Author: Lee and Tracy

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First Time in Death Valley

I have never met a National Park that I didn’t like but I will be honest, this wasn’t my favorite. One problem is the park is HUGE and if you are coming from the west side it takes over an hour to get to the first major attraction. Be warned the road getting in was super difficult with miles of steep grades and hairpin turns. Not bad in a car of course but after driving it we decided we would not take our RV in that way.

As you can see from the map the paved road largely goes across the middle of the park. There are numerous other entrances but they are all dirt roads and in most cases four wheel drive is recommended. We were really regretting not getting a jeep as we drove through the park, but after trying a couple of these dirt roads decided they were too risky for our little car. In short because we only had a standard vehicle we just saw the middle section and the drives between marked places were really long with nothing particularly interesting to look at. Even for Lee who loves the desert there was a sameness to the view throughout. That being said here’s what we saw.

Our first stop was a Vista point dedicated to Father John Crowley. This was actually outside of the fee area (a huge chunk of the park is) and really pretty. Jack was in heaven with the sniffing.

Next was the town of Stovepipe Wells with a general store, gas station, and a very stripped down RV park (shown above). It was crowded though when we got there and I will say the store was very nice. As you can see below we thought about doing a hike there, but every official stop had tons of cars and people. Strange since the park is so big but there are relatively few named things to do. What I mean by that is you can stop your car anywhere and start walking but the areas called out on the map had crowds and small parking lots.

Next up was an old Borax mining site which was pretty cool. Although dogs aren’t allowed on official trails we walked Jack up to the site which he enjoyed.

We finally made it into the fee areas and went to buy our National Park pass. We waited in line for that and then an even longer line to get a cup and a magnet, but I will say that the visitors center was well done.

This was really cool it showed how the Earth’s crust stretches and breaks.

Finally in the park our next stop was Artists Point. This was my favorite as the rocks had sections of pink, green, and purple. We got out and walked around with Jack for awhile and for me at least this one lane road (no RVs allowed) was the best part of the visit.

There was another town with gas we stopped at (same basic RV park but this one also had hotels) and some cool sand dunes we looked at but decided not to climb. I wouldn’t call this a dog friendly park, which I get because many of the National Parks really aren’t.

The next spot was also really cool and is called Devil’s Golf Course. Even though it is on a dirt road it was well maintained and I highly recommend this area. There is a huge salt flat that is really pretty and Jack was really into it. I tasted the ground and it was definitely salt and personally I have never seen anything quite like it.

Lastly we stopped at the basin which is the lowest spot in North America. This was the area Lee really wanted to see but the parking lot was completely full and the field had tons of people on it. We ended up driving past the parking lot and pulled over on the side of the road. Then we walked across to the basin and the crunchy ground was like walking on snow. When we got to the lowest point I accidently took this cool pic of Lee’s phone and although it was anti-climatic for both of us it was still a huge bucket list item checked for Lee.

Again I am glad we went, but I wouldn’t be in a huge rush to return. It is a long day of driving to see even the portions we saw and there are limited months in the year when the weather is bearable. Even in November the temperature rose 30 degrees in the park proper and I definitely recommend bringing some shorts with you. It’s one more National Park though in my quest to complete them all so I am excited about it!

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes
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Ten Years by the Numbers

This post is pretty tough to do because there is so much data but we also have done a not great job of tracking things the last couple of years. I am going to do my best on this one, but keep in mind we have been sitting still for the last couple of years.

Every year I post my travel map, and in honor of year 10 I hand drew our routes in a different color every year. It’s not perfect but it’s important to note our trailer’s wheels have touched 49 states.

As I look at the map what stands out is the places we have been the most. Charleston, SC (where my oldest daughter lives, San Antonio, Tx (where Cori and Greg live), Minneapolis (where my middle daughter lives), Columbus (our parents), and Oregon (where we worked three summers top the list. We have also been to Las Vegas several times either to meet family and friends or for Lee’s work. We’ve spent the least of time in New England, mainly because we lived their for 15 years and there isn’t much left there we haven’t seen! Our youngest daughter by the way was in the military and we saw her in Monterey, New Mexico, and Connecticut.

Overall Truck Mileage – 197,707. I will say the Ford F350 we bought new before heading out was an outstanding purchase and I truly believe the truck has another 200K miles in it. Keep in mind we only had a second vehicle the first and last year of our travels so this truck mileage includes trailer pulling and almost all of our non-towing driving.

Overall Trailer Mileage – 65,800. The RV has held up really well for all these miles and I am really happy that we are still in the same RV that we went on the road with. As a side note, Deb/Steve and Kelly/Bill who started full timing the same time we did and are still full timers are also in their original RVs. My best piece of advice to prospective full timers is buy your last RV first! They will last longer than you think!

Ten Largest Expenses

We started the lifestyle with about $40K in the bank and an additional $20K in an emergency fund. We burned through the $40K for sure, but the other $20K stayed in the bank until I finally spent it several months ago buying a second car. Although we have largely spent what we made the last ten years, we were able to put money in a 401K the three years we worked in Oregon and much more in the last five years with me working a corporate job. It’s been tempting a couple of times to touch our retirement money but to this point we have not spent a cent of that which I feel really good about. All that being said large expenses do come along just like in any life and here were the ones that hurt a bit.

