Camping VS Motels

Dave Barry, a noted American writer and humorist best known for his weekly newspaper column, once said,   “Camping is nature's way of promoting the motel business.”   I take it from the quote, that Mr. Barry has not had a lot of positive experiences camping in the great outdoors.  If only he could see through our eyes the wonders of this Earth, I’m sure this would have never crossed his mind.

My wife and I have been happily full-timing for over a year now.  I have never regretted it for even a second.  Often we talk about our "poor" friends living in their nice big homes with no wheels attached.  We worry that they will rarely get the opportunity to explore all that this world has to offer.  In a way, I can’t blame them, after all, who will look after the house while they are gone?  Then there is all the packing and unpacking if they want to stay away for any length of time at.  For us, the task is easy.  No one has to watch our house while we are away, because our house is towed behind us.  We don’t have to worry about the packing part because it is always already done.

Perhaps the nicest thing of all is that if we have a change in jobs, we don’t have to worry about selling the house (especially in this market) and buying another.  I know that not everyone owns a house, but even those that rent usually have to sign a long term lease. Therefore, they have to time their moves “just right,” or worry about forfeiting their deposit. 

For us, live is fun!  We love to travel and explore as much territory as we can.   I can’t help but think of all the sights that we enjoyed in the first two days of travel from Nevada to the Midwest.  I suspect that we saw more beautiful scenery than most people see in a decade of vacations.  I sincerely hope that everyone will have the opportunity, sometime in their lives, to do what we are doing.  I think that the opening quote should say, "Camping is nature’s way of promoting beauty in its purest sense."  Happy Trails!

 

Where Should We Go Next?

Dean  (the husband)
Shalane  (the wife  :O)

We drove to Echo Canyon State Park last Thursday for the last time this summer.  I have to admit I was a little saddened.  We have spent some great evenings there this summer, and yesterday did not disappoint.  On her first cast, Shalane reeled in the biggest bass we’ve caught since we came here in mid-June.  The average weight of the seven fish we caught was easily the best of the year.  It was such a great night of fishing. All the fish were fighters, which made reeling them in really fun, plus it meant that we were able to release all of them back into the lake.  Perhaps the highlight of the evening occurred after we decided to head back to the trailer.   Just after dusk, we walked back up to the truck at on top of the dam.   As we stood there, we looked across the valley and tried to take it all in.  The flashes of lightening, the cool breeze rolling across our faces, the smell of the rain with the approaching thunderstorm, and the sound of thunder made it all even more breathtaking.  Truly, a great way to end the day.

As we know, closing a door to one room means that we're opening a door to another.  So it is with us, as we are looking forward to our upcoming trip to the Midwest.  We have decided that we will make this trip from Nevada to Southeast Kansas without ever driving on the interstate.   It will take a little longer, but the scenery should more than make up for the extra time and gas.  We will not be taking the trailer, as we have decided that it will be much more of an adventure to Greendock the entire trip in the truck.  We hope to stay only in campgrounds that are ten dollars or less or tucked away in the woods.  I'm not worried about Utah and Colorado, but the heat in Kansas and Oklahoma might prove to be a challenge.  I suggested that we might need to stay a couple of nights in a motel.  Heck, we don't even have windows in the back of the truck!  Dean says no way!  He's hardcore, and wants to battle the elements no matter what!  Well, we'll see who wins that one.  You know I'm all about a good adventure, but I don't see myself sleeping in the back of a truck that's 100 degrees when I could be in a hotel with a pool and air conditioning. :O) We hope to be able to continue our blogs as often as we can while traveling.  My wife loves to take pictures, so hopefully you will get a feel of what we'll be experiencing.  For our friends and family in Kansas and Oklahoma, we look forward to visiting with you soon.  Until then, Happy Trails!