90 Days on the Road: By the Numbers

Ninety days. That’s what the calendar says, but we know better. It was a season—full of movement, full of people, full of moments that stitched themselves into our lives.

Thirteen camps spread across 12 states. Each one became more than a pin on the map—these were places where strangers turned into family, where laughter echoed across canyons, and where the simple act of showing up turned into something unforgettable. Nearly 17,134 miles carried us from one horizon to the next until the road itself became part of the story.

Thirteen rental cars, fifteen hotels in between camps, and a scatter of bunkbeds, cabins, and lodges—each one another stop on a journey that never stood still. Thirteen flights lifted us into the clouds, giving us the gift of seeing the world in wide view.

Three hundred sixty-seven campers stepped into these spaces with courage and curiosity, and every one of them left with a story that will stay with them. 13 national park sites, twenty-seven rangers and conservancy staff and eight naturalists gave us more than knowledge; they gave us their wonder, their connection, their fire. And while there were no injuries to speak of, there were plenty of tears—tears that came from joy, from growth, from realizing how much these places and people matter.

We rode horses under skies so wide they made us feel small. We floated rivers that whispered the art of letting go. We hiked trails that stretched our muscles and fed our spirits. We paused for 65 sunrises and 65 sunsets, each one preaching the same sermon: light always returns.

Birds sang us awake. Games reminded us not to take ourselves too seriously. Journals held the stories we didn’t want to lose. And yes—thirteen twelve-packs of Diet Dr Pepper came along for the ride, because sometimes the smallest comforts carry you farther than you’d think.

The numbers are what we can count. But the truth—the real truth—is in what can’t be measured: the friendships, the laughter, the healing, and the kind of connection that lasts long after the road fades behind us. STEAM in the PARK 2026 is coming soon!

With gratitude,

Steve and Dacia