Adventure With Us

Left Lane Living grew out of our family’s need to live differently and more intentionally.

We’ve always been an outdoors family, but in 2020 something shifted. Our son Lane, who is autistic and non-verbal, showed us what he truly loved for the first time on a trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park. On a short hike to Bumpass Hell, he was completely locked in. The bubbling mud pots, the steam, the smells, the rawness of it all. As the sun dropped behind the ridge, it clicked. Not just for him, but for us.

From that day on, Lassen became his place. He would put on his hiking boots, jeans, and one of his many Lassen shirts every day, ready to go. We started making weekly, sometimes daily, trips.

Then in 2021, the Dixie Fire hit.

We were swimming at Lake Helen when it started. The park closed, and we didn’t know if his favorite place would survive or how to explain why we suddenly couldn’t go. After already losing our hometown of Paradise in the 2018 Camp Fire, it hit hard. When Lassen finally reopened and his favorite spots were still there, it felt like a small miracle.

Since then, our adventures have grown. Lane now loves Burney Falls, especially since his Papa and Nene live nearby, and he’s completely mesmerized by Mount Shasta where we’ve spent countless nights stargazing. He’s also a full Disneyland fanatic. Main Street, caramel apples, Pirates, Matterhorn, Rise of the Resistance. That’s his version of magic.

Left Lane Living is how we bring all of this together.

Our roots go back to 2014, when I started making handmade gifts as a stay-at-home mom. In 2022, after Joey’s back injury ended his career as a bridge carpenter, we made the decision to go all in together and build this around our family’s real life.

That life includes raising a child with profound autism.

Lane still wears diapers, needs constant supervision, and deals with sensory and sleep challenges that make a normal 9 to 5 impossible for either of us. Having both of us home is not a luxury. It’s what allows us to show up for him the way he needs.

Some days that means orders take a little longer. Not because we don’t care, but because our kids come first.

Today, we create laser-crafted goods, personalized gifts, Ridge-inspired apparel, decals, and custom work. Everything is made with care, grit, and intention. Alongside the shop, we’re building the storytelling side of Left Lane Living through our blog and upcoming vlogs, sharing the honest, unfiltered version of our life, autism, homesteading, and adventure.

Every purchase directly supports our family. It helps cover therapies, equipment, medical needs, and keeps Lane’s world as stable as possible.

We’re not sharing this for pity. We’re sharing it for connection.

If you’re an autism parent, we hope you feel less alone. If you’re not, we hope this gives you a clearer look into a world most people never see.

One day, we’d love to build a nonprofit to help other special needs families experience adventure on their own terms.

For now, we keep going. One day, one hike, one piece at a time.