2020 Recap

2020 Recap

2020 was a dumpster fire of a year. We were supposed to go up the Pacific coast, visit friends we had never met, take our first trip to the ocean, and so much more. In April, due to THAT WHICH SHALL NOT BE NAMED, we found ourselves struggling to figure out where to go next. Almost all of our reservations had been cancelled and we thought it would be safer to stay in one area for as long as possible. We ended up spending the summer in Colorado (which was also lovely) and wintering down in New Mexico and Arizona. While we didnt encounter as many technical difficulties as we had the previous year, animals and people illnesses sidelined us and decimated our budget. While we have hope that 2021 will shape up to be the year we had hoped 2020 would be, we are going to be making permanent changes to how we travel and where we spend our money. 

Bye 2020!

2020 Highlights

Travel Map

Started in San Antonio, TX, ended in Black Canyon City, AZ

Best of 2020

Favorite RV Park

Wine Ridge Resort, Pahrump NV

The Wine Ridge RV Resort takes top place this year (I know, I know, over the beautiful forests and mountains of Colorado??) because we had great wifi, mountain views, private bathrooms, and wilderness for Kojii to walk around in. It was also incredibly cheap for how fancy it felt. It had a true resort feel (they pick up your garbage at your site!!) with resort amenities (pool, racquetball, tennis… fancy people stuff) but at a mom and pop park cost. We have paid much more for much  less. While people didn’t really take the pandemic seriously there, we kept to ourselves and had zero problems. 

Favorite National Park/Tourist Attraction

Carlsbad Caverns

We got to see some amazing sites in 2020. Going to national parks and hiking ended up being some of the best parts of our adventures this year. We both agreed that the Carlsbad Caverns take the cake. We went on a whim on a random weekday. It didnt have the name recognition of Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon, and we didnt know anything about it. It ended up being phenomenal. You felt transported to another world down there, and as someone who has seen too many horror movies about being trapped in an underground cavern surrounded by cannibals, I didnt feel claustrophobic from the experience. Quite the opposite - the gigantic caverns made me feel very small. There is also a gift shop a mile underground where you CAN MAIL POSTCARDS! If you can, try and go during the season where the bats migrate. We didnt get to see that, but I can only imagine that it would add to an already incredible experience. 

Best Quality of Life Purchase

Dishwasher

I am incredibly spoiled. Ron does 99% of the cooking and 100% of the dishwashing in the RV. Imagine a tiny sink. Now imagine half of that. That is what Ron has had to use to wash dishes in the RV. We also don't have hot water (our hot water tank has been split since day 1 - for some reason the inspection didnt show that) so Ron has to heat up all the water in a kettle and doing a day’s worth of dishes can take over an hour. We bought a dishwasher and installed in in the shower in our bathroom (where much of our storage lives). It has cut down dishwashing time at least in half.

Best DIY Upgrade 

The flooring

One of the first things we did when we got the RV was rip out the carpeting and laminate in the main living area. It was stained and gross, and we wanted to put plank flooring down that the cats wouldnt absolutely tear up. Our dreams were dashed when we installed flooring and it was immediately ripped up by our slide out. With time running out and us not wanting a sticky floor to live on, we got the thinnest stick on tiles we could and threw them on the floor. The result was… passable at best. We spent months trying to figure out what was on the slideout that was ripping up our beautiful flooring. We still don't know. We purchased floaters that help lift up the slide out just a tad when it comes in, and that has kept the scratches to a minimum. We installed  a new plank flooring (cursing our previous selves for using such strong adhesive on the tiles) and absolutely love how it turned out. It makes the whole RV feel a lot more like a home. 

Best Overall New Addition

Clementine

While we always knew we would need to get another cat as a companion for Poseidon,  we thought it would be far in the future. After Kojii’s health scare (that’s for another post), we realized you never know how long you have with your pets. We didnt want Poseidon to be alone again, and so we spent a month searching for the perfect cat for our family. We looked at hundreds of cats, met a few of them, and finally found Clementine. She and Poseidon have become the best of friends. Yes, we are probably a little crazy for having three cats in an RV, but overall she has been a wonderful addition to the family.

Best City to Visit

Ouray, CO

I want to take everyone I’ve ever met to Ouray. Nestled in the mountains, its nickname is the Switzerland of the US. The town itself is tiny, with a ton of charm. The roads to get there are windy and exciting and the views are spectacular. Take a hike up to one of the many waterfalls and eat dinner in a historic district. Stop at one of the many mountain towns on the way and just enjoy the whole trip.

Best Restaurant

Amicas in Salida, CO

We didnt eat out much in 2020, but when we did we still had fairly lackluster experiences. This was not the case with Amicas in Salida, CO. We had been craving pizza for months. There are quite a few pizza places in Salida, and we ate here on a whim. The pizza was absolutely amazing. They had tons of different combinations and both of our pizzas were cooked to perfection. We even came back a second time a few weeks later and had a similar experience. Service was a little slow, but the food more than made up for the wait.

Summer 2020 in Colorado

When Covid hit, all our plans changed. States started shutting down and parks we had reservations for were no longer open. We knew we needed to get somewhere that we would be happy being stuck for an unforeseeable amount of time. Both of us love Colorado, and have friends there. We drove the 14 hours from where we were in Nevada to Colorado and hunkered down from May - August. Here is a short description of the places we stayed:

Our longest stay was for two months in South Fork, CO, at Peacock Meadows. The sites were great - they were long and diagonal so that we weren’t looking directly through our neighbors windows. Our reception was good, bathrooms were super clean, and there was an amazing breakfast restaurant just down the street that we walked to every weekend. It was difficult to get groceries and one off items, as the nearest grocery store that wasnt a gas station was about an hour away. We really needed to plan ahead. Some highlights include:

• taking a weekend vacation to Ouray, CO (the town is nestled in the mountains and feels like you’d imagine Switzerland to be)

• getting snowed on during a hike (in June!)

