Adventure as a Family Lifestyle
We’re Betsy, Justin, Jasper, and Freya - a family who loves to have a good adventure, whether that be travel related, something outdoorsy, or living in our self-converted Sprinter van. Justin and I met in college during a crazy backpacking trip and the common theme in the 14 years since then has been living a lifestyle of adventure that included traveling to 50 countries, converting an old FedEx Sprinter van (before it was super trendy) into our home and living in it for three years in the hospital parking lots where we worked, and getting into long distance ultralight backpacking. And then we had kids. When I was pregnant with Jasper so many people told us, “Enjoy all the travel and adventures you’re doing now because it will all stop when you have kids!” But how could we stop doing what we were passionate about - the things that were the theme to our life? So we decided we’d just have to find a way to bring our children into our adventure lifestyle. I’m not going to lie - when Jasper was born we spent most of his first year of life feeling very overwhelmed and there were times when I doubted we could really return to doing all the things we’d done before his arrival. But when he turned one we left him with family for three weeks while we backpacked the 220 mile John Muir Trail because we wanted him to grow up seeing that this was the kind of thing his parents did. Immediately after that we flew to Europe for three weeks of unplanned wandering, including tent camping with him in Iceland! Then we had Freya and decided to up our child travel/outdoor adventure game by hiking 120 kilometers of the Camino de Santiago through Portugal and Spain with both of them pushing Jasper in a jogging stroller and wearing Freya (she was 5 months old). And that’s just been the beginning for us as a family who chooses to adventure. Some of our adventures are really small and some are grand. And a lot of what we do is more type 2 fun where we reminisce fondly when it’s done but suffer a bit while it’s happening. But in the end we’ve found that it’s worth it to not have given up our passions while also giving our little ones a legacy of adventure and a global perspective. Which brings me to the goal of this site - to hopefully inspire and/or equip you to start or continue a lifestyle of adventure with your little ones by sharing guides and insights into our travels before and after kids, ultralight backpacking, ultralight travel with kids, and vanlife. I personally find parenting pretty challenging, so everything we share is very realistic and hopefully can encourage you that if we can do it, you can too!
Justin
From the beginning I was raised into a life of adventure. Being born to parents living in Malawi and then growing up in the Pacific Northwest with some time spent living in Haiti kept my stone from gathering any moss. I picked up an undergrad degree in International Rescue and Relief followed by medical school, a residency in family medicine, and fellowships in palliative care and wilderness medicine. I’ve combined all of these interests into building palliative care capacity in austere settings. My love for spending time in the outdoors was helped along by summers spent working as a climbing and rafting guide, and I’m at my happiest when I’m backpacking or skiing.
Jasper
Jasper is 3-years-old and has been on 55 flights to 20 countries. He’s obsessed with anything with wheels, so we’ve found that taking a handful of little matchbox type cars with us when we travel is the perfect toy to keep him entertained pretty much non-stop (aside from flights) while also taking minimal space in our luggage. The most adventurous thing he’s done so far is tent camp with us in pretty chilly weather in Iceland when he was 1-years-old. The next thing we want to try with him is a multi-day backpacking trip!
Betsy
I'm a nurse with an interest in global health, a master’s degree in nursing education, and a fellowship in wilderness medicine. I was born in Utah but was promptly relocated to Africa for seven years by my adventurous parents. This was to be the trend of my life with many a move around the USA, followed by a second international stint in Papua New Guinea. I've traveled to every continent but Antarctica and love to trip plan and help others get out there and start traveling. Now that we have small children, our focus has shifted to helping other families navigate travel with kids and hope our adventures with our little ones inspire you to do the same with yours!
Freya
Freya is 1-years-old and has been on 30 flights to 10 countries. She’s very entertained by people watching, climbing, and non-toy “toys” like hair ties, nail clippers, and straws, which makes is easier to pack light for travel. The most adventurous things she’s done so far is be carried for 120 kilometers (74 miles) on the Camino de Santiago through Portugal and Spain when she was 5-months-old. We hiked 27 kilometers (17 miles) on our last day so she’s a real little trooper from an early age! The next thing we want to try with her is also a multi-day backpacking trip.
Featured Guides
Thinking about tent camping in Iceland but have a baby/toddler and wondering whether it's feasible or a big don't? Keep reading for our experience, tips, photos of the facilities at the campgrounds we stayed at, and overall opinion after we camped for four days with our 1-year-old while driving the Ring Road!