The first stop will be in Moab, Utah. after reconnoitering in Washington, the pair started rolling their way east with a car packed to the brim with a bicycle, snow tires, winter clothing, large and small backpacks, a box or two of food, and two excitable life forms.
The couple made camp in G-loop, one of Kevin's good friend's favorite places on earth. Surrounded by slickrock, they lay their heads down in a campsite made out of a large crack in the rocks, and awoke to a bright blue sky and some adventuring in the Utah Desert.
Being short on time, the two decided to see what it was like to "only have one afternoon to spend in a national park" like so many visitors are silly enough to schedule into their trip.
They drove over to the Needles district of the Canyonlands National Park, and decided they should go for a little hike out into the wilderness.
they didn't start until 3:30 in the afternoon, and thought they would just go for a little while, turn back, and make some dinner.
excitement got the better of them, and they ended up hiking a bit longer than they thought.
Finally, after 14 miles, some of it by moonlight, the two made it back to camp and slept well under the stars, waking up to another beautiful day, another breakfast on the road, and some more adventuring down the highway in......
Tasha and Kevin met up with Iris, whom they met and worked with at a butterfly conservatory in Costa Rica last winter. Living in Albuquerque, Iris pretty much had to hop over to Santa Fe and visit while they were in town.
Tasha's Aunt was hosting a family reunion outside of town, and much of Tasha's extended family was in town for the event.
Tasha's cousin, Megan, and her partner, Fitz, took our friends on a fall hike through the aspens up near one of the ski mountains outside of Santa Fe.
Tasha misplaced the camera for a little while, and soon discovered it had crawled up into one of the aspens above her.
Back at Aunt Sally's house, Megan holds Tasha's second cousin, Sadie, as the sun begins to set in the distance.
and then OMG!!!!!! Snow white (played by Uncle Bill's son's girlfriend) knocks on the door, toting apples, balloon animals, and a yellow dress to boot!
After the good times and happy hugs, it was time to get on the road again, and head north into Colorado.
Tasha and Kevin stuck mostly to secondary roads that wound them up through the mountains, past more of the changing aspens.
They stopped for the night in Fairplay, Colorado, where Tasha's uncle Buzzy and his wife Peggy have this small cabin. Peggy and Buzz were kind enough to lend our travelers a key to get in and spend the night on their way north to Rocky Mountain National Park.
The next day, Tasha and Kevin were on top of the world. Well, on top of one of the highest paved road in North America, anyway. They got a nice couple from Missouri to take their picture at this roadside pullout on Trail Ridge Road that winds up and over the top of Rocky Mountain National Park.
It was quite the view, and provided an excellent preamble into Estes Park, where Tasha had made arrangements to get a tour of the Eagle Rock School, an alternative high school program for students struggling in traditional settings.
On a hike in the park, Tasha fell in love with this old piece of mining equipment, and told Kevin she was leaving him for her new, steamy lover.
After the temperatures dropped that evening, Tasha came crawling back, begging to be let into the tent.
After leaving Estes, the pair zipped on down the mountain through Boulder and Denver, to Littleton, Colorado to spend a night with Peggy and Buzz and their puppy-producing dog, Khaki.
Peggy and Buzz have a wonderful view from their porch of a sculpted sandstone state park.
Then off and up through the corner of Colorado to the cowboy capital of the west, Ogallala, Nebraska. (above, the tradition lives on as three cowgirls rustle across the prairie)
Kevin had his own mini-family reunion here with his grandmother, cousins, second cousins, uncles and aunts. Above, Tasha and Alyssa (Kevin's second cousin), at a soccer game for two of Kevin's other second cousins, Jadyn and Peyton (the orange cowgirls from before. 
After leaving the safety of grandma's house, the pair pushed north into South Dakota, and through the Pine Ridge Indian reservation to Scenic, South Dakota, the backdoor-entrance to Badlands National Park.
There were plenty of heffalumps and wide open sky in the badlands. 
