The Sameness Of A Sedentary Life….

Eagle feathers bound in wax

Won't take us to the sun.

The dream’s the thing

Our Holy Wings

Our journey,  just begun.

-Joe Henry 

As we travel the roads of this wonderful country, an adventure now heading into its second year, we are still asked, “Why? How come you chose to chuck a comfortable sticks’n bricks life, for one that is lived in a little box, towed behind a big truck?”

This was a two-night stay-over, at Peggy Sue’s Diner.

Strap in, gentle readers. This will be a bit of a journey!

We began hatching this idea long before Covid, so it really wasn't that terrible time that drove us down this road (see what I did there? ….). It certainly instilled a bit of motivation, to get out and see this wide, open land, for sure, but the idea had sprung earlier than that.

In the spring of 2018, Renee and I began talking about what we might do, upon our retirement. At the time, that seemed an impossibly long ways off: originally, Renee was planning to work till full retirement, which was 2026, and I thought I’d stick it out to that point, too. Renee loved her job, one she’d been doing almost 35 years, and my job...well, let's just say...it was a job.

For those who aren't aware, a little backstory: In 2013 I’d been laid off, from US Geological Society after 15 years of being a geologist. I began bouncing around, from being an aircraft deicer—no excuse for being late to the job because of snow!—to driving Access-a-Ride (paratransit buses, for older riders), to city buses (a job I quickly figured out was not NEVER going to be a career), to finally ending up with the job of being a school bus driver.

It was rewarding, inasmuch I knew I was keeping kids safe, and maybe providing one or two of my ‘kidlets’ some life lessons they might actually use, to having the freedom of a semi-retired, part-time job.

It also shared a quality as most jobs I’d had, the main one being fairly predictable.

Oh, sure, the deicing job varied with the vagaries of weather, and the paratransport job, the fun of sharing life stories with those older than I, but…they all were somewhat..rote. I got up, went to work, did the work, drove home, waited for Renee to get home from her long days.

It was the same for her, but…different. she’s been with Weld County for the better part of 35 years, and her job required a 2 hour commute, each day.

Fast forward: in May of 2024, after 9 years of driving a school bus…I was done. Here’s the power pose, on my last day..

Dork, by bus...

Per our earlier conversations, Renee thought she’d retire, right around July of this year: good! 

Gave us 2 years to get things in order, to begin our journey. At that moment, the plan was we’d sell the house, invest the funds into something that would bear some fruit, and keep us in fuel and food.

So, I began the process (more accurately, accelerated an already-in-progress process): trips to Goodwill, selling tools and equipment I’d never need again, and I set to cleaning and neatening things up around the property.

I like to joke—and it's not entirely a joke, but mainly so—that Renee took a look at me being retired, and said, "Stuff it! I’m retiring, too!!’ So, in June of ’24, she gave her  six-months notice, and on December 13, she was retired!

Rut roh.

Now, 2 years of time to prepare everything was reduced to 8 months. Not necessarily an issue but...it required us to seriously rethink the plan. We also made the choice to get on the road by the end of December, reasons being, we didn’t want to wait too much later to travel (icy roads, a large vehicle, and all the associated attendant problems with both), and, frankly, we were not willing to sit out another Colorado winter.

First: We veered from selling the house to keeping it, getting a property management company, and renting it. Doing that gave us an income stream, and a fallback position, should we find we really didn't like dragging around a little box behind a big truck.

Second: In the 8 months we allotted we knew we’d not have enough time to fully sort out and winnow down all our possessions. Neither of us believe in offsite storage (too expensive, and if you have so much stuff you need to pay monthly to store it, you have too much stuff), so we bought a ConEx, and put it on our land. One cost and done, rodent-proof, and secure.

Ye old typical sea can (ConEx)

Third: we began the mad rush to get everything done: not only did we have a lot of stuff in the house, I had a garage, stuffed with decades of tools, equipment, and supplies. As a person who, for decades, made his living with tools, it became a bit of a mental struggle to choose what to keep and what to take. I used a matrix...

A) Was a given tool something I needed? Or, was it something  I would never need? 

That was sorta easy: a special tool for installing the rear leaf springs of a Rolls-Royce, or Bentley? Would the need every arise for me to use a valve sping compressor, for flathead engines? How about the full set of Snap-On pilot bearing installation jigs?

Outta here.

B) If I thought I’d have a need for a tool or piece of equipment,  was it even possible to take it with me in an RV?