  1. $13,760 for tires – Yes this is absolutely true I added up the numbers. This includes tires for the dually truck and tires for the trailer over 10 years. Some of these replacements were from flat tires but most were just normal wear and tear. I will say it always hurts a bit when it’s time to replace tires but Lee is adamant about having good tires for safety. I will say i’s absolutely worth paying for better tires. The cost of flat tires (an the inconvenience) isn’t worth the little bit you save.
  2. $10K for Lee’s heart attack life flight – We were working remotely in Texas five years ago when Lee had a heart attack. We called the ambulance and since we were so far from a hospital they life flighted him to San Antonio. We were given no choice in the helicopter company and had no insurance specific to that cost so were shocked when the $56K bill came to us. Ultimately the company took the $10K my insurance paid and another $10K in cash from us (wiping out our HSA account) which shows how quickly things can change. One of the main reasons I decided to get a corporate job was to replenish the HSA account and by maxxing my donations the last five years we are now up to $20K in HSA which is awesome.
  3. $7K for my middle daughters wedding – I knew when we went on the road that a wedding would be part of our expenses so part of the $40K we had set aside was to cover this expense. This was roughly what we spent on my oldest daughters wedding. If you are wondering how we kept costs that low we did as much of the work as we could ourselves and were realistic about what was affordable for us.
  4. $6,200 for RV Tech school – Although Lee never made enough money working on RV’s to cover these costs, we agreed before going on the road that he needed the training to feel comfortable taking care of our RV. This money was also included in our original $40K.
  5. $5400 for Solar – The best things about our solar system is the options it gives us. It has held up very well for 10 years and every time we do need it I am so glad it is there.
  6. $4K for electric bikes and mounts – The bikes and accesories themselves cost $3K and the mounts to hold them (along with attachment to the RV) costs another grand. To be honest I wish we wouln’t have gotten them. Lee loves having them but I am not a huge fan and just don’t think we use them enough to warrant the expense.
  7. $3,600 for Mor-Ryde suspension – This is the one item I wish we could have gotten immediately. Our RV took a beating in Alaska, but as soon as we got the Mor-Ryde it felt stabler and the damage lessened. You are rocking your house kind of constantly when you are on the move and the Mor-Ryde gives it a strong suspension foundation. Huge improvement with the disc brakes as well.
  8. $3,000 for Residential Refrigerator – We thought long and hard about going from a propane fridge to a residential electric model but when we finally pulled the plug I did see an instant improvement in my quality of life. I would love to say we finally replaced the old one when it died, but that one was still going strong.
  9. $1863 power steering pump/gasket for truck – Tires aside we have been incredibly lucky with expense for the truck. We invested in a full 5 year warranty that got us through the early years but even without that we have been incredibly fortunate in the repairs. Yes oil changes etc are not cheap but we have avoided any major mechanical incidences.
  10. $1100 Surge protector and Voltage regulator – I am so glad this made the list because I remember when we first got them I thought the expense was excessive. I can tell you ten years later I cannot name the number of times we have been on low voltage or saw spikes and this system has saved our RV’s electric system. A full replacement of electric run around five thousand so this expense has paid for itself many times over.

Top 10 Things we saw this year (in chronological order)

Lee and I went on our first ever cruise together this year and although we saw tons of cool stuff the sunsets along the Mexican coast were absolutely spectacular
We took a long weekend to Solvang and had a wonderful time including finding this gem of a waterfall
I went to visit Mom on Singer Island and was thrilled to see this statue still standing. I have pictures of myself as a little kid standing next to it and also as a teenager so it was super cool to recreate the moment.
I met my grandson Oliver in Columbus and got to see him with my Dad and buy him his first bike. So many wonderful memories but when I first saw him and he gave me a picture he had drawn for me that was really special.
I went on an Alaskan cruise with my Mom and saw so many wonderful things but the Butchart Gardens checked a huge bucket list item for me. It definitely lived up to what everyone had said about it.
The gorgeous views of the Eastern Sierra’s from our newest campground are absolutely amazing and I see them every morning when I walk the dog. Million dollar view.
Gorgeous lake in the Inyo National Forest. I really love it here.
Although Death Valley wasn’t our favorite park we were able to stand in the lowest elevation in North America. Lee has been wanting to do this as a kid and it was nice to check that box.
Alabama Hills Movie Road was such a great surprise. We thought it would be cool, but not this cool and its one of those places you can’t take a bad picture. I particularly loved this rock “house” complete with it’s own hole for a chimney and another for a window.
My favorite thing about this lifestyle is it’s surprises and we had no idea when we drove up the Whitney portal road that this gorgeous waterfall would be at the end of it. Seriously no clue. I even had a visit from a brazen squirrel while we were there and the place really spoke to me.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes

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More Ten Year Lists

I had so much fun doing my last post I decided to do another one with random lists. Those of you who know me are laughing because I am all about my lists, but these will be fun lists I promise!

Ten places we still need to explore – Although we have crossed this county multiple times in the last ten years there are still places on our list. These are all places we can get to in our RV. I have a larger list where we would need to fly. Oh, and these aren’t in any particular order.

  1. Olympic Peninsula, WA
  2. The Badlands (We’ve driven through several times but never really explored the area)
  3. Upper Peninsula, MI
  4. Key West, FL
  5. Yosemite, CA
  6. Banff, Alberta Canada
  7. Quebec, Canada
  8. New Brunswick, Canada
  9. Taos, NM
  10. Colorado (we have spent precious little time in this beautiful state)

Ten things we want to see/do

  1. Mount Rushmore
  2. Devil’s Tower
  3. Dry Tortugas
  4. Antelope Canyon photographers tour
  5. The Wave in Arizona
  6. Hike some of the Narrows in Zion
  7. The bottom of the Grand Canyon
  8. Take a jeep through the base of Canyonlands National Park
  9. Stay at a Dude ranch in the West
  10. Travel all of route 66 that is accessible in one go

Ten things I am really glad we bought – Ove the years we have invested in tons of RV specific items and most of it frankly hasn’t made the cut, but here are the things I have either had from the beginning or purchased later and wish I had from the beginning. You’ll notice a lot of these items relate to cooking and for those of you who spend lots of time in an RV you will understand why. FYI I am not a sponsor of any of these items and receive no benefit from talking about them.

