Author: Emily

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G stands for Gatlinburg and Gnats

We’ve gone gnat-y. What is that you ask?!?  It is when you stomp around (inside) the camper waving and clapping you’re hands over your head chanting “We’ve gone gnaty. We’ve gone gnaty.” The desired 🤞🏼outcome of this belly laughing escapade is to maybe just maybe have killed a gnat or two. 

What brings one to go gnaty is well… gnats…. EVERYWHERE! In the fridge ✅ on your towel after your shower ✅ flying around your face when you try to read a book ✅  I’m sure we’ve all consumed at least one. They are everywhere all the time and that is inside the camper! 

And it’s 💯 worse when you go outside. I remember running in college and coming back from a long run and having I don’t know 10 gnats stuck to me… that is nothing compared to this. You literally can not go outside with out fanning your face or else they are just pelting you. I’ve taken them out of Chase’s eyes. They drive the boys crazy.

We have made traps with soap and apple cider vinegar. We literally have a fly ribbon hanging in our kitchen. We are trying to do all the things to keep them from driving us nuts. But when desperate times call for desperate measures the boys and I go gnaty and Chase just rolls his eyes 🤪 and we all get a good laugh out of a (g)nasty situation! 

(That first picture…all those black dots…dead gnats in our fridge 😖)

**Chase wants you to know we can light a fire and the smoke really clears them up outside… I want you to know that’s the only reason we don’t go gnaty outside bahaha 🤣 

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By the Numbers

We have spent approximately $42,000 these past 12 months. 

For 14 weeks we were “between jobs” aka….traveling. 

We’ve been to 9 national parks: Smokys, Hot Springs, Saguaro, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Glacier, Tetons, and Yellowstone. 

Lived for 3 months without cell phone signal or wifi in our camper.

Logged roughly 8,949 miles towing the camper!! 

Averaged 8 miles to the gallon while pulling the camper. 

For 40 weeks lived over an hour to the closest Target…hence we have spent $79.12 at Target this past year.  

Lived in all 4 different time zones. 

Spent roughly $3,500 on gas while pulling the camper. 

Been to 23 different states! 

Never in my life would I have thought we would live a year and have any sort of numbers like these to represent it but I’m thankful for them and the memories we’ve made! 

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A Bit on The Boys

I thought it would be fun to ask the boys some questions and capture their brains and hearts at this stage in their little lives. I set down with each of them by themselves and asked them both these questions:

MacQuestionsMerrick
“I don’t think I’ll have a dream”What do you think you’re going to dream about?“probably monster cookies”
“The barn book”What is your favorite book?“fishing in the bathtub”
“red”What is your favorite color?“red”
“Tennessee”Where are we?“Gatlinburg”
“tacos and hamburgers and pepperoni, mayonnaise cheese sands”What do you like to eat?“biscuit and gravy casserole”
“cookies”What do you like to cook?“cowboy cookies”
“rhyming words”What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?
“at night time I asked for some bubble wubble”
“five”How old are you?“three”
“Utah”What do you want to teach others about?“probably some baseball tricks”
“try to throw a spear”What do you like to do outside? “play baseball”
“Old Town Road”-kidzbop version ” 🙂 What song do you like?“Elmo home on the range”
“when ever I found my real baseball”What is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to you?“when Jesus didn’t die, He was still alive”

Its fun hearing them and seeing their minds work as they figure out their answers. My jaw about dropped when Merrick responded to the last question! Yes that is wonderful baby boy!

School time with them is pretty loose in terms of how structured it is. I have a reading book that Mac and I started in January called “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.” Right now we are on lesson 62, we do a lesson a couple of times a week. When he reads the story it’s slow going but its amazing to see him read and comprehend what he is reading.

With Chase he does a lot of number learning- counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, adding, subtracting etc. We have a couple of work books that they both like to do work on. Merrick is around and listening to all of this. We do more letter sounds with him. We’ve done smell and taste tests with them blind folded….Mac thought the onion was an apple…I still don’t understand that one!

