Kerouacs Cruising | Where Off-Grid Living Meets Soulful Awakening

James & Cara Kerouac | Adventure Podcast Hosts
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Off-grid life. Spiritual growth. Honest stories from the road. Join international best-selling authors James & Cara Kerouac as they travel the U.S. with their dogs, sharing raw conversations about healing, presence, self-worth, and freedom. Through real talk, off-grid adventures, and soul-expanding interviews, Kerouacs Cruising invites you to wander freely, heal deeply, and live awake. ✨ Off-grid living tips ✨ Spiritual & emotional growth ✨ Stories of awakening + aligned living ✨ Guests who challenge the norm and break the mold New episodes weekly—wherever the road takes us.

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  1. Episode 1

    We Found a Beach on the Colorado River | Season 3 Begins

    Season 3 starts the way Kerouacs Cruising always does best — with a day off, a beach they almost didn't find, and an honest conversation about why they went quiet for a while. After months of work-from-the-road life in Bullhead City and Parker, Arizona, Cara and James finally take a day off. They explore Parker Dam, stumble onto a sandy cove on the Colorado River, walk the Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge, see bighorn sheep on a cliff, and get visited by wild donkeys on the way out. It's a good day. A really good day. But tucked inside the adventure is the conversation that makes this a Kerouacs Cruising episode: why they went quiet, why creating from a place of fear never works, and what it means to begin something new with honesty instead of a highlight reel. This is Season 3 — and it starts exactly where they are. What You'll Hear in This Episode: The beach they almost missed — a sandy cove on the Colorado River near Parker Dam, found by keeping their eyes open after the original spot turned out to be federal propertyParker Dam explained — what it creates, what it costs the ecosystem, and the fish species going extinct because of itArizona State Trust Land camping — $20 for the year, 14 consecutive day limitThe Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge — wildflowers in bloom, labeled plant trails, fishing docks, and the walk they wish they'd had more time forWild donkeys and six bighorn sheep on the side of a cliff — just a normal Tuesday in the Arizona desertWhy they stopped creating content for a few weeks — and why creating from fear or obligation would have been worse than silenceWhere their heads are as Season 3 begins — the hopes, the honest uncertainty, and what they're building towardNorman and Bella updates — the ongoing socialization journey, leash training, and life with two free-range dogs learning to navigate crowdsResources & Mentions: Parker Dam — Colorado River, between Parker and Lake Havasu City, ArizonaArizona State Trust Land permit — $20/year, available at Arizona State Land Department websiteBill Williams Wildlife Refuge — day use, dogs must be leashed near water, interpretive trail signageLake Havasu City — London Bridge, boardwalk, boat and jet ski rentalsDoorDash — mentioned as their primary work-from-the-road income during this stretchColorado River fishing — largemouth bass, striped bass up to 30 lbs, catch and report species programLake Pend Oreille, northern Idaho — referenced for comparison on cold water swimmingNote for Clarity: This episode was recorded in late February 2026 — the final stretch in Parker before life took a turn neither of them expected. Jewels passed away in September 2025 — Cara's reference to managing the dogs being easier now with just Norman and Bella is an honest acknowledgment of that loss. Norman and Bella are their current traveling companions. If this conversation resonated with you, you're always welcome at our campfire. For reflections, and the companion blog, head to KerouacsCruising.com/blog. To follow along in real time, find us on social @KerouacsCruising. To support the journey, visit Ko-fi.com/KerouacsCruising. And if something here made you think, feel, or see your life a little differently, we'd love to hear from you in the comments or at Join@KerouacsCruising.com. However you choose to be here — thank you for being part of this. 💚🩷