• Ron getting his first drone

• riding the motorcycle on the Silver Thread Scenic Byway

• more hiking than we have ever done

• shaving my head

After South Fork, we were ready to be closer to amenities. We ended up in Coaldale, CO for a month at Bighorn Park. We had driven past the previous year on our way to Alamosa, and thought being by the river would be really fun, plus when we tested our cell phones it seemed like there was reception. Coaldale was the perfect distance between Salida and Canon City, and the roads were windy and scenic. The bathrooms were clean and the camp hosts were so friendly. The sites were incredibly tight, and we ended up having almost no reception. Getting work done was a pretty big pain. Some highlights include:

• having the most amazing sandwiches and pizza in Salida

• hiking the continental divide

• riding a train

• spending the weekend in Aspen

We then drove about 30 minutes to our next destination - Canon City. We had stayed at that KOA previously, and no other parks in the area were offering month long stays, so we stayed for about a week. Highlights include:

• pretty strong internet

• visiting friends in Manitou Springs

• watching the sun rise at the Royal Gorge

We had plans to have our friend Tyler come and visit, so he drove down to Colorado Springs and we stayed at Cheyenne Mountain State Park for a week. The sites are huge, there are a ton of hiking trails, and the bathrooms were spotless. We had almost no reception and wifi was non-existent, we were a long way from the bathroom, and both coming down from and going up the mountain was pretty tough on the RV. Highlights include:

• taking Tyler to see Skyline Drive in Canon City and the Great Sand Dunes

• getting an airbnb for a day and doing allllll the laundry

• watching Spaghettiman

Our final stay in Colorado was in Walsenberg, CO, at Lathrop State Park. Due to wildfires in Colorado, the air was so smoggy that for the first few days we didnt even know you could see mountains from here. We spent most of our days indoors due to poor air quality. Walsenberg is a tiny town, but they had a Safeway and Tina’s Cafe. Our site was large and we felt pretty secluded, but once again we had no reception for me to do video calls. Highlights include:

• riding the Highway of Legends

• visiting the world’s first weed mall

• our rv plug lighting on fire

• Ron going out to the sand dunes at 1am to take pictures of the stars

RV Spending - Covid Edition

Our spending has been all over the place since we have started staying in place. This is a compilation of our expenses for March, April and May 2020.

Food

When stores started running out of things, we ordered a bunch of freeze dried food and MREs, which are now sitting in our storage bay for emergencies. Meat has gotten more expensive, and the normally cheap small town grocery stores have us paying a premium. In March we went out to get tacos before everything closed up, and now that restaurants are back open we are trying to go out and support local businesses (masks on, compliant as possible).

Groceries: $2,317

Eating Out: $484

Gas

Our last minute changes to shelter in place had us drive across three states in two days. I dont know that we have ever been more exhausted.

Gas: $757

Entertainment

Our entertainment has consisted of motorcycle rides up the mountains and exploring the deserts. The cost is almost entirely Ron’s new drone.

Entertainment: $2,052

RV Repairs

We’ve taken the opportunity to upgrade our solar, get new tires for the bike, install a new vent fan in the ceiling, and new flooring in the RV.

RV Repairs: $2,583

RV Parks

We’ve had to cancel all our west coast reservations and pay for new ones for the few months in Colorado.

RV Parks: $1,558

Propane

We had a few fill ups from cold nights.

Propane: $45

Grand total for March, April and May: $8,912

Average a month: $2,970

Where we have been the last few months

It’s been a long time since any meaningful post, and honestly it’s incredibly hard to feel like there is anything to talk about. We are safe, we are secure, we have jobs, and we are healthy. The world around us is burning and going to shit, and my heart aches for my adult hometown and for the state of where we are. How can I do nothing, but what should I be doing?

So instead of reading another Facebook post full of bullshit, misinformation and lies, I’ve decided to compile some photos of things that have made me happy these past few months. I hope you, and your family, and community are being supported.

Kojii chilling in the shade in Pahrump, NV

ABQ before Covid shut everything down

An hour south of the Grand Canyon

My mom made us masks

Utah on the way to Colorado

Creede, CO

Kojii walking around South Fork, CO

Pagosa Springs, CO

Sunset before the storm

Ron procures a new toy

We work on removing our old flooring to put in new flooring

Colorado can get super windy!

Drone action on the road

South Fork, CO

San Juan National Forest

Lake City, CO

5 Things We Didn't Know We'd Need/Wish We Didnt Bring

I researched for years on what would be the essential items for living on the road. While all lifestyles are different, we spent a ton of money on things that we thought would be vital to living a wonderful life as nomads. Here are 5 things we are glad we picked up and 5 we wish we hadn’t bought.

The Winners

1. Weber Grill

   Specifically, the Weber 54060001 Q2200 Liquid Propane Grill. Ron and I really had no experience with grilling before we went on the road. I STILL don’t. But when researching grills, this one kept popping up. It was compact but large, it was brand name and “easy” to learn. We went with the portable cart as well, not knowing what table situations we would have. There are some weeks where Ron uses this to cook every dinner we have. On hot days, it’s amazing to not have even more heat coming in. Ron has expanded his culinary skills and has even grilled a meatloaf!

