OUR
GEAR

Why We Do It

We bought our first Jeep in May of 2019. This thing was showroom polished, and never had seen rain or even a cloudy day. We intended on keeping it that way! We enjoyed driving around with the top and doors off whenever we got the chance, and that there was no chance of rain! Allison and Hannah also enjoyed going along for the ride, as it usually meant we were getting ice cream!

Things started to escalate pretty fast after this. We also tried out camping out of one of our families RV’s to see how we could handle one night. Not only did it go smoothly, but all 4 of us fell in love with being outdoors, being somewhere new, and being present, together as a family! No one was arguing or fighting over anything! We were all just happy to be there and anything else that happened was just a bonus!

We decided to purchase our own Fifthwheel Camper so we could continue to camp in our own space instead. At this point we were camping in local campgrounds and state parks. We had no idea overlanding or ‘jeep rock crawling’ even existed at this point! We were so wrapped up in our own little bubble of this new chapter we were able to open the door to.

We decided that we wanted to see more than what local Wisconsin had to offer and took a trip to Tennessee and we were in awe of what the world had to offer. The different landscapes in-between mountain ranges and how gorgeous it all really is. Not just in pictures online! January 2020 rolled around and we decided to upgrade to a Class A Motorhome so we can travel the country easier than trying to be in a pickup truck towing a fifth wheel camper everywhere.

Just before Spring Break of 2020 we were in Arizona at a campground, we flat towed our Jeep out there from Wisconsin, we had decided we were going to try off roading it.

Covid hit and changed everything we thought we knew! All the places we had been going were all closed…

But then we realized we could still go to the middle of the desert where no one was, and still be safe! Beforehand we did research of trails in that area, downloading maps and purchasing gear to make sure we had everything we needed to make it successful with having two littles in tow!

Somehow amidst the pandemic, we met two great families while we were in Arizona! They helped guide us in a time where we were absolutely clueless about something we fell in love with! We are forever grateful to have met them when we did!

Being off road and up in the mountains, we found that there were so many dispersed camp spots along a lot of the trail systems and we thought how great that would be to stay out there overnight. Some spots we had to turn around as Scott quickly learned that we did not have the correct modifications to our Jeep that we needed to do what we wanted to do. After this we changed tactics and outfitted our Ford Raptor with the necessary equipment for overlanding.

And we found we loved that just as much! A little less high energy but still allowing us to be in the outdoors together as a family and experiencing somewhere new!

Things escalated again as we learned more about different gear and ways to be safe on the trail especially having all of us out there together!

We get out as much as we possibly can, whether it’s to a show, a large trip like Alaska, or just a weekend getaway. We are constantly learning about ourselves and about new ways to do things. There’s no one way that works for everyone. We figured out what we like to do and how it works for our family. Ultimately getting out there, out of your comfort zone, away from the busy schedules and phone calls, the disconnect of being in the moment and taking in nature all at the same time…

It’s Priceless