    We Found a Beach on the Colorado River | Season 3 Begins

  2. Episode 2

    Broken Pelvis, Broken Plans | How the Detour Became the Direction

    They were one day from leaving. A parking lot in Lake Havasu changed everything — and somehow, the pause that followed became the best thing that could have happened. James and Cara catch you up on their final days in Lake Havasu: the hidden beer garden, the grocery store that stopped them cold, the peninsula camp spot, before the trip east came to an abrupt halt. In a CVS parking lot, one Sunday afternoon, a man backing out of a space pinned Cara between two vehicles and broke her pelvis. The east coast trip was off. They came home to their tiny house in northern Arizona. And in the stillness that followed, in the space that opens up when you finally stop just keeping the wheels on, something new began to take shape. This is the episode where the dream got real. What You'll Hear in This Episode: Why Lake Havasu won over Parker and Bullhead City: and what made it feel differentHava Bite Beer Garden: the local food truck collective they stumbled onto through DoorDash, and lovedThe Smith's grocery store that genuinely stopped them both in their tracksThe CVS parking lot accident: what happened, how it happened, and what Cara brokeThe diagnosis journey: from the ER that almost missed it to the orthopedic specialist two weeks laterWhat it felt like to watch a year of planning disappear in an afternoonComing home to northern Arizona: the tiny house, the 20 acres, the forced stillnessWhat happens to dreaming when you finally stop just getting through the dayThe commitment they made: and why they're more excited about KC and their future than when they first startedJames at [13:15]: "The pause was worth it."Resources & Mentions: Hava Bite Beer Garden — Lake Havasu City, AZSmith's (Kroger family) — Lake Havasu City, AZYolk's — Pacific Northwest (referenced for comparison) The Reinvention Project — an open door: What you're hearing in this episode is where something new began. In the stillness of coming home, with space to think and dream for the first time in a long time, The Reinvention Project started taking shape. If something in this conversation is sitting with you, that feeling has a name and there's a place for it. Come find us when you're ready. thereinventionproject.podia.com Note for Clarity: This episode was recorded after Cara's recovery was underway and the pivot had already happened. The Havasu content is a lookback — the accident and everything after is real-time. The east coast trip did not happen. What you're hearing is the moment the story changed — and where Season 3 actually finds its footing. If this conversation resonated with you, you're always welcome at our campfire. For photos, reflections, and the companion blog, head to KerouacsCruising.com/blog. To follow along in real time, find us on social @KerouacsCruising. To support the journey, visit Ko-fi.com/KerouacsCruising. And if something here made you think, feel, or see your life a little differently, we'd love to hear from you in the comments or at Join@KerouacsCruising.com. However you choose to be here — thank you for being part of this. 💚🩷

    Broken Pelvis, Broken Plans | How the Detour Became the Direction

  3. Episode 3

    We Said Yes to a Dr. Joe Dispenza Retreat | And It Changed Everything

    We weren't planning to go anywhere. Then an ad showed up, we looked at each other, and said — we're not doing anything. Let's go. What happened at the Dr. Joe Dispenza retreat in Denver changed us both in ways we're still integrating. This is the episode where they try to explain what that means. Cara's recovery from her broken pelvis left us with something we rarely have: time. And in that time, an advertisement for a Dr. Joe Dispenza retreat appeared. We'd been following his work for nearly three years. The dogs were covered, the house was watched, and the flights were booked. What followed was seven days of meditation, science, and human experience that we describe as one of the best decisions we've ever made. In this episode, we break down what the retreat actually looks like: the science behind the work, the five-hour meditation that started at 4 am, the coherence healings, and what we witnessed in that room. Including Patty — a woman with stage four metastasized breast cancer who came to the retreat with a walker, and left without it. This is not a woo-woo episode. It's a deeply human one. What You'll Hear in This Episode: How the retreat happened — the serendipity of timing, the logistics, and the decisionWho Dr. Joe Dispenza is and why we have followed his work for nearly three yearsWhat a retreat actually looks like: 6 am to 8 pm, lectures alternating with guided meditationsThe science: neuroplasticity, epigenetics, heart coherence, upregulating genes for healingThe five-hour meditation that started at 4 am, and why it didn't feel that longWhat coherence healing is and what it felt like to be on the receiving end of itCara's "defrag" analogy for what most meditation actually is, and what this goes beyondPatty's story — 25 years of Dr. Joe's work, stage four cancer, 16 tumors gone in 10 weeksWhat they witnessed in the room — wheelchair to walking, tremors quieting, pain liftingResources: the movie Source, the book Becoming Supernatural, the Gaia series RewiredHow they're integrating the work into daily life: twice-daily meditation as non-negotiableWhat they're bringing back to Kerouacs Cruising, and the invitation to come along on this next chapterResources & Mentions: Dr. Joe Dispenza — drjoedispenza.comSource — the documentary film (start here if you're new to his work)Becoming Supernatural — Dr. Joe Dispenza (book)Rewired — Dr. Joe Dispenza series on Gaia (gaia.com)Stress Less, Accomplish More — mentioned as an earlier step in our journeyGaylord Resort, Denver, CO — retreat venueMindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) — referenced as prior practiceNote for Clarity: This episode contains witnessed accounts of physical healing at a retreat setting. James and Cara are sharing what they personally observed and experienced, not making medical claims. If something in this conversation sparks curiosity, the resources above are the best next step. If something in this episode stirred something in you — that's worth paying attention to. What Cara is building with The Reinvention Project grows directly from this kind of work: the belief that your nervous system, your thought patterns, and your sense of what's possible are all changeable. The door is open. thereinventionproject.podia.com You're always welcome at our campfire. For photos, reflections, and the companion blog, head to KerouacsCruising.com/blog. To follow along in real time, find us on social @KerouacsCruising. To support the journey, visit Ko-fi.com/KerouacsCruising. And if something here made you think, feel, or see your life a little differently — we'd love to hear from you at Join@KerouacsCruising.com. However you choose to be here — thank you. 💚🩷

