Nomadic McDowells: A (Current) Day in the Life

Susanne is your driver for this post.

People often ask us what it's like to RV full time. Many seem to think that we explore national parks by day and roast s'mores over the campfire by night. That rosy image reflects our reality about 0.01% of the time.

In truth, living in an RV is a lot like living in a house, except that the RV moves and we have to go to a Laundromat if we want clean clothes.

To clarify what the RV lifestyle is like for us at this particular time, I thought I'd provide you with a day in the life glimpse of our lives on a regular weekday. It varies, of course. Sometimes we do take the entire day to see a national park. But more often than not, this is what it looks like:

6:30 AM: Nobody is up... except our feisty orange feline. Biscuit has arisen, and she's raring to go. Biscuit greets every new day with the frantic conviction that her humans will never wake up; her gut reaction is to meow and attack our feet until someone responds. Trent usually gets up first, soothes the cat, freshens up her food, eats breakfast, cracks open his laptop, and gets some work done while Sam and I are still asleep.

7:30 AM: If it's a running day for me, I go out for a run somewhere close to the RV. 

9 AM: Sam is usually up by now and watches some TV to help him ease into his day (current favorite shows: Cosmos, Fixer Upper, and Good Eats). I take a shower (hot, if we've remembered to turn on the hot water heater), make coffee (one of my favorite daily rituals), and prepare breakfast for myself and Sam.

10 AM: Trent "goes to work" - that is, he leaves the RV to find a quiet spot in the campground rec center or office. If we're at a site with full hookups, he'll check the tank levels and empty the gray and black tanks on his way out.

Sam and I get started with homeschooling. His daily tasks always include reading, writing, grammar, and math, though we don't spend much time on any one thing. That's the benefit of homeschooling: he can work on each task at his own pace, and if/when he gets tired, we move on.

While Sam tackles schoolwork, I blog (either for Nomadic McDowells or my running blog), update our social media accounts, communicate with my Beachbody clients, and facilitate my online geology class. 

Noonish: Sam wraps up his work. I make lunch for both of us. Nothing fancy. Sam's into smorgasbords these days, so he likes some combination of fruit, yogurt, crackers, and cheese. I typically have a salad or heat up leftovers from the night before. Trent usually comes back to the RV to make one of his special wraps: flour tortilla, peanut butter, and spinach. Mmmmm.

1 PM: On about half the days, Sam and I (and Trent, if he's not too swamped with work) go on a field trip to a park, the local library, or an area attraction (for instance, we went to the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the UFO Museum while here in Roswell, NM).

On other days, Sam comes up with a project and works on that while I get my own work done. His projects are almost always self-directed. So far he's set up a website, developed his own art business, read history books, painted, and started a coin collection.

Afternoons can get tricky because Trent and I always have work to do, whether that's for the companies we freelance for or blogging/social media. On one hand, we don't want to spend our entire nomadic existence on our computers, but the fact of the matter is that we aren't independently wealthy. The bills have to get paid.

4 PM: I start eyeing the beer in the fridge. Sam reads or plays a video game. Biscuit naps in preparation for another night of terrorizing her humans.

5 PM: We make dinner. We have a toaster oven and an InstantPot, and for the most part, these two appliances allow us to make anything we want. The InstantPot is nice because a) it's fast and b) we can program it and walk away.

6 PM: Dinner! We squeeze around our little RV table. It can get tight, especially if we've let clutter accumulate. We do eat outside sometimes, but between the heat and the bugs this summer, that hasn't been as appealing as it sounds. We anticipate dining in the great outdoors more as we get into fall.

7 PM to bedtime: If we're at a regular old, nothing-special-here site, we do what many other people do in the evenings: clean up, play with the cat, take walks, watch Netflix, text with friends, read, veg out. At our current location, we're basically situated in a large (but nicely maintained and landscaped) parking lot next to a busy road, so there's no huge incentive to commune with nature. If we're at a national park or some other particularly beautiful place, we'll spend more time outside.

