by Amanda Barnard | Jul 3, 2020 | Everything Else, Jeeps on the Rock
We are leaving for a jeep adventure trip soon! Our first stop will still be in Texas. When you live on one side of Texas and you need to another state on the opposite side of the state, you will still be in the same state.
ARE WE IN THE SAME COUNTRY?
Traveling across Texas is like traveling to another country. We take a family vacation every year and for about 10 years now, it has been to Georgia. When entering Texas via I-20W, the first mile marker is 635. So to travel to other side of the state, it will take many hours or days depending on your excursion habits.
I love to travel. I blame my parents. We navigated through much of the eastern half of the United States during my younger years. But I haven’t seen much of the west.
I am fortunate enough to have seen so many things that other people only dream about, but yet there is still so much to experience. For this exploit, we will venture across Texas to New Mexico, where we will visit family.
FAMILY IS EVERYTHING
Then we will shoot up through the edge of Arizona – a state I haven’t been to yet. But I’ll take what I can get. Then to our stop at Moab, Utah – also another state I haven’t been to.
We will remain in Utah for several days, where we will meet up with some friends and venture out for some trail running and rock-crawling in our jeeps! It is going to be SO FUN!
After that, Brad and I will make a couple of day pit stop in Colorado, on our way home, for a few more trails.
I am super excited, because our goals include several Jeep Badge of Honor Trails. Do you know about this program? If not, you should look into it!
I hope you decide to follow along and check out some of these adventures with us!
by Amanda Barnard | Oct 14, 2019 | Everything Else, Financial, Jeeps on the Rock, Motivation
I’m excited about the videos that Brad and I have been working on. I told him that I didn’t care if no one enjoyed the videos but me. I have been, and will continue to, appreciate them!
There is no real list of essentials for video equipment, but I can tell you what we have used. I can also say that you can create videos on a small budget, whether it be for fun, or if you have hopes for it to explode.
THE EQUIPMENT
We decided to vlog our family vacation this year, we used an old iphone 6s, that is no longer connected cellularly, as well as a couple of our own current iphones. We also have a Canon EOS 77D DSLR, a DJI Mavic Air drone , and a Gimbal Stabilizer for iPhone.
Just a side note, I am going to say that I absolutely HATE the Gimbal. It seems like it goes haywire and is squirrely. Flipping around like a hamster in the wheel. Maybe it is because I haven’t used it a lot.
But for the record, probably greater than 90% of our entire family video was shot with the iphone 6s.
Then, when we took the Jeep to New Mexico, we filmed everyday to have travel video content. A couple of our friends came along and had a GoPro Hero 7. We were VERY impressed with how stable the footage was, no matter where we placed it.
I had bought a phone kit dash mount from Amazon to put in the cubby on our dash. The camera mount held the GoPro nicely and the footage was not shaky. We also used a suction cup mount on the outside of the window of the Jeep and the film product was 4K resolution, again very stable.
WHERE DO I BEGIN?
I have said and continue to say – start here, go anywhere. Figure out where you are in your journey, and what you want the end result to be. Steven Covey wrote a book called – “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“. The second thing he talks about is to begin with the end in mind.
I heard someone recently talking about a friend visiting Will Smith. He had a window wall with sticky notes all over it. The friend asked what all of it meant and why? Will Smith went on to tell him that it was scenes to his next movie.
Bewildered, his friend asked, “how in the world to you know where to place it all or the order?”
Will said, “oh that part’s easy! I start with the final scene and work backwards!”
My daughter, Savannah, is a make up artist AND she is really good! She has made a few videos with nothing more than her iPhone and iMovie. Check her stuff out here.
THE BUDGET
So if you’re looking for video equipment on a dime or if your budget is more non-existent, get that phone out and get going! Then budget some money and little by little add to your collection, build as you go.
Good luck! I hope to see your content out there soon!
This site may contain affiliate links which may be monetized at no cost to you, For instance, if you link through to Amazon, I may get a kick back for it, but it will in no way change the original cost of any item. So if you happen to shop through my links, thanks in advance for your support! ~Amanda
by Amanda Barnard | Oct 7, 2019 | Everything Else, Jeeps on the Rock
So now what? We have a Jeep and there are so many adventures to take! Our maiden voyage = NEW MEXICO!
Our original plan was a trip to Colorado, but some health issues stood in the way. Brad, nor I had ever been to New Mexico and after much research (mostly on Brad’s part), we found this to be attainable.
After much mapping was accomplished, this just the type of venture Brad had always wanted to take. While I had much input for each night’s destination, it took effort from us both.
We talked out the possibilities, along with the current life factors, and started planning. Most of our adventure was to include some off-roading in the Jeep.
There is so much to see in the beauty of all that God has created. I know many people who enjoy traveling the world. I have had the opportunity to travel outside of the United States, but I have always been of the mind-set that there is so much right here in our own back yard, that most of us will live our lifetimes and never witness a fraction. This excursion covered 2300 miles in less than a week and, yes we were fortunate to experience many places, we still missed so much.
DAY 1
Expeditions are always fun with friends, so our first day of travel included an airport stop, then on to Midland, Texas for some sleep. The land in West Texas is extremely flat. My travels had not taken me that far West, so this was new terrain. As far as the eye, could see…. flat land, oil, and gas.
DAY 2
On to New Mexico! Day 2 included a visit to Roswell, New Mexico – the home of an alien crash and the former, Walker Air Force Base. Then on to Socorro, New Mexico for some sleep because the next day would be a busy one. I found “District 2”, but Katniss Everdeen was no where to be found.
DAY 3
Every day was given to early rising and late nights and day 3 would be no exception. But the enjoyment of this day would not disappoint! Our first stop was to the VLA – Very Large Array. Then on to the Quebradas Back Country Byway for some off-roading. We did make a mini stop at the road to Box Canyon, where we realized our gas wouldn’t hold out to explore here. So we shall save it for another trip, maybe after we are able to get our rooftop tent, because this area is jam-packed full of things to do.
DAY 4
After all the previous day had to offer, this is the day we woke up in Alamogordo, New Mexico. I want to stop here and make mention that we have a cluster of amazing National Parks in the United 
States. As I have already mentioned, our own garden has so much to offer! Our first stop was WhiteSands National Monument. Today would include lunch in at L&J Cafe in El Paso, Texas for some authentic Mexican food and to see where the United States and Mexico meet. After an interesting trek from 92 degrees to 62 degrees, over the mountains, we would find our way back to NM and land In Carlsbad, for the night.
DAY 5
Today a visit to Carlsbad Caverns was on the agenda, then we would start the journey home. 
Before we ventured the path to the caverns, we made a pit stop, just in time to see some Bighorns at the entrance up on the ridge. The caverns have many tour opportunities, but we chose the self-guided. But who knew a course that is set to take 1-1.5hrs, would turn into more than 4. Anyone remember Gilligan’s Island and the “3 hour tour“? lol
DAY 6
At the conclusion of the massive miles traveled, we found our way home to the sweetest babies and our precious children, who spouted the perception of abandonment, as cell phone service was completely, non-existent for hours on end and sketchy at best, even at our sleeping quarters.
REFLECTION
Even more now, I recognize the vastness of the beauty around me. Living off the grid (for a short time and as long as I could take my kids and grand babies), wouldn’t be so bad. Traveling is still always fascinating and I am certainly looking forward to foray the next endeavor.
Check out the first video of our West Texas/Southeast New Mexico Adventure and stay tuned for more adventures!
