Traveling out of the Country with Dogs by @cedar.stream

I’m so excited to have Nathalie, Louis, & Parker from @cedar.stream on the blog today! They travel full-time in their 1969 Airstream Globetrotter. The pictures from all their travels are breathtaking! I know you’ll love them just as much as we do! Today Nathalie is going to share all about their experience crossing the Canadian border with their pup Parker.

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The first time I saw photos of the Canadian Rockies, specifically Banff National Park, I knew I needed to go. The mountains have always spoken to me and these particular ones looked phenomenal.

When we started making travel plans for summer 2018, some friends reached out wanting to meet up in Montana. This meant we would be a matter of minutes from the Canadian border. This was our chance to go north and explore those beautiful places we’d seen in photos.

But what about our sweet pup, Parker? I knew we couldn’t leave her behind.

I quickly started researching what it would take to bring a dog across the Canadian border. After reading a handful of web pages, we were excited to find we could bring Parker across and that she would be able to explore with us!

Here is a list of the top 3 things you should know when traveling across the Canadian Border with your pet:

1-Your pet needs to be vaccinated against rabies. The little tag on your pet’s collar doesn’t count, you’ll need the actual paper your veterinarian gave you the day of the shot. The paper will list: your pet’s name, breed, color, weight, and age; your vet’s contact information and license number; and lastly, the serial number for the vaccination and where it was manufactured. If you don’t have this paper call your vet and have them send you a copy before you reach the border. Pet vaccinations are required in both Canada and the US. You never know when you’ll be asked to show proof so be prepared by keeping a copy with you at all times.

2-Open bags of pet food can’t be brought across the Canadian border. Know how much your pet needs for the duration of the visit and bring a new, sealed bag that is no larger than 40 lbs. The US is a little more relaxed in regards to pet food so if you purchased the food in the US, you should be good to bring the rest back with you.

3-Research where you can or cannot bring your pet. Dogs are allowed on most trails in the Canadian National Parks. Make sure your pet stays on leash at all times. Leash laws are for the safety of your pet, wild life, and the beautiful land you’re exploring.

Now that you know the basics, I’ll tell you a little about our experience.

When we got to Montana I pulled out our folder of Parker’s paperwork. After flipping through it we noticed we had a paper saying which vaccines she had done, but it wasn’t “the rabies paper” we needed… crap.

The stress about whether our Canada trip would happen or not kicked in. I called our veterinarian first thing the next morning (just two days before we were supposed to cross the border) and was able to get a copy emailed to us within an hour. We were lucky to get a copy so quickly, however, I would not recommend putting it off until the last minute!

We were now fully prepared to cross the border. We knew all the rules and had a plan, yet I still felt so nervous! When we got to the Canadian border we rolled down our windows, even the back ones, so Parker could say hello. We had nothing to hide. We handed over our passports, had Parker’s rabies vaccination record in hand, and waited for the officer to ask questions. I don’t know why I was so anxious about crossing! It was so quick and easy.

We got into Canada, no problem. It was time to explore all the incredible lakes and mountains our hearts desired via kayak, hiking, hammock, and more, all with our little adventure pup by our side. We visited Banff, Jasper, and Yoho National Parks. They were all amazing and unique in their own ways. We met people from all over, who shared similar experiences of ease, bringing their furry friends on their travels.

If you are considering bringing your pet to Canada, don’t let crossing the border scare you. We experienced things seamlessly going both in and out. Parker enjoyed all the new places we went and we could sleep easily knowing she was by our side.

A little about @cedar.streams

We are Nathalie and Louis. We have been traveling full time in our self renovated, off-grid Airstream for a year and a half. Louis does carpentry work on the road, while Nathalie takes care of planning and documenting this big journey we call life. We boondocks everywhere we go to give ourselves, and our very adventurous dog, Parker, a chance to explore unique places and fully submerge ourselves in the outdoors.