She also hearts this coyote, trotting through the prairie.
On and down the road they went. One night in South Dakota, another in Minneapolis with an old wilderness-therapy friend (Bobcat) of Tasha's, and it was on to the U.P. of Michigan and the Mackinaw bridge down into the mitten.
An evening meal along Lake Superior before the bridge gave the couple a pleasant sunset, and some energy to push on a little farther into the night.
Kevin found this anchor and tried to pull it back to the campsite, but wasn't able to get it very far using the technique shown above.
After a weekend of walking along the beach, sleeping, reading, and catching up, it was time to head back to Vermont and unload into...
The Biggs house!! Complete with wreath and Black Walnut tree standing against the bright blue sky, this is where Kevin and Tasha call home for now. Kevin's sister lives about 5 miles down the road, and his folks had plenty of spare bedrooms for the pair and the occasional friend.
Plus a barrel for backyard fires and, perhaps most importantly for Kevin, a shed for all his tools and projects.
Just down the street (literally just down the street 4 houses or so) is the congregational church. in which Kevin's Father, Melvin, maintains the clock in the steeple of the church that is hooked to a Paul Revere Bell, and chimes the time every hour.
Kevin's mother works as a special education teacher at the school in Norwich, only 2 houses down the street.
The town green is home to a small ice skating rink, and doubles as the school playground.
The Norwich Inn, a small hotel/restaurant/brew-pub is down the street and around the corner. They have a few of their own microbrews on tap, as well as some killer sweet potato fries.
Dan and Whit's general store is a legend in the area with the saying "If we don't have it, you don't need it". They carry everything from cut meats to drywall screws to socks to shovels and sleds. they even have boots and workpants upstairs. If they don't have it, you probably seriously don't need it.
This is Kevin's mother, receiving a little snuggle time from her son.
And of course, Ryan Morra is always near at hand. As a guest in many of the past Blog publications, Ryan is seen here riding the "Pimp Mobile", one of kevin's early high-school creations.
A heavily modified Minibike, the Pimp-mobile is powered by a 5hp Briggs and Stratton engine, hidden in the pink body and hooked to the dual chrome exhaust pipes in back.
Kevin and Ryan both worked for the Green Mountain Club, protecting and maintaining the nation's oldest long-distance hiking trail, Vermont's Long Trail.
In the fall, Kevin, Tasha and Ryan hiked up Camel's Hump Mountain (seen in the background), Vermont's second highest peak at just over 4,000'
Kevin's only friend left in town is Sarah Herr, seen here with Tasha. She's a farmer in the summer and a waitress in the winter, and is one of the few who can be described as genuinely good people.
Kevin's sister, (also named Sarah) works for the King Arthur Flour Company in Norwich, Vermont. KAF is an employee-owned company, and after working there for 7 years, Sarah has finally become "vested" in all of her shares of teh company (which means she owns all of them). Kevin and Tasha both worked in the KAF warehouse over the holidays, helping to ship out orders all across the country.
At this year's holiday party, Sarah was officially "vested" in front of the company, where she received an actual vest.
After the holiday rush, Kevin took a job doing tree work (this photo is from last year, but you get the point), and Tasha continued on at the warehouse for a few more weeks before taking a job waiting tables at a local restaurant. 
doing things like building this snow cave with a snowblower and tractor, and then hollowing it out with shovels and a sled.
to make a giant snow cave!!!!
they have been periodically hitting the slopes at the small local ski hills,
and going on winter hikes with new friends!!
Here, Tasha and Kevin climb up Mt. Ascutney with Nick (a friend from the KAF warehouse), and his partner, Mandi.
The storms this winter have kept the roads interesting, though the infrastructure of the the northeast keeps them cleared amazingly well.
not to mention the deck.
So that's what's what for now. Plenty of snow and ice up in the north country to keep the pair busy, plus a woodstove to warm up in front of and scheme plans for new adventures to come.