Mac has helped mend a hole in his pillow. Merrick and I sew and then he has to identify the letter. Seeing Merrick’s fingers figure out how to push and pull and needle threw the felt has just been so sweet to watch. Mac can make us all a snack (plain yogurt, honey, strawberries) with zero help from an adult….all though it takes 25 minutes to prepare its still neat to see him doing it all on his own. And what a confidence booster that is, you can just see it on his face.

There’s no how to book on this parenting gig but we are trying and enjoying it most days! If you have any fun brain stretching ideas or activities please share them with us!

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That One Time We Got All Dressed Up…

The gentlemen were all asked to be apart of Trey and Stephanie’s wedding at the end of August! It was beautiful and so fun to get to be apart of.

The boys took to their roles with high priority. We kept calling it their job and coming from the ranch I think they truly understood what a job was. Mac really got to bear the ring and Merrick walked a sign down. They smiled for the pictures, they didn’t complain once about anything they were wearing. Upon getting dressed Mac commented “mom I’m feeling pretty handsome”….that my son you are…both inside and out!

I don’t know why but it never occurred to Chase and I that we would share our story while at this wedding. But of course it came up in conversation and it was so encouraging, both to us and those that wanted to know more. Whenever someone hears what we are doing they are usually struck with awe. They tell us about feeling trapped with their lives and jobs and the normal-ness they are living. And then they see and hear about real life humans doing something different and I pray that they see His light while we share our hearts. We have no idea what we are doing but we are trying to live intentionally while wisely stewarding all the He has given us. It caught me off guard sharing in this setting but I know nothing comes without a reason!

Campground Reviews:

We spent three nights in in Illinois for the occasion. The first was in Macomb, IL and the second in Rantoul, IL.

Spring Lake Campground

$20 cash/night for full hook-ups (30amp)

It had a lake we didn’t hardly acknowledge and a playground the boys played on while I got groceries. Easy nice spot for one night.

Prairie Pines Campground

$56.50 for 2 nights- full hook-ups (50amps)

Laundry facilities and play ground. Clean, nice spot.

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Adjusting

As we settle into our third week in Tennessee I can look back and now tell you we are going to be okay here, at first I didn’t know 😬

For first few weeks have been full have adjustments. 

The outside wilderness aspect of this area is exactly what we thought. Green, lush, beautiful. Rivers and creeks galore. Trees covered with vines. Rocks covered with moss. Sometimes when we are hiking I get the feeling this might be a sliver of what the Amazon is like. I’m just thankful there is pretty much only one predator we have to be alert for…the iconic black bear of the Smokies. Thankfully we’ve only seen one; while we were eating dinner on a cafe porch and were able to hop inside when we wanted! (And we think we’ve had one in the campground but just didn’t see it….although Mac did find its 💩 and it did destroy my bird feeder🙈) With the outside environment being what we thought, that’s pretty much the only thing that’s gone as expected. 

Upon coming to this job we thought my job was recreation/activities with some occasional housekeeping hours. They had asked office or housekeeping, I choose house keeping because it’s something the boys could actually come along side and help with. Well the hour dynamics are reversed….all housekeeping with occasional rec hours thrown in there. I felt jaded and mislead. But a little mental adjusting and I’m alright. House keeping is fine. I work 8-12 ish most mornings and I listen to sermons pretty much the whole time (more Jesus time…can’t be upset about that!). Mac has come to help clean a little bit but they’ve enjoyed hanging with daddy and doing daddy school. Not what we expected but we’ve adjusted. 

