Two Years in Texas

Just over two years ago I made the decision to uproot my life and move away from my home, and it is still the best decision I have ever made. I am now engaged to the man that makes me laugh, smile and happier than I have ever been, I have a giant family of furry, pokey and scaly critters, and I work with amazing animals in both of my jobs, which is something I have always said I would do. I get to go on big and small adventures more often that I ever could have imagined, and I take every opportunity that is offered to pursue my passions for animals and travel.

In December of 2014 I came down to Texas to visit Jared after he moved here for a job at Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge working with big cats. I drove through Dallas (actually not bad early on a Saturday morning), then headed east. As I drove, I was surrounded by flat fields of brown grass that looked exactly like Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, where I had just left. I remember thinking to myself that I couldn't do this, I couldn't move to a place that looked exactly like my little slice of Nebraska. I had promised myself that whenever I got the courage to move out of my state I would move someplace that doesn't look like home. I remember being overwhelmingly disappointed, until I hit the Pine Curtain. Rolling hills covered in pine and hardwood forests lay before me and I felt my spirits lift instantly as I realized yes, I can do this. I've travelled all across the states, so I'd seen vast forests of trees, but I looked at those piney woods differently, judging whether or not I wanted to live among them with Jared and our furry family. That visit to Jared solidified my spot in East Texas, and I started making plans to move here at the end of February 2015. I have made a life, home and career here, and I am happier than I have ever been.

I moved down to Tyler exactly two years ago today on a bitterly cold Nebraska winter day. My family came with me in a caravan of vehicles, Mom and Dad in the U-Haul, Alisha and Austin in the family truck, and I in my own car with my dog and two cats. Although we rotated drivers throughout the twelve hour drive I had wanted to be alone as we crossed the Nebraska-Kansas state line; it was bittersweet knowing that I was leaving home, most of my friends and just about everything I knew, to strike out on my biggest adventure yet. Honestly, it was a little underwhelming when we finally did cross that line, and I couldn't help but grow more excited the further south we went. My enthusiasm rose with the temperature, and when we finally hit Tyler and pulled into the driveway of my first home with Jared I all but ran up the porch stairs into Jared's waiting arms. I was home.

Only a few days after I arrived in Texas I went with Jared to his part time job working for a private individual, caring for her collection of exotic animals. I left, a few hours later, with a job and my first pet hedgehog. I still work for Mini S Exotics, a small non-profit that specializes in primates, endangered species, and other rare mammals. Through Mini S I have had the opportunity to work with animals and socialize babies of the likes that I haven't seen since I volunteered at the Children's Zoo in Lincoln. I've fallen in love with kangaroos and fennec foxes, and some day Jared and I will add them to our own menagerie. The day after I went to Mini S I met with the director at Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge, and ended up working there all day as a cashier. Now, two years later, I am the book keeper and business administrator, and I get to pursue my hobby of photography by getting out almost daily to photograph the big cats at the refuge. I have grown to love every one of the cats, from the grumpy older tigers to the young and spunky servals, and am thankful for the connections I get to make because of my passion for animals.

Now, as I started this blog to write about my adventures, you all know I travel a lot. I was travelling before I moved to Texas, but I wouldn't be able to travel near as often as I do if I hadn't moved down here. Not only are there more opportunites and closer destinations (small mountains and the gulf coast are only four hours away in opposite directions), but I am able to get more time off with my two jobs than I probably should, given my age and the short amount of time I've been in the workforce. I work hard for my time off, and take every opportunity to get out of the house and see the world. Sure, I travel mostly on the weekends, maybe taking a three-day weekend here and there, but I am also able to get in several week-long adventures per year that allow me to hone my hiking and newfound backpacking skills.

