Lessons From the Road- Two Years and Counting

Greg and I started this journey with no agenda, well, one; to see as much of North America as we could in two years. That seemed like an exquisitely long time to saunter through the US and parts of Canada, and maybe dip down into the safer parts of Mexico. The decision to travel came as an escape plan after an adult life of working, nurturing, stressing, and just generally being grown-ups. We were both desperate to change our routine lives, and a drastic change seemed the ticket out. Keeping the house and taking a leave of absence wasn't going to give us the freedom we needed.

Day One

The proceeds from selling the house and ridding ourselves of our possessions, combined with our savings, as well as paying cash for an RV, looked to give us the money we would need. We wanted to be frugal in our travels, but go everywhere we desired and treat ourselves to the occasional meal out, and any other treats that came along. In other words, watch our spending, but not deny ourselves.


Since we were mostly interested in the beauty of the natural world, and not so much interested in cities, we knew we wanted to concentrate on national and state parks, forests, natural landmarks, and could save camping fees by boondocking (dry camping), mostly in the West. Boondocking required figuring out how to actually do it before we could see savings from that. So, our whole nomadic life was going to revolve around how to stretch the money to go where we wanted and have fabulous experiences for two years. The future would have to take care of itself. We have “jumped off cliffs” before when we moved to California and Alaska. We were way past time for a new adventure.

Northern Cascades, Washington

The past two years have been all we expected and more. From the beginning we said we have had no regrets. We have seen sights that have thrilled and awed us. It has been a privilege to travel the length and breadth of the United States, and to explore the east and west of Canada. We have seen so much, yet there is so much more we have yet to see. This is a huge continent filled with an amazing variety of natural wonders, and interesting people. What an opportunity to be a citizen of this country and have the freedom to explore it and move about freely. How fortunate to have Canada just next door, that welcomes our citizens and treats us as their own.

Boondocked in our "home" on the shores of Mono Lake

Time will tell if we made the right choice to journey. As we age and stretch our money thinner, we will have to make different choices, but while we can squeeze out a way to travel and still have our health, we will keep going. I truly think I was born to be a nomad. Greg gets excited to see what lies around the next bend, so we make a good travel team.

So, what have I learned? Here are my thoughts in no particular order.



1- Life is short. Don't put off your dreams for “one day”. If you feel a deep desire to do something, then go for it! Somehow the universe honors those deepest desires and makes a way.



2- Take calculated risks. The counter balance to, life is short, is to tilt the odds for success in your favor. Run the figures. What will it cost financially, emotionally, spiritually, relationally? Plot out the steps to make it happen. If the odds look good, then jump off the cliff. You can't know everything ahead of time, but contemplating the “what ifs?”, will help you deal with anything unexpected that arises.



3- Everything costs more than we expected. Even with the huge amount of research we did, we still had surprises. Our two biggest? We've spent a lot more on diesel to fuel the rig than we anticipated, partly because we underestimated our miles on the road. We've done a lot of impulsive thither and yon, when we were changing our travels to avoid bad weather. We also returned back East every five or six months. Lots of cross-country traveling costs. This is a huge country!



The next big surprise was the cost of health insurance. We thought we had carefully researched it, and could find an affordable high deductible option. Beware older travelers, there is a catch-22 for people near Medicare age, but not there yet. Our cohort is reaching their unhealthy years, and those of us who are healthy are paying the same price as people who are unhealthy. We can't go without catastrophic coverage, so unfortunately the insurance company is making big bucks off of us, and will probably never have a claim from us.



4- This kind of travel can strengthen a marriage, or not! Living together 24/7 in a 24' RV is a real test for a marriage. It has strengthened ours, but we have had to learn to communicate better to get there. Since we are both introverts and used to living in a small house, we already had tactics for alone time. He goes to bed early, I stay up late. He gets up early, I sleep in. That gives us both some time to ourselves with just a little snoring to interrupt it!

5- We picked the right sized RV for us. There are a lot of bigger rigs on the road, and some smaller, but our Winnebago View was a good compromise for us. We didn't want the hassle and expense of a towed car, and the View is small enough to go most places, including some great remote boondocking sites. Being self contained we don't have to leave a trailer behind for the day. If we don't want to go back to the same spot at the end of the day, we have no trailer to pick up, we just ride on. Downside- cities. We need an outlying RV park and public transportation to go into town. As I stated previously, we aren't city people, so we carefully decide if a city is worth the effort.


