife, Celia. He did an amazing job with it, and I can’t wait to watch it again when it becomes public. We got to see a lot of friends there, some of which I haven’t seen in a really long time, and that was very exciting for me!

After spending the night outside of Denver we headed up to Summit County. Here we took care of some business, like Sunny going to the vet, while I also showed Hunter around my old home. It was great to be able to take him around, and show Hunter the appeal of living in Summit County, especially because I usually have bad things to say about it.

For the next leg of the trip we headed up to Leadville. A lot of time in Colorado was spent showing Hunter around where I’ve lived, and him meeting all of my friends that he is just now getting the opportunity to meet. It was great to be in Leadville again. We secured a Melanzana appointment, and I am so excited about my new fuzzy melly, which is now my favorite sweatshirt I’ve ever owned. We found our new favorite campsite in my friend’s backyard of the house they just bought!

Being on the road this trip has been very exciting! There have been so many people both of us have been meeting for the first time, which has made it so much more exciting! We have been adding to our sticker and magnet collection at a rapid pace this trip as well. While being on the road has been great, we are excited to have just under a week left before we get to a place to call home for three months. We have one more stop in Montana before Mount Hood, and we can’t wait to put the camper down and strap our feet into a snowboard again!

We’re Still on the Road!

We Made it West!

We’re Back on the Road!