This summer, my wife and I embarked on a forty-day journey across the country in our Nissan Rogue named Merlin. We drove over 10,000 miles, visited twenty-two states, climbed mountains and toured Death Valley, and visited every (land-accessible) National Park in California. I’m not saying this to brag — we simply prioritize epic adventures in our lifestyle, trying to accomplish journeys of this scope at least once every five years. And if you plan appropriately and travel intelligently, you don’t necessarily need to break the bank.

For a quick Thoughtful Thursday, I want to touch on the value of adventure.

Let it be said that I am a person who prioritizes these experiences in life, and travel and wandering have been a through-line in my story. I’ve moved over sixteen times, lived in nine different states and been to all fifty, toured the country in a band, and even deployed overseas. I’ve had 7-11 squid snacks in Japan and bull testicles in Colorado. I’ve always felt at home with just a backpack and a backwards hat.

Now, this isn’t just about me. Here’s a Mark Twain quote about travel, older than everyone living in society today:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

Traveling opens our eyes to a diverse spectrum of living and experience, and if you’re mindful and observant, it teaches us invaluable lessons on how to live. I’ve found that while our modes and means of living vary wildly, people are people across every corner of this earth. We love, we hate, we like dirty jokes, we compete, we covet, and we betray one another everywhere a human draws breath. But as we increase our understanding of each other, a natural empathy tends to grow in the gardens of our souls. As we share laughs and smiles, meals, language, and more, our commonality and comradery grows among fellow travelers of this life.

In our modern world, travel can be expensive, or at least there is an illusion of expense. Because we have access to expensive lifestyles on TV, social media, magazines, etc., many people have a skewed perception of what a vacation looks like. While some folks may be able to afford luxury vacations, most of us would be fools to charter private jets and rent Spanish villas. Your travels don’t need to look like that, but the less money you spend, the more creative, tough, and frugal you will need to be.

Here are a couple tips for traveling on a budget:

1. Camp — Staying at hotels or an Airbnb gets expensive after a few nights, especially in priority locations. Consider orienting your trip to camp for your nightly accommodations. Not only will you save hundreds of dollars, but it’s a great way to meet like-minded folks who have traveled the world/country. If the fifteen-to-forty-dollar price tag isn’t enough to convince you, consider what a badass you’ll be for camping in nature. And how you camp is entirely up to you — you can glamp at a KOA or stay in the backcountry of a National Park or anywhere in between. Some crazy climbers even camp in hanging tents secured in crannies on the cliff face. Yikes. Any way you cut it, camping could save you hundreds of dollars on any trip.
2. Preplan — Now, I don’t do a lot of this. I’ve been blessed to be quick on my feet and make friends easily, so I rarely plan to the level my wife does. But the combination of our travel skillsets makes us a perfect team on our journeys. My wife plans so much that she has daily itineraries during our travels, usually with preplanned stops, food ideas, and points of interest. Because I like to follow my heart and nose (and stomach lol), she leaves room on the itinerary for improv, and is always willing to change course if we find something better/more interesting/less inconvenient along the way. When you do this, you don’t need to buy your way out of situations, and you have a pretty good idea of your expense plan beforehand. As a side note, we plan a lot of outdoor excursions, because parks and nature tend to be free or cheap most of time.
3. Stay With Friends — Self-explanatory. Most of us have made a few friends in this life, some of which have moved or relocated a number of times. Maybe you just have online friends. Either way, ask your support network for support — you might be surprised who’d be stoked to host you. My wife and I love hosting our traveling friends, especially the ones who are fun, interesting, and grateful.
4. Be Sociable and Make New Friends — People who are on the road tend to be a bit more worldly than their static counterpart and will often strike up conversation with strangers. Be the person you want to encounter yourself. Talk to people, compliment them (in a non-predatory way obviously), ask them about their travels, whatever. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met locals who have given me inside secrets or even invited me to dinner. I’ve had folks pay for my meals, give me free extra-curriculars (a Californian politician, no less), and share communion and company. A lot of folks are hesitant to talk to strangers more than ever, but I reject that notion. You can absolutely meet and talk to new people in a safe and respectful way — just get out there and do it. Fail a few times, I promise it gets easier and is so worth it.

There are obviously more tips I could give, but I’ll keep it short. So, get out there and adventure more! Stop making excuses for the trips you want to take and the things you want to do in this life! JUST DO IT!

As one additional note, it can be difficult to find huge swathes of time off in the modern work world. I have purposefully sought jobs and a life on the edges of society, positions that give me the freedom to take weeks off at a time on a dime. This last adventure we took was in the middle of our move across the country after my wife’s advanced schooling and right before mine. If travel and adventures of magnitude and length are important to you, consider letting your employer know your interests, or move laterally in the work force and find a new job. Funemployment is a great time to take huge trips — a friend of mine recently went to Denver, Cambodia/Vietnam, San Francisco, and on a local camping trip, all between legitimate employment ventures.

Find something that works for you if you care to make adventuring your priority. And it should be a priority, because it will unequivocally enrich your life.

Stay frosty,

Kbat