To find Nathalie & Louis’ IG click HERE

For more cuteness from Parker search #Parkertheadventurepup on IG

The Pop Up Bed & Breakfast by @us3andtherv

I’m so excited to share with you Kelly & Andy from @us3andtherv. I love following along their travels and i’m in LOVE with their latest business venture, @thepopupbnb! I think you’ll love it just as much as we do. I mean who wouldn’t want to stay in this cute tent & have top notch service?!

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So the idea to start a full-service, glamping tent rental really came to us the same way the idea to live full-time, on the road in an RV did, out of pure necessity.  With the motorhome, we had hit a fork in the road as far as our careers and housing. At the time we were in a short-term rental that had run out and on the exact same day in which we were suppose to vacate the apartment or sign a new lease I found out I was being let go from my job.  Also happening at this time was the passing of my grandfather, who was the original owner of our RV, who we affectionately call “Homie”.  With no careers holding us back, no mortgage or lease keeping us stationary and the RV suddenly becoming available for purchase the signs all pointed to this solution.  Moving into the motorhome just seemed like the most logical solution and since we had just been married (and had not booked a honeymoon yet) we decided this would be the perfect time to do it!  So, without hesitation we sold our belongings and jumped into this full-time RV life head first.

We had been living in the motorhome for just over 1 year when the idea to start a glamping business came to us.  We had hosted a whole slew of friends and families coming to visit us on our travels and it didn’t take long to realize fitting extra bodies in a 33ft motorhome would be quite a struggle.  Our Homie girl is spacious but her limits have definitely been tested with our large gatherings, so we wanted to figure out something that would act as an extension of the motorhome.  Something that would solve our problem of not being able to comfortably host our visitors while also solving a completely separate problem of needing to generate income while traveling.  To be honest our first thought was a mobile vintage trailer that we could possibly tow behind the RV, but that just seemed like a lot more work than we were wanting to put into this idea.  It wasn’t until we were on a camping trip with some friends in Zion that we got our first glimpse of a CanvasCamp Bell Tent.  Our friends had one and we watched them set it up with ease and instantly knew, this would be the best solution to meet all of our needs.

Just like Homie, we purchased our 13.5 ft, all season, CanvasCamp Glamping tent to solve the issue of housing out of town friends and family but we also saw a potential income opportunity.  Insert ‘The Pop-Up BnB’, a full-service luxury camping experience.  Our love for camping in exotic places combined with the thrill of searching for those perfectly secluded sites really made us wish we had other people there to share it with.  We have stayed in some magnificently, breathtaking locations and we wanted to share that same magical feeling with other people.  Sometimes our guests have their own spots picked out that they would like their camp setup at and other times our guests solely rely on us to find them a spot that meets their needs.  No matter where the location they can ensure a care free, over the top, luxurious stay.  Our guests have hot meals delivered to their tent site, plush bedding, heaters and fans for temperature control and a plethora of add-on items to choose from, such as our “outdoor movie-night package”.  We want our guests to show up and relax, never having to lift a finger. So we do everything in our power to make that happen and so far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.  

Although this success has been wonderful and we feel extremely blessed, we still have a whole slew of hardships to tackle with this tent business.  Growing pains at any new startup are common and we are no different.  One of the biggest issues we have to continually tackle is the need for a large, open (and ideally flat) clearing to fit our tents 20 ft diameter.  Nature is not always so friendly in providing us with a perfect area, so we work with what is there and are continually coming up with ways to improve this issue.  Another battle to tackle in trying to run a glamorous camping experience in nature is dealing with the elements.  We don’t always have the best weather, so if it means setting the tent up in pouring rain, we do it.  We do our best to relay to our guests that this is a true camping experience and as such they could incur inclement weather in which they would be stuck inside the tent rather than exploring the area, like they had intended.  So far, our wonderful guests have rolled with every element and made the best out of the situation.  Which totally speaks to their rad personalities, but then again, if you book an overnight stay at a mobile tent in the middle of a secluded forest then you have to be pretty rad in the first place.  We have hosted bachelorette parties, romantic getaways, kids’ birthday parties and single travelers just looking for a “once in a lifetime” experience.  We hope to grow our business in 2019, though we are not entirely sure of what that looks like right now. I’m confident it will be unique and totally off beat, so stay tuned!