Table saws, metal chops saws, bench grinder, 6-ton jackstands, 2 sets of drive-up ramps, an engine stand, or the cherry picker, to lift up said engines? 12-drawer, 6 foot high tool box, chockablock with hundreds of various hand tools?

Outta here.

I had to get brutal with these choices—as did Renee, with her panoply of property—and let me tell ya, I had NO IDEA a grown man could get so emotionally invested in the finer details of hand tools and shop equipment!

We made over 25 trips to Goodwill, with a full pickup truck of stuff; we conned offered friends into taking some of our excess stuff, we went on Marketplace and sold a bunch, and stored a lot in the ConEx.

“40 foot one? That should be more than enough!”

Famous last words…..😎

In this mad rush, I had the luxury—if one wants to call it that—of not continuing to work. As in make a living. Renee? Not so much. For her, the mad rush took on a completely different meaning: From the time of her last day at work—13 December—to us leaving—28 December—was a literal dash. We worked 10-12 hour days, moving stuff into the ConEx and making more trips to Goodwill. The first two weeks of Renee’s retirement was working hard.

This is a good point, to turn this back towards my title…ever since we began this journey, there has not been a single boring moment: We are always presented with opportunities to explore, we always have stuff to do, we always are planning our routes, we…aren't sedentary. We are busy, every day, but rather than with the day-to-day of making a living, we're enjoying living.

Taking a ride in a Flivver, at Greenfield Village.

Paul (for scale) at The Henry Ford.

Stunning sunsets over our backyard mountains

Renee no longer has the arduous 80-mile round trip to work to deal with, and I get to spend MUCH more time with the love of my life, my partner in this adventure, all the while not being sedentary. Quite the contrary: we get to see all this beauty, all this life...

On the road to Stanley, Idaho..

Entering Death Valley

Standard summer clothing, in Idaho! Red Fish Lake, and the Sawtooth Range, in the background.

Like Chancy Gardener, we are Being There. In the moment. Seeing the grandeur this country has to offer, and offer it, it does, around every corner. 

Odd, to see the Colorado State fossil at a truck stop in Nevada1

At one of our many overnight stops

Thanks for coming along with us, on the journey!

https://studio.youtube.com/video/RbtnPX6jhv4/edit

The Spring, She Be a’Springin!

June 3rd, May Family Farm..

So, in our waning days at Imperial Dam, we began reconfiguring our 2026 travel plans….in which things…. um…decidedly changed. We touched upon that in the last post, and nothing much has altered, in that regard: Fuel costs are still high and are likely not to go back down this year.

As a result, we canceled all our West Coast plans: we were going to lazily meander up through California, seeing sights, taking six weeks or so, then on into Oregon, Washington, continue up into the lower Provinces, to see Victoria, Bouchard Gardens, and a little of all there is to see in the PNW. We wanted to travel down from there and end up back at the farm in Oklahoma, right around Labor Day, but….all that had to be scrapped.

Remember? “We’ll figure it out!"

The travels up through the West Coast states, into/around Canada, and onto Oklahoma ,would have added a minimum of $4000-$6000 to our fuel costs, alone, and that was simply untenable.

We made our way up to Las Vegas, on our journey back to the Mile High state, to do much needed maintenance and repairs, on the rig and The Beast.  The trip to Vegas was primarily to be near an affordable airport, which allowed me to travel to Denver, where I sang with the band, then humped it back to Vegas, where, after a 9-day stay, we headed for Colorado, in late April.

Renee had never been to Hoover Dam, and I had never toured the insides, so we took that in…this year, the dam is 91 years old, and the engineering scope and sheer awesomeness of it never ceases to amaze!

Looking down the face, all 726 feet of it! A few folks at the top refused to join me….

Looking down river, and at the botton of the highway overpass, built in 2011, to ease traffic congestion over the very narrow dam road.

Renee, for scale….

This is the overflow channel, which is one of two: Lake Mead has only ever needed them once, in 1983, and it’s unlikely they will ever be needed again.

Talk about having a bathtub ring…..this was taken on the Arizona side, looking back to the Nevada side.

Looking up-lake: Mead is at historic lows, due to overuse and the effects of climate change. On the left is the Nevada-side penstock, which is the intake for the water that powers to turbines.

Bureau of Reclamation benchmark set 91 years ago.

Cool Art Deco bronze sculptures, at the visitor center.

