Change of Plans

Right now we are sitting the Degnan’s Cafe at Yosemite National Park charging all our gear, uploading our media, and getting a bite to eat before we head out on our next adventure. I realize that this is our first post and that it leaves out an explanation what we are doing and why we are doing it. That will come soon. But I thought that since we had a little internet access that I would post an update about our trip.

On Saturday, September 24, my brothers and I set out on our California National Parks road trip adventure. Our goal was to see new places, capture amazing images, and (of course) have a lot of fun in the process. As we approach the mid-point of our trip, we have come to the realization that we have bitten off more than we could chew. Our plan was to visit all eight of California’s Parks in nine days. After four days, three parks, and one thousand miles, we are officially whooped. We are thoroughly exhausted, and we have realized that our greatest regret is that we are not able to spend enough time taking in so many of the amazing sights. With that being said, we have made a change of plans.

Originally, we had on the agenda to stay at Sequoia & King’s Canyon tonight, visit Death Valley tomorrow, and stay at Joshua Tree tomorrow night. All of that would add almost another 700-800 miles in just a 24 hour period of time. (Not to mention the fact the we would be in desert for most of the ride.) I think that it is totally doable, and if our primary goal was to tag each park location and come back alive, I think that we would stick with that plan. As it is, we really wanted to to do this trip so that we could enjoy some incredible new places and enjoy the time that we would have together as brothers. This we are struggling to do.

So, we have decided to make a change. Instead of traveling to Death Valley and Joshua Tree, we have decided to spend an extra night in Sequoia & Kings Canyon before we head over to the Channel Islands. By doing this, we will free up our schedule a little more so that we can enjoy the sites (and sights) more thoroughly. This should enable us to have a much more enjoyable and (positive) memorable experience for the remainder of our trip.

We want to inspire people to get out and enjoy the beautiful world around them. We also want to set an example that family and relationships come before checklists and dreams. We feel that by eliminating (actually postponing–more about this later) our visit to these other parks, we will have more of the type of experience that we were wishing for from the beginning. We know that the rest of the trip is going to still be epic. And we do not feel that we are short-changing ourselves by making this revision. In fact, I believe that we are making our adventure better for the sake of ourselves and those who have generously chosen to follow us. So, to all of you out there who read this and care, thank you and go explore.

P.S. A special “hello” and “I love you” to our biggest fan – our mom. Thank you for encouraging us to do whatever we put our mind to and not stopping us from doing anything stupid…now look what you did…:)