Welcome back to another edition of Travelers Tuesday! This week, we are bringing you a young couple who are following their dreams together while discovering all that they are meant to be. Hannah and Dustin are one of my favorite couples to watch grow and I know we will be seeing great things from them in the years ahead!
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Meet the family: Dustin and Hannah have been together for 4 years and on the road together for 6 months. Their first few months full timing together were spent near home, waiting on the next job, but Dustin has lived in a fifth-wheel fulltime since April 2014. They have a German Shorthair Pointer named Heck who travels with them and another 7 year old, Colt that is at Hannah’s parents’ house.
How did you get into the LineLife and how is your education progressing while on the road? Dustin started his career at Northwest Lineman College (NLC) Fall of 2013 in Meridian, Idaho. This a 15-week electrical lineworker program, where he learned how electrical systems worked and also obtained his CDL driver’s license. September 2014, Dustin was indentured into the Mountain States Line Constructors Apprentice and Training Program (MSLCAT) apprenticeship. Dustin is currently working in his apprenticeship and should be done in approximately 3 years! After Dustin completes his apprenticeship he will be a journeyman lineman. Dustin going to line school ended up being the best choice there was, but we didn’t know this in the beginning! Even though there have been many challenges along this road we have made it work and gotten through every single one of them! It may not be the easiest path but so far, I wouldn’t ask for it to be any other way! 
I finished high school in 2012. After that I attended Oregon State University in Corvallis for 3 years. I am now finishing my final year online and will graduate in June. I will have a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife with minors in Leadership and Natural Resources. I loved my time and experiences at OSU. I was a member of a professional agricultural sorority and an ambassador for agriculture, forestry, and natural resources. I am very excited that I was able to start traveling with Dustin while he finishes his apprenticeship program. After that, I hope to get a dream career being a big game biologist in the northwest.
I have really enjoyed my classes this year and everything related to my major. I have found that since I am not traveling every weekend now I am doing quite well in my studies! Everything is together in one place; Dustin, school and myself! I have a Verizon jet pack and Macbook Pro which are two things that help get school done.
Was the process of getting on the road easy? The short answer to this question is, “NO”! Dustin lived 2 hours from home before his apprenticeship and lived in the trailer. He was adjusting to this lifestyle and coming home every weekend. In August 2014, we found out we had 2 weeks before he would soon be leaving. We had to buy a pickup and find a fifth-wheel he could take with him! From that time, he started saving and we were able to buy a new to us fifth-wheel this spring after rv shopping for 4 months. We were also dealing with being young and having NO credit. After some truck problems, Dustin got a new pickup, and we finally had the setup we have today. I had not planned on being on the road until June 2016 after finishing college in Oregon, but life happens. things change, and I ultimately decided I was done living a life I didn’t want to live with everyone telling me what I should do. In March of this year, I made the decision to leave Oregon in June with all of my things, move in with Dustin, and start traveling! I am very happy with my decision and happy we can be together on the road enjoying this adventure.
What is your favorite or lease favorite thing about traveling together? My favorite thing about traveling together is that we get to see each other every night and be together. We did long distance for 3 years and those made for short, exhausting trips to each other. It was mainly me skipping school to go visit Dustin wherever we was working. Now, we can travel together, be together, and go on lots of adventures together. I love being able to travel and experience life together while not worrying when the next time I will see him will be or dreading when I have to go home. My least favorite part about traveling is packing and moving within a day’s notice or that changing 10 times within a month! I also don’t like having to follow Dustin when we move since we have 2 trucks and the fifth-wheel everywhere we go.
How many states have you visited? Countries? Since we started full-time we have only lived in 2 states, but we have visited most of the states in the Northwest. Together we have traveled in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. I am hoping to check a few more states off our list within a few weeks.
What has been your favorite trip, site, experience so far? Least favorite? I think that my favorite trip would have to be this summer when we visited Crater Lake National Park on the way to Montana for the Montana Lineman Rodeo in Butte, Montana. We both grew up less than 3 hours from Crater Lake and had never been there. We got to stop and stay with my college friends along the way and I met new Linewives at the rodeo. I love being on the road seeing new places and meeting people along the way. 
What are your travel goals? We plan to travel until at least 2018. When he finishes his apprenticeship, we would like to travel a little more to the areas we choose instead of being told where to go. At each location I have tried to find things to do in or around the town while we live there. We just moved from Wyoming, while we lived there we visited the Black Hills of South Dakota, Badlands, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower National Monument.
Getting to know Hannah: What got you started in blogging? I started blogging in October 2014 since I wanted to be able to look back on Dustin’s journey through his apprenticeship program when he was done. I have connected with other Linewives through blogging and it helps our friends and family keep track of us. What is your favorite thing to write about? Is there a specific category or post from your site that you love? My favorite thing to write about is Dustin’s career and our story. I feel that because we have been together since high school, fought long distance relationship battles, and now live the crazy lifestyle (“LineLife”), we can get through anything together. My favorite posts would have to be the ones focusing on his career or the Lineman Rodeo. 
What is your favorite season? My favorite season is fall. The leaves change colors, the weather gets cooler, it is perfect for fires and hot chocolate, and it is hunting season! What is your favorite food? Is there something you love that you’ve found somewhere but you can’t easily find elsewhere? Sushi! I wasn’t a big sushi fan a few years ago but Dustin and I go to sushi with our friends quite often!
Want to follow along with Hannah and Dustin as they grow in their adventures? Their story and so much more can be found over on Hannah’s blog, Starting Our LineLife!
