One Year on the Road Anniversary

One Year Anniversary!

One year of living and working on the road while Full-time RVing has come and gone.  Boy did it go fast!  We started out leaving Placerville 6/28/14 while a wildfire was going on very close to home and we finished our first year with yet another wildfire!

   

                                            Placerville, CA                           Hope Valley, CA

We went across the northern part of the country and spent a month in Upstate NY visiting friends where we used to live.  We hit Fall just right in the Northeast in September and it continued as we drove down the Eastern Coast.  We visited Steve's family in Virginia, celebrated Thanksgiving in South Carolina and headed to Florida where we spent our first Christmas in the Keys.

   



                            October                         Thanksgiving in SC            Christmas in the Keys

The next few months we drove across the far south along the coast.  April found us staying with Steve's Dad in Arizona then we arrived back in Placerville, CA to wrap up our first year.  There were weddings, a graduation and friends and family to visit!

  

Jan - New Orleans, LA              Feb - San Antonio, TX                    Mar - City of Rocks, NM

  

     Apr - Superstition Mountains, AZ        May - Ramah, NM                  Jun - Hope Valley, CA

I was going to put together all kinds of graphs and info.  But it seemed overwhelming.  So I'll try to summarize.  This info is just for the last 6 months (Dec - Jun).

5,622 miles driven (just campground to campground, not sightseeing or personal)
28 stops (at campgrounds)
Shortest stay: overnight at Walmart or boondocking spot
Longest stay:  2 months moochdocking at my brothers
Avg Stay:  1 week
State Parks: 10
Boondocking: 5
Moochdocking: 2
Private Parks: 6
Other:  5

Now these could be a little misleading as I'd say 75% of the time we are in State Parks.  Our moochdocking was 2 months out of the last 6 months at my brothers as well as a week at a friends in TX.

Our boondocking was typically 5 days at a time.  Private Parks were usually overnighters, getting our rig fixed and the month we spent at Steve's Dad's in AZ.  We rarely stay at private parks.

Other could be a BLM, Forest Service Land, County Park, Rest Stop or a hotel.

Some favorite campgrounds of the last 6 months:  Knights Key, FL (private), Palmetto Island, LA (state),  City of Rocks, NM (state), Lost Dutchman, AZ (state) and Scotts Lake Area, CA (boondock).

Any we hated?  Nope.

Food.  Best:  Royal Red Shrimp (Emerald Gulf, FL & AL), Crayfish, Frog legs, Oysters, Boudin Balls, and all other Cajun in LA, BBQ in TX and Mexican in New Mexico and Mexico.

  

         Royal Red Shrimp, FL/AL               Cajun Food, LA                          Oysters, LA & FL

  

                Boudin Balls, LA                             BBQ, TX                    Mexican Food, NM & Mexico

Most people wonder if we get sick of each other or lonely for friends.  Nope.  As a matter of fact, I'd say, surprisingly, we probably spent 30% of the time with friends.  Meeting up with family, friends in other states and RV friends is one of the best parts of this lifestyle!  And we do love when it's just the two of us!

Any problems?: Roof work (warranty) that was more of an inconvenience than a problem (hence the hotel stay), getting stuck in very deep mud and an intermittent trailer brake problem.  I swear, any RV repair works takes triple the time they estimate for it!

Working on the road.  How'd that go you ask?  Remarkably well.  After I find a place we really want to go, I check the Technomadia App, Coverage?.  It's worked 100% of the time for us.  And we prefer to be out in the boonies than near big cities or towns.

For the most part, the winter weather was great.  Colder than we thought in most of Florida and Alabama.  Dodged a couple of snow storms, both times in New Mexico in March and April.  Between December and June, the only really hot days were our last couple of weeks in Placerville, CA (90s).  Otherwise, it was mostly 60s and 70s.  Even April in Arizona.  They said it was cooler than normal and stayed mostly in the 70s.  Perfect for us!

Mods/Gadgets on the Rig:
Bigger tires, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, Portable Solar Panels, 50 gal Collapsible Water Storage System , Sleep Number Bed, Screen Door Grab Bar, Slide Toppers, Area Rug, Ottoman, Bike Rack, Kayak Rack, LED Light in Closet/Washer-Dryer Space (we don't have a W/D, just big closet).

What's next up for the rest of 2015?
Some time with friends in Tetons & Yellowstone.  A first for the both of us, Glacier National Park where we'll be spending 3 weeks with RV Friends.  Time in Utah, some parks we've visited before, some new ones, In-Law time in Arizona then back to Placerville, CA for Thanksgiving through New Years.

How about a peek of 2016?
Winter (Jan - Mar) boondocking throughout Arizona with RV friends and most of the rest of the Spring/Summer/Fall just in Colorado.  How's that for slowing things down?!  Then holidays back in California.

We look forward to a second year filled with more adventure!  I'll close with one of my favorite poems that really sums up my life and our time on the road.  By Robert Frost.

The Road Not Taken

 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

 And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.