2. NOCO Boost Plus

   This little jump starter has helped us more times than we would like to admit. It has jumped our RV when we didnt realize how much the batteries were pulling. It has jumped the motorcycle when we didnt realize something was wrong with the wiring and the lights were on all night. It jumped our solar batteries when we couldnt figure out why crap wasn’t charging. It is one of those things that you hope you dont need to use, but you’re happy you have it when you need it.

3. Arlo Pro 2

   Ron is a bit paranoid, and one of the first things we purchased was the Arlo Pro 2 security system (along with a few other security measures). Ron loves it because he gets alerts if anyone is in the range of the camera while we are gone, and I love it because it has night vision and we can see the kitties that stop by our RV in the middle of the night! Another peace of mind item.

4. Teapot

   This isn’t a must for everyone by any means. We found out very quickly that our hot water heater was not functional, and we needed a way to wash our dishes (what, with all the grilling). We picked up a cheapo teapot from Target and it has actually been really great. I use it for hot cocoa and oatmeal, Ron uses it for his french press (ooo la la). While having a hot water heater would be nice, this eliminates a lot of the need for one at a fraction of the cost. Plus it matches our couch.

5. Projector

   Ron had a lot of great ideas for what to do for our TV viewing. We had a gigantic TV in our apartment, which we gave away to one of our siblings and we made do with watching our movies and shows on my laptop for a while. We even bought a super heavy and expensive tv mount with the intention of figuring out where the hell to put it that would be A) safe and B) easy to see from the couch. Our couch faces the kitchen, but the only real place to put it was over the drivers seat, a full 90 degrees from the couch. It wouldnt have been comfy. We even looked at easy ways to maneuver our couch toward seeing the tv. In the end, we purchased a projector and screen, and it has been awesome. It is much more lightweight than a TV of even a portion of the size, and it can run off of battery if need be. It might not be the cinematic experience of our dreams, but we love how it has worked out.

   Honorable Mention:

   Our couch! First thing we did when we got our RV was rip out the monstrosity of a pull out couch that was bolted in. It was ugly and uncomfortable. When looking at couches, it was important that it was easy to get through our small RV door, lightweight(ish) and look good. We settled on a Lovesac couch, and it has been amazing. It’s modular, which means every part of it comes apart. I am a puny person, and I moved the whole thing easily. It also came in teal, which was everything my heart desired.

The Losers

1. Kayak

   I followed Heath and Alyssa Padgett religiously when researching this (check them out if you haven’t, because they seem like overall amazing humans as well as badass nomads) and in one of their park reviews (I think it was Pecan Park, which we actually ended up going to in Texas anyway!) they talked about being on the water and kayaking, and I thought “Oh my god, this is everything I want”. It did not matter that I dont kayak, or dont own a bathing suit, or that I cannot swim. I immediately ordered an inflatable two person kayak. And it has never left the packaging. Because I hate the water. I have no idea what I was thinking. I was drawn into the idea of an instagram-type moment of bliss where I lounge in the sun on my kayak and listen to the sound of how much better my life is at this moment than it was before. I’m not sure what the exact sound that would make, but it was going to be freaking awesome.

2. Canopy Tent

   Some things we bought for dreams that we realllllly wanted to come true, but never did. Ron’s vision for streaming was to have an outdoor setup. We would end up in a beautiful location, he’d set up the canopy tent with his computer equipment inside, and he’d stream with the amazing background behind him. We made sure it was 10x10, which is the minimum size for VR. Surprising no one, the VR setup is collecting dust.

3. Zero Gravity Outdoor Chair

   This one is hard to put on the list, because we love our outdoor chairs. When we use them, they are great. If boondocking, it is really nice to have outdoor seating available. We just havent gotten the solar setup up to snuff enough to be boondocking a lot, so the chairs just… sit outside. Most places we stay have picnic tables, or no view to want to see to begin with. Staring at the side of someone elses RV isnt the most romantic sight. Plus they’re huge and cumbersome to pack up when we move. While we would ideally want these same chairs, I wouldnt have purchased them until we were mainly living on BLM land.

4. Instapot

   I dont cook. I really, really don’t. And everyone said how easy the instapot is, and that it takes a fraction of the energy of a crock pot, so we bought one. Considering we have like one square foot of counterspace, we would have to use it every day for it to make sense in our lives. Since we mainly do grilling, we really only use the instapot once or twice a month, and it is just too bulky for the number of times we use it.

5. Folding Outdoor Table

   This goes hand in hand with the canopy and gravity chairs. Thought we would be doing a lot more outdoor things, but instead we have a huuuuuge folding table in our storage bays that I dont think we have used even once. Again, the things we bought are for the lifestyle we thought we were going to live, not the one we ended up living.

This is not to say that any of these things are bad things, or that the things we loved will work for everyone. I know people who live and die by their instapot, and people who think us having a projector is ridiculous. It’s all about finding out what items work for you.

How I went from being "selfish, stupid and wrong" to "amazing and an inspiration" on the internet

We had been on the road for only three weeks when I did a Money Diary for Refinery 29. I had been following the website for a year, and loved to learn how other women were earning and spending their money anonymously. There were posts from lawyers in NY, tarot card readers in Texas, and divorcees in Paris. But I hadnt seen anything for people who lived in an RV. When we were first looking at the lifestyle, all the blogs and videos didnt give me a great sense of the costs day to day. Everything was glamorized and filtered within a inch of its life, so I had no idea what living on the road would really be like.