    We Said Yes to a Dr. Joe Dispenza Retreat | And It Changed Everything

  4. Episode 4

    Why Not Me | Crewing the Cocodona 250 in Arizona

    We celebrated our anniversary on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. By Monday we were following a 250+ mile foot race through the Arizona backcountry. We didn't plan that week. It turned out to be one of the best we've had. We're back on the road, and this episode is the catch-up we owe you. We talk about what it felt like to go home, what we fixed, what we decided to keep, and why we're not selling the house after all. Then the episode goes somewhere we didn't see coming: a 253-mile ultramarathon through central Arizona, a brother-in-law who'd been training for a year, a crew of unpaid people who showed up with their whole hearts, and a 34-year-old woman who made history by becoming the first person ever to win the Cocodona 250 outright. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, a quiet realization: the things we really want have a way of arriving. Just not always in the shape we expected. What You'll Hear in This Episode: What it felt like to go home after months on the road, and the surprisingly emotional decision to stop talking about selling the houseThe solar panel upgrade that changed everything (and the folding panel that quietly gave out)How we ended up crewing for a 250-mile ultramarathonWhat it means to truly let the people in your corner show up for you and why that's harder than it soundsRachel Entrekin, 34, who became the first woman to win the Cocodona 250 outright, beating every man in the field and the course record by over two hours, and the "why not me" mantra she used to get thereWhy the mindset game and the physical game are the same game, and what that means for the rest of usWhat's coming: Santa Fe, Kansas City, Iowa, New Hampshire, Montana, Idaho, and James's son's new business launchAn honest mention of The Reinvention Project and why this episode is the reason it existsResources & Mentions: Cocodona 250 — 253-mile ultramarathon, Black Canyon City to Flagstaff, Arizona: cocodona.comRachel Entrekin — 2026 Cocodona 250 overall winner and course record holderDr. Joe Dispenza — mentioned in relation to retreats, mind movies, and the "thoughts create your reality" frameworkDr. Margaret Cochran — the "backseat driver" concept (the inner critic that wants to drive the bus)Dispersed Camping, Flagstaff, ArizonaLA Comedy Club at the Edgewater, Laughlin/Bullhead City — anniversary comedy showThe Reinvention Project: thereinventionproject.podia.com/the-quiet-reinvention-workshop What you heard in this episode isn't a commercial break. It's the thing the episode is actually about. Watching Jeff run 250 miles. Watching Rachel win on "why not me." Watching a crew of people show up with everything they had without being asked. All of it points to the same thing: the gap between what you're capable of and what you've given yourself permission to believe. That gap has a name. The Reinvention Project is where we're working on it, with people who are ready. If something in this conversation is sitting with you, come find us when you're ready. thereinventionproject.podia.com/the-quiet-reinvention-workshop If this conversation resonated with you, you're always welcome at our campfire. For photos, reflections, and the companion blog, head to KerouacsCruising.com/blog. To follow along in real time, find us on social @KerouacsCruising. To support the journey, visit Ko-fi.com/KerouacsCruising. And if something here made you think, feel, or see your life a little differently, we'd love to hear from you in the comments or at Join@KerouacsCruising.com. However you choose to be here — thank you for being part of this. 💚🩷

