If you have known us at AXIOS for any length of time, you have seen us continue to deepen our love of adventure.

Even now, we feel the constant tug to hop in the truck and hit the road. We often get overwhelmed talking about all the places in the world to see, not to mention our own backyard. We could spend the rest of our lives exploring, hiking, and fishing the mighty West and still not see it all! From the Green River in Utah to Glacier National Park, the mighty Missouri in Yellowstone to the Deschutes flowing through Bend, we know we have miles to log and epic adventures to have in the future.

As much as we love our long-form explorations into the unknown, we have come to appreciate moments of adventure in our “everydays.”

We noticed a pattern: We would set our eyes on an epic road trip and tweak schedules and gear lists. There is a palpable energy in our house as a trip is approaching. The day to leave comes, and we pull out of our driveway, anticipating these epic moments. We return home full of gratitude, good food, and film needing to be developed.

Then, we would wake up the following day feeling down, our daily lives feeling somewhat like a letdown compared to our adventure-filled trip.

As we pondered why this habit had formed, we realized something. We miss out on adventure in our “everydays” because it often looks like an interruption.

Part of what we love about our trips is the seemingly random experiences that happen along the way, from meeting Becky at a pig farm in Bozeman, where we shared stories and connected about coaching for hours sitting in the dark under the stars, to meeting a couple at a concert in Denver who encouraged us to hit Canyonlands National Park on the drive to Salt Lake City. The special moments of each trip are unplanned; the unexpected is a critical component of an epic adventure.

For some reason, these unplanned moments are blessings during a road trip but a nuisance on a random Tuesday during a work week. The lens of responsibility and busyness we wear daily leads to missed moments of adventure. The invitation to explore, connect, and have fun is always there; we simply look past it. You might feel the nudge to take a pottery class, stop by the new coffee shop on your drive home from work, or dust off the old ten-speed and ride through town.

Or you may have an annoying appointment at a government building in Downtown Seattle, so you use it as an excuse to explore the newly finished Waterfront Park. That one is a personal example of what we did last week. The experience was an important reminder to use frustrating interruptions as an invitation to explore.

I had to stop by the King County Courthouse to drop off some paperwork, an hour’s drive for a ten-minute stop. When I returned to the truck, Britney hadn’t even finished downloading the proper app to pay for our parking. Thankfully, we had already decided to carve out a couple of extra hours to wander towards Pike Place along the new Waterfront Park. Seattle was showing off on this random Tuesday. The sun was shining, and musicians were busking on their pianos and guitars. Taking in the water, buildings, and eclectic collection of tourists and locals reminded us why we love the Pacific Northwest.

We walked a mile to the Seattle Aquarium, staring into a massive tank full of exotic fish and even random eels slithering overhead. The smell of the many food vendors collided to whisk us up to find something to eat, like Pepe Le Pew, following the scent of his newest love interest.

We had walked long and hard, even climbing a flight of stairs, to reach the market. Due to our exertion, we drastically needed a carb reload. We stopped at The Confectional for a gluten-free cookie and the original Starbucks for a coffee. Armed with sustenance, we wandered to a seating area overlooking the bay.

As I look around, the towering concrete giants of the city rise against the unusually blue sky, and the deep ink black of the ocean crashing against the rigid lines of human construction fills me with a sense of wonder. It’s a feeling I chase—this shrinking of the self against the backdrop of something vast and powerful. I also find it on the forest roads we drive, where the infinite forest stretches before me. These everyday adventures, these moments of awe, are the antidote to our stress-filled lives. They remind us that there’s a world beyond our worries, a world of beauty and wonder waiting to be discovered.

So here is our invitation to you: invite adventures into the everydays. Embrace the unexpected detours, the unplanned moments, and the simple joys that surround you. This week, challenge yourself to try something new, explore a different part of your town, or take a moment to appreciate the beauty in the ordinary. Your wild and meaningful life is calling.