We put some miles on, y’all!
And thanks to friends in remote places, we were able to feel safe about where we stayed — a fair trade for making a big diamond around CO instead of spending time exploring it as we’d originally hoped to do this summer.
We went from TX to AZ to UT to MT to WY, and added our 40th RV state by spending a night in NB on our way back to TX.
RV miles traveled this quarter: about 4338
(Map does not reflect exact routing.)
1st major stop: 45 miles outside Kanab, UT, on private land belonging to friends of friends, who are now our friends
When I wrote last quarter that we’d planned to head northward to cool off, but didn’t really have a specific itinerary, our friends, David & Cheryl Goldstein of Landmark Adventures said, “Well, if you don’t know where you’re going, why not stay with us on the way?”
It was impossible to argue with that kind of logic.
They’d set up housekeeping in southern UT, on land belonging to fellow Escapees, Cindi & Roger, who we’d somehow managed not to meet at the Escapees Baja Mexico Hangout that we all attended in February, but we quickly made up for that lost opportunity during our very private, 12-day “Socially Distanced Unofficial Hangout Limited to 6 Escapees.”
Getting to our secluded enclave involved a 45-minute drive out a dirt road, from a point that was a 30-minute drive from the nearest town. Now that’s remote!
Tim likes to call this video “How I performed a 187-point turn into a tight spot in only two minutes.”
(We were aiming for that yellow square.)
I like to call it, “Keep your eye on your wife, and you might get a fun little dance at the end.”
Usually means it’s time to head north when I shout, “Honey, the coconut oil has liquified!”
(Location: Lick Wash Trail)
(Cindi & Roger drove their own).
2nd major stop: Thompson Falls, MT, for a birthday celebration that was worth the travel
We’d decided months and months before we’d even heard the word “Coronavirus,” that one way or another, Tim was going to find a way to be with his parents for his father’s 80th birthday in August.
You think we’re moving targets? You should try keeping track of my in-laws!
As it turned out, we were able to meet in Montana to celebrate about two weeks early, with the added bonus of doing so with one of Tim’s sisters and her husband.
So many of us missed multiple milestone events with our families this year. We are exceptionally thankful that this one happened.
just downriver from the falls
went up even higher than I did.
Visit Thompson Falls
He clearly knew that cars and humans mean food, and he was not wrong.
We did indeed have a whole day’s worth of snacks onboard.
I think we’d have let him have all the snacks, and probably the car too.
“Just take the keys, Mr. Grizzly, sir. It’s allllll yours.”
3rd major stop: Meeteetse, WY, on private land belonging to friends we’d met in January
Hey, remember when we helped clean Carlsbad Caverns by picking lint with teensy little paintbrushes? That’s where we met Debra & Larry, and learned that they own 20 acres of property about 30 miles south of Cody. But when we parted with, “Hey, we’ll let you know if we come your way in our travels,” we didn’t really know it would be so soon.
But summer safety this year meant avoiding crowds, and Wyoming makes it really easy to do that (population of the state of WY = 1/3 population of the city of San Antonio).
We thought we’d boondock on Debra & Larry’s little piece of paradise for about a week, but it turned into a whole month!
4 miles from the heart of town.
What a gift that they shared so many of their experiences with us.
These included a 7-mile hike with two humans on foot, two on horseback (I took this photo from the saddle, y’all!), three doggies, and a random herd of cows…
which was 3 weeks later than planned…
Debra texted us this pic of our “yard” just a few hours after we left on Labor Day.
We knew the storm was coming, and we made it eastward to Casper in time.
We woke up to about 4″ of snow there the next morning.
Debra & Larry got 4-6 feet, and couldn’t open their RV door!
Where to next?
Wellllllll, we’ve got medical appointments keeping us in San Antonio through the first week of November.
After that, we’re not sure. We’ve talked about moochdocking with friends in Pensacola, FL, for part of the winter, or boondocking in the southwest. The latter would put us in better position for a springtime run up to WA to visit family there, as we missed our older boy & his girl this year, along with Tim’s other sister and her family.
We’ll figure it out, and as ever, you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter for updates as we go.
~ that wise friend mentioned above, David Goldstein
We started full-timing in August of 2015, but I didn’t think to do an annual review until the end of 2016, and it was just a listing on Facebook of places we’d visited. After that, I started using a quarterly format.
- 2Q 2020
- 1Q 2020
- 4Q 2019
- 3Q 2019
- 2Q 2019
- 1Q 2019
- 4Q 2018
- 3Q 2018
- 2Q 2018
- 1Q 2018
- 4Q 2017 (doubles as 3rd installment of our Amazon Camperforce write-up)
- 3Q 2017
- 2Q 2017
- 1Q 2017
- 2016
Great adventures, and wonderful photos!
Thanks! It was difficult to choose which shots to use, especially from the Montana ones. Hard to take a bad picture there!
Fabulous travel photos and experiences! Always enjoy them!
Best wishes for your continued adventures! Michele
Thanks. We are so lucky to be living this way — for however long it lasts!
Glad you got in some fun travels with all the craziness going on. Time with friends and family is always the best!
Agreed! And we got more than we expected this crazy summer.
Our coconut oil was liquified all summer, too LOL It sure was nice that you could make the special birthday celebration. I’m sure that meant a lot to everyone. I love the mixed-company hike! I hate the thought of that much sNOw ever again. Glad you avoided the worst of it! Keep us posted on whichever route you decide so we can plan a socially responsible do!
Absolutely! We spent a couple of evenings with Andrea & Shawn in Dallas this past week, so if your ears were burning, it’s because we were talkin’ about ya!
You free spirit kids have been a great joy to me. Thank you so much for sharing your wit, humor and fantastic photos! You travel with my love and Whitelight, always. ~~ Your River Auntie ♡,
Sky
Awww, thank you, dear mother of my heart. I’m so glad our travels have allowed us to see *you* a couple of times over these nomadic years.