    Why Not Me | Crewing the Cocodona 250 in Arizona

  5. Episode 5

    We Just Needed to Let the Dogs Out | Kansas Road Trip

    We just needed to let the dogs out. Then the cop showed up. From the art streets of Santa Fe to the flat middle of Kansas in tornado season, this one has everything. We catch you up on the leg of the trip that took us through New Mexico to visit Kaatje Jones (co-author and now in-person friend) and into the heart of the Great Plains, where the weather changed overnight, the RV parks take cash and checks only, and one very routine dog stop turned into one of the most chaotic moments we've had on the road. Plus: what we actually learned about tornado safety, why you should never let your gas tank drop below half in rural Kansas, and why James now checks the weather three times before he trusts it. What You'll Hear in This Episode: What Santa Fe is actually like — the art district, the culture, the adobe buildings, and the hiking that surprised usVisiting Kaatje Jones in person for the first time and why her property in the mountains east of Santa Fe is its own whole experienceCara's first time doing anything physically demanding since the car accident in March, and what it felt like to climb againWhy we'll keep finding climbing gyms on the road, and where to look for auto-belay walls when you don't have a partner to belay youThe moment the Kansas weather forecast changed overnight from sunny and 90 to tornadoes and 65 degreesWhat we actually learned about tornado safety, including why overpasses are more dangerous than most people thinkRural Kansas RV parks: cash only, no online reservations, and why that actually worked fine for usNearly running out of gas twice in the plains, and the practical rule we now live by when pulling a trailer through rural areasThe dog stop that turned into a cop encounter in the middle of a Kansas field, and what happened nextResources & Mentions: Kaatje Jones — voice therapy practitioner and co-author of the Together We Rise anthology. Catch up on our episode featuring her here!Rancheros Campground — Santa Fe, New Mexico area. 15 minutes from Santa Fe proper, old growth pinyon and juniper trees, trail around the campground, great privacy between sitesGlorieta Pass / Pecos River area — dispersed camping pull-offs on the right heading up. Good for tent camping and fishing (trout). Worth noting: it read as group-style dispersed camping — not traditional individual sitesCanyon Road — Santa Fe's art district. Blocks of galleries, handmade jewelry, sculpture, and some of the most beautiful and unusual art we've encountered on the road If this conversation resonated with you, you're always welcome at our campfire. For photos, reflections, and the companion blog, head to KerouacsCruising.com/blog. To follow along in real time, find us on social @KerouacsCruising. To support the journey, visit Ko-fi.com/KerouacsCruising. And if something here made you think, feel, or see your life a little differently, we'd love to hear from you in the comments or at Join@KerouacsCruising.com. However you choose to be here — thank you for being part of this. 💚🩷

    We Just Needed to Let the Dogs Out | Kansas Road Trip

  6. Episode 6

    We Stopped White-Knuckling It | Road Life Two Years In

    Two and a half years ago we were gripping the steering wheel so hard our knuckles were white. Trying to figure out how to keep this life we'd built from slipping away before it had even really started. This week... we're not doing that anymore. This episode is a road dispatch from Kansas and Iowa; tornadoes we almost panicked over, soul people we tracked down in Kansas City, a wedding memory that hit James somewhere tender, and a quiet realization that we've actually, genuinely arrived at the life we were fighting so hard to keep. We also talk about what it felt like to drop into the grind-pace of regular life while visiting people we love... and how strange it is to live outside that rhythm now. Not better or worse. Just different. And how much we notice it. What you'll hear in this episode: The tornado that turned out to be mostly in our heads (and the neighbors playing in the rain while we were ready to flee to a storm shelter)Kansas City through the windshield of a 26-foot trailer; six lanes, kind strangers, incredible foodCheyenne (from our Safe Space episode) in real life; her bookstore, her world, her peopleThe wedding James doesn't remember attending... because he was very, very drunkWhy Iowa might become a twice-a-year stop on our routeWhat "white-knuckling it" actually felt like in year one... and what it feels like now to just... relax into itWhere we're headed next (Montana, Yellowstone, Beartooth Pass...?)Resources and mentions: Cheyenne's podcastOur episode with CheyenneThe Reinvention ProjectIf something in this conversation is stirring something in you, the gap between the life you're grinding through and the one you can feel waiting... that's exactly what The Reinvention Project is for. It's a quiet space to look honestly at what you're building and who you're becoming. Come find us when you're ready. You're always welcome at our campfire. Everything: the blog, the show, social, Ko-fi, and how to reach us, is linked. We're glad you're here.