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HOW TO BOOK THE POP-UP: CLICK HERE

FOLLOW THE POP-UP BNB: CLICK HERE

FOLLOW KELLY & ANDYS TRAVEL/RV LIFE: CLICK HERE

Road School by @weelittlenomads

I’m so excited to share Mary from @weelittlenomads today. She was one of the very first accounts I started following when we were looking into Airstreams. I love following their family travels & hope to pass them on the road one day! They are in mid-renovation of a new trailer so make sure to go see their progress! - Colleen

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Making the decision to educate your children at home is momentous. It not only dictates the learning environment for your kids and their childhood experiences, but also your parenting schedule and strategy.

Now that we have this big ole ice cream Sunday in front of us called HOMESCHOOL- let’s just put a cherry on top by putting that school in motion on wheels and calling it ROADSCHOOL.

There are so many similarities between the two and many times they go hand-in-hand with curriculums and schedules, but there are also many differences. The most notable one is the lack of a permanent home-base. This creates challenges such as - library cards, sport leagues, subscription mail kits, and inability to form weekly learning groups or join co-op schools.

Instead of focusing on the closed windows, let’s focus on the doors that open for a child and parent that school on the road. 

1. Ability to travel to various points of interest and not only teaching something, but experiencing it. Lessons about different climates and land formations are more exciting when we can explore deserts, volcanos, and coastal regions. We can touch sea stars in tidal pools on the rocky Pacific Coast, and walk along the harsh terrain of the Arizona desert. We can color pictures of peninsulas and plateaus and then see the landscape with our own eyes - bringing geography and geology to life in unforgettable ways.

2. Nature at our doorstep, an ever-changing backyard. One day we are picking poppies and identifying the California wildflowers, and the next we are in the Pacific Northwest touching moss and fungi species on the rainforest floor. Nature studies is a very prominent part of our schooling journey because we are constantly outside exploring our new surroundings. National and State Parks are great roadschooling resources - with junior ranger programs making it fun and accessible for kids to learn about the wildlife in that area.

3. Cultural and Social skills flourish. I know what you are all thinking - but what about socialization?!? Won’t you raise an unsocialized weirdo living this way?! All I know is that my children are incredibly social and make friends everywhere we travel - they have learned how to communicate and create relationships that are respectful and culturally sensitive. If they do not enjoy the company of another child, they can walk away - they do not learn the ill behaviors of classmates - instead they form friendships at playgrounds, museums, and with fellow traveling families. They have strong bonds with their siblings and love to meet peers along the way.

4. Technology has come a long way. Online resources are available to fill in some of the gaps. We can do online art classes, music classes, math classes - you name it! We can download any book with a library card from our home state. Online subscriptions are available for National Geographic Kids Magazine or documentary series. The possibilities are endless! 

In fact, we created an online subscription for a human anatomy and physiology homeschool curriculum to fill in a science gap. My husband and I are both medical - he is an ICU nurse and I am a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. We wanted to create a simple lesson plan for families to learn about health and wellness. Each month introduces a new bodily system with a correlating disease or disorder; for instance, respiratory system and asthma lesson is month 1. It can easily be applied to homeschool and roadschool families alike because it is conveniently sent to your email at the start of each month with the downloadable PDFs and linked resources.

To learn more visit https://www.littlenomads.net/wee-little-learners/

I have learned so much from teaching my children on the road. It takes patience and perseverance and a large dose of flexibility. Here are my main takeaways from this type of education:

Let the travels be your guide to teaching - base your lessons on your surroundings. 

Don’t get weighed down by materials. School supplies are wonderful, but most of the time less is more.

Experience trumps worksheets. If you have to choose between your child sitting in a chair and writing 100 multiplication problems versus creating tiny boats to float down the nearby creek - always pick the latter. Kids learn through play! 

Mother Earth is the greatest teacher, let her do most of the work.

Most everything worth teaching is done outside of a desk. 

Visit us @weelittlenomads on instagram to follow our roadschool journey! 