More Art Deco touches, which you will see all over the place. This is based upon some Native American symbology.

The eight enormous turbines that generate the power that light Las Vegas: due to low water levels, only one turbine was in operation.

The trip also allowed us to stop over in Vegas, so I could—AGAIN—pull off the belly pans, to replace rat-gnawed hydraulic lines, which caused us no end of grief since we left Yuma. Being in Las Vegas was also needed, to find an outlet, where I could purchase replacement hydraulic hoses that would be less-tasty to the vermin that visit us.

In a trailer like ours, with hydraulically-actuated slides and landing gear, there are literally hundreds of feet of these hoses, and, in keeping with the tradition of virtually all RVs, are made of the cheapest, lowest-quality stuff that will just barely suffice. It also happens to have an outer covering, made of soy-based plastics which—you guessed it—rodents find extremely tasty!

The replacement hoses are of a much-higher quality, with a steel-brained protective outer layer, that rodentia cannot chew their way through. It runs about $5/lineal foot.

I’ll let you do the maths….

We hit the road to Colorado and arrived at our place May 3rd. 

Just in time for snow….!!!

View out the camper window, reminding us why we spend winter in Arizona….

And I thought my wrenching days were in my rear view mirrors…!!!

How a shopless mechanic works on their truck…

We haven't seen snow since early December 2024! We were reminded why we didn't miss the snow and cold. But I digress...

As I touched upon in my last blogpost, and this one, the situation, with respect to fuel costs, has drastically altered our plan of action, going forward. We’re still planning to motor on up to Clayton, Idaho, to be camp hosts at the May Family Ranch, and we’re looking forward to the adventure…just like our spiritual icons, Carl and Ellie…

Adventure awaits!

In Colorado, I got a whole bunch of ankle-biters done: refinished the dining room table, maintenance of The Beast, and most importantly, caught up with friends and family. Renee and I had some doctors’ appointments to attend to, and we visited with our tenant. We parked behind the old John Denver Festival stage, where we could hook up to electricity.

We departed Denver and did a series of one-night stays, along the route, at Harvest Host sites. HH is a service where owners of vineyards, restaurants, and other similar businesses allow you to stay in their parking lots, almost always dry-camping, one or two nights, usually free.

It’s customary to drop a few coin at these places; a few where we stayed…

Elk Mountain Lodge

No caption needed!!

We arrived in Clayton, Idaho on May 27th, and began familiarizing  ourselves with the ranch, and its owners. While we had some time, we visited Craters of the Moon, a simply astonishing volcanic feature a few hours away. It’s as a result of the same hot spot that formed Yellowstone NP.

Inferno spatter cone, a big pile of small volcanic cinders, up which we hiked!

The top three photos are of tree molds, formed as a result of hot lava flows surrounding stands of trees. The 2nd photo shows what the bark looked like. Some got knocked down (3rd photo), and some were standing and left a round hole in the lava (1st photo).

On our way back down Inferno Cone.

“STOP!! I see a rock!”

So, that brings you, dear readers, a bit up-to-date. More adventures to come!

“We’ll Figure It Out!"

 In the world of full-time RVing, there are a multitude of things you need to know, and learn, not the least of which is flexibility. 

Fair warning: I try to keep these posts free of politics, and will continue to do so: that said, the topic at hand will require us to delve a wee bit into the political.

I promise to not make this a habit.

Onwards to being flexible….

There's the day-to-day maintenance of an RV’s systems, from the solar/electrical system, which is quite complex, to the mechanical systems. By their very nature, RVs are...shall we say, built to a price. 

These things are not inexpensive, and to make them at all profitable for us peons to buy, they are, frankly, not built well. They are built using minimal materials, assembled in haphazard ways, all of which are widely-documented, on the web.  

A good source of associated info, about RV issues, if you're interested…

For instance, the RV we’re in, a 5th wheel trailer, sold new in 2016 for around $100,000: were it built the ‘proper” way, one where low cost, cheap materials (few of which are really designed for the type of abuse an RV gets) wasn't a requirement to keep it at $100K, the same trailer would *easily* top out, or even exceed $350,000, or more. They would be lighter, more reliable, much more durable…and much more expensive.

During my working career, I acquired a lot of practical knowledge, from electrical work and troubleshooting, to mechanical systems maintenance and repair, and all RVs are a blend of these two areas. To keep this adventure even close to affordable, one really needs a pretty comprehensive understanding of how to maintain and repair these beasts. Mobile RV repair folks often charge $200/hour to do this stuff, and, trust me, none of it can be done in an hour!

