I've never seen this before (Our Cross Country Road Trip) | VLOG
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
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Hey ya'll, I'm Jess from Roots & Refuge Farm
Welcome to a place that feels like home. A small farm with a big family. We hope you'll pull up a chair, grab some coffee and visit awhile.
There was a time that all I wanted in the world was a little farm where I could raise my family and grow our food. Now, that is exactly what exists outside my door. In watching it unfold, a new dream was formed in my heart - to share this beautiful life with others and teach them the lessons we've learned along the way. Welcome to our journey, friend. I am so glad you're here.
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PO Box 4239
Leesville SC 29070
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PRODUCTS WE LOVE - You've probably heard me talk about these things a million times, so here's where you can order them (and get a discount with my code!):
- Greenstalk Vertical Gardens (Use code "ROOTS10" for $10 off your order): rootsandrefuge...
- Squizito Tasting Room (Use code "ROOTS" for 10% off your order): rootsandrefuge...
- ButcherBox: rootsandrefuge...
- Growers Solution: rootsandrefuge...
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I was 5 years old the first time I went to the Grand Canyon. My father woke me up early and we watched the sun rise over the canyon in silence. It was so magical. I turned to him and said..."Do it again Daddy!" Decades later, I saw a commercial where a little girl wispers "do it again daddy"...I was instantly transported back to that magical moment with my Dad. Even today... at 52 years old...the memories are so profound! Thank you for bringing me back there once again. 💗
❤
What a WONDER-FILLED memory!!! 🥰🥰
Well now I'm crying...in the garden snipping basil...watching this...God is most heavenly.
Thanks so much for taking us with you!! I don’t think I would've ever seen it without you!
So glad you include Zion National Park in your trip. We did the same for our cross country drive from Ohio to California. It is so beautiful! You describing it like being on the moon is very apt! Given that I am from a mostly flat state with a Valley as my only nearby variation made Utah feel so foreign to me, too. A drive across the country will provide an appreciation for just how vastly different the landscape is within one country. It feels so nice to hear someone have a similar experience of this kind of trip. And I agree the country we live in has so much beauty to it!
Hey Jess you was only about 45 minutes from my house. I live in the South West corner of Missouri and I travel that road and the Bobby Hopper tunnel a lot. I so enjoyed your journey with your daughter, it is something you both will never forget, love and blessings.
you were in my stompin grounds jess, it is so wonderful to see someone get so moved from the location, It is the greatness of God that I feel blessed to live with everyday., glad you were able to share this with your daughter
I've been to those Parks. Aren't they Beautiful. I was at Grand Canyon over Memorial Day Weekend back in the late 80's. It Snowed and Sleeted on us early in the morning. Them it was in the 70's that afternoon. Great Trip. Been to the Grand Canyon twice. Stayed 7 days exploring each time. Loved every moment. Peace from WV
Military life has its ups and downs with frequent moves and too many goodbyes but I will always be grateful my kids have had the opportunity to travel all over the world to include living near where you are in SC and retiring to AZ a few years ago. Gardening in SE AZ is SO different but I see it as a lifelong challenge from here on out. No option as unfortunately most of rural AZ are food swamps/food deserts. Glad you had such an epic adventure together.
Gods creation is absolutely amazing. I got to see the Grand Canyon once for a short period during travels from Vegas to Phoenix. Breathtakingly amazing. Until I saw a mule team at the bottom you can’t even tell how far down it is. And it looks different throughout the day as the sun moves. Lovely. Everyone that walked to the edge went silent.
I have never been to Zion National Park, but I have been to the Grand Canyon 3 times! It never gets old!
Jess those were not hiking boots. It's a wonder you didn't fall on your butt. Glad you made it safely and are back home. What an adventure.
Thank you for explaining choosing to do feelings or not. That is how I live, and now I can describe it.
So many moments from this video 🫶🏼
1. I'm certainly going to be the crying person meeting you (🤞🏼) at Murray Fest. I'm so grateful you're coming this way!!
2. That little feeling of feeling so meek and tiny in a large world is felt on the edge of the ocean for me. When I lived in Charleston, I'd visit Folly frequent and sob while talking to God about his magnitude.
3. Speaking of God. Only his creation can exude such detail. 😭 Crying with you in awe!
Southern Utah is magical. I love it there. So glad you got to see it. Of you ever want to visit Yellowstone National Park ...I live 2 hours away in Idaho. Bring the costco pack of tissues. That park is wild and gorgeous.
