Happy Thanksgiving from Sprinkles & NoKey

Thanksgiving - a rare day off for me!  I'm very thankful to be working for an employer who, thankfully, doesn't believe it working on holidays.  I know this makes me in the minority of many of the people I know these days.  This morning I ran a 10K out in Knoxville before coming home to rest and then stuff my face with delicious food.  

I have so much to be thankful for this year, including making a move back to Tennessee to be near my friends and family and scoring an AMAZING job where I am sharing my passions of backpacking and teaching principles I truly believe in to novice hikers.  To say that I have been extremely lucky this year is an understatement.  

To all of my readers out there, I am most thankful for you.  This year has seen amazing changes to the blog, my writing, my hiking, and even won me an award and some nominations for best outdoor blog on several websites.  I cannot wait to continue onward in 2016 and continue to grown and write quality content for all of you.  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a chance to get outside and enjoy some fresh air, even if it's only for a minute!

Our thank you cards are finally here and today I’m starting on sending out the first batch.  When I first started my list, I had the names of the hostels and the super nice and friendly hotels listed.  My list continued to grow though, to people we’d met along the trail who begged for Katahdin photos, to my neighbors who took care of my dog, to co-workers who went out of their way to help me keep my job… It’s nice to be reminded I have so much to be thankful for as we go into the holiday season.  I’m usually rather jaded this time of year, but this year I’m just happy to have made so many new friends and been treated so well by total strangers.  If you’re reading this blog, thank you for all your support and friendship during my hike.  It was the most incredible experience of my life and I’ll always carry it with me.