2 With Wanderlust: Completed the Circle

October 2012 marked the completion of the first year of our journeys which was a large circle in the Western United States. We were amazed at the changes we found when we returned back to where home was; family/friends changed jobs, got engaged/married, moved away and/or started families. During our break we took time to visit with family and friends, correct problems with the Cruiser (aka toy), replaced unused items with things we wished we had brought from storage last year, took care of yearly check-ups, worked the horse sale in Shawnee, OK, and got repairs taken care of on the RV… oh until we had to be towed (more on that in a later post).

We met lots of new friends which taught us a lot on how to live on the road. We learned about solar and what an important part it plays while boondocking (dry camping). We learned what was important in picking a new rig; things like large fridge, storage, and the importance of slides and how much they improve our living space. Comfort is more important when you are a full-timer versus heading out for a couple weeks.

The challenges of the next journey is how to integrate ourselves into our new lifestyle, all our lives we worked for the house, two kids, dog and a white picket fence. This has now turned into a house on wheels, kids spread across the USA and a dog that wants to go out even when it is below freezing outside. Looking out our windows the view is constantly changing; grass to tall… move to a freshly mowed area, too hot… time to go to the mountains, too cold… head for the desert. Sounds great; we have to say it mostly is. Only hard part is the friends and family we leave behind at home or the new friends when we part ways. Our biggest challenge is becoming involved with a “Workamper” lifestyle, keeping everything in good shape, our bellies full and fuel to warm us or move us down the road. It has cost more than we anticipated which is partly why Deb worked last summer. We plan to travel the 2013 summer, but plan on some sort of work to support our new habit as time goes on. We will take the time to decide the next direction and what type of work we can include so we are not stuck in one area for too long at a time. But for now we will enjoy and rest while finishing out the winter in Quartzsite, AZ.