The couple made camp in G-loop, one of Kevin's good friend's favorite places on earth. Surrounded by slickrock, they lay their heads down in a campsite made out of a large crack in the rocks, and awoke to a bright blue sky and some adventuring in the Utah Desert.
Being short on time, the two decided to see what it was like to "only have one afternoon to spend in a national park" like so many visitors are silly enough to schedule into their trip.
They drove over to the Needles district of the Canyonlands National Park, and decided they should go for a little hike out into the wilderness.
they didn't start until 3:30 in the afternoon, and thought they would just go for a little while, turn back, and make some dinner.
excitement got the better of them, and they ended up hiking a bit longer than they thought. 
Finally, after 14 miles, some of it by moonlight, the two made it back to camp and slept well under the stars, waking up to another beautiful day, another breakfast on the road, and some more adventuring down the highway in......
Tasha and Kevin met up with Iris, whom they met and worked with at a butterfly conservatory in Costa Rica last winter. Living in Albuquerque, Iris pretty much had to hop over to Santa Fe and visit while they were in town.
Tasha's Aunt was hosting a family reunion outside of town, and much of Tasha's extended family was in town for the event.
Tasha's cousin, Megan, and her partner, Fitz, took our friends on a fall hike through the aspens up near one of the ski mountains outside of Santa Fe.
Tasha misplaced the camera for a little while, and soon discovered it had crawled up into one of the aspens above her.
Back at Aunt Sally's house, Megan holds Tasha's second cousin, Sadie, as the sun begins to set in the distance.
and then OMG!!!!!! Snow white (played by Uncle Bill's son's girlfriend) knocks on the door, toting apples, balloon animals, and a yellow dress to boot!
After the good times and happy hugs, it was time to get on the road again, and head north into Colorado.
Tasha and Kevin stuck mostly to secondary roads that wound them up through the mountains, past more of the changing aspens.
They stopped for the night in Fairplay, Colorado, where Tasha's uncle Buzzy and his wife Peggy have this small cabin. Peggy and Buzz were kind enough to lend our travelers a key to get in and spend the night on their way north to Rocky Mountain National Park.
The next day, Tasha and Kevin were on top of the world. Well, on top of one of the highest paved road in North America, anyway. They got a nice couple from Missouri to take their picture at this roadside pullout on Trail Ridge Road that winds up and over the top of Rocky Mountain National Park.
It was quite the view, and provided an excellent preamble into Estes Park, where Tasha had made arrangements to get a tour of the Eagle Rock School, an alternative high school program for students struggling in traditional settings.
On a hike in the park, Tasha fell in love with this old piece of mining equipment, and told Kevin she was leaving him for her new, steamy lover.
After the temperatures dropped that evening, Tasha came crawling back, begging to be let into the tent.
After leaving Estes, the pair zipped on down the mountain through Boulder and Denver, to Littleton, Colorado to spend a night with Peggy and Buzz and their puppy-producing dog, Khaki.
Peggy and Buzz have a wonderful view from their porch of a sculpted sandstone state park. 
Then off and up through the corner of Colorado to the cowboy capital of the west, Ogallala, Nebraska. (above, the tradition lives on as three cowgirls rustle across the prairie)
Kevin had his own mini-family reunion here with his grandmother, cousins, second cousins, uncles and aunts. Above, Tasha and Alyssa (Kevin's second cousin), at a soccer game for two of Kevin's other second cousins, Jadyn and Peyton (the orange cowgirls from before. 
After leaving the safety of grandma's house, the pair pushed north into South Dakota, and through the Pine Ridge Indian reservation to Scenic, South Dakota, the backdoor-entrance to Badlands National Park.
There were plenty of heffalumps and wide open sky in the badlands. 
She also hearts this coyote, trotting through the prairie.
On and down the road they went. One night in South Dakota, another in Minneapolis with an old wilderness-therapy friend (Bobcat) of Tasha's, and it was on to the U.P. of Michigan and the Mackinaw bridge down into the mitten.
