We could have never anticipated the wondrous places life’s journey would take us. Four years is a long time to be at this game of exploration and evolution! And we have been so happy to share those experiences with you most fantastic humans who continue to tune in to our “happenings.” But, there are some adventures that we haven’t shared…yet.

I’m sure I’ve said it before, but its hard to tell our story as it unfolds. Time slips by and each missed experience compounds on top of the next making it impossible to catch up. But that doesn’t mean those stories aren’t worth sharing.

During our extensive travels, Jake and I had a revelation. The time and space we’ve given ourselves in the name of travel and personal discovery made us realize a deep seated hope within each of us. At the end of this long road, we want to find Home.

I wrote about this before we left Colorado and the fear of leaving “home” which was truly terrifying. We have discovered that its not the place exactly that makes the home. Its the feeling of security and comfort that we long for. And a space we can call our own. This motive became the catalyst that drove us (literally, pun intended) across our native land, America.

The big question: What is it that we want in a home? A question not so easily answered. We have changed so much over the course of 4 years. I’m certainly not the same Jill I was before we left Colorado, or even the one that came back from sailing or hiking. Every single day, the person I believe I am changes. Or maybe its just my perspective that keeps shifting. Either way, its hard to nail down exactly what the ideal “home” would be.

I can only imagine that if you were given an opportunity to choose exactly where you want to live and build your home exactly how you want it, where money or time or any other hinderance is NOT an issue, you might be able to come up with something. We ask ourselves this question often, and struggle to find an answer.

So, we focused on simplifying and selecting general characteristics that we want. It boils down to the following:

1. Mountains & Trees
2. Peace and Quiet
3. Space to Grow (to build “Bosco Station”)

We have no specific city or state in mind, nor are we concerned with easy access to civilization. We’ve both had an inkling that Alaska might be the place for us. Except then we imagine the harsh existence of life below zero for 3/4 of the year and living so far removed from everything. Maybe something a little less extreme? But only a little. Much of the style of that kind of life sounds appealing.

From this list, we could pull out a few clues. Number one; well that one is obvious. But it helps to dictate where we should begin exploring; either the north or the west / southwest. We chose west. Number two, however, is a bit more difficult. You wouldn’t believe it, but we’ve been to some of the most remote parts of this great country of ours, and it is still a challenge to find peace, quiet or solitude. No matter how far removed you go, you still can hear the sounds of traffic on roads or other man-made, civilization sounds. Overcrowding is obviously a huge issue. Small cities aren’t so small anymore. The last place we lived used to be a “small” town and was full to the brim when we left. Its doubled in size since then. Lets move on to the next…Number three: we realize that for our ultimate dreams, we need land. Not just an acre or two or even twenty. We are talking upwards of 60-200. The big challenge here is the limited budget that we have to stick to (unless of course we win the lotto or something, but we don’t play the lotto so its not all that likely). And that still brings us back to the fact that the WHERE still eludes us.

BUT, we have a list. And that list was more than enough to warrant another trip. For us, we have to bring life to a trip by giving it an identity. So, we dubbed this one Operation Land Grab. With the trusty boy, “Blue” (our 13-year-old minivan), a homemade bed and large bins full of food & gear, we hit the open road of America’s Interstate system for the west. That is as specific as we were; “the west”. Starting from the very eastern edge of the east coast made this easy, since everywhere is west!

For the last 2 years (and counting), we have been experiencing a whole set of adventures during our in-between times. Operation Land Grab has taken us over 18,000 miles and nearly every state of this country within the lower 48. We’ve experienced A LOT.

So, the next saga of Jake and Jill Adventures begins: The National Parks of America (and some other cool stuff too!)