Now that I'm working on year three of living in Texas I'm excited to find out what else living in the south has in store for me. I know that I will continue working with animals (see my facebook and instagram pages for more pictures of adorable babies) and am already in the planning process for two major adventures this year, in addition to several smaller ones. Jared and I are attempting to plan our wedding (sort of - we're both avoiding it) and trying to inject some order into our house full of animals. The choices and risks taken to bring me to Texas were not easy ones, but if I had to do it all over again I would make the exact same decisions. I can't wait to see what this year will bring.

What I'm listening to: Careless Whisper by George Michael

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Nature is an Artist

I have been so lazy about writing lately; it's not that I don't have time, or things to write about, it's just that by the time I go to sit down and write about my adventures I no longer have the brain power to do so. I'm not making any promises about being better in the near future, but let's consider this a fresh restart. I am two months in to my New Year's Resolution to go camping at least once a month (so far so good!) and I took the above picture on my first camping trip of the year in the middle of January on the Gulf Coast. It was a gloomy, foggy, chilly sort of weekend, but the sun peeked out from behind the dense clouds for a couple of glorious hours in the evening, and the molted colors on this shell caught my eye. Given that the sun and the surf eventually bleach all of the shells on the beach a stark white, the oranges and purples actually made me stop in my tracks. Callie, who was with me and was used to me stopping randomly to stoop down and look at something on the ground, just kept going on her merry way. She only came over to investigate when she heard the shutter on my camera clicking as I tried to find the perfect light and angle to capture the shell. I finally achieved what I wanted, and kept going, only to stop a few feet away to look at another shell. Oh, the joys of beachcombing.

The Canyon and The Spring

Peaceful. Last Autumn's leaves still carpeted the trail, even as Spring's green ferns burst into life along the creek bed, and buds on the trees promised a change of seasons was on the way. Though it was only the middle of February, it didn't feel like it. Callie and I ran away to the Hill Country of central Texas last weekend, and we couldn't have picked a better time to go. It was a warm, clear, and sunny day, and we were only a few miles into a long nine mile loop across Colorado Bend State Park, along the Texan Colorado River west of Austin. We were one of only a couple of groups of hikers on the spur to Gorman Spring along a canyon of the same name, hiking to see the spring that gives life to a terraced 70 foot waterfall that splashes down into the river below.

The short spur along a gorgeous canyon that looks like it is usually full of green during the summer was an easy walk beside the creek rushing to plummet over the edge of the river canyon. We had to cross the creek twice, with me going over the convienently placed rocks and Callie plunging into the cool depths of the stream without thinking twice. The dog loves water, and I really ought to get her a life jacket... Anyway, there was only one other couple some ways behind us and the loudest sounds were the bubbling creek and the bird songs. It was perfect.

Small butterflies fluttered around the wet earth next to the water and deep red buds peppered the bare trees above our heads, signaling that spring might be just around the next bend in the trail. Bright green moss already colored the creek bed rocks, giving firm places for bigger plants such as ferns to take root and extend their curls. In no time it seemed, Callie and I reached the end of the trail and Gorman Spring itself.

A large circular pool of water lay before us, with no indication that water rushed up from its depths to feed the creek except the lack of any other water source. It looked like any other crystal clear forest pool with a nearly still surface, though I knew that to be false. Callie wanted to go for a swim so bad, but out of regard to the signs asking hikers to keep themselves and their pets out of the water, she remained on leash and dry land. I did let her get out on a log overreaching the pool where she could sniff the water to her heart's content. Too soon, the other hikers caught up with us, and we left them to have the spring to themselves. We continued on, with many more miles to put under our feet before we were done for the day.

What I'm listening to: Our Demons by The Glitch Mob

I Don't Want To Travel With My Fiancé

Firm. For those of you who know me well, you know that I love traveling alone; I've also written about it before (at least twice). And yet, I still get comments from people in my life such as "you're crazy to go alone," or "Jared lets you go by yourself??" So here I am, once again, feeling like I have to explain and defend myself. Hopefully this will be the last time I have to do so, because I am going to make myself very, very clear: I don't want to travel with Jared.

