Sadie Speaks: Takeaways, Trip Tips, and God Moments from 7th Grade on the Road
In her own words, Sadie shares reflections from the yearlong road trip that challenged her and expanded her world.
June 15, 2026
Everywhere, USA
“Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.” Psalm 9:11
Just Get Out There
This trip has been a big adventure. Lots of ups and downs all trip. Sometimes I was so excited to get up to go hike and other times, I didn’t want to get out of bed.
Talking to people and having in-person interactions was probably one of my favorite parts of this trip. I feel like most people have online interactions more than in-person.
People always ask “what’s your favorite place you’ve been?” The truth is, it’s impossible to chose. They are all so different. How are you supposed to compare the Grand Canyon to Great Sand Dunes? That’s right, you can’t.
I think my view on the world has changed also. I can’t tell really because change happens slowly, but someone I haven’t been around in a year would probably notice that I’m very different.
In the last year, I’ve seen and done so much more than many people do in their whole life. I’m not saying that I’ve seen more than every person, but it’s crazy because some people go there whole lives and never leave their state. In Hot springs National Park, there was a park ranger who’s never been to any other national park. They grew up in that town and haven’t been to much else.
There’s so much out there, and only so much time. So listen to a 13-year-old and go get out there. Get off your phone and book a flight to Yosemite in California. Go hike a mountain, go swim in a river, go mountain bike, just go do something!
Sadie on the Mist Trail in Yosemite at dawn, on her way to Half Dome.
Where to Go: Sadie’s top park recommendations
Sadie on top of Angel’s Landing, which she hiked for a second time by herself.
Yosemite National Park, California. Open all year long, peak time is summer. Things to do, hike Half Dome - permit required (in winter you need to have climbing gear and stuff cuz it gets technical, only in winter tho), hike Upper Yosemite Falls and while you’re up there just hike El Capiton (it's like an extra mile). If you’re doing it in winter, you can do it but expect thigh-high snow. In summer hike or drive to glacier point.
Zion National Park, Utah - Open all year round, more people are there on breaks and summer. Things to do: hike Angel’s Landing (permit required but so worth it). Hike the narrows (you can rent gear cuz the water is cold). Last, hike The Watchman at night and go see the stars/moon!!
Glacier National Park, Montana. June-late Sep. Things to do: Hike the Highline (get a permit for the hiking shuttle and hike THE WHOLE THING). Hike the Hidden Lake Trail, Hike to Iceberg Lake. Hike to Grinnell Glacier. In the North Fork area drive to Lake Bowman.
Yes, she is barefoot.
Grand Teton, Wyoming. Open all year long, peak crowds are in summer. Things to do: hike a Teton (why not?). Float down the Snake River. Take the boat across Jenny Lake.
Yellowstone, Wyoming. Peak crowds is summer. Walk around all the boardwalks, go back country camping. (We didn’t do that but I don’t have anything else to add for this one so I just added that.)
Redwood National Park, California. All year round. Legit just hike around the trees, they are awesome.
Crater lake, Oregon. Peak time is summer but in the snow is awesome. Things to do: hike to the lake, swim! That's kinda it, but it's amazing.
North Cascades, Washington. June-Sep. Things to do: hike to the Sahale Glacier. Paddleboard Diablo Lake.
Have a wild blueberry
God moments: Finding Ourselves at the Right Place at the Right Time
There were dozens of times during the trip where we sensed our timing wasn’t coincidental but orchestrated by God to bring us there at the right moment. Toward the end of the trip, Sadie started keeping a list of all the crazy things that happened that we never could have planned—all the times we felt the Lord making our path, leading us to the right place at the right time.
We showed up to the Grand Canyon two days early, and that was the night of the northern lights.
We showed up to Crater Lake for the first snow of the year and 12-14 inches of fresh powder. It stopped snowing as soon as we got out of the car and 15 minutes later, the fog lifted so we could see the lake.
We went to Carlsbad Caverns right at the start of bat season. The night before the ranger said they only saw 20 bats, but on the night we went, just one day later, we saw 20,000+.
We got to Yosemite late enough that there was still snow but it had already started melting, so we got to see huge, rushing waterfalls.
In the Tetons, we met someone on the side of the Snake River and started talking to him, and he told us about this secret fishing spot that he hadn’t even told his family about. We caught 270 trout in 2 days. And no, we’ll never tell where it is. We promised him we wouldn’t.
In Zion, we ran into someone my mom knew and hadn’t seen in 15 years, and we were all staying at the same campground. Two days later we were all going to be at Horseshoe Bend, so our families met up there.
Rock climbing on the side of the road at a random pullout in Moab, we ran into one of dad’s BUD/S classmates.
In Wisconsin, we saw a flier from someone that took military veterans and active duty out on his boat. So we got a free guided boat ride.
In Minnesota, someone asked dad to help load a washing machine onto his boat to take to their cabin on the island in Crane lake, and then we got invited for coffee and to go out on their boat the next day.
We were on a ski lift with people from Virginia Beach who were neighbors with dad’s old commander.
When we were in North Cascades, we hiked down with a guy who happened to be in the campsite next to us at a campground an hour away. He told us about a cool hike near where he lived, the Ape Caves lava tube, which we went to a week later.
In Zion we met Alex from Australia. We mentioned we were out of s’mores stuff. The next night he brought us a bag of it and joined us for dinner and his first ever s’more.
When we arrived in Guam, one of the church members was renting a furnished house for their business and had three extra bedrooms. She offered for us to stay in the remaining three bedrooms. Then she loaned us a car to drive around the island for two weeks. (Thank you Siska!!)
Also in Guam, on the complete other side of the world, the other person who was staying in the same house as us was from Sandbridge and lived just 20 minutes away from our house in Virginia Beach.
Two of the nine people trying to Space-A back to the mainland from Guam were people we met and spoke with for an hour at Dadi Beach a few days before. They ended up giving us rides to/from base because we didn’t have a car we could leave there.
Someone we know got out of prison after 2.5 years the same exact week we were going to be in their town, and so we got to go see them and celebrate with them.
Roberts on the Road
For those just finding us, hello! Inspired by the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25, our family went on a yearlong RV road trip in 2025-2026 to celebrate my husband’s retirement after 20 years in Naval Special Warfare, as well as our 24 years together during the ups and downs of it all.
With our 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in tow, this trip to explore America’s national parks and beautiful places helped our family reflect and reset as civilian life begins.
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For background info on who we are and why we went, we’d love for you to read the intro post. Our wrap-up post sharing stories from the entire trip is here. The full list of road trip blog posts can be found here. Thanks for stopping by!