  1. A standard size/shape toilet for an RV. – This is an item that I use a lot and I really never felt stable on the small one that came with the RV. HUGE quality of life improvement when Lee replaced ours and I wish we would have done it from the beginning. If you think i’s a funny thing to put #1 well it gets used every day!
  2. Stacking Magma cooking pots – I bought these when we first started out and they have lasted the entire 10 years. They take up very little space, are heavy duty, and are plenty adequate for the needs of two people. I actually have more pots in this set than stove burners which works out perfectly! I keep thinking about treating myself to a brand new set but they are totally functional after ten years of heavy use a huge testament to the company that makes them.
  3. Blueboy – These portable waste tanks are not cheap but they are durable and even though we don’t need a portable waste tank often when we do need it nothing else will do the job. Ours even saved our truck from serious damage early on when the RV slipped off the hitch in the truck and crashed down on our truck. The blue boy took most of the weight minimizing the damage our truck took.
  4. Collapsible containers – I am obsessed with collapsible containers for the space savings and although they often need replaced more frequently than their solid counterparts I still love them. The best ones so far have been measuring cups, colander, and our collapsible laundry basket.
  5. Electric Heaters – We are on full 50amp electric far more than not and we have three electric heaters (in addition to our electric fireplace) that we use to keep the house warm and avoid spending money on propane. These heaters are not cheap (safety first) but more than pay for themselves in saved propane and keep the RV toasty warm on chilly mornings.
  6. Weber portable gas grill with RV hose – We have had four grills in ten years but by far the best is the small Weber Q grill. We had a large one with legs which frankly was too big for us and a larger version of the Weber that again we just didn’t like. The small version is super portable, fits on a table, and has a hose so Lee can connect it directly to the RV. Initially we traveled with a separate tank in a milk crate, but then Lee adapted our RV propane to allow for hooking the tank up directly to that. It’s the perfect size for two people and decently sturdy since we are pretty rough on it. We see people with all kinds of grills in our travels but this works the best for us. Bigger is not always better!
  7. Convection Microwave Oven – Initially our RV came with a microwave and an oven, but after many years of discussing it we finally removed the oven and installed a microwave/convection combination. I liked the convection feature so much that we eventually got rid of our Instapot and air fryer and added an additional Cuisinart small air fryer/toaster oven on the counter which is great for cooking small amounts. The little one heats up quickly and cooks quickly and although they really are not very sturdy you can’t beat the convenience.
  8. Smart TV – As much as we think we will be out in the world doing things all the time, we still watch a lot of TV. The one the RV came with was on the small side and had no Smart capabilities so it was really nice when we were finally able to upgrade it. Since the new one doesn’t quite fit in it’s cabinet Lee had to make some modifications, but totally worth it since we now have as big of a TV as the space will allow.
  9. Solar – Yes it was expensive and yes we don’t use it a ton but wow is it nice to have when we don’t have access to power. I can’t tell you how many times we have been in a park when the power went out and we relied on solar and of course it allows us to boondock. As a side note our dear friends Bill and Kelly have been installing solar for 10 years and if you are interested I would recommend reaching out. Bill helped with ours and is exactly the kind of person you want modifying your RV.
  10. Residential refrigerator – We started with a propane fridge by design and after years of having it and MUCH discussion we finally upgraded to a residential fridge. Just getting it in the RV was a huge effort and took four guys to lift it through the door, but totally worth it. We added a portable generator to help power it when we are boondocking (we only have four solar panels and four batteries) and the day to day quality of life is hugely improved.

Ten things that have changed in 10 years – Although there aren’t sharp shifts in the lifestyle we have seen some shifts over the years so I wanted to share them here. Keep in mind this is one person’s perspective.

  1. The average age has skewed younger – When we first started at 46 and 48 we were definitely an anomaly with most full timers being of retirement age. Over the years we are starting to see a much younger crowd including many people who are working full time on the road, and families. Along with the younger crowd comes more kids, most of those are being homeschooled as they travel.
  2. The sites are getting bigger – Even the most established parks are either adding new spots or expanding existing ones to accommodate a 40 foot RV. When we first started there were lots of places we couldn’t get into but that is much less of an issue now.
  3. The cell/internet coverage is MUCH better – There were lots of places where there was no internet in the beginning but now even National Parks have at least internet in their entrances and visitor’s centers. This doesn’t even include the invention of Starlink which gives remote access in most places. We don’t have Starlink yet but we are gettig it next month and hopefully it further expands our choices for where we stay.
  4. Gas prices are higher – Gas prices have steadily gone up over the years and it is doubtful we will ever see a return to the prices we paid when we first started out. Although we try very hard not to let the price of gas be a limiting factor in our travels, it was a major part of the reason that we invested in a second vehicle.
  5. COVID had a big impact – COVID drove many people we knew off the road, mainly because it resulted in closed campgrounds and people were scrambling to find a place to say. Some of those campgrounds have improved since the event but many smaller ones closed or consolidated into one of the big chains. Speaking of which there has definitely been an increase in the bigger chains of RV parks which is a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you like to travel. COVID also pushed people to take local nature vacations and has brought business and money to many remote places.
  6. Groceries have gotten much more expensive – This is the case for everyone, but as we travel we are at the mercy of whatever grocery stores are available and with limited space to stock up on sale items this can hit us particularly hard. Although we try to supplement with local fresh ingredients when we can even local farmer’s markets are much more expensive.
  7. Out of home state medical access has gotten somewhat better – This was a huge issue when we first started but as more people are working remotely or traveling I have seen some improvement in this area, particularly with dentists. I will say though that state based rules are still really antiquated and California’s requirement to have a in state doctor to schedule mammograms was absolutely ridiculous. We still have a long way to go in this area.
  8. People really are more divided politically – When we first started on the road we were commonly around folks more conservative than us but with some tact that was rarely a major issue. Somewhere along the line more radical lines have been drawn and we really feel the vibe when we are in an area that is more extreme (either way) in it’s beliefs. I don’t mind being around people with different positions, but I draw the line at being told what I should believe.
  9. There has been an improvement in green spaces – This may just be my perception but almost all cities and towns are taking conservation very seriously. We see signs of this wherever we travel along with more solar panels, wind turbines, and water conservation initiatives. As a lover of the planet I think that’s pretty cool.
  10. An increase in people of color enjoying nature – From the beginning we rarely met people of color who were in RV’s and although it is still not even 10% of the folks we meet I do see many more people from different cultures in nature spaces on weekends. National Parks in particular are full of visitors from different cultures and I love hearing so many different languages when we visit. Recently at Death Valley I counted at least ten different languages and the commonality of wonder on people’s faces really gives me hope for our future.

