MAPLEWOOD, Mo. – Ever thought about ditching day to day to life, and do something totally out of the ordinary.
A Maplewood family is doing just that. They're on an adventure like no other. They left St. Louis last September, bound for the top of the world.
"These two guys right here have told me I have to sell our house, I have to sell my car, and we have to go traveling for a year,” said Ronnie Jones.
Meet the Jones family.
There’s mom, Amy, 9-year-old Bastian, Dad, Ronnie, and 11-year-old Ayden. The Maplewood family of four started an amazing journey back in September.
“We've always been kind of outdoorsy and one of the main things we wanted to do was see Everest,” said Ronnie.
So after lots of research and loads of planning, the Jones family ditched their daily routines to get a rare view of the world’s highest mountain.
"So, it's a very popular thing to do,” said Ronnie. “What's not so popular is to have kids do it."
Their journey just to start their trek to the base camp of Mount Everest was an adventure.
They spent months trekking around countries along the way, places like Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. They arrived in Nepal for their three-week, 81-mile trek through the Himalayas several weeks ago.
“It's a serious thing and you can't just say we're going to grab the fam and head out there, you've got to really be careful because people have died on this trek,” said Ronnie.
"It all has to do with planning and research that you understand the risk that are there,” said Amy.
To give themselves ample time to adjust to the high altitudes, they made the trek without a guide, and carried their own supplies.
“So we didn't want to take any chances with kids,” said Ronnie. “So, we took extra days to just kind of relax, we took a little bit of a slower pace.”
They reached milestones and impressed hard-core trekkers along the way.
“This one guy we passed kept saying woah, woah, woah,” said Bastian.
They made it to their destination in just 16 days.
“I feel accomplished and I feel that I've done something very great,” said Bastian.
“Being able to have this experience builds that knowledge of knowing that if they put their mind to something they can accomplish anything they want,” said Amy.
“I think that these guys are going to keep that with them for the rest of their lives,” said Ronnie.
“Doing the Everest base camp, kind of feels normal with all the traveling that we've done,” said Ayden. “But finishing the trek was one of the best accomplishments that I’ve made and our whole family has made.”
The Jones have visited eight countries so far, and are headed to Dubai next. They're also planning a trip to Pakistan, and the world's second highest mountain, K2.
If you're wondering about school, we asked. Both boys are doing classes online.
You can follow the Jones family journey on their YouTube channel, and if you want to buy them a meal or help with a donation.
For more on the Jones Family, click here for their YouTube page. Click here for their Patreon page.