Please don't get me wrong, I love my fiancé and enjoy spending time with him. There is nothing wrong with our relationship, and as a matter of fact, I'm happier now than I have ever been in my short 26 years on this planet. He makes me laugh, we talk about anything, we have a family of furry and scaley and pokey critters, and we just get each other. The big thing, though, is that we know how to enjoy time to ourselves. Jared plays video games and watches TV as his way to unwind. I take off for a day or a night or a week to hike and camp in amazing places. Our independent hobbies only help our relationship by giving us more to talk about, which is especially important because we already live and work together. He tells me about the latest show he's been watching (because I'll probably never sit down long enough to watch it myself) and I love showing him my pictures and whatever else I bring home from my travels. Do we miss each other? Of course! Does Jared worry about my safety? There would be something wrong if he didn't. But the minor inconvienences of going away for a little while are nothing compared to the benefits of taking that time to ourselves.

I don't know how much truth is in the old cliche saying "distance makes the heart grow fonder," but I do know that letting us miss each other while taking some time for ourselves helps our relationship. We would drive each other up the wall if we didn't get a break now and then. When you live together, and then also work together in a high-stress workplace, sometimes you just need time away. Sure, weekends are meant to be a break from work, but what happens when you live with a coworker? And before anybody points out that we don't have to work together, one of us could find a different job, you're right. We could. Or we can do what works for us, by living and working together and getting a break from each other occasionally.

Here's one that actually makes me angry: "he lets you travel alone??" Wake. Up. It is 2017. I don't need permission from anyone to travel. I'll say that again, for those who have their heads so far up their butts that they are unlikely to see the sun anytime soon: I don't need permission from anyone to travel. If I want to do something, I am going to do it, and there isn't anybody on the planet who can stop me. Enough said.

I don't always travel alone. Quite often, actually, I am joined by a friend or family, or I travel to meet up with someone. Spending quality time with friends and family on my travels helps me keep those relationships strong as well. Too many times have I seen (and been guilty of) someone spending every second with a significant other while pushing their friends and family aside. If I were to spend every second with Jared I would honestly never see anybody, unless they came down here to stay with us. Ever since I moved Texas seeing my friends and my family has become a little more difficult than a drive across town for Sunday dinner. If I want to see someone I actually have to make sure I have the time off to do so, make sure they're available, and it is at minimum a two-day trip, but usually more. I consider myself lucky to have a friend live only six hours away, instead of a whole twelve hours. I travel alone, yes, but I also travel to spend time with people I care about other than Jared.

I feel like this whole post has been me repeating points that I've already made before, and here's another one: if I waited for Jared to travel with me I wouldn't travel near as often as I do. Jared hates sitting in a car for more than two hours. That's his limit. Any more than that and he starts getting stir crazy (and more than a little grumpy). I, on the other hand, have yet to find my driving limit. Do you see the conflicts that could cause? In response, Jared rarely wants to go with me on a trip, and if I waited for him to want to we'd maybe go on three trips a year. That doesn't work for me, so I go on my own. And you know what? We're both ok with that. This doesn't mean that Jared never travels. We've gone back to Nebraska together, gone to Dallas and San Antonio together, and most notably got engaged on a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, FL. Jared will travel with me, just not on the random joy rides and week-long camping trips where there isn't a shower for days.

My life doesn't end because I have a fiancé. If you disagree, or you think I'm crazy for traveling alone, for leaving my "other half" behind, then that's your problem. I am a whole person by myself and have my own wants and needs, with my own hobbies and thoughts and likes and dislikes. I choose to be with Jared every day because he adds to my already rich world by coloring it with laughter and joy. I want to be with him and miss him when I'm not, but that won't stop me from traveling without him. I don't need his permission to go anywhere, whether I am going alone or going with a friend. We don't have to spend every second together to know we are secure in our relationship and our happiness, and that should be enough for everyone else.