It's a crazy idea to think that someone could give up their job to go trekking. If a dollar is paid to them every time some people would ask them, they would have more than enough money for gas. This is what happened to Cole and Elizabeth Donelson.
According to STLtoday.com, earlier this week, the left on the second part of their so-called adventure which is visiting all 59 U.S. national parks before the park system celebrates its 100th anniversary next summer.
Cole and Elizabeth, both 26 met while attending Mizzou. They got married two years ago and were working in Kansas City. She is a teacher and he is an information technologist.
Cole said that about 18 months ago, while they were hiking in Kansas, they wondered about it and made a long bucket list about visiting all 59 parks. Because of this plan, they had to work extra hard to save money as much as possible before they quit their jobs. He drove for Uber and she sold furniture.
For their parents, the shock came delayed. Elizabeth said that their parents thought that they were not going to do it at first. But when it seemed like they actually were going to do it, they became concerned and talked about insurance and car insurance. After the actual trekking schedule was laid out, they started to tell the couple where they can meet them.
The first leg of their adventure took them to Colorado, Arizona, Utah and Nevada, to some of the more famous parks, like Zion, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon. Last Tuesday, they left for the second leg, which starts at Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio, and then go up to Acadia and other parks in the Northeast. The third leg will be Southern parks; the fourth is in the Northwest and Alaska; and the fifth is Hawaii and American Samoa. They plan to finish the adventure on August 18 in St. Louis' national park in Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
Elizabeth said she likes to plan ahead and her husband just makes plan on the spot. The Donlesons spent at least four days at each park to get some sense of each one's unique features. And they try an activity at each one, other than hiking. They did some fly fishing in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. They are taking their kayak on the second leg of their trip.
They have been asked a question by everyone that's impossible to answer: Which park has been their favorite? They said that all of the parks were amazing. Cole said if he has to talk about something special for one, he would choose the Capital Reef in Utah. He said they have homemade pies that are made from fruits from the orchards in the park.