Vist our website https://www.littlenomads.net

Journey to Jackson Hole | @honeysucklesweetlife

I’m so excited to share Tristen and her family with you! She is sharing her journey to Jackson Hole and some amazing photos! If you aren’t already following her on Instagram you need to, her pictures are always breathtaking. Make sure to check out her blog for yummy recipes, all about wellness, and adventure! @honeysucklesweetlife

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Our Journey to Jackson Hole

My husband and I were both raised in Southern California and our boys were both born there so our move to Jackson Hole, Wyoming this summer was a pretty big step for us. 

Our journey started 8 years ago when we went on a camping trip with my husband Darren’s family to Lake Arrowhead, Ca. We were tent camping with a three year old and a one year old and lets not forget the pack n play. We did this two years in a row. This situation was not ideal for me, however, this is when we realized how much we enjoyed the outdoor life and time out of the city. We had some good friends that had an RV and camped in comfort as I call it. I started looking into travel trailers since we had the car to pull one. I knew the layout I wanted after researching and I had a tight budget. I found a great used trailer that I updated a bit and we set out on our first big adventure to Yosemite with two other families. We had never owned a trailer and yet there we were dry camping in Yosemite for eight days! We had an amazing trip hiking, fishing, campfires and my oldest learned how to ride a bike there. And so began our RV adventure travel. 

Over the next couple of years we explored Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Redwoods and most of the California Coast from San Diego to Big Sur. We found ourselves trying to spend as much time as possible out of the city. Our life really changed when I planned a trip to Yellowstone and Jackson during the summer of 2015. We drove to West Yellowstone explored the park for a couple days then drove down to Jackson Hole. As we were driving into town all four of us had this overwhelming feeling we were going to love it. We stayed outside of town at a little ranch called Rockin M Ranch. I had researched all of things we should not miss while and Jackson and we packed it in! The Tetons, Rodeo, Persephone Bakery, hiking, floating on the Snake River, Horseback riding you name it we did it! 

Something changed when we got home from that trip and we started talking about moving from California. We looked at Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Wyoming. My husband just could not get the Tetons out of his system. We decided to head back to Jackson for Thanksgiving Break that same year. It was the coldest trip I have ever taken. We arrived to negative 9 temps and so much snow. It was 75 when we left So Cal. After that week I was not sure I was feeling Jackson anymore other than for vacation. By the following spring Darren was still all things Jackson Hole. He would wake up and have his coffee to the webcam in Jackson and he had subscribed to all of the online platforms. He was checked out of Southern California. We had taken Colorado and Oregon off of our list at this point so it was down to Jackson and Boise. I felt like I needed to spend more time in Jackson other than just a week here and there to really see if I could live here. That is when I had the idea to spend the summer in Jackson in the trailer. Darren thought I was nuts at first but quickly jumped on board. He works from home so we found a co op office space in the square where he could work, we sold our 24 foot trailer and upgraded to our brand new 32 foot trailer with slide out, found a house sitter for our home in California and hit the road. 

We parked the trailer at the Fireside RV resort for the next eight weeks. In the morning the boys and I would drop Darren off in the square to work and we would go play. We would go to the parks in town, ride bikes, and skip rocks. At the end of the day we pick up Darren and grab a pizza or pack a picnic and head into Grand Teton national park for the evening since it does not get dark until 10 pm! I spent the summer watching my boys just be boys and have a freedom they did not have at home. I was sold. I toured schools and made plans. One of the hardest things we had to do that summer was go home. None of us wanted to leave. As we drove into LA my oldest said “ mom look at all of the pollution”! It was crazy after spending so much time in the most beautiful place just how changed we were. 

Our plan was to move to Jackson the next summer however that was not the same plan the universe had. Corporate America and mergers and acquisitions derailed us for a year. We spent one more year in California than we had planned while we rebuilt and recovered. Early this year we started working with an agent who would FaceTime us houses to rent and on June 28th this past summer we set off for our new life in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We moved into our home July 1st. This was three years in the making. 

We have learned that the life you want is worth fighting for and maybe it won’t come easy. We have learned that as long as the four of us are together we are ok. Even though this is the life we craved is it perfect? 