Per the website’s format, I kept track of what happened to me and what I spent my money on for a week. I filled out their form and sent it, not really expecting it to get posted. From the feedback from Reddit forums and comments sections, it could take weeks for your diary to posted, if it ever was posted at all.

They posted mine the next morning.

I woke to the headline “A Week In An RV On A $96,400 Salary” and thought “Holy shit, they must have liked it”. I was so excited to read the comments. The comment section at R29 can be incredibly hostile, but if they liked someone it was usually because it was a unique circumstance or they handled their money well. I thought it would be an interesting read - we were traveling full time, we were debt free, we had a few hiccups that were drama and we went to see some amazing places. And while some people were really nice, the majority were pretty harsh.

And these were some of the nicer ones! The ones that really got to me were the ones that said that I was a monster for taking my cats with, how selfish could I be? A large group of people thought that since we still had wifi hotspots we couldnt possibly be considered off grid, and we were frauds. Some even said that I was a bad example and that nobody could live like this with a “real” salary. I was crushed. I had expected the judgement of people not being into the lifestyle, but being told that I was being cruel to my animals really hit home. I spent all day at my laptop, watching the comments flow in and trying to respond where I could, even to the ones that I hated.

Fast forward to now.

An editor at R29 contacted me and asked me if I would do a followup diary. I spent a day thinking about it - did I really want to put myself out there again? People didnt understand me before, what will have changed now? I said yes anyway, because people needed to know how Covid was effecting full time RVers. They told me the diary would be posted on Earth Day, and at 5am it went out to the world. And this time I was ready. I was going to be ambivalent and ignore the comments and just let it roll off me.

Then the comments started coming in.

People loved it. I was confused. I was living the same lifestyle. I still had the cats. We still had the internet. We still had rv drama problems. Why suddenly was this resonating with people? After reading all the comments, I had a few ideas:

• Other recent money diaries had been dumpster fires.

  • It’s easy to look at a nomad lifestyle and think that we are all rule breakers going against the grain of society. But we were doing what everyone else was! We are staying at home, reducing risk to ourselves and others, and being vigilant and cautious when we had to go out. Previous diaries that week had been from people who were exposed to Covid who were still living their normal routines, and the comments section had gone after them like the mob in Beauty and the Beast. If there were pitchfork icons, they would have been everywhere. It made my life look more like the acceptable norm than ever before.

• Many people are living in small spaces

  • A lot of the comments in my first diary were that people couldnt imagine being in a small space all the time, or being stuck with just one person. Now, a LOT of people can imagine that. Ron and I are pros at being around nobody but each other for an extended period of time. I think seeing a healthy, loving relationship between two people while being shut off from the world was something that people needed.

• People miss travel and adventure and new places

  • Even though I talk about having to cancel and change plans (some day we will get to you, Oregon, some day…), we still have a day where we have to travel to our new campsite and book new RV parks. Canceling plans was relatable, and making new ones shows some normalcy coming back to the situation.

• Cats

  • In the first money diary, our cats were still getting used to the RV life. Now that they are old pros, they are living their best life and it shows. While they were by no means the neglected babies people thought they were in the first posting, having daily updates of Kojii’s walks and antics showed people that the cats were thriving.

• People want to be nice and supportive

  • In times of crisis, people want a reason to band together. The positivity just snowballed. When everything else is scary and sad and wrong, the love and community of others is something that people want to flock to and resonate with. Even the very few posts that could be construed as negative were quickly squashed by random strangers on the internet.

Suddenly I was a precious cinnamon roll that needed to be protected at all costs. And while that was incredibly, incredibly kind of them, I was finally at a point that I didnt need that. 8 months ago I was in a place where I wasnt sure that being in an RV was the best thing for us, and the negative comments only fed that fear. Now I’m in a good place where I am happy with how our lives are going as nomads, and prepared to make changes in stride if need be.

All that to say, I think that this was a “right place in the right time” scenario. If I did a diary posting one a year from now when everything has settled down, I would expect it to be a lot more 50/50 as far as the peanut gallery is concerned. Right now, we are all in this together. I’m very lucky and humbled by the outpouring of love and support from the anonymous strangers on the internet, and hope the positivity continues with them.

Carlsbad, NM

Campsite:

Brantley Lake State Park, Carlsbad NM

Site: 15

Wifi: Verizon - 20 down, 5 up, ATT - 20 down, 5 up

Cost: $208 for two weeks

Noise: Very aggressive birds

We loved Brantley Lake State Park. The views were great, the sites were fairly level, everything was spacious, and even with neighbors we never were disturbed. The bathrooms are under construction, but the outdoor concert style restrooms worked just fine. Our cell signals were strong, we didnt have to worry about overflowing dumpsters, and it was easy to access our site. The only downside (which may be an upside to some) was that we were half an hour away from any sort of store. That meant we had to be more aware of how much gas we had on our motorcycle before we went anywhere. We would definitely be back.

That’s a good boy

City:

Carlsbad, NM

Carlsbad is a town full of all the things you would need, probably not so much the things you would want. Not a lot of social things to do - not even a lot of bars. It fills a void and gets the job done, but don’t expect anything extra. It’s within driving distance (2 hours or so) to two national parks, as well as tourist town Roswell, NM, so it’s a good stopping point. 

Restaurant:

Antigua Cocina Mexicana

On a visit to Roswell, we stopped by the visitor’s center for a photo op and dinner recommendation. We were told to go see Antigua Cocina Mexicana. It was more north of the city than we had wanted to go, but we are so glad we went. The food was absolutely delicious, the prices were reasonable, and the servers were friendly. Ron enjoyed the shrimp cocktail and thought they nailed a Mexican shrimp cocktail perfectly. I loved their almond flan.

