ALL ABOUT GUS & US
To begin, we want to thank everyone who is choosing to support our blog and follow along on our journey. We’ve received incredible support from the beginning and we couldn’t do this without you! We are so happy you are here and that we get to share this life adventure with you all.
With that being said, let’s jump into the blog.
It’s easiest to understand our decision to make a Gus-centered blog with some background provided. I will give you the SparkNotes version as best I can!
Gus came into our lives in 2017 in sort of a love-at-first-sight situation.
We found him at the local animal shelter in Franklin, Indiana, where we were told he was “not ready to be adopted” and that he would need an adjustment period before the adoption was considered. We were heartbroken but hopeful that he would be a part of our lives one day.
We received a phone call from the shelter less than a day later that Gus had been taken. No other context was provided, but our first assumption was that he was adopted. We were confused, to say the least, but did not give up knowing Gus was the one for us. Stephen took matters into his own hands and did a deep search online for dachshund-beagle mixes in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. In under 24 hours after the call - Stephen found a dog about 45 minutes away from us that matched the description of Gus at a dog rescue facility. He sent over an email to the dog rescue and they graciously put him on hold for our adoption. We couldn’t believe it! On November 10, 2017, Gus officially joined the family and changed our lives forever – to say the least.
In no time we realized how unique he was. We call him our adventure dog. He’s ready for anything – at any moment, all the time. He’s so fun, cuddly, and loving. But also protective, driven, and fierce. He likes fireworks, ice cream, and mint (all things he shouldn’t) and hates cheap dog food, lukewarm water, and sitting on hard floors. He loves being on the move and exploring new places! He’s been with us through it all: college, marriage, and a cross-country move. He is incredibly adaptable and always rolls with the punches. After I graduated college in 2020, Stephen and I made the biggest life change yet – we moved across the country to Phoenix, Arizona. Our move was in the middle of the summer when temps were nearly 120 degrees. He handled it like a champ and once winter rolled around we realized how much life in the valley of the sun had to offer. We were eager to show him around our new home and did just that!
Gus climbing Flat Iron in Lost Dutchman State Park.
Life in Arizona was filled with more adventure and travel than we ever had experienced before. Hiking, camping, and exploring quickly filled our free time. Occasionally we would post what we were up to on Facebook and we always received an overwhelmingly positive response from our friends and family. The number of people that were telling us how much they loved our photos of our travels sparked the idea to launch a blog! We were excited to share what we were up to with everyone, but never went after it the way we should because actually going out of our way to start up a blog was just too much work. We told ourselves month after month that we needed to get it up and running and have even owned the domain for years ready to do something with it.
One of our most popular images during our trip to the Grand Canyon in 2021.
It’s so easy to let the excuses fill up; unfortunately, we let it go on for years.
But that’s why we are here now. To inspire. To share. To remind you that you can do anything you dream of. We are just a couple of mid-20-year-olds with a dream that we are determined to accomplish. We don’t have a crazy amount of money. We don’t have a fancy van. Just a Toyota Prius that we are making work for us. Why? Because we don’t want life to pass us by with all the things we wanted to do. We have the health and ability to do it now and we need to take advantage of that. The least we can do is work with what we have and live the life we have imagined for years. We are so glad we made the decision to go for it now! We are the happiest we’ve ever been and have no plan to end this nomadic lifestyle anytime soon.
Our old Toyota Prius Camper set up when we first started traveling
So that’s why we are here. We want to be a go-to resource for our friends, family, and followers all about attainable travel around the country. We are doing this with a small budget, a small dog, and a big goal. We can’t wait to share with everyone all that we have done so far and what we will be up to in the future!
Over the next few weeks, we are going to share all about what we have been up to this last month exploring California! Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to stay up to date on our posts.
Thank you for following along! :)
- Autumn, Stephen, & Gus