Ten years in ten pictures – I see my life in pictures so I thought I would take a stab at sharing some of my favorites with you and tell a little of the stories that went with them. More than places these represent moments and along with the place we were in the people we were with (or in most cases one special person) really made these moments matter.

This moment was very early in our travels and we came to a literal fork in the road. It represents everything I was feeling in that time period when we were making such a hug decision to change our life and the joy on my face is evident. I was never a person who experienced a lot of joy in my life and this lifestyle has given me so many moments I never would have had otherwise.
One of the best things that we did when we first started out was go to an RV Dreams Rally. While we were there we met a whole group of people who were going on the road at the same time and these people became my friends and support system through the transition. We named the group the Class of 2014 and we picked up several other members throughout our travels. Along the way we have met up in person with these folks more times than I can count and having people to talk to with similar experiences was so important. I cannot express the deep gratitude I have towards these people and even though most of them have left the fulltime lifestyle they remain an integral part of our journey.
Our role models in the lifestyle were Howard and Linda. Along the way we were lucky to spend some time with them and one day we took a hike Linda planned for me that included waterfalls and eagles. They are kind and supportive people and gave me such great advice along the way, but this one moment will always be the one that sticks out. It may not look like much but Lee taking off his shoes and putting his feet in the water was a huge deal for him. He grew up in a house where you always wore shoes, period, and it was a big moment for him to shed those restrictions and join in the fun. I will always remember Linda just looking at him and not saying a word until he finally took a breath and joined in. Beautiful for so many reasons.
Our first big National Park experience as full timers was Glacier National Park. We were there with Deb, Steve, Ellen, and Mario. We had so many amazing moments (first Glacier, Going to the Sun road) but this moment where we were so close to two grizzly bears I will never forget. It was truly spectacular and every year when it comes up in our Facebook feeds someone says Happy Bear day. We have seen so much wildlife in our travels but this moment will always stand out as very special. It also started my love of National Parks and my desire to see all of them before I die.

To this day the most beautiful spot I have ever been in was a stretch of remote coast in the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park. To reach the coast you had to go down a long dirt path that led to a remote ranger cabin with a huge field of green grass being grazed by a herd of elk and a beautiful coastline. When I reached the spot I thought I could lay in that deep thick grass and stay forever and I felt true peace such as I have rarely experienced in my life. It was so spectacular I had to show three pictures and despite my best efforts I didn’t come close to capturing it. This to me is a piece of heaven.

To Lee seeing the Very Large Array in New Mexico was a quintessential full timer moment. The sight had been on his bucket list for many years but it is so remote it is highly unlikely we ever would have seen it if we had stayed in a sticks and bricks house. There have been many places like this in our travels that we know we never would have seen and we are grateful for every single one of them.

It’s really hard to sum up an incredible summer in Alaska with one picture but I am going to go with this view of Denali. We passed it many times and when we finally saw it, it was a total surprise and made us part of the 10% of visitors who actually get to see it. We spent time with so many friends including Kelly, Bill, Jo, Ben. Linda, Steve, and many others. We saw national parks, incredible waterfalls, numerous glaciers and so many different types of wild animals. It was a once in a lifetime experience and the best place I could imagine to spend my 50th birthday.

My absolute favorite state is Utah. We went twice (one month each) and we saw all five state parks. We spent time with Cori, Greg, Steve, and Deb and we boondocked outside of Goblin Valley State Park. For all the amazing sites it was actually easy to pick the one picture to represent out time. We were on Cottonwood Canyon Road and at MM 24.4 we turned a corner and I gasped out loud. The rock formations looked like a fairyland and for a moment I really felt like I was on another planet. This picture doesn’t really capture the magnificence of that moment, but I have never forgotten that feeling. Everyone should see Utah before they die, it’s that special of a place.
Our summer in Yellowstone was absolutely amazing. It is next to impossible to pick one picture to sum up the experience so I will take the easy way out and choose the Grand Prismatic. There is so much more to this park though than the geysers. Beautiful waterfalls, tons of wildlife, and visits to really cool small western towns made this summer my personal favorite summer ever. If we could afford it I could definitely live in that area and for me at least as the complete package so far it is my favorite national park.
Lastly I have to mention the two years we spent in LA. Even though it wasn’t my favorite place, we did lots of cool stuff including studio tours, seeing the ocean, Beverly Hills and so many other cool places. Every place we went spoke to Lee on a deep level and our time there fulfilled a childhood dream of his.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes
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Ten Things I Learned from 10 Years Full timing

Our ten year anniversary of full timing is Nov 14th, and I thought it would be a good time to take a step back and really think about what we have learned. This lifestyle is great, but certainly not without challenges, and my perspective has definitely changed from ten years ago. I thought I would pass along my thoughts but as always your mileage will certainly vary.