6- Along the lines of the previous comment- We found amazing smaller cities on our travels. They were accessible for us, and had their own unique character. We loved Eugene, and Bend, Oregon, and Boise, Idaho. There are funky and fun small towns off the beaten track as well. Places that we wouldn't have discovered if we hadn't shunned the interstates and taken the “blue highways”.


7- You can't take it with you. A decision to have experiences over possessions creates dilemmas and freedom. We parted with most of our belongings. It was just stuff. But, the tough decisions came when we needed to decide on the few items that truly held meaning for us, mostly because of the memories attached. Also, living in a small RV means that extra clothes, dress and winter, have to be stored somewhere else. So, what we chose to keep is in a 5x10 storage unit, with extra room if we start accumulating a few things for our eventual return to a non-rolling home. Now, with only the space in the RV, anything we buy has to have its own place, or something else has to go out.


8- I don't get homesick. I do get homesick for people. But, the people in our lives understand our need to travel, and have released us to follow our dreams. They miss us too, but, don't guilt trip us over our choices.


9- I do get homesick for places we have been. Most of the people we love are in the East. The places we love are in the West. Greg and I didn't expect to fall so deeply in love with the West, especially the desert Southwest. We have lived in Los Angeles and Anchorage, so we are no strangers to the West. But, having the time to amble about, and truly soak up the region, has created a yearning in us to spend more time in magical places.


10- The biggest surprise outside of the West? We fell in love with Newfoundland and Labrador. We would return in a heartbeat. We spent five weeks there, and didn't see everything we wanted. What was it about those places that enchanted us? The warmth and friendliness of the people, and the scenery. It was like Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, but on steroids.


11- Outside of the desert Southwest, the biggest revelations in the West were Oregon and Washington. The diversity from east to west in both states is fascinating. Arid east, Cascade Mountains, and rugged coasts. We also “discovered” HWY 395 going along the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. We drove north in the Spring and south in the Fall. Lots of great boondocking spots and fabulous geology. Enough off the beaten track to be away from the crowds.

Cape Blanco, Oregon

12- Seeing the popular parks is good just to hit the highlights, but the real gems are the small parks, monuments, and national natural landmarks that see fewer visitors. Sometimes way off the beaten track, but not crowded, and staffed by interpreters that are thrilled to give you their time and knowledge.


13- The US is the great melting pot for tourists from around the world. As other nationalities have greater income, traveling to the US is increasingly popular. Many times we would arrive at one of the big national parks in the West, only to find that a good ten minutes would go by before we heard English spoken. Growing up traveling and camping in the parks, we never heard another language.


14- The Law of Reciprocity works when you travel. Treating people well makes people want to treat you well. We aren't just visiting the tourist hotspots. We stop in random places to buy fuel, groceries, and eat meals. We go out of our way to be chatty and friendly with the locals helping us. In return we learn about places, encourage people, and try to leave more than just a little money in the local economy. We've gotten great help and tips on places to eat and visit. People like to talk about themselves and the places they live.


15- RVers are a friendly bunch. When the weekenders and summer vacationers leave, fulltimers and snowbirds fall into an easy rhythm. If you want to socialize with others, you can find them. If you want to be left alone, for the most part you will be left alone. As introverts it's taken us a long time to loosen up and be friendly. Our first year we were still suffering from burnout from our previous life, and didn't want a lot of interaction. In fact we were surprised by the overtures of friendship. We've made friends with a few others on the road who have the same RV we do. It's pretty easy to start up a conversation with a fellow View/Navion owner. I'm sorry now that we haven't reached out more.


16- How to Boondock! Steep learning curve. Great rewards. Learning to boondock was a goal we set before we left, so that we could camp in scenic remote spots and save on our camping fees. We slowly figured it out as we traveled, between reading about other people's experiences and experimenting on our own. Our used rig came with solar panels, so we already had that advantage. We strategized water, electric, waste, cooking, heating, and entertainment. We looked at what we had and what we needed, and spent our first boondocking night on BLM land just outside Quartzsite, AZ. We figured if we got in trouble, we were close to town. With that success under our belt we looked for more boondocking opportunities, started carrying more water with us, and got bolder and more remote in the places we went. Free camping on federal land in gorgeous spots? Can't beat that!



17- Pushing my physical limits pays off. At 62, I don't know how many more years I will be nimble enough to bike and hike. When we go someplace new, I don't know if I will ever get there again. That's the depressing part of being on the back half of life. But, it is also great motivation, for someone like me who has always shunned physical challenges. I want to see all I can now, so I've learned to push myself to hike where I wouldn't have gone in the past. I may never be in that spot again. I don't want to miss the amazing view at the end of that long trail. So, I check the maps for day hikes, look at the distances, the difficulty level, and the scenic rewards, and we pick a hike to push me a bit. Greg has learned to be patient with me on the trail and let me travel at the pace that works for me. Plus, I like to stop a lot for photos and just soak up the views. I may be sore the next day, but have a huge sense of accomplishment, and great photos!

18- Understanding better who I am. The intangibles of our two years are harder to quantify. Having time for reflection, analysis, and stress-free living has allowed me to process my life, the ups and downs, difficulties and blessings, and make peace with my past. Most of that would never have happened in my day to day life before. Being totally away from the places and people that formed my life experiences has given me the perspective I needed to break through to a psychologically healthier place. Plus, I have a very patient husband who knows when I need time alone to work things through. Also, meeting new people who have no preconceived ideas of who I am has left me free to be my more authentic self.



19- We are not as conservative as the average fulltime RVer. This has been an on-going surprise! People who engage us in conversations assume we are equally conservative and launch into diatribes assured that we agree. Greg and I politely listen, but don't engage them and excuse ourselves when we are able to make an exit. Unquestionably expecting us to agree with them without first asking us our opinions on a political or social topic amazes me! The other surprise have been the large number of RVers who carry guns in their rigs, and assume that we do to. We have never felt threatened and in need of protecting ourselves. I suppose if people already assume we have a gun we are protected!


20- I need to be “connected” more than I thought. When we took vacations in the past, I could unplug from phones, internet, and TV, for up to two weeks and not feel withdrawal. It was a great change to experience the silence. Now I find that these are lifelines to family, friends and the world, and I am uncomfortable being disconnected for more than a few days. I've tried it. I get really uneasy. We spend a good chunk of our monthly budget to be connected. I have an AT&T smartphone, and Greg has Verizon to maximize our chances of getting a signal in more remote areas. We use a Verizon MIFI hotspot to stay connected to the internet and have that attached to a booster antenna, which will also boost the phone signal if needed. We have a TV antenna on the roof, but need to be close enough to population in order to draw in a local TV signal. Most places we do okay, but some of the really remote places we like to go leave us with no connections. I do okay for a couple days, and then I start to feel like we need to re-connect.


21- I am a geology geek- I married one, but living back east where the rocks aren't as visible didn't inspire me to be one. The last two years have been a crash course in geology. It's all so visible in the West, and I've fallen in love with vulcanology. Show me some columnar basalt and a lava flow and I am content. Future plans have to include seeing the real, hot lava actually flowing somewhere on this planet!

Devil's Postpile National Monument - Classic columnar basalt

Other things I've learned? How to cook in a tiny kitchen. How to sleep in a small over the cab bed. It wouldn't be fair to a pet to expect it to live in our small RV. We like New Mexico better than Arizona. Green chile cheeseburgers rock! Food always tastes better with a great view and a great micro-brew. I don't need nearly as many clothes as I think I do. We can survive on doing laundry only once a month, as long as we have plenty of clean underwear. We appreciate a shower, even a minimal one even more, when we don't take them as often. (I know, ewww, but it's not like there aren't other ways to keep clean.) I seek out campsites with a “water feature”. No water in the desert, you say? A long range view works in a pinch. The stars and moon really are bigger and brighter in the West. I can drive the RV in a pinch, such as when Greg decided to split his scalp open on the bunk and I needed to drive us to urgent care in the middle of Missouri. Two years isn't long enough to see everything.


Final lesson? Beauty resides everywhere, and we are blessed with an amazing continent. From the spectacular to the minuscule, macro to micro, keeping eyes and ears open allows us to find those special places, plants, creatures, and people that speak to our souls, our need to be reverent and refreshed. What speaks to each individual is different. We've met people that found their bliss in remote and beautiful places that spoke to their souls like no other place, so they stayed and put down roots. I've learned that bliss can be found in encountering many places while on the road. A nomadic spirit soaks up the special beauty of a place, but needs to move on to experience the next unique place, each one speaking to the soul in a different way. As long as the road keeps speaking to us, I've learned that I need to keep moving.