Our first site we were given was RIGHT next to the road. It’s the main busy highway leading into Gatlinburg. It didn’t have a picnic table or a fire ring. Never expected this….we tried sleeping with fans, we tried getting used to it but it’s hard to get used to your windows rattling…we asked to move to the back of the campground and now we have a much quieter spot. We moved earlier this week and we are still getting settled in our new spot but we’re adjusting just fine here! (picture below: our first site vs the current one)

With the terrible camp site and the job not being what I expected my first couple of weeks I didn’t know if we’d stay here the whole time or not. But with some mind set adjustments and with some literal campsite adjustments I think we are going to make it. We have 6 weeks left and we’ll make the most of it! 

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Yellowstone National Park

Well well well now that’s a horse of a different color….said the wizard of OZ and that’s how I feel about Yellowstone! What a bizarre and amazing National Park! 

Yellowstone is basically made up of two huge drivable loops, the north loop and the south loop. The south loop is larger and contains most of the volcanic activity stuff. It also hosts a huge valley area where a lot of wildlife can be spotted (and a beautiful spot to watch the sunset!)

We had a couple days in the area to explore Yellowstone. We thought we would give each loop a full day. We decided to do the south loop first and it did not disappoint! 

We got into the park around 2 or 3 after doing laundry (that hadn’t been done in 2 weeks!!) and eating lunch. We got home around 10:30pm, we saw soooooo much!

So neat to see and learn about so many new things! Our first stop, the “Fountain Paint Pots Trail” area gave us a unique sample we weren’t expecting. It really might have been our favorite spot because it was so unexpected and had so much! Hot springs?!?! (Picture 1) Boiling mud?!?! (Picture 2) Fumaroles?!?! (Picture 3) Geysers?!?! (Picture 4) —Fun Fact: When driving in a normal neighborhood now days seeing a sprinkler go off Merrick calls it a geyser….not correcting that sweet comment just yet. So crazy how much they are learning and soaking up!

Next we saw the Grand Prismatic Spring….the 3rd largest hot spring…..in the WORLD! All the different colors present different microorganisms that live at different temperatures. Red is actually the coolest part and blue is the hottest… completely opposite of the normal temperature visual we see…which I just thought was really strange!

We saw Old Faithful going off while we parked but then didn’t want to wait 1.5 hours for the whole thing so we trekked on to see the rest of the loop! 

In the Hayden valley we saw bison after bison, herds of elk, swans and geese. After every curve there was a new view to take in and beauty to see. I loved being there at dusk and getting to witness all the animal activity and take in the sunset.  

After that FULL day we decide a day of rest was what we needed so we never made it to the north loop, which we hear has more big views…not the volcanic activity type thing. On our rest day we did not leave the camper. I don’t know the last day we had rested and it just left so good. That night some friends pulled in and we shared a meal with them. It was a beautiful day….even if we didn’t see the other half of Yellowstone! 

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Grand Teton National Park

I turned 32 here! We spent the day exploring that area. It took us 2.5 hours to get there and we didn’t get home until 10pm. It was a day FULL of us four adventuring around! 

We were told about a boat ride you can take across Jenny Lake and hike back to waterfalls so we did just that! Parking right now at National parks is next to nightmare-ish but I kid you not we have gone and got parking at every single park with ease. We haven’t ever joined the morning rush, we’ve gone more in the afternoon it’s been easy peasy. 

The Tetons are big huge beasts of mountains and that seemingly pop up out of nothing. At the base of these mountains are a few lakes. We explored two of them Jenny Lake and String Lake. We took the boat across Jenny lake and then hiked to some waterfalls! String lake was like a swimming hole, we found a quiet nook for us. Jenny Lake has a trail all the way around it and an adjoining trail that leads to String Lake…a hike that is now on my bucket list! 

We stopped for dinner on the way home and Mac secretly ordered me cheese cake for my birthday 😍 it was a precious day in my books!

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How Do We Find Jobs You Ask?!?

When it’s time to find a job it’s looks a lot like everyone else when they need a job… its just that our jobs just aren’t listed on Indeed. We boost the resume, send the resume out, do some people networking, make phone call follow-ups where we’ve sent our resumes, do a phone interview…. all of that typical stuff…we just have to dig a little to find places that need help. 