    We Stopped White-Knuckling It | Road Life Two Years In

  7. Episode 7

    Ticks, Beepers, and a Stick in Norman's Mouth | Life on the Road With Dogs

    "Do you want the good news or the bad news?" That's how this one started. Norman, a stick, and a phone call that had Cara convinced something was actually wrong. We've been traveling full-time with Norman and Bella for a while now, and this episode is everything we've learned along the way that we haven't said out loud yet. The hammock that saved our backseat. The water timing trick we wish we'd figured out before our Kansas debacle. Why we medicate them the same way we'd medicate ourselves after an injury. The tick situation that's still not fully solved. And the beeper collar that quietly became one of the best decisions we've made on the road. Plus: a stick, a spoon of peanut butter, and a phone call that had one of us convinced the worst had happened. What You'll Hear in This Episode: Why our dogs never learned to hold their bladder, and what that means for road trip planningThe dog hammock and cushion setup that saved our backseat (and our sanity)Why we don't feed or water them right before a long drive, and what taught us that lesson the hard wayThe pain medication mindset we use for the dogs that we also use for ourselvesOur ongoing, unsolved tick situation and why we're looking for a better optionHow the beeper collar became one of the best tools we've added to the roadHot pavement, paw pads, and timing walks around the heatWhat we've learned about national park rules and campground restrictions for dogsNorman, a stick, a spoon of peanut butter, and the funniest non-emergency of the tripResources & Mentions: Our dog first aid kit episode (porcupine quills, cactus removal, rattlesnake awareness)Our Kansas episode (the cop and emergency convoy story referenced here)Wall Drug, South Dakota (the billboard campaign that got us curious) If something in our conversations is stirring something in you, The Reinvention Project is where we go deeper. Come find us when you're ready. https://thereinventionproject.podia.com/the-quiet-reinvention-workshop You're always welcome at our campfire. The blog, the show, social, Ko-fi, and how to reach us!

    Ticks, Beepers, and a Stick in Norman's Mouth | Life on the Road With Dogs

  8. Episode 8

    None of Us Are Getting Out of Here Alive | 2 Years Full-Time Travel

    James opens this episode by telling us he's already been given a ten year prognosis, and instead of dressing it up, he just says it plain: none of us are getting out of here alive. We're just off three weeks living inside our friends' lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and James spent part of that stretch in New Hampshire saying goodbye to a friend he'd known his whole life. He came back with a cancer prognosis sitting differently in him than it did a year and a half ago, and we talk about it plainly before we ever say good morning. Then we're in the Badlands of South Dakota, boondocking for free at a spot called Nomad's Lane, watching Norman have a standoff with a pronghorn while Bella chases it and loses badly. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, we realize we're rounding out two years of doing this life exactly the way we dreamed it. What You'll Hear in This Episode: - Why James opens this episode talking about his own cancer prognosis and a friend's death, not as a downer, but as the whole point - What three weeks actually living inside friends' lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa looked like (T-ball games, water parks, and a borrowed driveway) - The excuses we all reach for instead of going after the life we actually want, and why they're good excuses, just not true ones - James's actual advice: stop chasing the Joneses and start living - Where we're boondocking for free in the Badlands, and how to find the spot if you're coming through - Norman's standoff with a pronghorn, and why Bella never had a chance - What it feels like to round out two years of full-time travel, doing it exactly the way we used to just dream about Resources and Mentions: - Pleasant Creek State Park, Iowa - Palo Marsh, Iowa - Badlands National Park, South Dakota (Wall, SD) - Nomad's Lane boondocking, Badlands SD (free, self-contained, no utilities) - @KerouacsCruising on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube - Norman and Bella, our dogs Note for Clarity: James says this rounds out "a year" of full-time travel. To be precise: this is a year doing it the exact way we dreamed (full-time, in the travel trailer). Add in the year and a half we spent traveling before that in a utility trailer, and we're actually just over two years into full-time travel altogether. If James talking about a ten year prognosis and deciding to go after life anyway stirred something loose in you, that's exactly the kind of thing The Reinvention Project was built to sit with. Come find us when you're ready. https://thereinventionproject.podia.com/the-quiet-reinvention-workshop You're always welcome at our campfire. Find the blog, the show, our socials, Ko-fi, and how to reach us all linked below.

