WELCOME TO SAVING TIME IN A BOTTLE

Hi there! We’re Curtis and Jess, and we use this site as a way to document the memories we’ve made together, and to share our adventures with family & friends. After 10 years in the Navy and moving all over the US, we started our journey as nomads, living in a self-built van, working remotely, and traveling wherever work takes us. We most enjoy spending time in the outdoors along with our basset hound, Charlotte, doing things like hiking, kayaking, camping, and more. Thanks for visiting, feel free to stick around!

RECENT POSTS

  • Hiking Scaly Mountain
    Hiking Scaly Mountain | Highlands, NC | Nantahala National Forest to Oconee National Forest, GA | February 2024 This morning, we packed up and set off for our last hike in the Appalachians for this trip. We had 2 days before Curtis needed to show up for his next assignment, which was about 6 hours…
  • King Falls / Spoonauger Falls
    Hiking to King Falls & Spoonauger Falls in Sumter National Forest, South Carolina | Camping on the Chattooga River | February 2024 After things hadn’t gone according to plan the night before, we weren’t sure how we wanted to spend our day. We also didn’t have phone service at our campsite, so we couldn’t do…
  • Dry Falls / Hiking Whiteside Mountain
    A Day in Highlands, North Carolina | Dry Falls | Hiking Whiteside Mountain | February 2024 We started our day by driving out of the gorge and up to the small mountain town of Highlands, NC. Like many other places on this trip, we were surprised to find it was busier than expected, especially considering…
  • Hiking to Rainbow Falls / Gorges State Park
    Brevard to Highlands NC | Hiking to Rainbow Falls in Gorges State Park | Camping in Nantahala National Forest | February 2024 We woke up on our last morning camping in Pisgah National Forest feeling thankful for a stove that worked, a van that started, and for the time we had enjoyed in this area….
  • Frying Pan Lookout / Blue Ridge Parkway
    Hiking to Frying Pan Lookout Tower | Blue Ridge Parkway | Pisgah National Forest | January 2024 Last year when we were staying in Asheville, we had wanted to hike Mount Pisgah, but because the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed miles before that trailhead, we ended up settling for another peak, Ferrin Knob. We hoped…
  • Hiking to Daniel Ridge Falls
    Hiking to Daniel Ridge Falls | Pisgah National Forest | Brevard, NC | January 2024 Our time spent in Pisgah National Forest around Brevard was divided between hiking new trails and fixing some unexpected issues. On our first night in the area, we realized we had a propane leak in the pipes leading to our…