Notes from the road: July ’24

Welcome to Notes From The Road, a monthly recap of where we’ve been, what we’ve been up to, and the things we’ve enjoyed over the last 30 days.

In our two decades as Colorado wedding photographers, July has always been our busiest month.  Until this year.  Only one wedding on the books for this month meant three wedding-free weekends; a very unusual and welcome change of pace during our otherwise wildly busy summer months.  This year we’ve been dedicated to growing this website and so the extra time we’ve been gifted with this month has been poured into that pursuit.  With that, I’m excited to share the many things we’ve been up to.

OUR FIRST TRAVEL BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE

What A Day: A Baja California Road Trip Journal is now available for purchase!  This project has been in the works for months and we are beyond excited that it is now a finished product.  What A Day recounts the 72 days we spent in Baja in 2023 in the form of one photo and one short story for each day.  It’s a blend of a beautiful photography book and a travel memoir and would make a great addition to any coffee table belonging to someone with a heart of wanderlust.  You can preview and/or purchase What A Day here.

WE’RE PRESENTING AT OVERLAND EXPO
August 23-25

We’re so excited to share that we’ve been confirmed to speak at Overland Expo Mountain West in Loveland, Colorado at the end of August.  We’ll be presenting a travel slideshow and 50 minute talk about what it’s like spending the winter camping around Baja.  Overland Expo is known for having a phenomenal lineup of classes and presentations.  We’re as excited to present as we are to attend.  We’d love to see you there!

Click here for more details about Overland Expo Mountain West.

RV WEST INTERVIEW

We were recently interviewed by RV West about full-time RV living.  You can check out the interview here.

WHAT’S DEVELOPING for US BEHIND-THE-SCENES

As many of you know, our Baja rig consists of our Four Wheel Camper paired with a homemade utility trailer.  While it’s been a great setup for us for years, we’ve always dreamed of marrying the functionality of the two and eliminating the need to tow a trailer.  This means either having a custom utility bed made for the truck or building out a flatbed with boxes.  The options for these kinds of truck modifications are endless and Mark has spent the last month dissecting the pros, cons, cost, dependability, and availability of them all.  Just this week we locked in on the direction we want to go and major modifications to our truck will be underway soon!  We can’t wait to share more once it all starts coming together.

MEDIA WE’VE LOVED THIS MONTH

Video
Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story

A beautifully-told story about an otter who befriends a man and the meaning that the unusual relationship brings to the man’s life.  This story has a lot of heart and illustrates every human’s need to connect, whether it be with a person or animal.  This 77 minute long documentary on National Geographic’s You Tube channel is the kind of feel-good story that there can never be too many of.

Book
Just Go: A Globe-Trotting Guide to Travel Like an Expert, Connect Like a Local, and Live the Adventure of a Lifetime

You Tuber and Author Drew Binsky has traveled to all of the world’s 197 countries.  A feat that only a few hundred people have ever accomplished.  Since I have no plans to visit places like Iraq, Sudan, Syria, and North Korea, I’m fascinated reading first-hand accounts from someone who has spent time in these places.  Anyone interested in knowing more about what the world is like outside of the US will enjoy this book. He offers some great tips and insights on how to get the most out of international travel as well.  Click here to buy the book on Amazon.

This podcast interview with Drew is also an enjoyable listen.

Podcast
The harsh truth of self-discipline on
The Subtle Art Of Not Giving a F*ck

I’m a huge Rich Roll fan, I’ve been listening to his podcast for years.  While he’s a phenomenal interviewer, I was excited to see that he recently played the role of guest on Mark Manson’s podcast.  Rich speaks beautifully and openly about mid-life transformation, spirituality, and living in recovery from alcoholism.  I loved this conversation and will likely give it a second listen soon.

Listen here on Spotify
Watch here on YouTube

Music

There are times when I’m either feeling anxious or really need to focus on a project and in those times the right kind of music can do wonders to calm me down and/or hone my focus. This month instrumental music has been doing just that. My favorite instrumental artist at the moment is Hermanos Gutiérrez, I find each and every one of their songs beautiful and soothing. I’ve also been enjoying piano instrumentals and am loving Kilgore Doubtfire radio on Spotify.

In case you missed it, these are the posts that we shared in July…

• A-Z Guide to Full-Time RV Living: Mail
• Our first ever travel book is available for purchase!
• Full-time Truck Camper living with Josh, Darci & Hannah

If you made it this far, thanks for reading all the way to the end.  We’re really excited to be building the Two Happy Campers brand and hope that we can continue to increase the value we bring to you, our reader.  Thank you for being here.