    None of Us Are Getting Out of Here Alive | 2 Years Full-Time Travel

  9. Episode 9

    We Almost Drove Past It | Badlands, Wall Drug, and the Road Through South Dakota

    She couldn't sleep. She got up from her nap with one idea, told her husband, and by the time he finished putting up the last sign on the highway, the store was already packed with people. That's how Wall Drug started. And we almost drove straight past it. We came to South Dakota for the Badlands. We stayed for the story. This episode covers our first time through the western half of South Dakota, from the otherworldly rock formations of Badlands National Park to a Depression-era pharmacy that grew into a landmark by giving away free ice water. We also share an update on our plans (Montana got cut, South Dakota was the surprise), what we learned about the new federal ORV rule change and what it means for dispersed campers, and how the dogs did with real freedom for the first time in weeks. What You'll Hear in This Episode: What Badlands National Park actually looks like up close, and why it made us feel small in the best way (Watch our footage Here)The geology behind those striated rock formations (hundreds of millions of years of sediment, exposed)James's take on the history of the land and the Lakota people who lived thereHow we found Nomad View and ended up with one of the best free campsites of the seasonThe full Wall Drug origin story: a 1930s pharmacist's wife, a nap she couldn't sleep through, and one idea that changed everythingWhy we ended up spending two hours at a place we almost skippedThe federal ORV restriction that was lifted in May 2026, and what it could mean for quiet dispersed camping areasA plan change update: why we're skipping most of Montana and heading to Idaho earlier than expectedNorman chasing a pronghorn across the Badlands plains... and not coming back for a whileResources and Mentions: Nomad View, Badlands National Park — dispersed camping, free, on the ridge above the formationsWall Drug — Wall, South DakotaFederal ORV rule change (May 2026) — see our blog for the full breakdown and what it means for campers with dogs This episode was recorded while we were still in South Dakota. The Black Hills, Custer State Park, and Mount Rushmore content comes in next week's episode. If something about this conversation is stirring something in you, bigger than just where to camp next, The Reinvention Project is where we go deeper. It's for people who are quietly wondering whether the life they're building is actually the one they want. Come find us when you're ready. https://thereinventionproject.podia.com/the-quiet-reinvention-workshop You're always welcome at our campfire. The blog, the show, social, Ko-fi, and how to reach us are all linked below. However you choose to be here, thank you for being part of this. 💚🩷

    We Almost Drove Past It | Badlands, Wall Drug, and the Road Through South Dakota

  10. Episode 10

    I Didn't Want to See It | Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills

    James handed Cara the keys. She hadn't driven in months. The tunnel was 8.9 feet wide. The truck with mirrors out is 8 feet. You can probably guess what happened next. (To watch the video version of this episode, go here: https://youtu.be/ds8J93h1c5E) This is our whirlwind recap of the last leg of the trip: from our two days in the Black Hills, through Mount Rushmore, across Montana, and into Idaho. We drive Needles Highway through Custer State Park (Cara drives, James films, nobody comes out of the tunnel unscathed), we end up at Mount Rushmore for the lighting ceremony we didn't know existed, we get called out at a day-use-only campsite in Montana, and we find one of the best $18 campsites of the whole trip completely by accident. Plus: the honest truth about what it felt like to actually stand in front of Mount Rushmore when we weren't sure we wanted to be there at all. What You'll Hear in This Episode: What actually happened in that 8.9-foot tunnel on Needles Highway, and what "holy bejeezus" sounds like when it's not plannedCuster State Park: bison, deer, wildflowers, spire rock formations, and one of the most beautiful drives we've doneThe honest truth about Mount Rushmore: why we almost skipped it, what we actually felt standing there, and the reframe that changed how we saw itThe nightly lighting ceremony we had no idea existed, and almost missedMontana: headwind, three miles per gallon, a motorcyclist who confirmed we weren't imagining itThompson Falls State Park: $18, right on the Clark Fork River, one of the quiet wins of the whole tripThe Missoula pizza vs mango addiction debate (both parties believe they are innocent)Resources and Mentions: Needles Highway, Custer State Park, South DakotaBogus Jim Road dispersed camping, Black Hills (not to be confused with Real Jim Road 😅)Dockside Grill — beautiful location, great food, does not seat after 7:00 PM regardless of posted hoursMount Rushmore National Memorial — $10 to park, lighting ceremony every night, park open 24 hoursWind Cave National Park — book way in advance, tours from easy to crawling on hands and kneesHot Springs, South Dakota — mineral springs resort, on the list for next timeDevil's Tower National Monument, northeastern WyomingSturgis, South Dakota — yes, that SturgisFirehouse Brewery, Rapid City, South DakotaSpearfish Canyon, South DakotaDeadwood, South DakotaHomestake Lake Pass dispersed camping, between Bozeman and Butte, Montana — free, up to 14 daysThompson Falls State Park, Montana — $18, on the Clark Fork RiverMunson Creek trailhead rest area, Montana — day use only, sunrise to sunset, do not overnightPie Hole Pizza, Missoula, Montana — 19-inch pizzas only, right downtown, worth the roundaboutNatural Grocers, Missoula — for the mangoesLove's RV Park — easy pull-in, utilities, Wi-Fi, laundry, exactly what we needed This episode was recorded from our camp spot in Idaho. The video footage overlaying the audio on YouTube was captured throughout the Black Hills, Needles Highway, and Mount Rushmore portions of the trip. There's something about standing in front of something you've already decided how to feel about, and then feeling something completely different. That happened to us at Mount Rushmore. If that kind of honest reckoning with your own assumptions is something you're doing right now, in your own life and your own story, The Reinvention Project is where we go deeper. Come find us when you're ready. https://thereinventionproject.podia.com/the-quiet-reinvention-workshop You're always welcome at our campfire. The blog, the YouTube show, social, Ko-fi, and how to reach us are all linked. However you choose to be here, thank you. 💚🩷