This Lifestyle is Perfect - For My Cat

Ron and I love being on the road. He enjoys meeting new people and I crave new experiences. Though we’ve only been on the road about 7 month, we can see living like this for a long time. But the family member who absolutely thrives on this new lifestyle is our cat, Kojii.

I adopted Kojii in college with some roommates, while we were living in a dorm that didn’t allow pets. The shelter we brought her home from said that she was very shy and quiet - perfect for a group that did not want a cat to be found. In fact, the entire rest of the school year nobody was any wiser. She had been a street cat and was very way of people. She hid for most of the semester. Through love and time, she came to like our strange “family”. When summer was coming up, we contemplated what to do with her. Of the four of us, two were international students, so they couldn’t take her. My roommate Laura and I played rock, paper, scissors to fight for who got to take her. Spoiler alert - I won. The next few years consisted of her sitting in a window, chirping at birds and squirrels that went by.

My senior year of college, my landlord found out I had a cat and told me I had to give her the boot. Luckily my parents took her in. I grew up on a big farm, and she went from a shy indoor cat to a vivacious outdoor cat. She hated strangers, but absolutely adored my dad. He used to lay down on the ground and call her name, and she’d run over and lay on his chest. She was a little more wary of my mom, who wanted love her way. She still let my mom pick her up and pet her, and it was a huge step for a cat that has people issues.

After college, she moved with me wherever I went. When I fostered kittens, she took them under her wing. She was a favorite of all my friends, and we bring each other such comfort. She still sleeps on my chest almost every night. When we decided to move into an RV, I had no idea how she would take it. She doesn’t like car rides, the space would be much smaller, and aside from our gigantic cat tree and big windows, there wouldnt be much for her to do. Ron and I agreed before leaving that if any of our cats hated the lifestyle, we would find them new homes they would be happy at, even if it meant that they wouldnt be with us.

I knew that Kojii liked to be outside, so I bought one of those collapsible, giant dog runs. I set it up the first time in Wyoming, and she hated being in it. I dont know if it was that she felt caged, or that she couldnt really run around the way she wanted to, but she was miserable. We bought her a cat harness, and it was difficult at first for her to wear it. We built up her tolerance to it by putting it on a little more each time until she finally figured out that harness = outside. She was able to have the freedom she was so excited for (kinda). Now she sits by the door and screams to go for a walk about 2pm every day. I put the harness on her and together we explore everything the world has to offer. I’m almost positive she thinks that the RV is a Tardis, taking her new places each time the door opens. Without living in an RV, she would never have experienced what it is like to walk in the desert, or chase a jackalope, or go rock climbing. We’ve gotten a lot of people who laugh when they see us, because it’s not a common thing. But stop by and say hi to us if you see us. Kojii doesn’t bite. ;)

RV Spending - 6 month comparison

One of the biggest questions we had starting out was “How much will this cost”? We looked at other RV blogs and saw everything from $500/mo to $6000/mo. We scoffed at the $6000/mo, thinking that these people must be living in the lap of luxury, at rv resorts and going on the yacht with Laurent on Sundays. After keeping track of our spending the last 6 months, I’ve got to say I’m astonished at how much we have spent. Some of it, like entertainment and food, has been us being completely frivolous. It’s easy to think that you need to be a part of every new experience. Some of it has been really frustrating, like having to pay to spend weeks in hotels while our rv was being repaired, not to mention the costs of the repairs. So without further ado, here is how much we have spent to live on the road for our first six months.

Holy crap, it is so much more than we had thought. That’s not including things like health insurance, internet, and recurring monthly costs like Netflix. Our experience has not been one of saving money. We actively budgeted very closely last month and it would have completely skewed our numbers, but my hope is that our next 6 months will have much lower averages. We are now slowing down, we have taken care of the major repairs (though who knows when the next is), and we are fine taking our time in our adventures instead of spending a ton of money to see everything. Our lifestyle has actually cost more than when we were in an apartment - there are so many more opportunities to spend money on the road. We’ve got new food options every week, cool sights that we’ve never seen, and we drive more often to explore. We were more homebodies when in Minnesota, if only because we had tried new things over a much larger period of time. So to those of you who are looking to find out the costs on the road, know that budgeting will be your best friend.

RV Life under Quarantine (and why RV parks should stay open)

It’s not debatable anymore - with the spread of Covid-19 across the globe, the best thing you can do for others is to STAY HOME. It’s not a fluke, it’s not a conspiracy. People are losing their jobs, people are losing their lives. And the odds are, you will come through it in the end just fine. This is not the same for our neighbors, friends and family. We are all facing disappointments and frustrations, but the risks are greater for some than others. I hope that you all are considering lives aside from your own when making decisions as to whether or not to leave home.

While many businesses have been closed and events have been cancelled, full time RVers have another added fear - where do you go to “stay home” if your home is closed? Many states have closed their campgrounds at state parks, but some are going so far as to close down private RV parks. This is detrimental to those who live at the RV parks, whether temporarily or permanently, and it also increases the risk of spreading the disease. For states that are closing private parks, you are kicking out those who may have nowhere else to go.

Many full time RVers do not have a livable home base. Ron and I are very lucky in the fact that if every park in the US were closed, we still have friends and family that would take us in. We have a place to go in multiple states. However, this is not the case for a lot of RVers. Many are retired, and have been living at the same RV park for months if not years. What do you do with hundreds of thousands of displaced Americans who cannot afford other places to go?