Next time you're in the west you need to come to Northern Utah Salt Lake City and see the beauty of the Rocky Mountains nothing compares. I lived in Raleigh NC for a couple years and though it was beautiful the Blue Ridge and the smokey mts are hills compated to the Rockies. Glad you got to see some of Utah. I've driven back and forth to NC 3 or 4 times taking a different interstate each time and loved seeing it all I80 northern route then I70 middle route then came home on I40 the southern route wonderful trips.
My grandpa use to highlight the directions on a map and then make us read all the signs on the way 😂. Good times!❤
Road trips like that are such fun. My husband and I did one like that years ago driving in Colorado and Wyoming and saw some country like you showed in this video. And yes, it was an awesome sight! I've not yet been to the Grand Canyon but hope to someday. Thank you for sharing your reactions/experience and video clips of the Canyon. It was the next best thing to being there.
Yes! Fuzzy in the bottom! I’ve always wondered how to describe that feeling. What a beautiful trip. Love the comment about letting yourself feel the feelings. Awesome stuff.
I hope you enjoyed your foray into the Desert Southwest. An absolutely awesome and beautiful area. I was fortunate that my parents chose to retire down in southern Arizona so spent many spring seasons in the Arizona desert. Zion, Arches and Canyonlands along with the Navajo nation are well worth the time spent getting there.
What a beautiful trip! We live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We have family in OKC so we’ve been to pops a few times, it’s so cool
Enjoyed the video so much. 😊
Oh my goodness. This one got me right in the feels. ❤
beautiful ❣❣❣
I love the atlas. My daughter laughed. Ow well
It makes me think of the song "How Can You Not See God?". His creation is magnificent!
We atheists are also awestruck by beauty.
I honestly wish theists could just enjoy their own experiences without using it as an opening to bash others who were minding their own business.
Did you stop and see the Petrified Forest?
When Jess cries, we all cry. I'm just sitting here at work thinking i'm going to casually listen to a R&R video while i do my work. Nope, crying at my desk.
Same!
I love that I’m not the only one crying with her
Seriously! Sitting here at grocery pick up waiting and crying. Thank you Jess for always being so vulnerable and real!
Casually watching a Roots and Refuge video is always a gamble.
I'm 110% here for it, but honestly its a gamble ❤😂❤
She may not be able to convey the grand imagery of everything through her lens, but she 100% conveys the feels through her spirit! ❤
Love your comment about being brave to let yourself feel the feelings- painfully awesome, joyful, tragic...❤
“I love those moments where life just completely overwhelms you with the ‘good’ emotions…we call emotions good or bad and the truth is…you feel or you don’t. And I understand why so many people choose not to feel because sometimes the pain of life makes you feel like you’re gonna die. But when you’re brave enough to go through that without getting numb, you get to experience moments like this…” Jessica Sowards, RR Farm💚💚💚 That quote is for sure going in my planner/journal.
I backed the video up and watched that part again and then just had to sit with that for a while. Exactly what I needed to hear at the time. I think I might write it in my journal too...
This quote truely hit home for me! I am a highly emotional person and I get that feeling of either feeling too much or being completely numb because you have to protect your heart from further hurt! But, also being so overwhelmingly filled with emotions for the beauty this world has to offer. I too will be adding this quote somewhere in my home!!
So glad I’m not the only one who writes down Jess Sowards quotes in their journals ❤
It's beautiful that you and your step daughter have such a good relationship Jess! I hope she enjoys her stay in SC 😁
Yeahh..a daughter among boys...a blessing to mom
Bonus kids are blessing 😊
I was a professional driver of an 18 wheeler, OTR for 20 years, 2 million miles, no accidents, no incidents, 1 speeding ticket. I drove through all 48 contiguous US states, plus coast-to-coast Canada, numerous times. Youre going through areas that I drove my rig thru many dozens of times. I always took my 2 German Shepherds with me, so they have traveled more than most people. I retired at age 68, due to heart surgeries, but I truly miss being out there. Your trip made me sooooo homesick for the road. I used to cry at the incredible and stark beauty around our nation. I have nearly 100,000 photos from my 20 years of driving. So many sunrises, sunsets, every kind of weather imaginable, and wide freedom. I have my little farm, now, and have 4 dogs, 2 cats, 2 turkeys, and 29 chickens, but I still miss being out there. Thank you for taking us along on this special memory-making family trip!!! 🥰
Respect to you!