The full timing lifestyle can look very different for different people – When we first started out we had a very specific idea of what the lifestyle would look like for us. This was largely based on some very influential blogs, and although I still find those lifestyles very aspirational, for us it has looked different over the years. The simplest criteria (living fulltime in an RV) we have done consistently but all other facets have varied. We have traveled frequently and stayed in one place for months on end, and even thought we were close to finding a permanent home. As we have traveled we have seen every type of full timing scenario you could imagine and it has reinforced the idea that there is no “one true way”.

Money really does matter – Our initial thought was if we were debt free we could find enough work along the way to support our lifestyle. This was absolutely proven to us, but it requires significant compromises in the way we travel. Becoming debt free and staying that way is still one of the best decisions we have ever made, but it requires that we live within our means, which vary depending on what type of work we are doing. Even those people who have retirement have a budget, and one thing that remains true is moving costs more than staying in place.

This lifestyle has an impact on relationships – I was pretty naïve about the impact our traveling would have on our family and personal relationships, thinking that the life would give us the opportunity to see our dispersed family more frequently. To some extent that was true but we also learned that people weren’t going to drop everything when we came to town. It was also much harder than I thought to bring people to us, since our living quarters aren’t great for guests and the expense of air travel and lodgings reduced the amount of times people came to visit us. The traveling also made it much harder to maintain relationships with people that stayed still. On the plus side we have made many wonderful friends who also travel that we wouldn’t have otherwise, but there definitely was an impact. Becoming grandparents has made for some really hard choices for all of us who travel and although we would probably have some of those anyways not having a stable place to host the holidays can sometimes be tough.

Not having a permanent “real” address is a pain in the ass – This country isn’t very friendly to people without a permanent address of some kind, and over the years we have had several issues with trying to navigate not having one. We actually have a great mail service which really helps, but we can’t always get mail or packages in places we stay. Voting, jury duty, and credit cards have all been issues throughout the years, and although we have always found solutions in the moment it has been more stressful than I would have liked. Many things I never thought of like insurance rates, available therapists, driver’s license renewals, and healthcare plans are tied to your address, and although I was vaguely aware of these factors I didn’t think it would be as big a deal as it has been. It is really frustrating that there is no way to just be “generic” but you really have to work within the system and figure it out. One last thing I will say here is that if you choose to use a relative’s address keep in mind when they move, you are moving also. Without your own little piece of dirt you are at the whim of others and government regulations.

Stuff matters less – One of the hardest parts of becoming full timers is letting go of a lot of your stuff. Like many others we maintained a storage unit for several years, but little by little we let things go. We also pick things up in our travels and let these things go much easier than I thought we would and overall the lesser importance of personal possessions has been freeing. I can clearly remember hyperventilating in our library at home when we were letting go of all of our books and although I have new books stuffed in every nook and cranny of our RV I am much better about picking things up and then donating them back than I ever was in a sticks and bricks house.

The “lack of permanence” feeling never goes away – It’s a weird transition going from a solid house to one on wheels, and although I do view this RV as my home, it’s more my home for the moment. Part of that is RV’s aren’t built to last for 30+ years, so even if we do this until we die it is likely we would need to replace our RV at some point. If we were parked on our own piece of land I think part of this feeling would go away, but always “renting” someone else’s space without even the basic protections of being a tenant leads to the feeling. The other issue for me at least is a loss of community. It is much harder than I thought it would be to jump into new communities and often around the time I start to feel settled we are moving on. This feeling bothers some people much more than others but in all fairness it is always there to some extent even when we stay in a place for an extended period of time. I always feel like I am just visiting.

Work kamping jobs are hard – A major part of our strategy was to work work kamping jobs to keep our costs down, and by and large those jobs were much more difficult than we thought they would be. The physical requirements could be very strenuous at times certainly compared to a desk job. Even with the RV site factored in the pay is pretty low especially if the job is your sole source of income rather than a supplement. That being said, some of those jobs have given us very unique experiences we wouldn’t have had any other way, but the lack of permanence in that seasonal work was always an issue for me. It’s hard to work your way into any kind of meaningful work when the employer knows you may not come back the following year, and for me at least I missed the mental stimulation and fulfillment a “permanent” job brings. I would love to say there is less stress with seasonal positions, but my experience is that people are people, and the politics are just as bad in a low paying position.

There is no perfect place – I really thought as we traveled we would find the “perfect place” for us and just stop and what I have discovered is truly there is no perfect place. Some places are too expensive, others are too remote, and none of them (we can afford) have year round perfect weather. The beautiful views (a main factor of mine) definitely cost more or require tradeoffs I have not been willing to. Plus I have to wonder after all these years of spectacular views if any one view could fit the bill. It is supremely cool going from deserts to mountains to oceans and it’s unlikely one view could provide everything. And since my family is spread across multiple states there is no central location that really makes sense for us. That being said going forward I want to get serious about finding at least one home base. The snowbird concept is very appealing to me and we are spending this winter really looking into what our winter options could be.

The lifestyle is sustainable – I would have bet a ton of money when we first started out we wouldn’t make it more than three years, yet here we are ten years later. I thought family, health issues, or simply not liking it would take us off the road, but so far that hasn’t been the case. To be clear we have other options and we could stop at any time, but the grass hasn’t been greener, at least not yet, and we are still getting more out of the lifestyle than any other we could imagine, so we keep going. That might be be the biggest surprise for me of all. One of the interesting things is this becomes your life and over time so many things that were difficult become the new norm. Human beings are amazingly flexible that way.

