One Year Later

I really wanted this post to publish on the exact anniversary of our launch, but I just didn’t have time to get it written. It was a complete surprise that I was able to keep up with the blog on a weekly basis over the summer, and now that we’ve moved on, I am being reminded already of the challenges of reliable internet-in-motion. Be that as it may, we hit our one-year Roadiversary on 9/4, and because it is a requirement that all full-time RV bloggers post a retrospective commemorating each year on the road, so I will.

My folks put up a map soon after we began our journey, and they keep track of all of our stops along the way. Purple pins for Year II coming soon!

We are far, far from the first folks to take on this lifestyle and far, far from the only ones to blog about it. Usually, those posts break down their travel routes and expenses. We studied those types of posts intently prior to hitting the road, and we are grateful so many RVers were willing to share their info, for free, no less. I cannot share anything better or more detailed than they have, and I won’t try. My friend, Laura of Chapter3Travels, posted a great synopsis here She also linked to several other bloggers’ posts on the subject, making it the quintessential post on the subject.

The stuff I have to share probably won’t help you much if you are planning to travel full-time, but one never knows, does one?

 

We hiked 504 miles of formal hiking trails. If we add in daily walks and runs, it’s well over 600.

In related news, we each lost about 10 lbs.

Our biggest expense by far was my health insurance. As it so often turns out with insurance, we would have saved more money by not having it, but that’s not a risk we’re willing to assume.

 We motored through 12 states and four national parks. As I’ve discussed before, though, we’re not interested in visiting all of either.

We nearly got stomped by bison,

and fanged by rattlesnacks.

We froze.

We thawed.

We hiked through sand.

We hiked through water.

We reconnected with old friends.

We reconnected with old friends.

Something I never really talked about in our first few months of traveling, was losing the validation and sense of accomplishment gained from working. TBG was more ready to retire than I was, but the career I left a year ago was one I’d only been doing for slightly over four years, and I was still enjoying it quite a bit. (No, TBG, I do not want to come off the road and go back to work!) But something for others to consider is that leaving a job you like and isolating yourself for long stretches of time in the way we have, can be emotionally rough. If you think you already depend on your partner quite a bit, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet if you plan to travel together full-time. It was one more reason for us to spend the summer working. It is hard to need and be needed 24/7/365. Our friend, Laurel, says that their benchmark for success is each year they survive one another, and truer words were never spoken. If you don’t learn how to elevate biting your tongue to an art form, good luck to ya!

I still haven’t had to buy shampoo or dryer sheets.

And we made Google maps!

COMMENTS

Shannon Congratulations on surviving a year of travel and each other! Your comments about getting along with your partner and interacting almost exclusively with your partner for long stretches of time are right on. We thought our communication was pretty good, but moving into a 25 foot long aluminum tube together has certainly put that to the test. But at the same time it has also been a wonderful opportunity to gain new appreciation for each other. Here’s to many more happy travel years in your future, filled with interesting and blog-worthy adventures!

Chasing Dirt Thank you! I used to work with a couple who had been married a long time & worked the same hours, commuted together, went out to eat together all the time — I thought they were nuts. Turns out, I was right 😆 This lifestyle is more togetherness than any other, and I’d be a big, fat liar if I claimed it was dreamy all the time. But it’s dreamy enough of the time, and it’s never boring! I hope we all get as much time at it as we could hope for.

chapter3travels Congratulations on a year on the road! It is no small feat – lots of people dream about it, but very few put plans into action and do it successfully. While there are certainly challenges along the way (including the all important “not murdering your spouse”), you guys have navigated the zigs and the zags as well as anyone, and… you’re still smiling!

I hear you on the loss of meaningful work. That’s something we discuss often because we are too young to truly be done and we have no idea what we’re going to do next. It is, however, all a trade off – one I will make over and over when presented with the stories of people who waited to chase their dreams until later only to be derailed by medical issues or family issues or other challenges completely outside their control. There is simply no perfect time for any of it, but I’d rather err on the side of traveling when young and able rather than rolling those dice. Hopefully we can all find meaningful work along the way or when the travel ends and we settle back down.

Anyway, happy one year anniversary and here’s to many more!! 

Chasing Dirt Thank you! I am always happy to “share” you here since you were and continue to be such a wonderful resource to all living this crazy life. Maybe we all need to post more bad stuff to free up some space out here!

Volunteering this summer definitely helped assuage some of the worries over self-validation and took us outside ourselves. When and if the time comes, I know you guys will figure out your next chapter. Here’s to manyore wacky adventures till then!

And, more than anyone, you have kept me laughing — a precious gift I treasure daily.

Laurel LOL, lots of people ask us how in the world we survive traveling 24/7 in our small rig. I guess I kind of set the bar low, figuring that if we haven’t killed each other, it was another good year! (It helps that when we fight, we get over things quickly, haha!)

Seriously, we wouldn’t trade this life for any other. I love seeing your adventures of the past year through your beautiful photos, and reminiscing along with you. We are so delighted that we met up with you guys in Tucson in December..although it was a short visit, we knew right away that we had found fellow traveling soulmates! We’re looking forward to sharing more adventures together in the not too distant future.

And by the way…you have the most creative travel map I’ve seen! Love that your family is keeping track of your journey. It’s a great visual. Happy anniversary, and wishing you many more grand hikes and critter sightings!

Chasing Dirt You have probably heard the old joke about a couple, having been married a very long time. They are asked the secret to such a long marriage, and their answer is simply that they’ve been married so long because they didn’t divorce. Many days are exactly that! I love and appreciate that you have shared your struggles, too, and that, in more ways than one, we are connected out here.

Isn’t that cool that my folks have that map? As soon as they told me about it, I knew I wanted it for my official travel map.

It was such a wonderful surprise to find you last year, and I am SO excited about our future meet-ups!

Lowe's Travels Cheers to both of you, you have come a long way! The first year of RVing was the toughest. That was the first time that we were together 24/7 in a rolling tin can and learning more about each other as well as the new lifestyle. Thankfully we too survived considering that we tackled Alaska in our first year. Seven and a half years later we are still cranking it despite the many challenges along the way.
Yeah, and we are one of your new friends and we are so glad to have meet you and TBG. And I m looking forward to crossing paths with you in Tucson later this year!

Congratulations again and here’s to more years on the road and volunteerism! Just keep those knives locked in the drawer 🙂

Chasing Dirt Thank you, ML! From the first time I ever read you blog, I knew that we four had a lot in common and that our travel & hiking styles were going to be very similar. You were and continue to be a great source of inspiration to us. And I am tickled by the way we first met in person — such a fun story!

We are very much looking forward to Tucson; it’ll be here before we know it!

Pete I loved the retrospective… thanks

Chasing Dirt Thanks, Pete! I hope you’ll stay on board to see what Year Two has in store!