Venture #04 - An Adventure Out West

When it comes to road trips many elements need to be considered. For us, it was timing. With a window of just 2 weeks, we set out on what many thought of as a very ambitious adventure. Yet when all was said and done we had covered 3,500 miles, sixty hours in the car and too many unforgettable sites to mention. I think it's easy to say this trip was priceless and well worth the efforts.

To be honest trips like this are hard to justify by yourself, but when my better half came to me with the hopes of seeing the west coast I jumped on the opportunity. With my roots being grounded in the west, and so many beautiful sights I've always wanted to see; it was a no brainier to pack the car, grab the pup and spend the next two weeks finding the simplicity in life.

Like I said, trips like this don't come without effort. Yet when everything you care most about is within arm’s reach, and nothing is standing in your way, that effort just makes the adventure that much better. Don’t get me wrong when I say effort it was mostly at our own discretion, we could have taken the easy road, put a destination on a map and let the GPS guide us there. But that’s not really our style, we had the pup and wanted to see everything we could. Sometimes this meant caring him down flight after flight of stairs to whiteness the beauty of antelope canyon. Other times it was driving up insanely steep, bumpy roads at dusk simply with the hopes of finding the perfect spot to call home for the night. Just as with so many things in life the more you keep a positive mind set the more likely things are to work out. And work out is exactly what happened, with every passing minute occupied by pull out after pull out we hoped we would find somewhere to park the Subaru.

Finally, about 5 miles up the sketchy road, nearly on the brink of giving up, our headlights illuminated a vacant turn out. Not only was it was the perfect spot, but we made it just in the nick of time as the golden hour was upon us. With no hesitation, Lacey quickly prepared the fresh picnic and wine to accompany it while I frantically grabbed the camera gear and rushed to capture the moments. These are the moments I live for; sitting with the pup and girl I love enjoying a delicious handmade picnic as the Pacific Ocean glistened under the vivid orange sunset, with no one around, no distractions, simply a spectacular view of the beautiful rock formations in a sea on color. Needless to say it was these efforts and this excitement that helped make the journey what it was and so unforgettable.

It was hard to imagine things could get better but we were nearly half way and the list of sights were only getting longer. We had no intentions of strict timelines or stressful plans, we were on vacation and wanted to make sure it stayed that way. And that’s exactly what we did. We went with the flow, let the opportunities and experiences happen and made sure to take the time to explore and take in everything possible.

One of the best parts of this trip was the ever changing scenery, locations and housing opportunities. From 3 national parks, two states and sleeping in the car all in one day. To relaxing on the beach, indulging with fresh sushi and enjoy an amazing ocean view suite in San Clemente, I’d say things could be lots worse. When it comes down to it, with over 3500 miles traveled and a list of amazing sights too long to list its easy to say life is definitely what you make of it. There is so much to see right out your window, all it takes is a simple break in time, someone special to take in the moments with and the willingness to get lost in this beautiful place we live in.