It is completely understandable to tell people that now is not the time to take your week long RV vacation. But by closing private RV parks you are sending mixed messages to those that full time - stay at home, just not here. RVers are the perfect demographic of a group that can easily stay under quarantine. We take our homes with us, many of our jobs are already remote, and a lot live in very isolated areas. If we are forced to leave, we are going to go to other states that are not closed, increasing the risk of spreading the virus. Many states with high cost of living, such as California, have people who live in RVs full time but do not travel. They are members of your community trying to solve impossible problems. Allow them to stay in their homes, where they are set.

This is an uncertain time for so many people. If you have land and are willing to let a displaced nomad stay temporarily, please consider creating an account at Boondockers Welcome. Boondockers Welcome is a site that matches RVers and those with property that will allow them to park their home temporarily. A lot of people have no place else to go, and the stress of trying to find a safe place to go is too much for some. Having someone stay on your property will help them keep quarantine and reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19. For those able to support your community, whether it is staying home if you are ill, running errands for those that can’t leave, or helping keep a local business afloat by ordering online or getting takeout, please consider doing so. Now is the time to think of others, just as someone is thinking of you

Fort Stockton, TX

Site:

Hilltop RV Park, Fort STockton TX

Site: 31

Wifi: Verizon - 5 down, 3 up, ATT - 7 down, 1 up, Sprint - 85 down, 2 up

Cost: $400 for two weeks

Noise: Normal highway noises

Theres something to say that being the best around doesn't mean you’re great. I really wanted to like Hilltop RV Park. Here’s the pros and cons:

Awesome:

• Sunset views

• Near town but feels like the country

• Easy to access

• Friendly neighbors and hosts

• Full bathrooms

• Beautiful pool

• The internet at night

• $2 washer and $2 laundry, open 24/7

• Great water pressure and actual showerheads in the showers

Not so awesome:

• Lots of highway noise at night

• The air slightly smells of sulfur

• The internet during the day

• The water in the bathrooms is slightly tinged yellow

Easily fixable but nothing has happened:

• The bathrooms have no soap or way to dry your hands. You’ve got four bathrooms, and NONE of them have this!

• The bathrooms do not have any gendered signs outside them, but in one of the bathrooms above the toilet is a sign saying that the bathroom is for women only. I’m fine with gendered bathrooms or not, but if you’re going to have them, have signs outside. 

• Not all showers have towel hooks. I had to pull over the shower stool to have someplace to put my towel

• The bathrooms have small plug in heaters. That’s fine, but they don't ever seem to be on, and when we had snow they were off, making for a cold toilet experience. 

• The mail is delivered to the owner’s house. The packages and mail just sits in the mailbox or porch, and anyone can grab your stuff. Didnt feel secure.

Sisko hikes up the mountain

City:

Fort Stockton, TX

We arrived in Fort Stockton, and the three gas station workers we talked to all said the best thing to do in Fort Stockton was to leave. Not a good start. Their only movie theatre had closed, and the best restaurant to go to was McDonalds. Their high value tourism spot is the Oldest House in Fort Stockton. Not the Oldest House in Texas… the Oldest House in FORT STOCKTON. Needless to say, we didnt explore much. 

Restaurant:

Big Bend National Park Restaurant

Since there was nothing to do in Fort Stockton, we went down the two hours to Big Bend National Park. Most tourism spots have expensive on site restaurants and crappy food, since your options were limited. We ate at the restaurant down at the basin, and were surprised by the decent prices! We were even more shocked at how good the food was. If it wasnt two hours away, we would absolutely go again. 

RV Spending - February 2020

February we really wanted to try and keep our spending to a minimum and see what we realistically could live on if we needed to cut things. You never know if/when you’ll lose income, and being on the road it can be significantly harder to find new clients. By knowing what we can get by on, it helps relieve that stress of not knowing.

Food

Our goal was to keep groceries under $120/week. Considering we had been spending big bucks on fancy ingredients, I was surprised how easy this was. Ron made fantastic meals and I didnt feel like I was missing out on anything. We also wanted to spend under $200 on eating out, which was like one meal a week. That was blown when we went to a great Mexican restaurant in Roswell that looked way cheaper on the outside than it was inside.

Groceries: $339

Eating Out: $217

Gas

Aside from the big move to New Mexico, we also did a lot of longer drives to explore. We saw three national parks (one was 4.5 hours round trip) and made the trek to Roswell.

Gas: $294

Entertainment

We have a national parks pass (and totally recommend them) so going to the parks was “free”. We also went to Sonic the Hedgehog the movie, as Ron wanted to support a movie that was changed when viewer feedback said “Oh god what have you made”. The movie was still crap.

Entertainment: $70

RV Repairs

We didn’t have any major repairs, and spent the money on small improvements like things for the kitchen and wires for our solar setup.

RV Repairs: $65

RV Parks

We spent $485 for two weeks at a park that we absolutely hated, and then another $220 on a state park reservation for the week in the summer by Yellowstone.

RV Parks: $705

Propane

We had a few fill ups from cold nights.