This country is a vast wonder – As a person who grew up in the Midwest, and had only traveled to major cities, I had no idea how amazing this country actually was. At this point we have been to most places (and every major city except Chicago) and I am surprised by how much I remember from those travels. My memory is a beautiful album of pictures and videos that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Looking at a picture or seeing a movie is NOT the same is standing in that space and smelling the smells and hearing the sounds.

It may sound after reading this that I am discouraging the lifestyle, but truly I am not. I am just sharing the things I didn’t know coming in, which maybe was for the best because it was a tough sell for me in the beginning. To be clear I wouldn’t do anything for ten years that I didn’t want to do, and Lee certainly wouldn’t either. This lifestyle on balance has worked for us in so many ways and continues to provide more than it requires.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes
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First Time In Inyo National Forest

Sometimes as you are traveling you run across a place that unexpectedly blows you away, and I must say that the Inyo Forest did that. The day started with my intent to drive up to an Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest near the town of Big Pine. But it turned out that Inyo has so much more going for it. The layout is interesting as it is on both sides of 395 and there are TONS of places to go see on both sides. Here’s a picture.

Ancient Pine is on the right hand side about 20 minutes from Big Pine and the drive is pretty long. The little car did great though as we climbed from 2,000 to 9,000 feet. When we got to the top unfortunately the main grove was a 4 mile hike round trip and at that elevation I wasn’t really feeling it. We did get to see some trees though and one awesome 300 year old log that had fallen in the 1600’s. Amazing.

Jack loved the big trees

After we were done with the forest we still had lots of time until dark so we went back down to town and got some BBQ (Jack loved his bits) and then explored a few side canyons in Big Pine and Bishop. The Sierra side of the road (the left/west going north) was equally awesome and again we traveled to above 8,000 feet and saw numerous beautiful sites. The one bummer was we had missed the aspen and birch trees leaves changing but in Bishop we saw some gorgeous trees. There is also a reservation near the town of Bishop so we got some cheap (for California) gas and explored the very cool town.

A vending machine with meat in it
And this sign was on the vending machine
Gorgeous Waterfall in the forest
These trees in Bishop were gorgeous
Another gorgeous waterfall

My absolute favorite part was the South Lake. There are three lakes near Bishop and the South one was absolutely beautiful. We spent a lot of time there and I absolutely loved it. It was so peaceful.

Car porn
There were numerous and clean restrooms throughout the forest
Absolutely beautiful

It was a terrific day and I highly recommend some time in the Inyo Forest if you are in the area. Truly it is an embarrassment of nature riches.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes
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First Time in Lone Pine

To be honest I didn’t know much about Lone Pine when I booked the RV spot. I knew I wanted someplace remote, which it is, but I also thought we could visit both Death Valley and the Sequoia National Forest from that location. What I didn’t understand was that there is no eastern entrance to the Sequoia National Park from here, but we have beautiful views of the mountains right from the RV park.

I also selected Boulder Creek RV Park kind of randomly, but wow did I get lucky. There are lots of places to camp up here, but this one seems to be the nicest and although it’s on the pricey side I have absolutely beautiful views outside my window. Cell coverage is also really strong, so working for the next three weeks is no problem. They also have a fantastic dog area and the people we have met are super friendly.

Great store
Nice sites with firepits
The view from my desk window. So great!!
The view from in front of the RV looking left. Wow the Sierra’s

The RV park itself is a couple of miles south of the town, which is very western in design. There are several cafes and hunting/fishing stores and a small but well stocked grocery store. The town’s claim to fame is that hundreds and hundreds of movies and TV have been shot here since 1919, and all of the famous western stars have stayed here at one time or another. Lee loves old Westerns so that was really cool, and we can’t wait to visit the Alabama Hills Movie Road which shows exactly where many movies have been shot.

The coolest part of town was the fantastic Museum of Western Film History. This small museum is absolutely packed with movie memorabilia and the $8 entrance fee was an absolute bargain. I even enjoyed the short film they had which talked about movies in the area which gave a great recap of the history.

Did I mention the Lone Ranger TV show was shot here. Lee loved loved that show as a young boy.

One of the reasons they have so much memorabilia is because a local rancher built a business supplying the film companies. He provided extras, equipment, cattle, and horses for various films and his personal collection (along with other locals) was donated to the museum. Where else can you see actual clothing worn by famous stars and even I who doesn’t care much about Westerns was blown away.

Steve McQueen’s customized shortened rifle
Several old projectors
John Wayne’s shirt from the Searchers
John Wayne’s raincoat from True Grit
Slim Pickens hat

They had a couple of really great collections as well. There was tons of Lone Ranger memorabilia which was actually donated by Robert Blake who collected them as a kid and another huge collection of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans memorabilia. Some of these I recognized from childhood, others were older than me but they were all well cared for.

The amount of westerns shot here was amazing. Over 100 years, 700 films were shot here. In particular it was a favorite of Randolph Scott and he shot most of his movies here. If you haven’t heard of Randolph Scott he was the John Wayne of his time. Along with him are folks like Tom Mix and really every Western star you could think of shot here at one time or another. If you want something more recent they shot part of Django Unchained here and even had Quentin Tarantino’s director’s chair.

Lee’s favorite area showed stuntmen gear. They had a pristine example of a “jerk vest”, which he had only read about but never seen in person, that was used to pull people in whatever direction needed for gunshots and explosions. There was also a wooden chest plate that was used to shoot people with arrows. It also had a trick arrow that was invented so it looked like an arrow hit someone. That section was pretty cool and included a full sized movie truck that was used to film horse chases. Lee got pretty giddy over that 🙂

Arrow plate
The wooden arrow shield
The stunt vest

Although the filming was mostly for westerns, other movies were shot here as well, with the largest production being Gunga Din. Lee was most excited though to see the car Humphrey Bogart drove in High Sierra, which was the role that catapulted him from character actor to superstar.

