Many Happy Thanks

Today marks one month on the road. It's been incredible so far, and we're learning new things all the time.

For example, when Maya slips out the front door into complete darkness, it takes about 10 minutes to track her down under someone else's RV and lure her out with a bag of beef jerky. We've also figured out how to install the jack and change a tire on our Suburban. We're still working on our communication skills for when Dan is backing up the trailer and I'm directing him, but we'll get there; it's great practice in communication.

This trip wouldn't have been anywhere near this level of amazing, though, if not for all of the friends and family who have supported, visited, and cooked for us along the way. We were very lucky to enjoy dinners, drinks, hikes, and shows with buddies in South Dakota and Colorado throughout this first month.

But this next month, we know hardly a soul in the states we plan to visit (Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho). That leaves us plenty of time to reflect on all of the people we treasure, as well as all of the treasures these treasure people have bestowed upon us in our journey (after first celebrating this milestone with a home-cooked Italian dinner).

Here's a public MUCHAS GRACIAS to all of you as we continue onward, always towards the light:

• Parents—for collecting our mail, taking care of our dry cleaning, supplying us with tick removal tools, and being cool with this new lifestyle
   
• Freelance clients—for trusting us to work remotely, despite (sometimes) troublesome wifi connections
   
• Amber and Bryan—for that little black sign you see in many of our pics
   
• Andrea Bell—for turning Charlie and Maya into the sweetest little illustrations, which we put up immediately whenever we park (see more of Andrea's work here)

• Aunt Annie & Uncle Mark—for selling us a solid Suburban at a deep discount, as well as offering a place to stay and delicious food
   
• Martha—for beading the dragonfly that will accompany us wherever we go
   
• Steph and Justin—for the excellent survival kit, including four emergency cans of wine
   
• Gina—for providing Charlie and Maya with RV gear the most seasoned retiree would be jealous of, like light-up LED collars that have saved Maya (or foiled her plans) more than once in the middle of the night
   
• Suzanne—for so many emergency items that we'll hopefully never have to use, but sleep better knowing are there

• Ximena and Bubba—for the cleansing sage
   
• Danny and Cristina—for showing us around Denver/Boulder and hosting a badass barbecue in a badass backyard
   
• Kelli and Dave—for giving us a camera trigger, which will enable us to take long exposure shots of all the stars we see; and Dan's favorite item, the "sweet axe"

• Anna McDermott and Gretchen Wiegand—for a copy of their mystical book, The Circle of Na'mow, and the silver pendant it inspired
   
• Allison, Mark, Mandy, Todd, and Brad—for being brave enough to spend some nights in this tiny wheelhouse before we have everything figured out
   
• Everyone else who has called, texted, shared tips and ideas, and kept up with the blog—for caring and taking interest.

Thank you for reading. We're lucky to have you thoughtful people in our lives.