@@donnakinsey2053 Thank you!! 🥰
When I first saw the Grand Canyon, I couldn't walk to the edge - I dropped to my knees and crawled there, and just sat down and stayed put for the better part of an hour. It was the most incredible, overwhelming, and beautiful thing I'd ever seen. ❤
"Epic road trip"! 😀
Agreed with paper atlas. It is really helpful for people who need visualization at hand, or seeing the big picture.
I can’t do a trip without a paper map.
Julia_USMidwest
I am in agreement with you. I love paper maps because of the big picture. There’s a generation or two who don’t know how to read a map. Thank you Jess for sharing your trip and family.
It’s a testament to you that I had to stop this video so many times because I couldn’t see through the tears. Your awe is infectious. I so appreciate how much you appreciated the wonder of Gods glory in the landscape of our country. ❤
Jess, you and Malia will remember this trip for the rest of your lives! I was a child when my Dad drove my Mom and me from coast to coast, and I remember things I can never see again because they no longer exist! Peace and Blessings to you and yours 🌻
I didn't realize how much Maliah and Tobey favor! What a beautiful lovely trip
Also-I visited the Grand Canyon years ago and we were lucky enough to be there around sunset and it is still the most breathtaking experience of my life, besides bringing life into the world!
GOD'S CREATION IS OVERWHELMINGLY GORGEOUS!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
You made me cry!! I can feel your emotion through the screen! Natural beauty makes me emotional too!
I rode motorcycles for 20 years and this is probably some of the most beautiful country you will ever see
The overwhelm of God’s majesty
nothing more to say~
Amen!!!
Amen!!!
The red rocks are beautiful. It literally took my breath away. I went to Salt Lake City, Utah and to Colorado. It looks like this as well. That part of the country is beautiful. I love the mountains and red rocks! It looks majestic at night during the winter. You will gasps when you see the moon at night ! So beautiful.
Thank you for sharing this...I thoroughly enjoyed it. Such gorgeous country and such heartfelt thoughts and feelings! Great video.
Everyone should have a paper map. Always! Great thing to do with those is to make them into a scrapbook. Use the pages you didn't need and tape/glue down bits from the trip. Collect postcards etc, whatever. Makes a really nice keepsake. I get the mapquest thing and I do still print them out, even with a map, a phone, nav on my car etc. Just makes me feel better. :-) Also so glad to see I'm not the only person who cries when places or things affect her. Thank you for sharing!
I have traveled across the US and around the world and you are right. I have a cross stich from my Grandma I just glanced at on the wall...it says... OF ALL THE ROADS THAT WIND AND WIND, THE BEST OF ALL LEADS HOME WE FIND. She stiched in the 40's...still true today!
Jess....... you are a BLESSING!!!!!!!
Its so wonderful to see Malia having grown into such a lovely young woman! I started watching Roots & Refuge several years ago. Then, when my husband became critically ill it was lovely to check in and see your gardens and family flourishing. I lost him last year and for some time couldn’t watch - so the difference in seeing you and Malia is even more striking. So glad you both are doing well, she’s a beautiful sweet girl who is destined to continue to flourish under your wing.
And - I hope the medical issues resolve and you continue to pay attention to your body’s needs.
Thank you for sharing your life with us.
I’m so sorry for your loss ♥️
Thank you for taking ‘me’ along on your grand adventure. I was tearing up with you and laughing and enjoying your adventure. I needed that! Soooo Beautiful!! Thank you.
My granddaughter was in the Navy and traveled from Virginia to San Diego. She videoed the whole trip and it was absolutely amazing I'm so thankful that she did.
Oh wow. I don't think I've ever been first to get to a new R&R video lol
Right? I’m excited to be here so soon after uploading.
Jess and I started crying at the same time as the camera panned out over Zion. I haven't stopped crying. I am so grateful we are able to feel the awe of life so fully that physically, it changes us. 🙏 whether it's the immense joy of a successful harvest (I harvested my very first crop of potatoes EVER today! Huckleberry Golds) or the throat-closing, heart-thumping, leg-shaking awe of nature, it defines us as human BEINGS, not just humans DOING. Bless you, Jess and Malia, for sharing this with all of us. My heart shares your joy and fierce love. 💖
(As a aside, Texas freaks me out. No mountains anywhere and just wide open space 😳 nope. Nopenopenope. Too much sky for my mountain-loving heart!)
I love how full your heart is and how things take you away! So glad you are home and maliah is closer to family.
1. Maliah is Adorable. You and Maleah giggling together are adorable. Turning a Chore into a great adventure together. What Fun!
