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
- El Malpais & Petroglyph NHS
El Malpais National Monument to La Cienega, NM | La Ventana Natural Arch | Petroglyph National Monument | La Cieneguilla Petroglyphs | January 2026 We survived our coldest night of camping yet, with the temperature dropping to 5 degrees Fahrenheit in El Malpais National Monument (not counting windchill)! Unfortunately, despite running the heater throughout the… - Window Rock / El Morro NHS
Visiting Window Rock, Arizona | Navajo Nation Museum | Driving from Window Rock, AZ to El Malpais National Monument in NM | January 2026 After leaving Petrified Forest National Park, we drove East on I-40 towards the AZ/NM border — a stretch of I-40 that we haven’t driven in either direction since we first moved… - Petrified Forest National Park
Visiting Petrified Forest National Park | Driving from the Southern to Northern Entrance of the Park | January 2026 We awoke in the Crystal Forest campground to a cool and cloudy morning. We didn’t waste any time packing up and heading into the National Park, knowing we only had half a day before the next… - Taking it Easy in Winslow Arizona
Driving from Winona to Holbrook, AZ | Visiting Route 66 Sites in Winslow | Homolovi State Park | Camping in Crystal Forest Campground | January 2026 We started off this morning by driving into Winona to see the Walnut Canyon Bridge. Curtis was expecting it to be a bit more than it was, but he… - Flagstaff / Sunset Crater & Walnut Canyon
Kingman to Flagstaff, AZ | Visiting Sunset Crater and Walnut Canyon National Monuments | Camping in Kaibab National Forest | January 2026 Once we were finished around Kingman, it was time to start our drive across Northern Arizona. We were looking forward to taking our time driving I-40, with a combination of visiting places we’d… - Hiking Hualapai Mountain
Oatman to Kingman, AZ | Hiking Hualapai Mountain | January 2026 After our days spent around Oatman, we drove Route 66 East through town and through the Sitgreaves Pass. The road was incredibly scenic — again giving Grand Canyon vibes — with lots of tight turns and narrow roads. We eventually made it to the…