The number of chance interactions we have had with strangers during our nomadic journey is too numerous to list but each has left a warm aftertaste in our minds, and made this whole journey so much richer for it. When we were debating the various pros and cons of the nomadic life, we did not ever consider this to be a feature of this life, and so this has been a true unexpected surprise and a great bonus.

We had traveled extensively in our pre-nomadic life where we would also occasionally strike up conversations but the nature, quality and frequency of interactions now is totally different - which we attribute in large part to the time we have to indulge in such conversations, the types of places these travels have taken us to, and just the different mindset we are in these days.

Here are 5 such interactions just over a period of 24 hours that we had last week while in Rocky Mountain NP:

1) A young man, originally from Iowa and now a backcountry guide in the Rockies, fly-fishing the gorgeous, crystal-clear waters of Big Thompson River as it coursed its way through the beautiful wildflower-laden meadows of Moraine Park. We asked him if he could give us a primer on fly-fishing, which he very happily did for the next half hour or so as he snagged 3 brown trout successfully (and released), but we also ended up exchanging notes on Iowa (that we had just passed through and spent a couple of days in just 2 weeks ago) and Colorado

2) A young family also fishing the river who had traveled from Louisiana, and who had just come up to RMNP on a whim (they made their hotel reservations from their car after setting off from home - hats off to them!!) and were planning their way back home by simply winging it and were happy to hear ideas from us on where they could possibly visit

3) A commercial photo/videographer who was taking a time lapse shot of Longs Peak which we almost photo-bombed but which led to a lovely conversation and where he gave us various pointers to what we could explore on way to our next stop in Colorado

4) A retired couple from Kentucky with whom we started an innocuous conversation, and very soon they started sharing their love for riding horses and how the gentleman would go annually with his 3 brothers to the Ozarks to a horse riding camp, and also gave us various helpful tips if we were to travel to their neck of the woods

5) A family from Kansas that we met while hiking up the gorgeous (and hard!) Sky Pond trail who were combining their hike with birdwatching and fishing, and who home-school their 3 boys - it was interesting to hear about the homeschooling experience

*The young man from Iowa teaching us the ropes of fly-fishing in Big Thompson River, Rocky Mtn NP CO*

I wrote this blog yesterday morning. That very afternoon we happened to visit a local winery (an excellent one I must add) around where we are staying now in Colorado, and ended up having a gala time chatting with the owners and some other guests - here is a picture of all of us!

#20 Chance meetings

#21 There is so much to see outside of national parks

#19 NAAR - the mind-blowing restaurant