Our life on the road

It’s another beautiful, crystal-clear morning.  But after being kept up half the night with a piercing headache, I want nothing to do with being outside in the bright light of day.  Reluctantly, I crawl back into bed, hoping that perhaps another hour of sleep will help me feel less crummy.  It’s Friday.  We have a big work weekend ahead.  I really need to be feeling my...

Arapahoe National Forest, Colorado // Last night’s smoke made its way out of the valley overnight.  When I step outside, just after sunrise, I’m greeted by clearer skies than I’ve seen in a month.  Seeing bright white clouds against a vibrant blue sky feels much more like the Colorado that I’m used to. I take a seat in my camp chair and gaze downriver just in time to see two giant bull...

Arapaho National Forest, Colorado // We didn’t sleep well.  Partially because the wind was relentless.  The roar through the pines was so ferocious that it caused us both anxiety.  The other factor at hand was fire danger.  Three new wildfires were sparked by dry lighting over the weekend and have quickly grown to several thousand acres.  They aren’t nearby, though we can...

White River National Forest, Colorado // By 9 am, all our possessions are cleared out of our Airbnb and loaded back into the camper. Having a place to stay for the busy work weekend was great, but I can’t count how many trips we’ve made from the camper to the condo and back to grab one thing or another. It’s not like we travel with suitcases and simply have a bag or two to move around. Instead...

The day after we photograph a wedding is what we call wedding hangover day.  It’s not your typical kind of hangover, don’t worry, we don’t drink on the job.  Instead, it’s a full-body hangover from being on our feet all day, doing countless squats in order to get the best shot, and running around at high altitude.  Every muscle and joint aches, and therefore Sundays tend to be a...

Dillon, Colorado // It looks as though storms are upon us today.  On one hand, the precipitation is needed, so I hate to complain.  On the other hand, rain and wind will add nothing but complication to our workday today, which entails photographing a wedding at 11,500’.  With that in mind, I make a couple of phone calls this morning to get authorization for us to drive to the venue...

Dillon, Colorado // Temps all the way down into the 40s made it hard to emerge from our warm little cave and go outside this morning.  At the same time, it was a welcome change from the steady wave of heat we found ourselves in for most of July.  Slivers of sun shone between the pine trees, and it was a noticeable shift to want to be in the warmth of the rays rather than seeking refuge...

Homestake Road, White River National Forest // The morning is sunny with temps in the high 60s.  Our campsite is surrounded by aspens and pines with a clearing that overlooks the Eagle River valley several thousand feet below us.  Wildfire smoke hangs heavy over the mountains and the many layers of terrain on the opposite side of the valley are nearly imperceptible.  Ideally, we...

Coffee Pot Road, White River National Forest, Colorado // My alarm sounds at 6 a.m.  I’m not a morning person and would much rather stay in bed, but I don’t dare complain.  One, because the early call to rise is for a great reason, and two, because I can count on one hand how many times I’ve had to wake up to an alarm in the last year. It takes us about an hour to finish packing up the...

If you’ve been following our journey for long, you know I love to share the ins and outs of our life on the road via daily post series. I may not be the best at how-to guides, gear reviews, and technical articles but by way of daily journaling I’m able to share a candid look at what this lifestyle is all about. Not the highlight reel, but the real deal. The good, the bad, and the ugly...