The Campbells were ensconced in a basement in snow-covered northern Wisconsin when the magnitude of their journey hit them.
"We were all standing there and said to each other, 'Can you believe we're here and we're doing this?' " Inga Campbell says.
![Mike and Inga Campbell with their daughter Andy.](/web/20170217030656im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/b/p/a/o/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gubogo.png/1486958982659.jpg)
Gathered around the table where she worked as a freelance designer and illustrator, she watched with her husband Mike and their then-four-year-old daughter Andy as a herd of deer strolled past a frozen lake.
The family were new arrivals to Clam Lake, a village of just 37, where they were living in a house they had never seen before that belonged to a couple they had met once.
"We met Cathy and Dan in Madison, Wisconsin - we were renting his car off him and they were flying out of Madison to South America," Mike says.
"We had dinner with them, he gave us his car and the next day we drove five hours into the woods. The further we go, the deeper the snow is getting, the sun is setting. We didn't have a phone that worked or a GPS, we had a map they gave us and another drawn on the back of a napkin."
Not that the family was one to shy away from a challenge. The Campbells had already packed, sold or donated all of their possessions and leased out their newcastle home to spend a year house (and pet) sitting across the United States.
"We needed a change," Mike says.
"We often get stuck in our internal fears and internal self talk and those limiting self-beliefs before we've even started something.
"We think, 'I can't do this, all of these crazy things are going to happen.' But then I got out a piece of paper and wrote at the top, 'What's the worst that can happen?'
"Andy is anaphylactic and asthmatic so we thought, 'What if Andy gets sick overseas? What if Inga's business doesn't keep bringing in income? What if the people renting out our home cancel? If that happens, how would we deal with this?'
"We dealt with those future fears in the present and we moved on. And you know what? None of them happened."
The Campbells returned reinvigorated to their airy Newcastle home late last year and are nestled on a plush sofa, reflecting on creating their new version of normal. They have downsized to one income and one car, are living on less money than ever before, make their own cleaning products and rarely eat meals away from home, buy clothes or watch television.
They've never been happier.
"We're all so different but we all have this need of 'How do I slow down and live how I want to live?' " Mike says.
"The trip gave us a platform to learn those lessons, but you can't live on the road your whole life. I also think there are many people who would go on trips and not learn those things. I also feel the journey leading up to us getting on the plane and the ongoing journey after getting off the plane is where we've grown the most."
Mike has started a podcast called Live Immediately and recorded 26 episodes and counting. He interviews people he finds inspirational, but who, crucially, are also living life on their own terms. He muses with guests including author Angela Lockwood about pushing through fears to achieve goals or make lifestyle changes.
The podcast follows the blog he started to record what he learnt - which boils down to "enjoy right now, be happy with what you've got, take risks, find positives and less is more" - rather than locations he visited.
"When we came back one of the questions everyone would ask was 'How are you settling back into reality?' " he says.
"That was interesting because we didn't go on this adventure to come back and be ourselves. I don't think anyone should live 2017 to be the same version of themselves on January 1, 2018. We've tried to re-create what our reality is."
Mike, from Sydney, and Inga, from Newcastle, met when he was working as national publicity manager for Universal Music and she was deputy art director at Cosmopolitan magazine.
The couple married, started renovating their Newcastle house in 2011, fell pregnant and relocated from Sydney, but by the end of 2014 something wasn't quite right.
"We'd spent the year trying to have another child and it was really hard in the sense of feeling that what you have isn't enough and that we want to have another child because our family of three isn't right," Mike says.
"Then we were like, 'Hold on, that's the wrong way to look at this.' At the time we had friends going through IVF and failing and miscarriages and we started to say, 'We're really lucky.' "
Mike was also bringing a "lot of worthlessness and sadness and stress" home from work. Meanwhile Inga was feeling the strain of establishing her own studio, Inkling Design.
"I'd always been saying to Mike 'I wish we could escape and travel - I can work from anywhere,' " she said. "I love to see new things but also just wanted to be in our own bubble again for a while."
The couple started the 30-day "minimalism game" at the start of 2015 and removed nearly 1000 items from their home, including hundreds of vinyl records.
They left on December 20, 2015, with only Clam Lake confirmed, but went on to house-sit in Colorado, Rhode Island and New York.
While overseas, they kept a spreadsheet of expenses and opted for free activities.
Mike rose early to carve out some personal time before Andy woke, while Inga found working in the mornings was more productive and gave the family the rest of the day together.
The trip showed them some things were beyond their control - but they alone were responsible for how they spent their time and money.
"Once we start to look at where we're spending our time it's amazing the fat we have in there," Mike says. "Time is the true currency. Everyone gets paid equal amounts and you have to be really mindful how you spend that. That comes down to being mindful about what you spend money on - and the time you've got to give up to earn that money."
Mike says the family is forever changed. He doesn't feel defined by a business card and is more reflective and willing to listen to other views. Inga says she goes with the flow a lot more and has realised she has all she needs to be happy.
"It's also about not being scared to follow your dreams."
Mike is investigating a career that involves working with children. Inga has turned her night-time doodling of homes into an arm of her business. Andy, now five, is a pet sitter.
Mike says one of the most valuable tools he uses is thinking about how to make each day as close to possible to his perfect day.
"You've got to work for eight hours, you've got to sleep for eight hours, what are you going to do for the other eight hours? It's not about 'quit your job and go and live in a caravan' but have a look at what you're doing and if you want to change something? Don't wait 20 years and ask where time's gone."