What we do is technically called “work camping” …there are websites that host this specific type of job. Literally campgrounds just listing what they need. Most often time work camping couples are older retired couples…the lady works in the store/office and the gentleman works outside…. we don’t fit into that stereotype sooo we don’t qualify for most of the positions listed BUT there are others that work for us! So we apply for the ones that let us both work outside, let the kids be around, and isn’t in North Dakota in December. 

We mainly look at:

-workampingjobs.com (This is our main go to!)
-coolworks.com
-landseaadventure.com

This go around there has been a bit of word of mouth as well…..we know some fellow camper people here and there. We just put feelers out and pray over it all and wait and see what happens! 

This time we applied to a ranch in CO, a pioneer settlement in FL, a petting zoo farm in IL, a berry farm in MN, multiple campgrounds in FL, two in AL, two in OK, multiple in TX, one in MI, and one in TN. This was over a two week span or so.

Ideally we would take a job that offers a free site and we both get paid hourly wages on top of that. We had offers at a few but they just didn’t feel right and then we got a call and have found our next spot. We’ll be spending the fall in Gattlinsburg, TN! 

It is a bit crazy when we are in the transition period and have no idea what’s next but we can look back and see how He has provided and are always excited to see where He will lead us next! 

If you wanna come see some pretty fall in the Smoky Mountains….I know a spot 😉!!!

Last November we visited the area for a few days and were about an hour away from Gatlinburg, these are a few pictures from that visit….cant wait to be there for all of fall!

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Idaho

We stayed in Idaho a total of five nights. One on our way to Montana, and four afterward.

Coming from Utah up into Idaho you see nothing but rolling hills of farm land. We stayed the night in Blackfoot Idaho. This little gem of a town will always have a soft spot in my heart. It’s the first place I saw trees and grass green flourishing in nearly a year! We stayed at the most interesting camp site. 

It was ran by the city’s park and rec and was a parking lot with water and electric hook ups around the perimeter. It was near a tiny little air port, park and walking path. A perfect spot for the night.

And it just happened to be the “world capital of Potatoes” and housed the Idaho Potato Museum so you better believe these potato gardeners went and took a gander before getting on the road the next morning. 

On the four night stent we stayed in Island Park, Idaho about 40 mins from Yellowstone and 2.5 hours from the Tetons. We adventured to both from this spot. (more on those adventures another time!)

Camp ground reviews: 

Blackfoot City RV Park

$20/ night 

Water and 50 amps

Park and walking path near. No laundry facilities, WiFi or dump station.

Buffalo Run RV Park 

$65/ weeknight $70/ weekend night 

Water and 50 amps 

WiFi and showers. Laundry 20 mins down the road. Clean well kept, a bit pricey but next to the parks. 

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Glacier Park National Park

This was my 9th or 10th time to Glacier Park, my second time with my husband and first time with my kiddos. And it was with the ENTIRE side of my mom’s family! It was beautiful both in the scenery and with those we shared it with. 

We had one night in which ALL of us shared a meal and acknowledged my grandma’s 80th year of life and how special she is to all of us. We all had shirts that two of my cousins made that represented our family, Grandma the sun, 4 mountains for her four kids, trees for grandkids and critters for all the great grand kids! She shared that she was told as a young lady she wouldn’t have kids….and if you could have seen our party you would have saw how much she has defied those odds! 49 of us present! God is good!! 

Glacier is special. It is just BEAUTIFUL!!! It was smoky on this trip due to the fires in Oregon, Washington and Idaho but we still had views that were worth a million words and we made memories worth a million more! 

Places we adventured to: McDonald Lake and Creek, Going to the Sun Road, Logan Pass, Hidden Lake Overlook, Polebridge, Avalanche Lake, Flathead River, and John’s Lake Loop. If you ever wanna know more of my thoughts on these places I’d be happy to share all I know! But for now I’ll just share some pictures of the pretties!!