We signed a 23-month lease… and then did something that didn’t quite make sense on paper.

We put everything into public storage, packed just what we could carry, and decided to explore the United States with a backpack.

We had about a month of vacation. Enough time to either stay comfortable — or take a bet on something bigger.

We chose the second.

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The Unexpected Math

At first, this trip felt expensive. Flights, RV rental, park passes — it all added up quickly.

But when we actually sat down and did the math, it cost almost the same as staying home and paying a month’s rent.

Once we saw that, the decision wasn’t really a decision anymore.

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Why an RV?

We didn’t start with a perfect plan.

In fact, we didn’t even know exactly where we wanted to go.

But one idea stuck:
Let’s do this in an RV.

Freedom to move. No fixed schedule. Carry our home with us.

From there, the plan slowly shaped itself around a goal —
complete the Mighty Five national parks in Utah.

And somewhere inside that plan was a personal challenge I had been holding onto:

Angels Landing.

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Angels Landing, Together

I had done Angels Landing before. This time, I wanted to do it with my wife.

Sometimes the best way to relieve stress isn’t to relax—but to do something difficult. Hiking Angels Landing with my wife was not just fun; it felt like a true misogi—challenging, intense, and deeply rewarding.

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The Route

Once we had Zion locked in, the rest of the trip formed around it.

Our journey looked something like this:

• Phoenix
• Sedona
• Grand Canyon
• Zion National Park
• Capitol Reef National Park
• Canyonlands National Park
• Arches National Park
• Death Valley
• Morro Bay
• California coast
• Drop off RV in Newark

It wasn’t just a route.
It was a gradual shift — from desert reds to canyon depths to coastal blues.

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A lot of planning went into this trip.

I’m still making sense of the rest.