Map Life

Like most parents, when we found out we were pregnant with our first child, we began to wonder up all sorts of dreams for them. Michael and I both love to travel, but honestly, we haven’t traveled much in comparison to others! Our biggest wish for our child was for them to see and experience as many places as possible. Then came our idea of making sure our child could visit every National Park in the U.S. throughout their lifetime!

Now, fast forward to September 2020. Our beautiful son had just turned a year old, and we were celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary by camping in Charlottesville, VA., a few miles from where we exchanged our vows. 2019-2020 had been such a difficult year filled with tragic loss, and a pandemic that kept most of us sheltered. Now, more than ever, we wanted to make sure our son had the adventure of a lifetime, and we wanted to make sure we could be a part of it all.

That night, Michael and I created a new dream. We planned to sell our home, our cars, and majority of our belongings to purchase a truck and a camper and hit the road for the next year to embark on an adventure of a lifetime! We were going to road trip around the entire U.S. and visit every state (excluding Hawaii to save as our son’s 18th birthday trip) and all National Parks.

Right away, we began to plan. Items were sold, work began on the home to have it listed to sell, and we began to map our route. Then came another great idea, let’s document this once in a lifetime trip for everyone to see! And, oh yeah, let’s do it all just by following a simple road map with no GPS! Map Life was born. We had so much support behind us from family and friends, and we were so excited. We planned to leave in March of 2021 as a kickoff to Michael’s 30th birthday! We were counting down the days and getting all our ducks in a row!

Then in January 2021, we found out we were expecting baby number 2. It was a complete shock as this was not in the plan. We quickly realized we were meant to embark on a different adventure, and we were so thrilled! Our trip was put on hold indefinitely, and we began the prep for our expanding family. Of course, it was upsetting that the big trip wasn’t happening, but then I got another idea!

Michael’s 30th birthday was still coming, and he deserved a huge celebration. He works so hard for our family, and truly deserves something that symbolizes that. He has always talked about going to Colorado to visit our friend Connor, and it hit me that that’s where we needed to go! We could also hit our first National Park while we were there!

Flights were cheap and the tickets were booked! He was so excited when he found out, and we were finally headed to our first National Park all together as a family! A four-day long weekend was just what we needed! We got to experience so much in such a short amount of time. Walks through Boulder, hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, a beautiful stay in Estes Park, prairie dog and elk sightings, the natural beauty of Red Rock Amphitheater, and a stroll through downtown Denver made our trip unforgettable.

Life may be shifting drastically for us, in a direction we didn’t anticipate, but we made a pact that we will not be backing out of! Slowly but surely, we will be visiting every National Park throughout the United States. We hope our experiences inspire you to create your own dream, to get out there and explore, to embrace the Map Life.