Propane: $51

Grand total for November: $1741

Kerrville, TX

Site:

By the River RV Park, Kerrville TX

Site: 29

Wifi: Verizon - 2 down, 1.1 up, ATT - 60 down, 20 up

Cost: $400/month

Noise: OMG so many ducks

By the River RV Park is an ideal location for those who love being outdoors, and those who have dogs. It’s a great spot to be, with amazing AT&T speeds for the rest of us who need to be connected. Of all the places we have stayed, this is the best of both worlds. The spots are literally steps from a large stream, and there are birds galore. The park has two sets of fulltimers (from what we could tell): a pair of large, white ducks that were very vocal, and a bonded pair of black and white ducks. Every day I would see them hanging out right outside our RV, having the time of their lives. Despite there not being leaves on the trees, we had a bit of shade. There is a large island connected to the RV park with a few tent campsites. It’s perfect for people to unleash their dogs and let them run around and have fun. And almost everyone here has dogs. We were here a month and never had any bad encounters with them - they were all very well behaved. The bathrooms are a bit of a walk away on top of the hill, so if you have any mobility issues you’ll want to make sure you’re self contained. The park also hosts events like pottery night, poker, waffle breakfast and a potluck. The laundry room is only open when the office is, so be sure to get your wash started by 3pm! There was also a line for laundry on weekends so taking care of it during the week will help ensure you can get it done when you’d like. The camp hosts were friendly and helpful, and overall we really enjoyed our stay. 

Kojii on a hike

City:

Kerrville, TX

Kerrville is a town in the middle of growing to be a bigger town. 10 years from now, Kerrville will be a bustling city. The only thing it is waiting for is for its people to be more consistent. A lot of businesses are closing, with new businesses going into their spots. There is a lot of real estate available in the area, and the people seem to like where they are. Only an hour and a half from SAT so there is a proximity to the dream of living in the country while still enjoying amenities of city life.

Ron finally finds his hat

Restaurant:

The Lakehouse

The Lakehouse Restaurant looks like a cabin inside, and has fantastic (and well priced) hometown cooking. We went twice, and our server both times (Hey Nicolette!) was both attentive and friendly. The food was flavorful and felt like down south cooking. The only thing that was missing was a deck for us to enjoy the food on while looking at their riverside view.

San Marcos, TX

Site:

Pecan Park, San Marcos TX

Site: 115

Wifi: Verizon - 4 down, 8 up, ATT - 15 down, 5 up

Cost: $450/month

Noise: Minimal, occasional flights overhead

Pecan Park is perfect for those that want to feel like they are in the country while still being a stone’s throw away from city amenities. They’re off a main highway, next to a beautiful stream with lots of trees and grass. It’s a fairly picture-esque setting. The ladies in the office were very friendly, as were our site neighbors. The only problems we had were that for some reason, at around 2pm every day, all of our wifi options would absolutely tank. And it was a night and day difference. During the morning we could stream and in the afternoon we were lucky to have speeds to send emails. The campground wifi was like most campground wifi - unreliable at best. We would still very much recommend staying, especially if you’re fine just downloading your shows in the morning to watch at night. 

Tyler thinks his stupid walk will ruin the photo. HA! Jokes on you!

City:

San Marcos, TX

San Marcos is a sprawling college town right off of some major highways. They have big box stores, a ton of hiking trails, and a very cute downtown with an oddly high amount of ice cream stores (not that I’m complaining, I’m pro ice cream). Overall, it was one of the better towns we’ve stayed in. The constant traffic on the main road is obnoxious, but other than normal town problems, we really enjoyed our stay

Restaurant:

Otoko

This restaurant is actually in Austin, but since we didnt eat out in San Marcos I’m counting this one. :) Our friend Tyler actually flew out to join us for this experience, and Otoko didnt disappoint. It was a revelatory experience in sushi for us all. It’s an incredibly intimate group experience. There are only a few spots each night, and the chef prepares everything in front of you. It was really expensive, but also really worth it. Some places you go to eat, this is one of those places you go to experience.

RV Spending - January 2020

Holy crap it’s 2020. Time has gone by really weirdly for us. Some days it feels like we were in Minneapolis just a bit ago, other times it feels like we were in Colorado five years ago. Time is boxes. :)

Food

We did a lot of home cooking. We had both friends and family come over, so there was more eating out than anticipated, but we ate well without feeling like we were sacrificing anything.

Groceries: $848

Eating Out: $300

Gas

We only got gas for the motorcycle - no RV fill ups

Gas: $73

Entertainment

We really lumped a lot into this category this month. Along with friends and family activities, we renewed: Amazon Prime, Squarespace, Email. We also went to Six Flags and had an absolute blast, Ron found the cowboy hat he had been pining for since we started, and Ron restocked his ammo. This was much more expensive than we would have liked to spend in one month, but the renewals couldnt wait.

Entertainment: $1532

RV Repairs

No RV repairs! What is even happening? We have included our tab renewals for the RV, motorcycle, and trailer in this category.

RV Repairs: $200

RV Parks

We were only in one place, so only one payment.

RV Parks: $440

Propane

We didn’t need to fill up this month. All of our heat came from electric so there was no need to top off.

Propane: $30

Grand total for November: $3423

Tips for Maintaining Friendships from an RV

I think one of the first things you fret about when thinking about moving into an RV is how you’re going to miss your friends and family back at home. We take a lot of comfort in seeing friendly faces. It’s also really scary to think that the relationships that you’ve spent years cultivating and nurturing would disappear just because you’re not in the same place anymore. While it is inevitable that some of the fringe friendships will go by the wayside, we have found that you absolutely can maintain the relationships you had back in your sticks and bricks.

