Taking the Uproute | Brand New Everyday | UpRouteLife

It all started as a dream to own our greatest commodity - our time.  

Soon we were full swing into the best year of our lives.  From where I stand now, looking back over the last year, I can't help but chuckle... It's been a wild ride!

The uproutelife story is ever-changing as we balance between finding normal life in adventure, and adventure in a normal life.   

After the "super purge" of ditching most of our possessions, we started living nomadically out of our 24’ sprinter RV in the familiarity of our home mountains, the White Mts in New Hampshire.  To this day some of our fondest memories are from that time in the national forest.  In the very beginning we spent a couple weeks off the beaten path, adjusting to a new and exciting outdoor lifestyle.  This is where we became accustomed to living in such a tiny space.  We soon to found out the living space was really not too small while being surrounded by wilderness further than the eye can see.  Everyday, more and more, we began nourishing our desire to be in nature.  We had embarked on an endless summer.  We swam in the East Branch river, hiked from right out our door, studying plants, and getting fluid with the rhythms of nature.  We were becoming students of daily life.  We detached from monthly payments on things we didn't really need and started letting go of our duty to fear.  Unobstructed by the tasks that once filled our days, we hit the open road.  We fell in love fast with the ever changing views and our new found freedom.  By confronting uncertainties along the way, we grew.  We watched the universe open before our very eyes.  Soon we were well adapted to the constant changes and broadening horizon.

I can confidently say we have given our children an amazing year!  They now reference towns, cities, buildings, museums, parks, rivers, bridges, mountain ranges, deserts, rock formations, oceans and forests from all over the country by name with an experience in each of them.  They've made up games along the way suited for the many different environments we would shortly reside in.  These two kids are the epitomy of seizing the moment.  They wake up ready to explore!

Usually with tunes bumping in the background, their homeschool curriculum has been completed.  They've taken on many projects and learned a lot of life skills on this trip.  This year they were cautiously introduced to the internet as an educational tool.  @Uproutekids became a platform for research and creativity.  It's a way for them to practice typing and has encouraged the positive aspects of social media.

 As an added bonus to being great little adventures they have earned over 35 badges participating in the National Parks Junior Ranger program!  They've attended countless educational talks, documentaries and ranger led programs.

But most importantly, they are great kids, genuinely kind with their imaginations fully intact.  

The road has led us to many places. Knowing tomorrow may bring us somewhere new, we can't help but cherish our time at each destination. 

We've traveled from New England to Assateague National Seashore to Washington DC.  We spent time in The Smokey Mts, Asheville, North Carolina and Myrtle beach, SC.  Savannah led us to Florida with its beautiful beaches.  We visited the Everglades then headed down to the Keys.  We walked through caverns in Texas, brought the trip to the remote Big Bend NP.  Saguaro NP  was followed by Death Valley NP.  Next was Joshua tree NP.  We stayed in Sedona, Phoenix, Lake Havasu, and Boulder City for a while.  We went to the border, we crossed the Rio Grande to get to Mexico.  The Grand Canyon was amazing!  Eventually we got to Zion (one of our favorites), Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands National Parks and spent some nights on the lively Free land in Moab.  We circled around Las Vegas with some vehicle troubles but made the best of it at Red Rocks Canyons, Lake Mead and The Valley of Fire State Park.  Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Pinnacles National Parks in California followed.  We happily greeted the Pacific coast at Big Sur.  We went to Redwoods NP, enjoying Santa Cruz, San Francisco then the quiet coastal towns up through Sonoma and Mendocino Valley.  Oregon was breathtaking along the coast.  We eventually turned East for a nice visit to Bend, OR.  We camped in National forests as we made our way along.  It just got better and better as we got to Idaho, Montana and eventually Yellowstone and Grand Tetons (two more favorites).  We experienced downtown Jackson, WY, Steamboat, CO and soon we were at Rocky MT National Park.  Boulder, CO led to Taos, NM then off we went to Hot Spring National Park in AR. These are just some of the highlights.  We've also voyaged through many other, we’ll say “interesting” towns as well.  Surprisingly, as it may be, not once did we make a reservation for any of these popular destinations, nor did we ever stay in a Walmart parking lot.  We showed up where we wanted to be and always found our spot.  

It hasn't all been easy.  We've ridden a fine line between dry camping too many consecutive days, and spending too much money on campgrounds and resources.  We've had to follow cellular connectivity and some places would unknowingly be lacking.  We've had days of driving too many hours, encountered unexpected snowstorms in changing elevations, had wild horses try and poke their heads through our camper door, and been stuck in traffic behind herds of elk.  One early morning we were surprised by Jehovah's witnesses knocking on our door while we were boondocking on a national forest road (who knew the good word was being spread way the hell out there)?  Of course you can't count out daily RV maintenance and unforeseen repairs.  These "bumps" along the way however, are small in comparison to all that's been gained from this trip in body mind and spirit.  

I feel grateful for everyone's personal growth on this journey and for the changes in myself.  I feel good with having set my own expectations, even if they drew outside the lines of the norm.  I'm glad we don't ignore our uncommon way of thinking, it has brought us some of our best memories.  Life is a gift and we shouldn't put off enjoying it. 

This trip has helped me break out of holding patterns.  I've had some time to pause, reinvent, and enjoy a different pace of living.  I've spent nights up way too late being inspired, elevated my ways of thinking, and all in all find myself walking more deliberately through life.

Adventure isn't only found in travel. It can also be an outlook , an attitude,  "a friendly interest in people, places and things that makes a person an explorer in the truest, most vivid sense of the word."

Adventure lays in the excitement of what's ahead... So what's ahead for us?

At some point while in California we asked each other this question,  how can we make this even better? How can we travel further and live more on our own terms ? What direction do we need to go to increase our personal options? 

With positive forward thinking Uproutelife is evolving and we’re taking it back to where it all started North Conway, NH, our beautiful valley!  With an office and an amazing business partner at hand, we will have the resources available to grow.  So back we go to improve and expand existing businesses and develop new ones.

A new adventure begins!

Many more routes lay ahead for us but as for now I'm quite happy the road is bringing us back East. 

I hope by sharing our story this far we have inspired others to take steps towards living out their dreams.
Stick around to see the Uproutelife journey evolve. Possibilities are awaiting.  Life can be full of passion, when you're on the Uproute♥️