Nomadic Mom Finds Gratitude + Adventure in the Midwest

She Who Wanders

Mar 23

A Convo with Stephanie from Family Travel Nomads

Meet Stephanie. A midwest living, road-tripping, sustainability-seeking wife and mom of two, she’s not only a leader in the travel space, but also inspires everyone to explore and discover all the beauty that’s right around us. Having adventured with her family full-time all around South America for over 5 years, she has a passion for faraway places, people and cultures, but also understands deeply the joy that can be found in having roots and a place to belong. Stephanie inspires people to find immense gratitude in every moment, whether an epic trip/adventure or a normal afternoon at home. Beyond that, she is a strong voice for sustainability and taking care of our planet, and uses her platform to educate and encourage others to make more sustainable choices in a way that is doable and not overwhelming. She is a true light in the world, and a resource for anyone aiming to dive deeper into travel and life.

Tell us a little about you and your family like where you’re from, where you live now, how old are your kids and anything interesting or unique you’d like people to know.

My family and I currently live in Iowa, in the same town I grew up in. We’ve been back for about 18 months after living as nomads in South America for 5.5 years.

We moved to Ecuador when our kids were toddlers so they could know my husband’s home country of Ecuador. Soon after, we got bit by the travel bug and decided to start traveling through South America full-time. We bought a vintage Landcruiser, converted it for life on the road, and spent the next several years driving through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Patagonia, Brazil, and Uruguay.

Then the pandemic arrived, and we spent about 1.5 years isolated on the remote, northern coast of Ecuador. During that time we decided we were ready to return to the USA. Coming home amidst the covid chaos was incredibly challenging, but we finally arrived after nearly 3 months of effort.

Since then, our kids have enrolled in public school (they are 8 and 10), my husband has re-opened his local business, and I have been pivoting my travel writing career to cover sustainable Midwest travel, primarily on social media.

After having lived in Ecuador and traveled around South America with your family, what do you miss the most now that you’re back living in the states? What do you appreciate the most?

What we miss the most is our time freedom. It was an incredible period of our life where we had no obligations to anyone or anything, and spent every second together discovering this beautiful planet we live on. We’re still adapting to a life that requires school and work schedules, paying bills, and social immersion while still traveling as much as possible.

There are many things we learned to appreciate after being away so long, but by far the most important is having somewhere to belong: a home, extended family, and a community. It took not having those things to really appreciate how important they are. So while nomadism is justly romanticized, lacking a place to belong is widely under-noted. We ultimately realized that we need both wings and roots, places to be freed and a place to return to.

The Great Wanderlust is all about women stepping outside of the box and diving deeper in both travel and in life! The mission is to inspire moms + families to feel fully alive through adventure and exploration! What is your great wanderlust? What most makes you come to life?? Take us back to a moment when you felt that.

Truthfully, I believe that wanderlust is something ever-evolving that pivots through the experiences and phases of parenthood. And it doesn’t always mean far-flung travel. Sometimes the greatest adventures are those within us - those that help us determine our ultimate purpose in life. And traveling can be a gateway for those discoveries, but it is a mistake to believe that we need big adventures to have a meaningful life.

What makes me feel most alive is practicing gratitude for exactly where we are and what we are doing in each moment. It’s a beautiful thing to look around and really see the people, places, and experiences that comprise “home.” There’s something quite remarkable about resisting the urge to have MORE and choosing to intentionally appreciate who and what is right in front of us.

In a world where it seems many are searching for the next thing or the next place to get to, your passion and appreciation for loving and making the most of exactly where you are is inspiring. What events or influences in your life have helped you have such a perspective on life? How are you passing that along to your kids?

It’s hard to name just one thing because developing this mindset has been an evolutionary process. But certainly the greatest influence was having the opportunity to travel full time together. Yet, more than the places, it’s been the moments we’ve shared as a family. Ultimately, we came to understand that it wasn’t where we went, but how we went. And who we were with. It’s about deeply experiencing life together. Once you’ve had a taste of that, there’s really no going back. There’s no way to stop craving deeper experiences and more meaningful relationships. So we continue to build our life around those things.

We believe that the best hope of passing anything down to our children is to show rather than tell. My husband and I are passionate about living life by example. We simply remind our kids to savor the small moments, celebrate wins and discoveries, and to be brave enough to write their own story.

Usually considered flyover states, the midwest is not typically thought of as a place people want to visit. What do you love about this part of the country and why would you say people should put it on their bucket list?

My mission is less about convincing everyone they should visit the Midwest than it is about telling them they shouldn't avoid it. If the Midwest became a major tourist destination, it would likely lose its charm. What makes it so special is its unapologetic authenticity. Many people tend to drive right around or right through the region thinking it’s just a route to another place. That’s simply not true.

But the biggest message I have is for Midwesterners themselves. Get out and get to know your own cities, your own states, your own region. There is so much to love and appreciate about where we come from. It’s time to end the stigma that travel needs to be big and grand to matter. Because the truth is that what surrounds us is pretty awesome if you’re willing to take a closer look.

How has traveling changed for you since having older kids? What tips would you give families with tweens or teens to make traveling as a family enjoyable for everyone?

The main thing that has changed in recent years is that the kids are much more vocal about the things they do and don’t want to do. It’s more important than ever to carefully balance activities we know they’ll enjoy while also exposing them to new things as well.

Interestingly, the most important tips for happy family adventures are the same as they’ve been since they were toddlers. Avoid over scheduling, never run out of snacks, allow plenty of time to rest, give them choices, and ALWAYS book a hotel with a pool.

Sustainability is becoming more important every day, and I love how you are an advocate/voice for making sustainable choice in travel and in the everyday. If someone wanted to start making more sustainable choices - where would you suggest they start in life at home? What about with travel?

For starters, I like to let others know that sustainability isn’t as difficult or as expensive as it looks. Just like everything else in life, there is definitely a consumer target exploiting sustainability as a buying trend. But being more sustainable doesn’t have to be expensive.

At home, the easiest way to get started is to simply start replacing things you routinely buy with more eco-friendly versions - when you need them. Or to consider if you really need to buy them. The first thing we got rid of was paper towels, and then we chose cloth diapers instead of disposables. That was a long time ago!

Today, we’re working on eliminating single-use plastics and toxins one by one. We started by switching to bamboo toothbrushes and bulk natural cleaning products. And I try to switch out at least one household item each month. This is very empowering because it doesn't create a huge expense, but by the end of the year we can look back and name 12 sustainable swaps we’ve made.

Which do you think is the best midwest city for people to visit, and what do you love most about it?

Oh we’re just getting started in the Midwest, so I don’t think it would be fair to list the best city quite yet. But, every city has surprised us so far and we can’t wait to see if that continues to repeat itself.

That being said, there are a few lesser-known cities that especially delighted us, and we plan to return to regularly. Those are Council Bluffs, Iowa and Rockford, Illinois.

Who inspires you to dig deeper in travel and life?

Someone who inspires me quite a bit is Jillian Blum, an adventurous military wife originally from Arizona, embracing life in Alaska (even while her husband was deployed and she had a toddler to raise alone on the frontier)! Last year, she quit her regular job to pursue photography! She’s super talented and was recently featured in Alaska magazine.