For instance, the electrical system: All RVs operate on a blend of 12 volt and 110 volt systems, and the two work together in a difficult-to-orchestrate manner. With solar, the dance gets even more interesting! It’s not ‘one and done’, like sticks’n bricks homes; it’s much more ad hoc, in nature, due to the above mentioned minimal quality construction.

Example: this trailer was advertised, and even placarded, as being “Solar Ready.” When I installed the solar system, before we hit the road, I found that the wires for the solar, in the central control panel, were simply two unmarked wires, dangling in a haphazard way, and ultimately, were of insufficient gauge to effectively carry the loads an advanced solar system needs. I ended up having to run my own wires, and if you haven't priced copper wiring lately….😒

There are chargers for batteries, inverters and  converters to keep them charged, different interfaces that come into play, whether you’re out ‘boondocking (I’ll explain this in a bit), or attached to ‘shore power’ (which can be from a plug-in pedestal in a campground, or from a generator), which costs money, whether it be propane to keep your generator running, or park fees…and that brings us back to…flexibility.

“Boondocking” has a very specific meaning, in RVland, and also can encompass a range of circumstances. For example, where we wintered, at a BLM LTVA (secret decoder: Bureau of Land Management Long-Term Visitor Area) there is a place to dump our tanks, and a source of water, to refill our fresh water tank. Sometimes, boondocking requires days of no access to either, so as we travel along…we have to be flexible.

We had plans, this season (April through September) to travel northwards, up through California, Oregon, and Washington, then pop up in British Columbia, then back down through Idaho, back through Wyoming and Colorado, then on down to the farm in Oklahoma, then back here for the winter. At a nominal $US4/gallon, we had budgeted for that.

Then, someone thought it was a good idea to attack Iran, and blow up the world’s oil supply. I am quite sure any who are reading this are feeling the effects of this…misadventure.

Diesel, on the ‘cheap' side of the Nevada/California border is now just shy of $6/gallon, and in California, it’s nearing or exceeding $8/gallon. A dear friend of mine, who’s leading a similar life in Tasmania, is seeing $13/gallon!

https://www.youtube.com/@BackroadsandBowstrings

We didn't budget for that, nor CAN we budget for it: at a nominal 7 mpg, that necessitates a new plan. We spent a week or two, turning over many scenarios, a few of which meant ceasing the adventure, and returning to either Colorado, or the farm in Oklahoma. Neither of those are optimal places to winter over, with Oklahoma being slightly better.

So, the long and short of it is…we’re going back to work. 

Work camping.

That’s when you accept jobs, at various parks, some federal, most state-owned, and a few privately held, where ‘volunteers’ work for a small stipend, and/or free hookups. It’s not a lot of money—one we're looking at is a private family retreat center in Idaho, where we would get a FHU (full hookup) plus a $1000/month salary. It usually entails 10-20 hours of work, per week, doing things like checking in guests, stocking restrooms, and doing general maintenance.

A free FHU can save upwards of $600-$900 per month, which is a substantial savings!

We are also applying to be camp hosts here, at the LTVA, which will save us the $180 fee, and if we get it, we’ll have a FHU, which will be a saving on propane and heating, both of which are needed to run the generator, to charge the batteries, and also to run the AC units, and the fuel in The Beast needed to go get it. That can be upwards of $300/month.

We are also greatly shortening our travels, and the report of that will be the next installment.

This isn't the end of our adventure: it’s a different direction. There are many millions whose very livelihoods are in the balance, because of the actions of a madman. We will be OK, because we have the luxury of having these choices and opportunities, which many do not.

We’ll figure it out!

Sense and Sensibility...

 First, let me state for the record, that the title of this post will be the last reference to Jane Austen I make.

...or not.

In our travels, we have seen many expressions of how people choose to pursue the nomad life. Some, like us, have reasonable budgets, enough to afford to travel in relative luxury. A few, have much greater monetary means, and as such, travel in large, luxuriant Class As (‘motorcoaches”), or much larger 5th wheels, like ours.

Class A..

Some of these motorcoaches can exceed $1,000,000!

5th wheel…

This is a near-twin to ours.

