Traveling in a 5th wheel full time is not only an adventure but part of a long journey. It’s about living on a budget that takes planning if you want to have new experiences because it’s like moving a house every time you want to relocate to a new location. For staying in an RV park for a month or more, it’s usually less expensive than staying weekly or daily except during the summer when a lot of RV parks won’t offer monthly rates. Staying one or two days is the most expensive. Some folks boondock or mochdock (staying for free), stay in a State or National Parks or forests (for less), however if you want full hookups (water, sewer, electricity) staying in an RV park is definitely more expensive.
My travels over the last year have taken me to some really exciting places like the London Bridge in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Now I can say I’ve walked across both London Bridges. Traveling in a 5th wheel has its pros and cons depending on how you look at it. I love traveling by air and staying in a hotel then doing car excursions however traveling with a 5th wheel allows me to always have my home with me and can stay outside of the city to enjoy nature. My journey took me to Island Park Idaho where within a ½ hour drive I could be in Yellowstone National Park, or go hiking or river rafting. In West Yellowstone, I was able to visit the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center followed by going to the local IMAX Theater to watch the new Lion King movie. Yes, I could have had the West Yellowstone experience by staying at a hotel however I wouldn’t have had the traffic free nature experiences that Island Park gave me.
I’m always sleeping in my own bed and able to BBQ anytime I want which allows for healthier eating. This year I was able to experience Sedona from the air, visit Bear Country just outside of Rapid City, SD; and Bearizona in Williams, AZ. Members of the Casey Family own and run Bear Country and Bearizona. Both offer drive thru wildlife experiences and some may not know it but in Bearizona they recycle old vehicles and if you look closely some of hills may look like an old Volkswagen or school bus. This year I’ve been to 17; Zoos, Aquariums and Wildlife Preserves. Interesting enough, each and every one provided a new experience. I had a carrot taken out of my mouth by a Giraffe at Out of Africa in Camp Verde and fed a small ray small ray at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ. If you’ve never fed a small ray, they actually suck the food out of your fingers. I can’t even mention the amount of walking that I did at every location while carrying a 5lb backpack with various camera lenses. Walking around Devils Tower has been a dream and a wonderful experience along with watching the rock climbers. Note to self: remember to carry a couple bottles of water because the walk around is not flat along with maybe using a walking stick.
Part of living on the road, to most, means visiting State & National Parks and National Monuments. This this year I visited somewhere around 12-14 which is not all that impressive however weather played a role in what I could visit and when. And for my cave and mine loving friends, I visited 2 mines and a cave. Weather played a part in my not visiting more.
This past year was amazing as I encountered countless inches of rain, 5” of snow, hail, wind, and blinding fog. The highlight of my year’s trip was visiting the Little Big Horn. Walking down past soldier markers to a gully was incredible because earlier in the day a park ranger talked about what mistakes were made by the 7th Calvary and the significance of the high ground and the various gullies.
2020 travels will be planned differently which will again take me another journey to explore more of the US and maybe Canada.
Please enjoy my travel movie.
