States Visited

7 – Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California

How We Got Around

  • Lots more driving
  • The street car in New Orleans
  • A few Ubers in Austin
  • Our feet – a lot more than the month before which felt amazing

Best Meal

Steph – Eating has been a highlight for me for the last month. Between amazing vegetarian options in Austin to my daily enchiladas through the southwest, it’s really hard to me to pick a favorite. I’ll just pick one of each.

Arlo’s food truck was my favorite meal in Austin. I had the chipotle chik’n sandwich and it was incredible. Being able to share a good vegan spot with my mom was awesome. We ate inside the dive bar that the food truck was parked outside and then did a walking tour of East Austin.

My favorite enchilada was from Cafe Pasqual’s in Santa Fe, NM. It was recommended to us by a few different friends, so we headed there for lunch one day. We got the Christmas style (red and green sauce) Blue Lady enchilada with veggies on the side. While most enchiladas are amazing, it’s hard to find one that stands out from the others. This was it. This is the pinnacle. I would recommend it to any enchilada lover.

Justin – This was a real brain-tickler for me. I’ve enjoyed so much good food in the southwest that I can’t really even separate them in my mind. Because of that, I’m selecting Jo’s Coffee in downtown Austin.

Here, I had the vegan BBQ sandwich. The BBQ aspect to me is all about the sauce and not the delivery vessel, so who cares if it isn’t the limb of some poor animal that someone shot in the woods?

The sandwich was magnificent, however, this is called “Best Meal” and what made the meal so memorable was the moment next to us. A grungy older man walked in and started asking patrons for their left over food. This guy was looking for table scraps and was clearly living without so much as a pillow. As he approached, I watched as the two guys at the table next to us invited him to sit down. They then ordered him food and dined along side him. He didn’t engage with them outside of gratitude, and they didn’t discard him as less than human.

The guy who ordered him food was asked by an employee of Jo’s if he needed any assistance with the man and he just said, “nope all is good.”

This little act of human compassion really sat with me and I wish that more of us could stretch out that giving hand to each other a little more often. This experience is why I chose Jo’s as my Best Meal for February.

*A notable second – enchiladas everywhere in the southwest. Get them Christmas style. They’ll know what it means.

Favorite National Parks Moment

Steph – This last month has been filled with incredible National Park visits. The moment that stands out for me was the sunset we watched in Big Bend. It was quiet and you could see for miles around with no sign of humanity. Just taking in the warm desert winter air and watching the clouds change colors was unforgettable.

Justin – The Smith & Manzanita Springs hike we did at Guadalupe Mountains National Park was tops! It was a really light loop hike with a few different terrain areas and good bird spotting. This park would’ve been excellent to explore longer but this hike gave us a really good idea of what you can expect out of this underrated park (read more about it here).

Our Peak

Steph – This month has been one of my favorites of the entire year so far. Getting to hang out with my mom and Carol in Austin and then more friend time in Arizona & Vegas was incredible. Sneaking in a quick visit to Vegas Eating all my favorite foods, hiking in many different national parks and revisiting a few of my favorite cities – it’s all amazing and impossible to pick a peak this month.

Justin – We made it to 9 National Parks this month! That may not excite some of you but it makes me pretty happy. I love seeing large areas of protected land and getting to take the time to explore and learn about them really boosted my state of mind over the last 30 days.

Our Pit

Steph – Although it was an incredible month, I do have a pit. I have missed out on some sunrise spots that I had been looking forward to for a long time. The weather has not been the best for us this month. There has been so much rain. I absolutely love rainy afternoons with a good book, but when the clouds are constant in all the places I wanted to catch a sunrise – it’s frustrating. If you are lucky enough to see a sunrise at Death Valley, the Grand Canyon or White Sands National Park – please tag me in the photos so I can pretend.

Justin – It was another great month of highs so my pit feels a bit petty again. On our road trip, we set out to be flexible and really wanted to go with the flow. This could mean that we arrive in some locations without lodging booked and be at the mercy of availability. This laid back approach seemed, at first, like the way to best enjoy the U.S. We could always camp, right?

No, you cannot always camp.

Herein lies my pit. We ran into issues camping all month since so many places were booked for months at places we really wanted to try, like National Parks. This has caused us to spend more money on lodging than anticipated. Since we realized the issue, we decided to book a spot in Death Valley. This is a place that averages less than 20 days of precipitation per year and has 340 days plus of sun. We were pretty excited to finally get the tent and hammocks out, see the stars, have a fire, cook outside and chat with other outdoor neighbors.

Ah, but of course, wind storms and rain would foil that plan. We managed the one day this month that would drop into the 30s overnight and provide enough rain that tent camping would not be an option. How fitting that my petty pit this month comes at 282 feet below sea level; the lowest point in the contiguous United States.

Grateful to have…

Steph – Connections made on the road. We are currently staying in the most amazing AirBnB because of a connection we made while in Mexico. Getting to chat with our internet friends that are traveling places we have been or want to go is so cool – the sense of community in the long term travelers is unmatchable. It’s pretty cool to check so many places off our wishlist while adding them at the same speed because of all the amazing recommendations and secrets people share on the road.

Justin – Friends and relatives who travel.

During this year away, it has been really great meeting up with friends and family along the way. It’s always nice to have a feeling of home and nothing helps that as much as familiar faces. This past month we had a close friend visit in Arizona and Steph’s mom met up with us in Texas. We also got to have a quick drink with friends in Las Vegas. Visitors always makes life on the road a bit more enjoyable.

Missing this…

Steph – Traveling with an income. The US is not easy on the budget. We definitely say no to a lot of places we want to try because of money. I am so proud of the amount we saved up to do this trip and having the freedom to explore for this long is so awesome, but it is a different kind of traveling than we had done in the past. We try and stick to eating just one meal out maximum each day and splitting the dishes, but there are so many incredible places that we have to just walk past.

I will insert a huge thank you to those of you who have paid for a meal for us, bought us a beer, let us stay with you, sent us away with free food, clicked any of the links on our recommendations page or have shopped Beautycounter. Those things are all incredibly generous and have allowed this adventure to continue and we can’t wait to find ways to repay you in the future.

Justin – I am honestly really fulfilled this month and don’t have things I specifically miss. I can think of a few things like routines and income, but I’ve been missing those a while and have previously written about them so why double up? This month, I am just going to reflect on my own happiness and rejoice in the fact I am lucky enough to feel complete.

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What’s Next?

We have almost a full month in sunny California exploring places we haven’t been yet together. Kicking it off is the Palm Springs/San Bernardino area, then San Diego is our first longer dog sit and then we head north.