Some utilize what are euphemistically called, “Toy haulers,” some examples of which are seen in the link below.

https://blog.campingworld.com/find-your-rv/best-toy-haulers/

We gave some thought to this kind of 5th wheel, but one large enough to haul the Maverick would have topped out at 50 feet in length, which would be extremely difficult to get into many parks: some don't allow anything longer than 40 feet. Even then, when you discount the space needed for said toys (or back porch), you end up with less Lebensraum than our 35 foot trailer, not to mention the decreased maneuverability and decreased fuel mileage.

Quite a  few folks use what’s known as a Class B: This is a standard van, like a Ford Transit, or Mercedes Sprinter, that has been kitted out inside for camping.

 Bs usually have no slideouts, but have the advantage of being very maneuverable, and (relatively) fuel-efficient. They are also not much longer, overall, than 20 feet, so can get into smaller spaces, or, if 4WD, have a bit of off-road utility.

A representative Class B…

Then, there are Class Cs, which are usually van-based, but with the ‘box’ part removed, and an RV body attached. They are almost as maneuverable and as fuel-efficient (which ain't saying much!) as Class Bs, but definitely offer more room.

A Class C….

There is a subclass of Class Cs, called, “Super Cs,” which are based on larger pickup truck chassis, like Ford F550)s, or even larger, based upon OTR (over the road) semi-trucks, sometimes called ‘prime movers.’

A Super C…

The other common platform is a bumper-pull trailer, which are more difficult to maneuver than a 5th wheel, but offer the advantage of all the living room being on one level.  

One of the odd things in the RV world is the terminology ("The secret handshake!”): Bumper pulls are often referred to as ‘tow-behinds,’ but 5th wheels also get ‘towed behind.’ 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We went round and round about which of these to choose, and ultimately chose the 5th wheel, for many reasons.

- Cost: used Super Cs can easily price out at $200,000+, so that wasn't an option; standard Cs are pretty popular, but I’ll circle back to why we didn't choose one.

- Utility: 5th wheels are quite plentiful, and consequently, well-priced.

- Backup ability: with a 5th wheel, the towed vehicle can actually pivot more than 90 degrees, whereas a bumper pull is limited to quite a bit less pivoting ability, making them much harder to back into spots, which is a fairly common occurrence in many RV parks.

- Ease of maintenance: any trailer can be serviced and fixed, relatively easily. They aren't terribly complex, so that becomes a point of interest, for me. However, As/Bs/Cs, being a combination of the living quarters and the motive source, if something goes wrong with the mechanicals (engine, transmission, drivetrain), and you need to take it to a service center for that repair, you're now homeless….!

Why not a standard C? Most Class Cs are based on chassis that utilize gasoline engines, and the weights they run at, make the engine work very hard, decreasing the life of the engine, with a concomitant decrease in fuel mileage. If they had diesel engines, I’d have considered one: the only ones that do come with diesel engines are Mercedes, and they are crazy expensive, and their reliability isn't all that great. plus, there are a boatload more Ford, Chevy, and Dodge dealers in the hinterlands than there are Mercedes dealers!

Diesels, by design, are much better suited to carrying heavy loads, and get better fuel mileage than a gasoline engine, in the same chassis.

There is also the facf that..I’m 69! I can still change a tire on The Beast, or the trailer, but on a A/C/Super C? Fuggeddibouddit!

 As it is, to get the spare up and down, off the bed of The Beast, I had to rig up a stowable crane: I discovered when getting ready for the adventure, I can:

- lift a tire, or,

- I can lift a wheel, but;

- I cannot lift a tire AND wheel, as a unit! 

These tire/wheels weigh around 190 pounds (86 kg): an A/Super C wheel/tire, can easily scale in at over 300 pounds (136 kg). If I blow a tire, on the highway, with our rig, I can change it: if that happened on a bigger rig, it’s a $peciality $ervice call, which can range up to $1000-$2000. Not only can a blown tire blow a hole in your budget, but it can blow a serious hole in your travel plans.

Plus, the tires on an A/Super C can cost upwards of $800-$1000, per tire. I got all four rear tires of The Beast replaced for $1500.

Ah..more secret handshake stuff—duallies!

Why even have a dually? Good question, Grasshopper!

Tires have load limits, and when towing, especially large, heavy loads, you must take into account how much load each tire can support. That is, not only is the weight of the vehicle, but the weight the truck is carrying. 

Here are the numbers...

