No, I didn't forget that we made our two year anniversary on May 28 (yep, 2 years) -- but with the plans to depart from the hot Arizona weather to the cooler Colorado weather -- we were busy packing and putting things away to get ready to haul.
The first year I did a post on the "pros and cons" of being on the road -- this post will be a little different on the reflections on year 2 --- it has definitely become a lifestyle with so many other people doing the same thing.
There are many different ideas of full time RVing --- we are not so traditional as that we live in a RV fulltime --- we split our time between two locations (for now).
With a large rig like ours, traveling and finding places to fit is a challenge. It can be done, but I find that what some people think a 43' RV will fit in and in reality what a 43' RV will fit in, doesn't always match. Remember, we are the size of a semi-trailer -- if you see the 53' stamped on the trailer, with our truck (20' long) we are at 55'+ since the RV hangs over into the truckbed.
One of my favorite shots of Beau and Zoe
actually when we purchased the RV in Kansas -- our stay at Glen Elder State Park near Beloit, KS
Many times, I have been thankful that we had our first year to learn so many things without the COVID-19 impacting our decisions. It was stressful enough to know if we could leave AZ and head to CO for cooler temps or if we were going to have to tough out (and I don't think I could have) the heat of AZ in a RV -- I keep telling Darrel if I could find the perfect place that stayed 68-75 degrees year round, that is where I would love to be. RVs get cold and they get hot -- you try to find the in between with spring like temperatures that are not always consistent.
I still miss family and friends -- part of my life that was in Topeka for 30+ years. I enjoy meeting new people and have made a lot of new "transient" friends -- you never know when they will move on and you enjoy the time you have. One of the RV ladies explained to me that people come in and out of your life for a lot of reasons -- this is part of the RVing lifestyle I mentioned above.
I am getting better at traveling to stock up on supplies -- I can't really say I dislike it or like it, I guess mostly ambivalent -- it is the reality of living away from "bigger" towns. In Arizona, we can get to groceries in 20 mins or so, but bigger shopping needs are either online or a trip to Surprise or Prescott. In Colorado, we have 50 miles one way to have better prices and more choices -- a Dollar General and a local grocery store are within 10 mins.
I miss not having a smaller vehicle than wide-hip Beau (F350 dually truck) at times -- he just doesn't fit in small parking lots and definitely doesn't do "drive thru" at all. I am blessed to have UTVs in Arizona to traverse the desert and I can even go to the Post Office off road if need be. Also, the drop in fuel prices has made Beau more affordable, with diesel as low as 2.07, we were ecstatic with the savings in fuel this past year.
The first year I remember about 5 times that if someone would have offered me a home for my RV/Truck, I would have said yes, I am done -- I don't recall having any of those moments this year so I guess I have adjusted to my RV home. I get to see some awesome scenery (yes, the desert can be beautiful and mountains, need I say more?), try to stop and smell the roses, and appreciate the day God has given me.
So I guess I am settling into the RV lifestyle, as a person who was always schedule oriented, I have learned to be more flexible, someone comes along and says, "hey, want to .....", I think yep, what I had planned can wait until another day, and off we go on a new adventure.
Here's to new adventures that may come our way,
Sending blessings from the road,
Susan & Darrel
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