    I Didn't Want to See It | Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills

  11. Episode 11

    Grow Out of Fun, Grow Old | Idaho Summer, Rock Climbing & Baby News

    We gently told a friend that we didn't care what she thought about the water slide. We meant it. We're two and a half weeks into our Idaho summer, and it's already full. The paddleboards we bought back in Iowa finally got wet, we started rock climbing on a bolted route behind our son's house, and we watched our grandson fall completely in love with a battery-powered Little Blue Truck. But the thread that actually runs through this whole episode is permission. Somewhere between the water slides and the rock climbing, we landed on the same idea we keep landing on: most of us quietly stop having fun the second someone implies we're too old for it, and we're done doing that. We also crack the door open on something new: a mindset-shift series we've been sitting on for months. What You'll Hear in This Episode: Why we finally got to use the paddleboards we bought in Iowa, and the permit and life jacket rules nobody warns you aboutSharpening our skills: rock climbing, and belaying on a bolted route behind our son's house, mossy holds and allFourth of July, the 250th birthday of the United States, and watching fireworks with our grandson from the OverlookThe mechanical marathon of repairing James's son's Toyota Sequoia, one sensor at a timeWatching a two-year-old fall in love with a battery-powered Little Blue Truck and a camo rubber duck from Wall DrugWhy we think most adults quietly give up on fun, and what we said to the friend who wouldn't go down the water slideWhat's coming this summer: solo trips for both of us, a 40th birthday in Dallas, Red Lodge, and grandbaby number two due in AugustA first look at the mindset-shift series we've been sitting on, and why the science behind it deserves more attention than it's gettingResources and Mentions: Kaniksu National Forest, Idaho (current camp)Lightning Creek, Idaho (favorite spot, reportedly flooded out over the winter)Beartooth Pass / Beartooth Mountains, Montana (original paddleboard destination)Sawtooth Mountains, near Ketchum, Idaho (possible scouting trip)Own the Day by Aubrey MarcusThe Little Blue Truck book seriesWall Drug, South Dakota Everything in this one keeps pointing back to the same idea: you can't build a different life with the same patterns of thinking that got you here. That's the whole premise behind The Reinvention Project. If the water slide thing, or the mindset thing, or just wanting more play in your own life is landing somewhere in you, come find us when you're ready. https://thereinventionproject.podia.com/the-quiet-reinvention-workshop However you found your way here, we're glad you did. The blog, the YouTube video, our socials, and how to reach us are all linked.

    Grow Out of Fun, Grow Old | Idaho Summer, Rock Climbing & Baby News
See All Season 3 (11)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Off-grid life. Spiritual growth. Honest stories from the road. Join international best-selling authors James & Cara Kerouac as they travel the U.S. with their dogs, sharing raw conversations about healing, presence, self-worth, and freedom. Through real talk, off-grid adventures, and soul-expanding interviews, Kerouacs Cruising invites you to wander freely, heal deeply, and live awake. ✨ Off-grid living tips ✨ Spiritual & emotional growth ✨ Stories of awakening + aligned living ✨ Guests who challenge the norm and break the mold New episodes weekly—wherever the road takes us.

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