 For me this journey has been bitter sweet. Yes, I wanted this move but change is hard. Leaving my mom in California and all of my friends has been incredibly hard. I was the President of the parent association, Team mom for sports and very social. I am starting over at 44. The boys wanted this move and they love Jackson but there are so many adjustments in a new school and a new place. We are all finding our way and growing so much. I have discovered a passion for photography and I am more at piece then I may have ever been. We live in the moment rather than never having a moment. We are looking forward to ski and snowboard season and I am going to try to embrace all things winter! We have spring and summer trips planned in the trailer to Moab, Arches, Canyon Lands, Glacier, Banff, Olympic and the Oregon coast. And lets not forget a California Christmas to see family and friends and defrost! 

When Colleen asked me to write this article I thought it was important and might help someone else with their journey. Never give up on your goals and dreams!! 

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Ways to find Tristen..

IG: @honeysucklesweetlife

Blog: https://honeysuckle.me

Meet @RVFIXERUPPER | Steve and Trina

I am so excited to have our first guest post on our website! Thanks so much for the support. I can’t wait for you to hear from Trina @rvfixerupper. If you haven’t stumbled upon her Instagram you need to! How she transforms RVs is a work of art! Absolutely stunning! Without further ado here she is ->

Steve and I (Trina) have been together for 9 years and married for 7 years.  We are both born and raised in Alaska and have lived in Phoenix for 5 years.  Steve's background is in road construction and for the first 3 years we lived in Phoenix, we traveled back to Alaska for his job during the summers.  The "season" runs from May until October and then shuts down for the year because of freeze up.  That was the beginning of our journey of living tiny.  We had a 32 ft. travel trailer that we lived in so Steve could be mobile with his job.  I started to look at our RV so differently because for those months it was our "home."  I slowly started removing things that felt like an RV (wallpaper border, ugly bedding, ugly pillows, etc.) and began adding things like lamps, art, and beautiful bedding.  It was amazing the way it changed the entire feel of the trailer.  

Rewind to last year...we love to camp and decided we wanted to buy another RV to camp in with our family.  We knew we wanted a fifth wheel, as I love the high ceilings and Steve loves the maneuverability of them.  We found one that had the perfect floor plan!  The only problem was everything that was inside of it was awful!  We gutted the whole thing and replaced everything with things I would put in a sticks and bricks home.  There weren't many people out there that had done an RV renovation at this level, so there wasn't a lot of information on the internet or Instagram to draw from.  Our background is in construction and design so we applied those skills to the RV and we were very happy with the result.  We started showing people the RV and the response was incredible!  We knew the only way to find out if there was a market for renovated RV's was to test the market, so we put our RV up for sale and it sold.  We had several people contact us about wanting more information on the process of flipping them as they were also interested in flipping. In the last year, it has really exploded as more and more people are choosing to live tiny in RV's.  I love answering people's questions and helping them through the renovation process as it usually ends up being a lot more work than people anticipate.  RV's present challenges that sticks and bricks homes don't, that's probably why I love designing and renovating them so much! They start out so horrible (no matter what year they are) and end up being GORGEOUS! 

One of the most difficult things for us in the renovation process is battling the Phoenix heat in the summer.  Ideally, we hope to get to the point where we only renovate in the fall and winter and take the summer to explore the country in our own RV.  My advice to anyone wanting to renovate an RV is hire out the painting!  You'll be so glad you did.

We are excited to be a part of the tiny home community, it's a special group of people that look at life a little bit differently than mainstream America.  Transforming these RV's into beautiful tiny homes that people can live in full time or camp in on the weekends is really special.  I love showing people that you don't have to have a sticks and bricks house to be able to make it your own and make it a home you're really proud of to share with your friends and family.

Seriously, can you believe those are RV’s? If you aren’t already following along on Instagram & Facebook, I will link them below!

For Instagram click HERE | For facebook click HERE

Make sure to subscribe for next weeks guest post from @afrominimalist! If you think you have anything you’d like to write a guest post on please contact us on our contact page! Thanks for the love & support!

Zach & Colleen Cashio @steadystreamincashios