I was flying from California to Massachusetts seeing the country from sky was breathtaking. The deserts, buttes and canyons, then the farms of the heartlands, it literally brought me to tears. Now to go see these these places on the ground. Great video.
America 🇺🇸 is beautiful and needs to be treasured. These are the moments in life that will be remembered, Jess.
I'm so overwhelmed with the beauty of our country. Thank you for sharing your video, emotions and words of wisdom.
Thanks for sharing your amazing journey with us! Our country is so beautiful. We need to embrace and enjoy and preserve the beauty.
What a memory to make - thank you for sharing and reminding us what this country really has to offer. I remember the tears that came so easily and the feeling of awe I felt the first time I saw the Smokies.
Maliah is stunning. I can't stop looking at her! (Not in a creepy way) What an amazing way to start a new phase of life!! These are core memories ♥
Going thru the Zion tunnel with my 35 foot motor home was truly one of my most memorable experiences ever looking out the holes into the valley they stop all traffic so the motor home drives down the center so beautiful.
Thank You Jess. I am in the UK and suffer from anxiety Panic attacks and Agoraphobia seeing the Grand Canyon though your eyes I was WOW. I know I will never see such beauty in real life. Thank you.
Praying for you 🥰
@@brandyh3536 Thank You
This resonates so much with me. Some of my fondest memories are long road trips with my Grandmother and later with my baby sister. Five years ago we picked up and moved from California all the way to Alabama and it will forever be one of the best experiences of my entire life, driving across country with her and all of our dogs. It was stressful and exhausting and emotional and so, so beautiful.
So glad you got to see the Grand Canyon in all its glory!
We recently drove from Minnesota to Florida in a toyota camry with 2 preteens and a toddler. It was an adventure for the books! Driving allows so much bonding time. Highly recommend!
I’m not even there and I’m crying! 😭 Gods beauty. Thank you for sharing.
Oh my goodness!!! Best call ever! Making it a grand memory! Blessings beautiful ladies!🌻🐛🌿💚🙏💕
This is the best video EVER!! I love your joy and excitement. For all of us REALLY old travelers... try to explain to younger generations about the AAA TripTic, lol.
So sweet. I can hear Miah in Malia's voice. 💚
I feel you Jess. The first time I laid my eyes on the Grand Canyon I cried like a baby 😢. Enjoy this special time with your daughter ❤
I agree, all the photos in the world could not have prepared me for my first view of the Grand Canyon. I was truly awestruck and also grinning from ear to ear just from the joy of it.
My husband and I did a "west road trip" two years ago...South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona...and saw awesome national and state parks, places we had never seen before. You brought me back some lovely memories with your sweet time with your lovely daughter. Glad you are back in your happy place! Yep...no place like home! Blessings, Marie
God Bless our Beloved America and every soul and living thing within it. Love ya, Patty
Jess thank you for just that short glimpse of those beautiful sceneries. That trip will forever be cherished by you and your daughter. ❤❤
I love you Jess. So real. So true. The more we fully feel the pain, the more accessible the joy.
Oh, the beauty and wonder of Gods country! So diverse and wondrous. So glad you two got to enjoy it together for life lasting memories. Love it!
What an awesome momma you are Jess. I am sure you two had a wonderful trip together. It's wonderful that you got to spend that alone time with her. What a beautiful memory for you both. Thank you for sharing parts of it with us. I hope to see some of those amazing sights myself one day soon. Much love to you ❤ and may our good Lord continue to bless you and your family.
I started driving a semi truck last august with my husband. When we drove through Utah, I cried the first time I witnessed the absolute awe of that place. It is breathtaking. I’m so glad you got to spend quality time with your daughter. I cried watching you in your bewilderment and overwhelming emotion. I am a very emotional person as well. I have endured a lot of heartbreaking emotion, but the happy moments that take your breathe away make it worth it every time. Love you and how you embrace the feels. ❤️ thank you for sharing your cross country trip with us!
When you climbed out of the car at Zion Park and did the 360° turn I got goosebumps just admiring the view of the terrain. Absolutely stunning! Thank you so much for sharing your life with everyone, Jess. I appreciate you. ❤🥲
Just awesome. I'm overwhelmed 🙏🏾 Leaving college, not knowing what I wanted to do, I ending up taking a road trip all around the U.S. And i've simce been blessed to see other parts of our incredible world as well. No matter how or what you call our divine creator nothing shows you more that love created everything than the beauty and majesty of the Earth and our blessing to be a part of it. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Thank you both for taking us along! I even had happy tears too!