1) Maintain routine “outings”

When we lived in an apartment, I had a few standing engagements. Every Wednesday I would play videogames with my friend Tyler, once a month I would have a girls night with Alexa, and every two weeks or so I would play Pathfinder (or Dungeons & Dragons) with a small group of friends. While playing Pathfinder on the road was a lot more difficult as a lot of the actual game is reacting to the actions of the people around you, it has been super important to me to try and keep the playdates with Tyler and Alexa. Playing videogames with Tyler was normally from the comfort of our own couches anyway, so it’s really been up to internet bandwidth. We have had to change some of the games we play from live action to turn based so the second by second actions werent as important if I was super laggy, but we still get together, talk, and have fun. The girls nights have changes to a gossipy Skype call where we recap what is going on in our lives. While we arent out at a movie or fancy dinner while we talk, the conversation and flow remains the same. It has made it feel like we aren’t far away at all from our friends.

Even RVs can have great gaming setups!

2) Keep them in the loop

I’ve found that, for the most part, our friends and family want to know about our journey. I “bring them along for the ride” by sending out an obnoxious amount of postcards. I know it may feel a bit unreal to send actual, physical letters and mail in a day and age where you can instantly message a person, but there’s something nice about being able to hold something from a person from far away. I used to try and get postcards at every place we stayed the night, but some places had just garbage, stock photo from the 1980s type cards. I want people to be happy and excited when they get a postcard, so none of the boring Guideposts Calendar images for my friends and family (side note, if anyone wants to put me in touch with whoever makes the decisions on continuing to print those relics, I’m happy to offer advice).

It may take a while to get there, but its worth it!

3) See them!

The day after we left Minneapolis, Alexa messaged me and said “Okay, so when do we get to meet up?” While planning trips for friends and family has been difficult (more on that in another post), it has been so wonderful to have people that are willing and able to come visit us. We’ve had a very full two months, packed with sushi with Tyler, massages with Alexa, great chats with my uncle, and cobblestone strolls with my mother. We’ve also seen two of my aunts this month (Hi Charlotte and Janis!). One thing that is great about traveling full time is being able to see people you otherwise wouldnt, as well as explore new locations with people that otherwise wouldnt be there. Ron has visited multiple friends that up until now he had only met online and he got to meet my aunt for the first time ever. The reaction of our friends has been that we just need to tell them when we will be somewhere cool and they will show up. We are lucky that even it wasn’t cool, they still would.

You’re never alone when you’re with friends

Canyon Lake, TX

Site:

Potters Creek Park, Canyon Lake TX

Site: 99

Wifi: Verizon - 21 down, 15 up, ATT - 20 down, 18 up

Cost: $20/night

Noise: None, just nature

Potters Creek Park is the definition of “middle of nowhere”. If you’re looking for some off the grid, on the lake relaxation, then this is your place. The RV sites were fairly spacious, with picnic table and awning. Our neighbors were friendly and on the first night they invited us to relax at their fire pit and we swapped stories of our lives on the road. The bathroom was small, but the showers had hot water and even when the campground was full there was no wait. Cell reception was spotty at best, but when you hit a good patch the speeds were fairly good. Not gaming streaming, but we could watch Netflix without too much worry. 

Ron fulfills his dream of petting penguins at the San Antonio SeaWorld

City

Canyon Lake, TX

We drove around for quite a while on the motorcycle and I’m still not exactly sure where Canyon Lake is. We stopped through a few small towns that seemed like they were only a mile or so long, with mostly mom and pop shops. While we didnt find too much to do outside of tubing (not in the winter!) and walking the dam, the small towns we stopped in had everything we need to a comfortable stay in Potters Creek Park. 

Restaurant:

We searched Google while walking the dam for something to eat after the hike. This led us to Jay & Diane’s Horseshoe Grill. They claim to have the best burgers around, and they really might be right! It’s a very small kitchen, almost like a food truck, with outdoor seating. Everything is ala carte, which works perfectly for picky eaters like me. The meat was flavorful and the sides were equally delicious. Very recommended.

RV Spending - December 2019

This was our first month where we stayed in one place. Which was… weird. We were finally starting to get used to not being used to anything! San Marcos was a stellar location for our first longer stay, but we are ready to hit the road!

Food

We didn’t eat out much. Our big meal with Tyler was paid for the previous .month, so it was almost exclusively groceries.

Groceries: $1210

Eating Out: $185

Gas

We only got gas for the motorcycle - no RV fill ups

Gas: $40

Entertainment

We had Tyler down for the weekend and we did a bunch of touristy things like check out Buc-ee’s (Ron is a Buc-ee’s convert), see the San Antonio Zoo, hike around Austin, and go shooting at a fancy range. Ron and I also saw the new Star Wars movie, which was…meh.

Entertainment: $480

RV Repairs

None! We didnt go anywhere, and nothing broke. We did, however, upgrade to a suuuuuper sweet 80” screen and projector for videos and gaming. No more nights curled up around the ipad! Also adding the yearly registration for the motorhome, motorcycle, and tow.

RV Repairs: $770

RV Parks

Our stay for the month was relatively cheap, but I’m a planner so I booked us at RV parks through May. Wishful thinking on my part, I know. Some places were just deposit, all state parks are fully paid.

RV Parks: $1404

Propane

We didn’t need to fill up this month. All of our heat came from electric so there was no need to top off.

Propane: $0

Grand total for November: $4089

Year in Review - 2019

2019 was a whirlwind of a year for us. We’ve had some high highs (crossing off bucket list items, staying in the mountains, meeting up with new friends) and some low lows (crying from the frustration of everything breaking at once, being stuck in a cheap hotel for a week during fixes, having no real water). Looking back on our last 5 months of being newbie RV travelers, we can say that overall we are happy with what we are doing. Every day has new challenges (whether we want them or not) and we are learning a lot about ourselves and each other. Here are some stats of how our 2019 travels have gone: