Today I want to share some key insight points on how we began to prepare for our plan-as-we-go trip! This is more about how we came to the initial conclusion that this camping trip would be the cat’s meow.
It all fell together quite quickly, to be honest. Seth and I have always communicated our aspirations, as well as what we want to give and get from this peculiar life. That said and done, it was only typical that we do something a tad outrageous the upcoming summer!
You see, within the first month of us being together, we took a road trip to visit my hometown Escanaba, Michigan, from Colorado. A 19 hour drive, where we clearly got to understand our potential as a couple. That seemed all sorts of ridiculous to the few people we’d told, but we didn’t mind; considering that soon after, we had planned a trip to his hometown in Childress, Texas!
Those two heart-warming trips engulfed us whole. We were addicted to moving, to traveling, to figuring it out as we went. As the 2016-17’ winter season had started, we were constantly small talking about where we desired to be after ski season ended (roughly 6 months).
We come to a few “musts”,
We CRAVED warmer weather- the kind you get a whole new level of sun-kissed in.
Don’t get me wrong, Seth and I are head over heels for Colorado, yet, we’d both already spent the summer going on our own adventures around summit county, and we needed change. Although breathtakingly beautiful, starting to get comfortable isn’t an ideal feeling to either of us. I mean, if you get comfortable, you start getting comfortable with “settling.”
(my brains sidenote to that)
If there’s anything LESS attractive than the idea of settling, well, I’m 100% convinced there’s nothing. Settling stinks. Settling is basically giving yourself permission to willingly surrender the dreams you have, the goals you desperately want to accomplish, and the life you wish you could be living. It’s all. About. Mindset. ….anyways.
What I can tell you is- your body deserves growth, your body deserves to sweat like a pig from a hard run/strenuous workout, your body deserves to be properly fueled afterwards.
I won’t rant on about that today, but seriously. DON’T GET TOO COMFORTABLE.
2. No matter what, we would camp in Moab, UT with our best buds.
3. We wanted to spend the summer in California, no other option.
4. We HAD to get jobs after checking back into reality. (sigh)
Once we had all of that organized, we began discussing the “bum-budget.”
Naturally, we’re killer at living the bum life! Ski bums, beach bums, camping bums- we have this down to a science :) we obviously knew what we had to- GET HUSTLIN.’
Back in October, we started saving as much $ as humanly possible. Each of us set a similar end goal. From there we calculated income, different bills, rent, and whatever else, to get an estimate of how much we could put away each month. If we could save $100-$250 away a month, we’d smash our goals. We gave ourselves some leeway with the saving, considering you can rarely plan accordingly when you’re dealing with life.
All in all, we had our saving tactics down.
That let us eagerly dive into the fun stuff, gear planning!
I love gear. Seth loves gear. Zenna, my beloved Border Collie, has her own gear (she’s adorable in it btw.)
WE LOVE GEAR.
I cannot express how essential it is, especially when working with rough estimates as to what the weather might be like.
That’s where research makes it debut.
Research should never be scoffed at; a very scary feeling is having no clue what to expect, so save yourself the negative thoughts! It takes almost no effort, and I personally find it enjoyable.
Simply google the state you’re traveling through, look up national/state parks, different laws you should be aware of (oh you know like…..drinking laws.)
Figure out camping spots- particularly look into BLM land; you know, if you’re a smarty pants who wants to stray away from those lame fees. (BLM = Bureau of Land Management)
Also, just GO to the city/town around where you want to explore, and talk to locals! There’s no better resource than an elderly gentlemen, slowly sipping his morning joe, reading the newspaper, waiting to be asked about his experience. Or, park next to the dirtiest, most badass rig owned by what seems a young couple, quickly restocking their dusty food-bin before getting back on the road. Maybe you’re too nervous, don’t want to bug them? That to me, is one pathetic excuse to not engage with an intelligent human being. So pull up your huggies, get yourself out of that little bubble you hide in, and introduce yourself with a smile! For example,
“Hi, there! My name’s Isabelle. It’s my first time being in Moab. I was curious as if you have some favorite spots to: camp, swim, mountain bike, hike, watch the sunset, go climbing.
THE LIST IS ENDLESS PEOPLE!
There you have it. A brief intro to the brain power behind the madness.
Let’s recap:
Figure out WHO you’re going on a trip with
Get yourself a plan on how to save the green, correlating with your own responsibilities
Do your homework (yes, I understand it might sound silly, but do it)
Start preparing what gear you’ll bring!
Talk to strangers to learn about the area you’re in
As this blog keeps growing, I’ll get a little more personal and in depth.
Thanks for reading my second blog :)
I appreciate-cha!
Xo,