Our First Real Stop on the Road

After months of packing, preparing, saying goodbye, and finally pulling out of the driveway, it finally happened.

We stopped moving long enough to breathe.

We stopped in Plymouth Park, Washington for one quick overnight stop. We stopped long enough for the kids to ride bikes, stretch their legs, get energy out, sleep and then we got back on the road.

Our first major stay of this year-long adventure brought us to Antelope Island State Park just outside Salt Lake City — and honestly, it was the perfect place to begin settling into road life. ( Minus the bugs)

Five days here felt like exactly what our family needed.

Not rushed.
Not overloaded with plans.
Just enough time to slow down and actually experience where we were.

Macie’s Mini Apartment- Jessie Made her custom bed that sits in the driver/passenger seat. Look for blog post about this!

Lincoln and Macie taking a Snooze on our 12 hour travel day

Antelope Island Sunsets

Seeing Bison Up Close

Nothing wakes kids up faster than seeing massive bison walking near the road. Every drive around the island turned into a wildlife safari.

And yes — every single sighting caused complete chaos inside the vehicle.

“BISON! BISON! STOP THE CAR!”

Slowing Down

Back home, it always felt like we were moving to the next thing.

Here, there was nowhere else to be.

That may have been the biggest gift of all.

The Hard Parts Nobody Posts About

Of course, not everything has been easy.

Six days into a year-long road trip means reality starts showing up quickly.

The kids still fight sometimes.
The RV still feels small.
Everyone gets tired.
Travel days are harder than Instagram makes them look.

And honestly, there are moments where the uncertainty of this entire year feels heavy.

But we’re learning something important already:

Adventure and discomfort usually travel together.

The hard moments haven’t taken away from the experience. If anything, they’ve made the good moments feel more real.

What Antelope Island Gave Us

This stop gave our family something we didn’t realize we needed.

Space.

Space to settle into this new life.
Space to reconnect.
Space to slow our pace down mentally.
Space to realize we don’t need to rush through this year.

There’s something fitting about starting this journey in a place that feels so open and untamed.

Almost like the road itself was telling us:

You don’t have to have it all figured out yet.

On to the Next Stop

Tomorrow we hitch up again and point ourselves toward whatever comes next.

THE GRAND CANYON

That still feels strange to say.

But somewhere between the mountain views, wildlife sightings, campfire dinners, and endless kid laughter echoing through camp, this lifestyle is already starting to feel a little more normal.

Six days down.

A whole lot of road still ahead.

-Kayla