Happy Birthday Next Stop Adventure: 2 Years!

I have exciting news: Next Stop Adventure just had its second birthday! I remember when I started NS, Brighton and I had been hiking all over the Wasatch mountains and I wanted somewhere to journal my hikes and photos that was more than just Facebook albums. I also wanted to document our weekend trips we take in something more than just photos. Starting a blog seemed like the best way to channel my creative energy into something tangible. I am so happy that I made the decision to move forward with it, because now I have two years’ worth of records to look back on.

I actually remember the story behind when I decided to take the plunge to start it. We had just returned from our crazy 4-day road trip to Banff, Canada & Glacier National Park in 2015. During that trip, we decided on a spur of the moment to go to Canada on our Glacier trip (though I had hoped it would happen and brought passports).

Glacier was experiencing terrible wildfires that put a huge damper on our plan to camp within the park. We didn’t want to risk fire or bears, so we booked a hotel in Calgary, AB on Priceline (since I couldn’t get last-minute hotel rates), and drove for an additional 5 hours north. The next day, we drove 2 hours west to go to Banff National Park (which had been on both of our bucket lists for quite some time), only to meet a blanket of rain and fog. The whole time we were in Canada, we had turned off our cell service and had no paper maps, so we hopped from one Tim Hortons to the next to get wifi to get directions to the next place. In the time when we couldn’t get service, we just relied on the road signs. I remember thinking then— and now— how crazy we were to just wing it and I wanted to remember it all  which was the first time the blog popped into my mind.

After navigating Banff, we went to Waterton Lakes in Canada on the border, and we ended up with no cell service, in the rain, and nowhere to sleep for the night. Luckily, the nice workers of Waterton helped us find a Bed & Breakfast outside of town— a unique experience and change of pace.

To think about that trip makes me realize it’s the essence of my adventures in a nutshell: nonstop, crazy, and epic– Just the way I like them!

After we came home from this trip, Brighton and I were working at Starbucks and I started checking domain names for the fun of it. We used to say to each other, “next stop… adventure” when we began a road trip or long hike. I checked the availability, and BAM! It was a sign. That’s how Next Stop Adventure was born two years ago! (I wrote a mini post about it during my 30 day challenge here)

Since then, I’ve spent many hours at coffee shops documenting our countless hikes, starting a photography business, getting promoted at work, getting married, buying a house, and adopting a dog! Seems like a lot of progress for just a couple years. I hope our adventures never stop— maybe just change. 🙂

Just for fun, I will list some of my favorite/most memorable posts and milestones so far:

• Adopting Koda
• Moab 1st Anniversary Trip (Check out our video towards the end!)
• Buying Our First Home
• 2016 in a Nutshell (Because summary posts are my favorite!!)
• Next Stop Adventure: First Anniversary
• The Importance of Saying No (An emotional and very real post for me)
• Thanksgiving in San Diego
• Taking Risks 
• Bachelorette Weekend in Savannah
• All of our wedding posts, but particularly Our Wedding Ceremony because of our vows!
• My Love Story with Brighton!

I’m looking forward to many more memories, hikes, adventures, and life events to be documented!

Happy Birthday Next Stop Adventure!