An evening meal along Lake Superior before the bridge gave the couple a pleasant sunset, and some energy to push on a little farther into the night. Apparently their camera got lost for a little while, and we will have to use our imaginations for the campsite they poached in Michigan, the friends they visited in Ithaca, NY, and for the final leg of the drive through New York and Vermont. As plans had it, though, that was not to be the terminus of their Journey... Kevin's family had already made plans to go camping in Maine for the weekend, and so Tasha and Kevin decided to hop on the bandwagon and keep heading east!
Kevin found this anchor and tried to pull it back to the campsite, but wasn't able to get it very far using the technique shown above.
After a weekend of walking along the beach, sleeping, reading, and catching up, it was time to head back to Vermont and unload into...
The Biggs house!! Complete with wreath and Black Walnut tree standing against the bright blue sky, this is where Kevin and Tasha call home for now. Kevin's sister lives about 5 miles down the road, and his folks had plenty of spare bedrooms for the pair and the occasional friend.
Plus a barrel for backyard fires and, perhaps most importantly for Kevin, a shed for all his tools and projects.
Just down the street (literally just down the street 4 houses or so) is the congregational church. in which Kevin's Father, Melvin, maintains the clock in the steeple of the church that is hooked to a Paul Revere Bell, and chimes the time every hour.
Kevin's mother works as a special education teacher at the school in Norwich, only 2 houses down the street.
The town green is home to a small ice skating rink, and doubles as the school playground.
The Norwich Inn, a small hotel/restaurant/brew-pub is down the street and around the corner. They have a few of their own microbrews on tap, as well as some killer sweet potato fries.
Dan and Whit's general store is a legend in the area with the saying "If we don't have it, you don't need it". They carry everything from cut meats to drywall screws to socks to shovels and sleds. they even have boots and workpants upstairs. If they don't have it, you probably seriously don't need it.
This is Kevin's mother, receiving a little snuggle time from her son. 
And of course, Ryan Morra is always near at hand. As a guest in many of the past Blog publications, Ryan is seen here riding the "Pimp Mobile", one of kevin's early high-school creations.
A heavily modified Minibike, the Pimp-mobile is powered by a 5hp Briggs and Stratton engine, hidden in the pink body and hooked to the dual chrome exhaust pipes in back.
Kevin and Ryan both worked for the Green Mountain Club, protecting and maintaining the nation's oldest long-distance hiking trail, Vermont's Long Trail.
In the fall, Kevin, Tasha and Ryan hiked up Camel's Hump Mountain (seen in the background), Vermont's second highest peak at just over 4,000'
Kevin's only friend left in town is Sarah Herr, seen here with Tasha. She's a farmer in the summer and a waitress in the winter, and is one of the few who can be described as genuinely good people.
Kevin's sister, (also named Sarah) works for the King Arthur Flour Company in Norwich, Vermont. KAF is an employee-owned company, and after working there for 7 years, Sarah has finally become "vested" in all of her shares of teh company (which means she owns all of them). Kevin and Tasha both worked in the KAF warehouse over the holidays, helping to ship out orders all across the country.
At this year's holiday party, Sarah was officially "vested" in front of the company, where she received an actual vest.
After the holiday rush, Kevin took a job doing tree work (this photo is from last year, but you get the point), and Tasha continued on at the warehouse for a few more weeks before taking a job waiting tables at a local restaurant. 
doing things like building this snow cave with a snowblower and tractor, and then hollowing it out with shovels and a sled.
to make a giant snow cave!!!!
they have been periodically hitting the slopes at the small local ski hills, 
and going on winter hikes with new friends!!
Here, Tasha and Kevin climb up Mt. Ascutney with Nick (a friend from the KAF warehouse), and his partner, Mandi.
The storms this winter have kept the roads interesting, though the infrastructure of the the northeast keeps them cleared amazingly well.
not to mention the deck.
So that's what's what for now. Plenty of snow and ice up in the north country to keep the pair busy, plus a woodstove to warm up in front of and scheme plans for new adventures to come. 