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

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 [https://www.wildxpression.com/] (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 us * Visiting Kaatje Jones [https://www.wildxpression.com/] in person for the first time and why her property in the mountains east of Santa Fe is its own whole experience * Cara's first time doing anything physically demanding since the car accident in March, and what it felt like to climb again * Why 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 you * The moment the Kansas weather forecast changed overnight from sunny and 90 to tornadoes and 65 degrees * What we actually learned about tornado safety, including why overpasses are more dangerous than most people think * Rural Kansas RV parks: cash only, no online reservations, and why that actually worked fine for us * Nearly running out of gas twice in the plains, and the practical rule we now live by when pulling a trailer through rural areas * The dog stop that turned into a cop encounter in the middle of a Kansas field, and what happened next Resources & Mentions: * Kaatje Jones [https://www.wildxpression.com/] — voice therapy practitioner and co-author of the Together We Rise anthology. Catch up on our episode featuring her here! [http://kerouacscruising.alitu.com/episode/0b27b924-54f8-40aa-8c49-a81a8b127e94] * Rancheros Campground [https://santaferancheros.com/] — Santa Fe, New Mexico area. 15 minutes from Santa Fe proper, old growth pinyon and juniper trees, trail around the campground, great privacy between sites * Glorieta 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 sites * Canyon 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 [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

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 house * The solar panel upgrade that changed everything (and the folding panel that quietly gave out) * How we ended up crewing for a 250-mile ultramarathon * What it means to truly let the people in your corner show up for you and why that's harder than it sounds * Rachel 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 there * Why the mindset game and the physical game are the same game, and what that means for the rest of us * What's coming: Santa Fe, Kansas City, Iowa, New Hampshire, Montana, Idaho, and James's son's new business launch * An honest mention of The Reinvention Project and why this episode is the reason it exists Resources & Mentions: * Cocodona 250 — 253-mile ultramarathon, Black Canyon City to Flagstaff, Arizona: cocodona.com [https://cocodona.com] * Rachel Entrekin — 2026 Cocodona 250 overall winner and course record holder * Dr. Joe Dispenza — mentioned in relation to retreats, mind movies, and the "thoughts create your reality" framework * Dr. Margaret Cochran — the "backseat driver" concept (the inner critic that wants to drive the bus) * Dispersed Camping, Flagstaff, Arizona * LA Comedy Club at the Edgewater, Laughlin/Bullhead City — anniversary comedy show * The Reinvention Project: thereinventionproject.podia.com/the-quiet-reinvention-workshop [https://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 [https://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 [https://kerouacscruising.com/why-not-me-life-lessons-from-the-cocodona-250/]. 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 [Join@KerouacsCruising.com]. However you choose to be here — thank you for being part of this. 💚🩷

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 decision * Who Dr. Joe Dispenza is and why we have followed his work for nearly three years * What a retreat actually looks like: 6 am to 8 pm, lectures alternating with guided meditations * The science: neuroplasticity, epigenetics, heart coherence, upregulating genes for healing * The five-hour meditation that started at 4 am, and why it didn't feel that long * What coherence healing is and what it felt like to be on the receiving end of it * Cara's "defrag" analogy for what most meditation actually is, and what this goes beyond * Patty's story — 25 years of Dr. Joe's work, stage four cancer, 16 tumors gone in 10 weeks * What they witnessed in the room — wheelchair to walking, tremors quieting, pain lifting * Resources: the movie Source, the book Becoming Supernatural, the Gaia series Rewired * How they're integrating the work into daily life: twice-daily meditation as non-negotiable * What they're bringing back to Kerouacs Cruising, and the invitation to come along on this next chapter Resources & Mentions: * Dr. Joe Dispenza — drjoedispenza.com * Source — 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 journey * Gaylord Resort, Denver, CO — retreat venue * Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) — referenced as prior practice Note 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 [https://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 [Join@KerouacsCruising.com]. However you choose to be here — thank you. 💚🩷

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 different * Hava Bite Beer Garden: the local food truck collective they stumbled onto through DoorDash, and loved * The Smith's grocery store that genuinely stopped them both in their tracks * The CVS parking lot accident: what happened, how it happened, and what Cara broke * The diagnosis journey: from the ER that almost missed it to the orthopedic specialist two weeks later * What it felt like to watch a year of planning disappear in an afternoon * Coming home to northern Arizona: the tiny house, the 20 acres, the forced stillness * What happens to dreaming when you finally stop just getting through the day * The commitment they made: and why they're more excited about KC and their future than when they first started * James at [13:15]: "The pause was worth it." Resources & Mentions: * Hava Bite Beer Garden — Lake Havasu City, AZ * Smith's (Kroger family) — Lake Havasu City, AZ * Yolk'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 [http://kerouacscruising.com/when-the-plan-breaks-how-a-forced-pause-changed-everything/]. 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 [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

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 property * Parker Dam explained — what it creates, what it costs the ecosystem, and the fish species going extinct because of it * Arizona State Trust Land camping — $20 for the year, 14 consecutive day limit * The Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge — wildflowers in bloom, labeled plant trails, fishing docks, and the walk they wish they'd had more time for * Wild donkeys and six bighorn sheep on the side of a cliff — just a normal Tuesday in the Arizona desert * Why they stopped creating content for a few weeks — and why creating from fear or obligation would have been worse than silence * Where their heads are as Season 3 begins — the hopes, the honest uncertainty, and what they're building toward * Norman and Bella updates — the ongoing socialization journey, leash training, and life with two free-range dogs learning to navigate crowds Resources & Mentions: * Parker Dam — Colorado River, between Parker and Lake Havasu City, Arizona * Arizona State Trust Land permit — $20/year, available at Arizona State Land Department website * Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge — day use, dogs must be leashed near water, interpretive trail signage * Lake Havasu City — London Bridge, boardwalk, boat and jet ski rentals * DoorDash — mentioned as their primary work-from-the-road income during this stretch * Colorado River fishing — largemouth bass, striped bass up to 30 lbs, catch and report species program * Lake Pend Oreille, northern Idaho — referenced for comparison on cold water swimming Note 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 [http://kerouacscruising.com/parker-az-hidden-gems-parker-dam-bill-williams-refuge-camping-on-the-colorado-river/]. 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 [Join@KerouacsCruising.com]. However you choose to be here — thank you for being part of this. 💚🩷