The first feature is more of a short film — just our travel map, a pair of puppies, and a collage of tranquil waterscapes.
Why so brief? Well, since we spent most of January, February and March in state parks doing service work with A Year to Volunteer (Y2V for short), and I’ve blogged 3/4 of those experiences already (see links below), there just wasn’t much else left to show ya.
So since my usual quarterly update coincides with the highly blogworthy wrap-up of our final Tennessee project with Y2V, I’m combining the two, which means you get a ROGO (Read One Get One). And, since we continue to host this blog without advertisements or affiliate links, it really is free!

Why that’s as uncommon as a donkey smiling for a selfie.
But I got that to happen in Tennessee, and now I should probably stop taking selfies because it’s going to be really hard to top this one.
Feature 1: WheRVe we been? Our travels, 1st quarter 2021

RV miles traveled this quarter: about 3700
(Map does not reflect exact routing.)
Our RV accommodations for the quarter included the friend’s driveway where we closed out 2020, a casino, a Harvest Hosts winery, 3 Army Corps of Engineers parks, 2 military fam camps, a 24-hour diner, 5 state parks, and our manufacturer’s service center.

So our year began with a limitless supply of puppy kisses!

Top left: Wilson H Fox in Granger TX
Top right: Twiltley Branch in Collinsville MS
Bottom: Gunter Hill in Mongomery AL
Feature 2: Volunteer State, Part III
Thanks to Y2V, we spent 6 weeks volunteering in the Volunteer State, culminating with a park named for the original volunteer himself, good ol’ Davy Crockett.
The main objective for Y2V at David Crockett Birthplace State Park was to build an outdoor stage with amphitheater-style seating. Check! Our crew of 32 also constructed a bridge, cleared a trail, removed excessive riverside vegetation, painted a couple of bathrooms, beautified the park entrance, relocated a fence, and created about 80 new signs.
And by the time our stay was up?

We got it all done anyway.
If you’d like to see it in a single uplifting 13-minute video, it’s right here on YouTube.


No plans, no other supplies, just a dream to make that bumpy, washed out part of the Homestead Trail easier for park visitors to traverse.
We evaluated and conferred.
Susan sketched out a design and came up with the supply list.
And we started building that very day.
I didn’t like it (note my look to the side for help at the end) but since I’d invested in that there pair of bonafide big-girl work pants to replace the inadequate ones I’d ruined at the prior Y2V project, I was willing to risk finding out if they’d given me any sort of superpowers.
Meh. Jury’s still out.

(Not an affiliate link; I gain nothing if you click through or purchase.)
We needed deep holes for the concrete molds to help hold the bridge footers in place.


Yes, a straight footbridge would have been easier, but there were two boulders at the mid-point, and excavating them would have weakened the riverbank, so we angled the bridge between them.




(photo credit: A Road to Nowhere)

On the signage team, I stenciled one sign after another, then passed them along for routing, then sanding, then painting.



(Photo credit: A Year to Volunteer)
We stood distanced, grouped by RV household, and removed our masks for the photo above. When working and socializing, we took the usual COVID precautions. All the measures we volunteers agreed to follow on our first gig were also in place for this one, with the addition of TN’s state-mandated daily temperature checks and symptom questionnaires.
Some side perks and benefits from our two weeks at David Crockett Birthplace State Park? I’m not even sure where to begin. Wait. Yes, I am.

This pendant was a gift from one of my aunties.



There was just enough for each of us to enjoy a small slice with our champagne, and you can compare my doughy version to the official one below.
Where are we now, and what’s next?
We’re in a holding pattern in northern Indiana while our RV is being repaired at the DRV service center in Howe. Again. It’s complicated, and we won’t discuss what is still an ongoing process, but we’re hoping for a better fix for some of the issues we’ve been experiencing since we bought our 2018 Mobile Suites.
The repair schedule will keep us in the area for the next two weeks. After that we’re not sure, but some happy friends-and-family events in May require us to aim ourselves toward Texas, so we’ll just figure it out as we roll. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter for updates along the way — wherever it is.

To learn how we got involved with Y2V in the first place (wine), read this, and for more about their upcoming projects, visit them on
David Crockett Birthplace State Park was our fourth service project with Y2V. Others were

We are traveling a lot less than we normally would, and as often as possible we choose destinations that offer ample outdoor opportunities, and are unlikely to be crowded.
When we gather with friends or family, we keep our numbers small, and we request honest communication beforehand about their comfort level.
We continue to wear masks in public and wash/sanitize hands frequently, we limit our outings, and we will soon be able to report that we are fully vaccinated.
~ The rrrrOHHHHRRRerrrrs, March 2020 – ?
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.
- 4Q 2020
- 3Q 2020
- 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
We have been volunteering at state parks on the west coast and were in need of a chiropractor. It looks like we might not be the only ones. Good job.
Oh no! We suffered lots of sore muscles, and I left out a photo of me massaging Tim’s shoulders to ease the knots, but nothing that requires medical attention. Heal fast!
You sound like a very fun to be around couple! Perhaps someday we will meet as I am Susan’s cousin and we travel too.
Any family of Susan’s is now family to us too!
I want these things: to put up trail markers, stencil signs, eat fresh homemade bread, and wash it down with champagne. I’d add get a selfie with a smiling donkey, but I’ve BTDT. 😂
So impressed and proud of all that seriously hard work you guys did, and I know your happy spirits were an asset to each group!
I can definitely make the bread and champagne thing happen next time we see you guys! And since we’re starting the vaccination process in just a couple of days, maybe by then we’d be able to ditch the masks…