The Beast weighs a total of 11,200 pounds (5090kg), with a 50/50 weight distribution: that’s 5600 pounds (2545 kg) per axle (axle is defined as a set of wheels, left to right, regardless of the number of tires) With the trailer on, the rear axle weight increases to 11,460 pounds (5209 kg).

Each tire has a maximum load rating of 3750 pounds (1704 kg) for a total carrying capacity of 15,000 pounds (6818 kg). That leaves a safety margin of 3540 pounds (1568 kg). Thats a good safety factor. Were we to use a non-dually truck, you can see the issue! 

It would carry it, but the tires would be signifcantly overloaded: not an issue for a few miles, but going down highways, especially in the hot times of the year?

POP!!

Tires, as they do their work, generate heat, and excess heat is the main killer of tires. For that reason, even though I’m safely under the carrying capacity of the tires, if—I pray it never happens, by ALWAYS using proper pressures—stuff happens, the duallies give us ‘backup,’ It’s not at all common for both tires to go pop, simultaneously, but if a single tires does, one can limp along on the remaining tire, to somewhere to get it replaced. On a non-dually, truck? You're stopping RIGHT there...and changing a tire. Doing so while the trailer is on is exceedingly difficult. Duallies give you a safety and comfort factor.

Back to why we chose a 5th wheel: along with the utility, and (relative) ease of backing, we knew this was going to be our home. It wasn't just a weekend jaunt, or even a short two-week journey: we were going to live in it, full-time. A 5th wheel gives you that room, it is fairly maneuverable, competitively-priced, and at the size point we chose, almost all RV parks are able to accommodate it.

Could we have lived in a C or a B? Yea…my wife and I like each other’s company..BUT….we knew that living, cheek-by-jowl, would put a strain on things. A 5th wheel (or any like-sized RV) gives you the ability to ‘escape’ to opposite ends, to do things that would be more difficult to do in a smaller RV.

So there ya have it: Sense, and Sensibility.

Sense, to grasp fully our choices, and do the correct thing that fits  lifestyle choices, and sensibility (“the capacity to respond intelligently, to refined emotions”) to choose wisely.

In our 14th month of living the vida mobile, it seems to have been the correct one!

Stay tuned for more! Feel free to leave any questions and comments on the blog, and we’ll respond as quickly as possible.

The Attiude of Latitude!

 January 20, 2026

Wow.

We made it almost a month past our first year on the road, and what a year it has been. Exhilarating, frightening, challenging, and never boring. We went as far north as Manistique, MI, and as far south as our current winter spot, Yuma, AZ.

The desert does odd things...

45° N. to 32° N. 

We went as far east as Lapeer, MI, and as far west as Yuma, AZ.

                

                  Not Lapeer, but in Michigan!

-114° W. to -83° W.

Why in the world would I do something so geeky, as to tell you the latitude and longitude of some of our travel spots?

I’ll circle back.

We’ve done what we set out to do, which in the RV world, is called, ‘Chasing the 70.” The idea is, you travel north in the summer, where the temps aren't as brutal (but mosquitos and humidity might be), then back down south as the fall and winter approaches. You try to stay in the window of 70(ish) degrees.

We found the patterns of this traveling, the rhythms dictated by the seasons, constantly a thrill. You do the same ‘dance of the seasons,’ when in a sticks’n bricks—as we did for all our lives in Colorado—but the sameness, the ritual, is different on the road.

It’s different than the stationary, non-RV life; it’s discovery, every day. It’s knowing we’ll see new and unknown places, most we’ve never seen before, sometimes on a daily basis.

             

              The vistas are long and beautiful

For Nick!

We ALL know where this is thanks to Forrest…

          Creosote bush: it’s everywhere down here!

A babu saguaro…..

…about 100 years later!

The stark beauty of the desert with its creosote bushes and cactus, the wooded wonders of the Upper Midwest, with forests so different than the ones in our native Colorado, where you can see many feet into the woods: not so much in Michigan’s forests! The crisp, cool mornings in Yuma, where ‘cool’ constitutes 49F°, to the sultry, humid, and foggy mornings outside Chicago.

For M., our EXCELLENT Chicago guide!

The Bean!

Back around….living at 40°N, -105°W, the patterns never change. Oh, there’ll be differences in the timing of seasons, surprises regarding storms, and the like: out here, on the road, we experience sooo many different things, sooo many new places, sooo many interesting folks.

It’s the attitude of latitude, it's the rhythm of longitude. It’s change, it's a rebirthing of sorts, and we STILL relish every day

Seeya on the road!