Trip Statistics thus far…

Days on the road – 51
Miles Driven – 5231
States Visited – 8 National Parks Visited – 10
Breweries Visited – 7

Be forewarned, this will not be a glamorous blog post. No photographs of stunning natural beauty or attempts to describe wildlife sightings. This post is about real life on the road. Just like your life, there are some good things, and some not so good.

Showers… apparently you can go days without bathing and not have any serious health problems. However, we do go through a lot of baby wipes. This just might fall on the “con” list for Wendy, I guess its just a matter of perspective.

Also hair experimentation…

80’s hair (albeit much thinner) and full beard… yes please

Blue semi-permanent die job, why not?

Mt. Rainier

Then there is our “tiny home” A few years ago we purchased a used tent trailer, a 2000 Jayco, dubbed “Trailblazer”.  Originally we had planned on using it for a few camping trips each summer, not as home base for close to a year. With a little more foresight we might have gotten something a wee bit newer/bigger/nicer. Regardless, so far we have been happy in our little home, but are debating an upgrade for the second half of our year on the road as some small problems start to rear their ugly heads.

Everything looks so nice and organized, doesn’t it (Indi did a great job labeling for us)? Well this is what it looks like right after we set up camp. After a couple of days of living in it, Trailblazer looks more like someone threw a grenade into a gypsy wagon, with clothes and all of Indi’s sparkly fabric (she has taken up sewing) strewn about. And yes, even with Indi’s curtain, “privacy” can be an issue. I would put this firmly in the challenge category, but this can be overcome with a bit of creativity (definitely in the positive category).

Probably my least favorite part of our new life is the constant packing and unpacking. When camping, we try to stay at least two or three nights to minimize this. Here, you can see our supplies in the back of the truck:

We are discovering how little you really need to still be comfortable and are looking forward to our holidays back home in Oregon were we can shed some of the items we thought were so necessary before we left.

While in bear country, not only did we have to set up and break down camp when we arrived and left, but after each meal all of our food, dishes, and stove had to be packed away in the truck or in the bear box.

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We try to break up our camping with stays in real houses, either relying on the generosity of friends and family, or Airbnb short-term rentals. This allows us a little time to get caught up on laundry, clean our trailer and supplies, and get some much needed grown up alone time.

Anyone know what this is?

Anyone know what this is? A sink? A toilet? Nope, in bear country this is where the second class citizens (those of us not in RV’s with running water) do dishes since you aren’t suppose to have any traces of food anywhere in your camp.

Dishwashers

And what about entertainment? Thus far, our days have been filled with hiking and exploring whatever town we might be in. And once we settle back into camp… naturally, we have all been reading a lot more. Indi has taken up sewing and continues to enjoy her arts and crafts (mainly bracelet making and duct tape “stuff”), when Wendy feels like I need to be humbled, we play Scrabble (if my fragile ego can’t take another game of Scrabble, we’ll play Cribbage). One of my favorite pastimes is staring into the campfire.

Indi’s new hobby

Getting humbled once again playing Scrabble

If you like to camp you understand

So hopefully that gives you a little taste as to life on the road. Don’t get me wrong, we do love it, and if you enjoy lots of quality time with your family I’d recommend it to anyone. I’m sure we’ll get better at it as the year goes on, too. More posts to come on cooking, setting up camp, and home schooling.