The One Where We End our Journey

Hill Family Nomads at the end of our journey

July 20, 2025. Day 378 of trip.

First, an apology: I have been completely negligent in updating my blog and so I apologize to you, my dear readers. I’ve been too busy living life which has left me little time or energy to keep this site updated. I suppose it is a good thing that I’ve been spending my time doing things instead of spending my time updating this blog, but it means that I haven’t shared nearly enough of our story with you. The good news is that I have been journaling faithfully throughout the trip. I’ve written 496 pages in my journal which I will use to help me update this site going forward. My goal is to get my August 2024 blog posts finished by the end of August, 2025 and continue to update things at least monthly so that by the end of July, 2026, I’ll have a complete chronicle of our journey.

At the start of our trip, we set a goal to visit all 48 of the continental United States and we have successfully completed that goal. As Heidi said, “Ranger has peed in 48 states.” How many dogs have accomplished this feat? I’m uncertain, but it can’t be too many. The map below shows all of the locations where we parked our RV as we traveled the country. Each pin contains a link to a place we stayed on our journey and my plan is to update the map with links to specific blog posts as they are published. We completed our travels on July 20, 2025, having towed our travel trailer just under 21,000 miles.


So here is the big news: We are moving to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Before we departed on our journey, we sold our house, got rid of most of our possessions, and committed to exploring the regions of the USA. Our original plan was to return to the Portland area with a plan to buy a new house, somewhere in a more rural setting. We also departed on our journey with the idea that we might find a new state to call home if we determined that this would be better for our family.

Having visited 48 states, we have developed a reasonable idea about the pros and cons of a wide variety of locations. We have decided to move to the Chattanooga, Tennessee area. You may be wondering, “Why did you pick Tennessee?” The short answer is that we believe that we have better educational opportunities for Annalise and Dexter in Tennessee than we had in Oregon.

The longer answer: In February and March, we visited Collegedale, Tennessee which is a thriving hub for Seventh Day Adventists in the United States. Annalise and Dexter each spent a day shadowing students at Collegedale Academy which is where they will be starting school in a few weeks. Collegedale Academy has a thriving music program, and, most importantly for Annalise, has a real string orchestra at the high school. Also, Annalise has been accepted into the Chattanooga Youth Symphony, and based upon her audition, she has been selected as the principal cellist in that orchestra. Dexter is eager to pursue his organ studies, and he is going to take organ lessons from Dr. Judy Glass, who is an organ professor at Southern Adventist University. He’s excited that his new school has interesting electives for his 8th grade year such as drones, 3D printing, and photography.

For Heidi and for me, this is an opportunity to try something entirely new. We just celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary and are ready for the next phase in our adventure. We are going to buy a new house, and only furnish it with things that we need or that bring us joy. No junk allowed in the new house! In the next week, we are meeting with a realtor and starting the home-hunting process. Heidi has no current plans to resume dentistry and instead intends to continue to embrace her role as a stay-at-home mom.

I am going to continue my current roles at Adventist Health Portland Medical Center. I will be flying back to Portland monthly to work 7 clinical shifts in a row (84 hours) and continue my administrative work remotely.

This marks the end of this chapter in the Hill Family Nomads journey. You never know what might come next.

SAOTD: No suffering. The journey is over.


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6 responses to “The One Where We End our Journey”

  1. Kay Avatar
    Kay

    Sounds like exciting changes are ahead for your family. You have chosen a beautiful area for your new home.

  2. Nancy E MCKEONE Avatar
    Nancy E MCKEONE

    Wow what an exciting life you have chosen. So happy for your children who are obviously gifted with not only talents but also parents who love them completely. May God richly bless all your new plans.

  3. Kevin Larsen Avatar
    Kevin Larsen

    Thanks for the update! Was wondering what happened to your trip. Figured you were just busy having fun. Thought we might get you to stop by the Eastern Sierra! Tennessee is going to be great.

  4. Julie Zimchek Avatar
    Julie Zimchek

    Amazing! So happy for all of you!

  5. Tom N Larsen Avatar
    Tom N Larsen

    Looking forward to the updates of the accomplished trip. I have also done the 48 plus Alaska by road. Great adventure going to Alaska in 2015. Took 6 weeks on that trip. I attended Southern my Sophomore year and really enjoyed it. Still have close friends that live in Ooltewah TN and have visited many times since. Karen’s oldest son will be a sophomore at Southern this next year. Dwight Harr’s daughter Dawnika and her husband live in Ooltewah, they just returned from Africa.
    she graduated from Lodi Academy but don’t remember what year. She is younger that you. He is a peds Doc in Chattanooga. You might look them up, you will see them at the cross walks type church? He might convince you to get a job in Chattanooga? His name is Wilson Thomas. They are a great couple. Kids are trying to adapt to American ways after growing up in Africa. There kids are younger than yours I believe. Since they just recently bought a house there it might be worth looking them up and chattting. You might gain important information from them that will influence / help you in your home search?
    Saw your dad a few months ago – maybe alumni week-end? Good to visit with him.
    Blessings
    Tom Larsen

  6. Angel McCoy Avatar
    Angel McCoy

    I’m glad you found a place to call home and are able to have your kiddos find joy in excelling in their music abilities! Great Adventure Hill family! Thanks for taking us with you! Congrats on your new place to call home!