Errol Flynn wore this coat. Amazing

Russel Crowe was even in Lone Pine for two days when they shot the scenes of his home in Gladiator.

Lastly the scene in Iron Man when he is in Afghanistan and demopnstrating a new weapon was shot here and the movie Tremors. Although things have slowed down since the Golden Age of westerns the Alabama Hills are still an amazing backdrop.

Last but not least they had a great gift shop where I picked up a cool Lone Pine magnet. I can’t wait to drive up to Alabama Hills on Movie Road and further explore the area. Even though I am working I took a couple of half days and we are here for three weeks so we should get to see most of the things we want to.

This sign was in the woman’s bathroom and cracked me up
My magnet!

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes
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Full Timing 2.0

After almost two years in Los Angeles we have moved on. We had gotten to the point where we really needed to establish residency, and although Lee has worked on 15 films and a couple of TV shows, (and gotten some of his his IMDB credits) when he looks at the landscape for work in the future it’s not great at all.

There were many factors that contributed to his decision (and it was 100% his decision) including the fact that a full year after the strikes were settled, the work isn’t returning. It’s going to other states which are giving aggressive tax breaks, and countries where labor is a fraction of what it is here. Productions in LA are down 80% from the same date range prior to the strikes, and there are no indications it’s going to get better, ever. In fact, all of the studios are laying off employees, and building more LED volumes which require almost no crew at all, and AI is also an existential threat to the business on the horizon. Surveys of crew shows that more than half are experiencing serious financial hardship and many are leaving the industray altogether because they just can’t afford to wait any longer. He has talked to many established people who haven’t worked much at all in the last two years and although he could continue to tough it out indefinitely he decided it was time to call it quits and live life instead of hoping to later.

Frankly, I was thrilled. As much as I tried to find a sense of community in LA I never really did, and the high prices and congestion were not my favorite. It was a hard decision but once it was made we acted pretty quickly and Lee spent the week I was on a work trip getting us ready to go.

One thing I will mention is it is tough to get rolling again when you have sat for so long. It took a solid week of prep which included oil changes, replacing a leaking trailer tire, filling up the propane, taking on fresh water, and repacking. Lee gave away all the beautiful flowers and plants to our neighbors (he was very popular) and sold a few more expensive items on Facebook Marketplace. I was kind of happy I missed all the prep because it allowed Lee to focus without me getting in his way.

Saturday morning we hitched up and rolled out around 12:30pm. We were headed to a new place. Lone Pine, California and I booked us to stay for three weeks. Since we didn’t have a solid plan for what came next I wanted someplace new to us, relatively close, and with full hookups. It was a bit like throwing a dart on a map but someone was looking out for me because this place is great!!

I’ll talk more about that in my next post, but I want to thank everyone who has hung in there over the last couple of years with the blog. Things are about to get interesting again!

The rig as we drive north from Los Angeles.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes
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First Time at Santa Barbara Zoo

About a year ago Lee became absolutely obsessed with Red Pandas. I think it started with You Tube videos, but whatever the reason he talks about Red Pandas all the time and is constantly sending me videos of them.

Not our photo, but a pretty good representation of how adorable they are. When they feel afraid or threatened, they stand up and put their paws up high to try to be larger, and intimidating and scary. They’re not.

So because I try to be a good wife I started looking for a zoo where we could see one in person and it turned out the Santa Barbara Zoo has one. We had also heard about this zoo from our friend Georgia so it was on our list and once the 100 degree weather broke we headed out to see the zoo.

I really wanted to get there right when they opened on Sunday and I am so glad we did. Not only were all of the animals very activem, but we also got to see quite a lot of them being fed which led to increased enjoyment. It’s a smaller zoo but absolutely beautiful and they had their Halloween displays up which was an extra treat.

Our first stop was the Red Panda and wow was that great. It was being fed and was super active and man are they super cute. I think Lee could have stayed there all day but eventually I got him to move on.

They really make the most of the space that they have and the zoo has a large events field and even a daycare on the premises which is pretty neat. The signage is good as well with lots of interesting kid friendly facts.

The daycare / camp area is fenced in
Don’t worry there was glass here. IT was really clean which was nice

Lee’s second favorite stop was the gorillas. He spent a ton of time there but as the sign above says it was a little smelly and I wandered off to look at the California condors. This was the closest I have seen them and their sheer size is really impressive. I couldn’t get any good pictures of them but I watched them for a long time.

Had to do it !!

The two disappointing areas were the poor lions who had a relatively small space and the Australian walkabout. It’s a neat idea getting to walk inside the kangaroo pen but they just laid there and it was pretty boring.

I did like how close we could get

The giraffe area was VERY nice and they even had a feeding opportunity for kids for an additional cost.

Feeding platform

There were lots of really good small areas, like the turtles and the penguins, It only takes a couple of hours to go through the park but it was fun because we got to see so many animals eating.

My absolute favorite though was the otters. They had a large play area with a platform that was high on one side and then a glassed in swimming area. I stayed there for a long time because they were so fun to watch.

Seriously how stinking cute

We made a stop at the gift store (buying some Red Panda tote bags of course) and then headed home. It was a lovely drive and a great walk and I am really glad we came. Can’t stress enough though it’s worth getting there right when they open because that really added to the fun.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes
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First Time with an RV Garden

When we first moved into this RV park we discovered that we were allowed to have small pet fencing and “some” plants. This was a first for us in over 10 years of traveling, and we definitely wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to give Jack a fenced in area so he could lay outside and watch the world go by. I also really wanted to have a few plants, if for nothing else than to block the large pipes next to our site, so before I left I found some pots on clearance and was excited about filling them up when I came back.