Jess! 1. I think I've been crying the whole video. And 2. How blessed both you and Malia are that you have each other ❤. Your relationship is so beautiful.
I was gracious enough to spend 4 summers there and worked in the park. My parents shipped my horse crazy self from a MO farm to live with my Aunt and Uncle in Prescott, AZ. LOVED IT!
I wanna see Jess go through Glacer and Banff National Park. It is an absolute pleasure to watch you see these new places.♡♡♡ I love seeing Jess experience our beautiful country.
Crying right along with Jess! Your poetic words always woo my heart ❤
Thank you for taking us along.
I have been all over the world and I reacted to Zion and Monument Valley and Grand Canyon as you did…truly one of my most inspired and spiritual trips….your daughter is so beautiful and resemblance to her brothers very apparent!
What's funny is that I'm intently watching the video, just taking in the gorgeous scenery of the west. Then it gets to the end and the camera pans on a beautiful garden building, and I thought "wow, that looks a lot like Jess's cottage garden area!" Turns out it was! And I agree. This earth is packed with many wonders, and it's great to be able to see them in person, but home is always best.
I feel you! I took my baby brother and daughter on an 11 day trip down Route 66 after he graduated from southeast Texas to the Grand Canyon, into Utah, through Colorado. There’s no picture that can describe the sites and views or do them justice. It just takes your breath away around every turn! I will always cherish that time with them.
you can't beat a good road atlas for cross contry driving i have one in my truck at all times has saved me quite a few times glad you enjoyed your time together
Exactly! My hubs and I have tried to impress upon our children that they should have a paper map (or we send them with our atlas, just like Jess’) because sometimes you don’t have service! And that is usually when you need it most, in that sort of situation.
Truly Gods wave of his hand
A day full of things you’ve never seen before- that’s how I felt when I went to Yellowstone a few years ago.
Side note, we will be in nw Arkansas this summer, I’ll look up that art museum!
you always have such a sublime way of touching my heart of hearts and an out of this world way of evoking tears to get caught in my eyes and a lump in my throat. Thank you Jess.🌻🧡
Bonus kids are a Blessing.
These are the times to keep Family close.
Stay Safe
🦋
Yes ! Finally a person who 😊agrees...
PAPER MAPS ! are essential..! 😂😅
I soo look forward to this trip [your VDOs ]
Thanks Jessica
💖🌿
IMO going to the Grand Canyon should be REQUIRED for every student before graduating from high school.
The federal govt wastes so much money on other things, they can pay for this trip for every child!!
Makes you recognize the majesty and amazingness of our nation!!!!
You made me cry right away Jess! 😂 Tears of joy. I am from Germany, but I led adventure treks in the States years ago. And your trip brought me back to all these beautiful places. Dankeschön! I will never forget my helicopter ride into the grand canyon.
I’m from Canada and I think I’ve only seen a quarter of my own country! What a fantastic road trip you two must’ve had! What a fabulous adventure! How inspiring I think I would like to do that with my own country ❤
Looks like you need to take more cross country road trips. I grew up doing this every summer with the family 5 kids, parents and grandma. We just picked a direction and went driving finding neat places to see along the way bought food at local grocery stores ate at picnic spots and camped at the night. I’ve been to almost every state, large parts of Canada and Mexico during my childhood. Made lasting memories. I’d highly recommend people doing that.
I'm in NZ and my husband and I took a road trip up the south island east coast and through the lower north island in spring of '07 to find a place to move to and halfway through I said I finally understood why people pay thousands and fly for 26 hours to visit. Your own country can suddenly surprise you ...
As a Gen X'er, I can say I've never used a "digital map". Sure, I'll look up an address on my puter, but not one of my devices have "location services" turned on. I find it creepy and always use "paper" maps. Good for you for getting the Atlas.
Okay...darnit. You've got me tearing up. We live in the most beautiful country on the planet, yet most never get to experience the beauty. It's extremely overwhelming. Your drive through Oklahoma, on I-40 was likely boring...but all four corners of our state has amazing sights to see. You just gotta get off the highways. :-)
Glad you girlies had a good time.
Yup!
As an Aussie that will never see the US in person I thank you for sharing part of your road trip. I love that you always make everything just that extra bit beautiful . ❤
Jess now that you’ve seen these wonders I encourage you to watch a documentary called ‘is genesis history’…very fascinating scientific proof of the great flood In the walls of these places you’ve just seen ❤