Oh my goodness,

oh my goodness, oh my goodness!!!! We're here!!! In Nashville, well Brentwood actually...

The last couple of days felt like they took an entire week to live. We spent some time with my family in Broken Bow trying to regroup so that we could hit the road again all refreshed and ready to go! When we started out this morning we were both pretty quiet... I was going over in my head what I would like to see when we got here and what I was expecting to happen over this next week. I understand that the average job search during a healthy economic climate can take up to two months... So my goal is to condense that into one week in a very difficult and cranky economic climate!

PRAY FOR US!!! :-)

Brentwood is absolutely beautiful. We haven't had a chance to take any pictures of the area yet. Since arriving we've had to check in, get groceries, and unpack... AGAIN! I'm really feeling for those nomads right about now. But when we went to grab groceries we drove around the block before heading back to the hotel. We have once again regained momentum for our job search. The area just around our hotel is loaded with prospective employment. The area looks very promising and it reminds us of a very well manicured, very green, and very clean Keizer but it is a big business park. (If you can imagine a more green and more clean place.)

Before we actually got here Travis and I both have gone through periods of anticipation, anxiety, and outright nervousness! But being here has renewed our faith and assurance of why we made this decision to move. I know the next few days, weeks, and possibly month will be especially trying; however, when you put two very stubborn, bullheaded, jobless, twenty-somethings in the middle of an unfamiliar place they will persevere. Believe me.... This town will know Travis and Kacharel before it's all said and done!

Sorry for taking so long to get a new post up! Broken Bow has very little access to the Internet. And being that Broken Bow is my hometown, I didn't even think to take pictures of it for everyone to see... But have no fear- we do have to go back and grab a couple of things we left behind.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We love each and every one of you!

Driving into the...

Great unknown! We are at the end of our sightseeing and now it will soon be time to get back to reality :-( We have seen some of the most amazing creations on this trip that have reminded us just how small we really are, and just how big God is... We've had a lot of time to talk and try to sort out a game plan :-) But plans are for normal people, right?! I've heard of long road trips making or breaking relationships, and I would definitely have to say we did great. I feel like we have actually grown as a couple and have developed some very important skills that we will use throughout the remainder of our life. COMMUNICATION is key! We've loved every minute of this trip. We look back at the end of every day as we're lying in bed and we are able to say, "Today was amazing!" I have been moved to tears many times on this journey. I have had many experiences where chills came over my body and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I have been reminded of how wonderful it is to have such loving family and friends. We are so thankful, again, for everyone's continued love and support. All we need now is prayers for our job search in Nashville!

The slides you will see are from our adventure across Utah! Starting at Bryce Canyon, we then drove to some other National Park to see the Castle Rock and Chimney Rock formations, and finally ending it with the Arches! We hit a pretty hellatious thunderstorm at the arches which was unbelievably beautiful! It was over quick so we could grab some shots. But anyway, enjoy the show and we will speak to everyone soon!

Unbelievable majesty...

We were able to see some of the most beautiful creations today! After sleeping through some light rain, in the warmth of our new sleeping bag, we ventured off to Zion National Park. It was absolutely breathtaking! We drove all the way through it and out the other side to a little town that is blessed to have these formations as their back yard! These will be some of the first pictures you see...

When we left the Park we headed south to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We went through several showers (and thunderstorms) before reaching the canyon. It kind of appeared out of no where... We were in the middle of a forest that resembled Oregon and then all of a sudden you come up to the canyon! On the way we were able to see some Bison! Super cool!

So the Grand Canyon was absolutely amazing! After leaving there we headed back north to Cannonville. We ran through more thunderstorms... We were worried we wouldn't be able to set up camp because the rain was so hard! But we did.

Enjoy the pictures! They are fabulous!

On the road again...

Day 3:

We froze last night! It got pretty cold in the tent so we decided to find a sports store to grab some goodies to help with warmth. Mind you, we are in Ely, Nv, three hundred and sixty something miles round trip to the nearest Wal-Mart! Travis was able to locate a little sporting goods store in downtown Ely where we were able to get a sleeping bag and some socks. We had to take a picture of the local cinema… You’ll see it in the pictures.

We finally got on the road and headed toward the Lehman Caves. We soon learned that dogs were not really welcome anywhere in the park around the caves. We knew that they wouldn’t actually be able to be in the caves, but there was no where near where we could even take them for boarding. We came across a family who had split up to view the caves and the husband/dad offered to keep an eye on them while we took the tour. Our pictures aren’t in any way a good depiction of what we saw.

After leaving the Lehman Caves we had a pretty long drive to Glendale, Ut. Rain was lingering overhead while we set up camp so we worked fast. Too fast actually! We got it set up and then we were like, “Now what?” So when we asked the lady manning the KOA office about the general area she chuckled and said have fun. With a rumbling in our tummy’s we headed off to check it out.

FYI Glendale, blink, it’s gone! So we drove a little further to a little town named Orderville. It looked quaint. We found a Soup shop where we grabbed some grub. As we were waiting for our food Travis happened upon a little book that described the history of this little town. Well, let’s just say it is one of those conversations we will have to have in person! Here’s a hint. It is derived from The Original Order…. Population 600!

And there was a little surprise for us while we were there! They were about to have the county rodeo so we were able to witness the Parade that was in honor of the kick off of the rodeo. Clowns, rodeo queens, and the local riffraff.

We got out of town as soon as that was over. You’ll see the video. Got back to camp, I beat Travis at Bocce, watched a movie, let the puppies chew some bones, and then passed out!

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"Today was fun... I got to drive over 100 mph in spots..." This was Travis's response when I said tell me about your day. Trust me, the road was very very very straight!

It has been a long day, but definitely a good one. We have seen lots of really cool scenery. When I'm driving through some of these places I can't help but think about how small I really am and how big this world is... God is good!

We are at camp right now in Ely, Nevada. We have intentions of visiting some caves tomorrow and the Great Basin. It will all depend on if the pups are allowed to stay nearby... We can't just take off and leave them in the cars!

Anyhow, sitting on our bed right now really considering falling asleep very soon!!! Roughing it is rough! (Not like we're really truly roughing it though, I am hooked up to wifi right now after all)

Note: Jake is definitely an inside dog.

So we're out...

Day 1 has been pretty easy going so far. We didn't make it out of town until 11:00 a.m. But we had a good drive. The dogs are resting peacefully before we introduce them to their extended dog family. That one will be interesting... They'll get to let out some pinned up energy. We will be staying in Reno tonight with Sheryl, Mark & Dani! Then hitting the road again tomorrow. Thanks again for all of the thoughts and prayers! We should have some more exciting pictures for tomorrow.

Instead of clicking play on the slideshow just click through with the arrows. If you click play it'll play too fast to read.

We are so blessed....

to have such a wonderful family and close network of friends. Yesterday Terry (aka Perry) & Jamy hosted a family BBQ for us departing crazy kids! It was amazing! Good times and great food! Thank you to everyone who was able to make it out... We love you all dearly!

Our Pre-Travel Adventures...

On Saturday, while having a fabulous breakfast at the Original Pancake House, we all of a sudden decided to head to Crater...

Within an hour we had a lunch packed, Izzy loaded up, gas in the rig and we took off!




Our first stop was the Newberry Lava Somethings :-) Look it up! It was super-d-duper cool!


After the lava lakes we stopped at Paulina Falls....






My favorite part of the day had to be crater! Even though I was beginning to sunburn super bad...