For those of you who know Lee what happened next will come as no surprise, but even after 35 years of marriage I have to say his commitment to doing something that really matters to him surprises even me. When I came back he had a beautiful little white picket fence constructed, with a front and back gate, all set up, and a handful of maybe 6 or 8 plants. That same weekend we went to a wonderful small nursery I had found, and bought a few shrubs and trees and plants.

This is what I saw when I came home!
We added these Silver Sheen, they work great to help block the pipe, grow well in pots, and are pretty in the sunlight. When they sway in the breeze the sunlight makes the leaves look silver, they’re beautiful. The pots were a lucky find at Home Goods for only $15 end of season clearance. They’re HUGE.
And we added some flowers

My other three plants were all flowering and we got hummingbirds and bees right away. The roses in particular were absolutely beautiful and will bloom here all year. When I saw my first hummingbird I bought one feeder and we got so many hummingbirds Lee bought 4 more. At times we have as many as 30 hummingbirds snacking in our yard and Jack really likes watching them through Lee’s desk window.

So in no time we had flowers, and plants, and hummingbirds. We even had a tomato plant, cilantro, green onions, and strawberries. For me it was perfect. But Lee, well Lee had other ideas 🙂

I should say at this point that Lee’s Mom and Dad have a gorgeous garden. And when I say gorgeous I mean they were on the front page of the Columbus Dispatch newspaper gorgeous. I recommend taking a moment here and clicking this link to a previous blog post about their garden. You truly have to see it to believe it. I mention that because when Lee decided he wanted to try and put a little water feature into our little space it’s not as crazy as it might initially sound. I will say though I was pretty dubious for a variety of reasons, but I should have known that when Lee wants something he generally makes it happen. He spent the next month scouring Facebook marketplace and little by little he created his pond.

Because we obviously can’t dig here and the center is twice as deep as the shelf edge, he used some wood to support the edge so it wouldn’t droop when it was full of water, and it worked perfecetly. The actual pond, pump, filter and waterfall spillway he bought used on FB marketplace from a bunch of different people, and a ton of work went into positioning it and raising and lowering the spillway until he got the perfect sound. Then we went to a specialty pond store and bought a few pond plants. The most expensive was the lily at $50 (ouch) but we only need one and it is really pretty.

Next he bought some stone pavers and then flowering plants to put all around the pond. Along the way he asked my opinion about colors and types of plants, which I appreciated but largely I stood back and tried not to get in his way lol.

I had the idea to put a couple of long hanging plants on hooks right behind the fountain to sort of frame the water fall with greenery and give it a background, and I bought the frog at a swap meet and added the spiky plant so he would look cool, and Lee just popped him into the spillway where he stands guard over the pond.

I was a bit worried that we were overdoing it and someone would say something, because some people are like that, but so far the responses from neighbors have been very positive, and the kids in the park are really fascinated. One older gentleman even stopped and told me we were the pretties site in the park, which was nice to hear. Beauty is contagious, too. Our neighbor added a bunch more plants, and some outdoor string lights, and a couple of hummingbird feeders, which was fine by me because they are greedy little buggers, and now we’re going through a lot less sugar. 🙂

Lee talking to some kids in the neighborhood. He added three of four different types of fish and somehow we even got a visiting frog, so there is lots to look at.

Since Lee likes sitting outside so much he also added some RGB LED pond lighting, a long string patio lights, and a few dozen flicker flame tiki lights hidden all over. I really like how the lights make the garden look at night. It really is beautiful, and since it’s temperate here year round we are really hoping we will be able to enjoy it in the winter months.

Knowing Lee this will be a work in progress as long as we live here, but I wanted to catch you up. Yes, we know that if we move ALL of it will have to go, but building something with that in mind is kind of freeing. I am sure there are lots of people here in the park who would be happy to buy or take various pieces of what we have done and in any event we have no plans on moving in the near future so why not enjoy it while we can? Our quality of life went up exponentially when we moved here from the previous park in the valley, and now it has shot up again, which is nice.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes
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First time in Victoria

The one place I really wanted to visit on this trip was Butchart Gardens in Victoria. It has been on my bucket list for many years now and I was thrilled that they had an evening excursion that accommodated my work schedule. First we got a excellent bus drive through the city and that definitely made me want to come back and spend some more time here.

Our bus driver was awesome
Beautiful buildings
They have bike lanes blocked off all through downtown. LA needs this!!
China town
WE stopped at Tim Horton and got free donuts yummy
China town

The point of the whole trip was the gardens though and wow did they live up to their press. We have been to gardens all over the country, but this was really special maybe because they are so old or because they have been lovingly tended by the same family for over 100 years. It started with Jenni in 1904 who moved to a relatively remote area with her husband who started a cement plant and she ended up with a huge pit in her back yard. She started bringing dirt in and by 1912 had the beginnings of a garden. The pit is actually one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Frankly I could go on and on about how beautiful this garden is, but instead I will share the pictures. Over time it has expanded and some really cool fountains have been added, including a small moving fountain that may have inspired the Bellagio fountains. Simply beautiful.

I took so many pictures and really you couldn’t take a bad one and still I didn’t really capture the spirit of the gardens. The gift shops were also absolutely fantastic and I splurged a little there as well.

Two of my favorite things were a full working carousel and the moving fountains loved those. At one point it looked like an angel in it’s pattern and I loved it.

Loved loved this

All the fountains were really cool.

It’s easy in a place like this to miss the beauty of individual flowers but I tried my best to capture some of those.

It was a wonderful day and a terrific way to end the cruise. Our next stop was Seattle and then I flew home where I only had a couple of days work and then thankfully Labor Day weekend. I loved the cruise with Mom and was so grateful to be able to go. Three bucket list items checked for me and lots of quality time with Mom! Next up I try to recreate my garden experience in our new RV spot!!

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes