At Overland Expo I remember talking to people who had driven the PanAm. They told me that overland travel is a actually very different from traditional vacation travel, even though all your friends will picture you on a relaxing one year long spring break. It actually takes a lot of daily planning, driving, navigating, camp and food prep…..  And they were right. We have driven an immense distance in just five weeks and we feel extremely busy, even though busy seems like it almost makes it sound less fun than it actually is. Maybe I should just say our days are very full.

One of the things I am trying to focus on is taking time out of each day to reflect and really try to make sure I am appreciating and absorbing the beauty that is around us and processing all the amazing things we are doing. We worked extremely hard to make this trip happen and having moments of reflection make me appreciate how much richer this new life is for us. For some reason, it is on Mondays that I am at my most contemplative.

The first week of our trip, I spent my first “non” work Monday doing one of the most epic hikes of my life in Glacier National Park, it really set the tone for this trip for me. Pre-trip, Sunday nights I would toss and turn and often not sleep thinking about all the things I needed to do during the upcoming work week. Monday used to be the start of a tiring and stressful week. But now every Monday I find my appreciation of this trip heightened. Every Monday I am hiking, sleeping in, traveling, discovering something new. Every Monday feels like Christmas morning now.

So far, without even planning special things, some of my favorite days of this trip have been on Mondays. I always feel extra happy on these days. On Monday I think of my old sales team who I miss, and silently wish them all well during our hikes or during quiet moments I have alone. I know Mondays for most people really suck. So every Monday I have where I am doing something I love, I feel I owe it to everyone out there who is waking up to an alarm and dragging themselves to the coffee maker before the long commute, to cherish the day and be grateful for every experience I have.

So here was one of my “new” Mondays. It was a perfect day in Haines, Alaska.

Getting ready for our hike into the rain forest. We would be peeling off layers quickly. It is very warm in the dense forests.

Sam walking on one of the many mini bridges on the Seduction Point trail in Haines.

Coming out of the forest you are faced with the view of the bay, it was stunning.

Sam skipping stones for almost 30 minutes into the Chilkat Inlet.

Both of us took time to get lost in our thoughts.

The view of Davidson Glacier as we hiked back out.

After the hike we were driving and I yelled to stop the car, there were bears about 100 feet from us eating salmon in a river near Chilkoot lake

We finished this perfect Monday with our first ferry ride on the inside passage to Juneau.