So that's about it! Does anything surprise you? Anything you're still wondering about? For our fellow travelers/nomads, how does this compare to your daily schedule?

Homeschool planning (or lack thereof)

Susanne is your driver for this post.

One thing I'm (supposed to be) doing right now is making homeschool/roadschool plans for Sam's fourth grade year. I have a general idea of what I want him to do, especially with respect to math, reading, and writing; however, I know that all of this will be much more effective if we ask our very independent learner what HE wants to do, and how.

So this morning I asked Sam to compose a list of ten activities, topics, etc. he wants to do or cover in roadschool starting this fall. Here's the list:

1. Read history books more thoroughly. [He's almost done with Book 4 of Story of the World and wants to explore certain topics in greater detail.]

2. Do activities about the subjects we learn about.

3. Go on fun field trips to museums. [He loves museums.]

4. Go to places based on what we read.

5. Learn how to use Excel. 

6. Learn how to market a business.

7. Art classes - for YOU! Ha! [Thanks, Sammo!]

8. Learn how to use line graphs.

9. Learn how to divide to make a percentage.

10. Learn how to use pie graphs.

If anyone has resources/suggestions based on Sam's list, please reply and let us know!

Day 1 in San Antonio

Our first day in San Antonio can be summed up in one word: HOT. It's hot. Sure, it's a dry heat, but it's still 102 degrees and sunny, and Clark doesn't have particularly effective air conditioning (it's okay, but the extent that it can cool the RV is limited to about 20 degrees below the outside air temperature).

Nevertheless, we ventured into San Antonio for a couple of hours to check out the Riverwalk and eat some ice cream.

 

 

 

The ice cream was from a shop called Lick Honest Ice Creams and it was delicious. They offer a variety of original flavors, some of which are vegan. Yes!

Then we went back to the campsite because we were sweating like maniacs and some of us (you can probably guess who) were getting grumpy. We took naps and played Minecraft.

And then when it cooled off a bit, we checked out the campsite's playground. This weekend, we're staying at a KOA that has a playground dating straight back to the 1980s. Behold:

Object 1 - The Spinny Thing

 

 

 

Object 2 - Dangerous(ly fun) Metal Climbing Apparatus

 

There were also see-saws, a metal climbing teepee with chipped paint circa 1985, and swings in the shape of ponies.

Sam's assessment of the playground: "For once, they have some GOOD STUFF to play on!" Truth, buddy. THIS is why we're taking you across America. To help open your mind to new things.

Sam's New Online Store: Nomadic Arts

Sam is your driver for this post.

I have opened a new online shop with some of my bird art on t-shirts, mugs, pillows, and much more! It is very successful; I have already made $21 in earnings! I might have a blog about it soon. (Note: My new blog series is on hold for now due to me not being able to get pictures.) Click here to go to my store.

A note from Sam's parents: Nomadic Arts was entirely thought up and developed by Sam. The bird artwork, originally in watercolor, is painted by Sam. We asked him to develop a business plan before we helped him set up his online store. Any and all profits from the store will go to him, and he can choose what to do with his earnings. (We're helping him with some of the technical stuff, but we just want to get paid in hugs.) We hope that this will allow him to pursue his interests and develop computer, marketing, writing, art, financial planning, and entrepreneurial skills.

Nomad's Adventures in Austin, TX

Even though Texas is pretty hot in the summertime, we're in no rush to leave. At the moment were situated in Austin, where we are house sitting for some good friends and enjoying this extraordinary city. We've discovered so many free or low-cost things to do here.

Highlights so far:

Deep Eddy pool, a glorious, crystal-clear swimming hole filled with spring-fed water:

 

Barton Springs pool, not as clear as Deep Eddy but also spring-fed - and you can look at fossils and chase little fish as you swim:

 

Cost for both pools: $3 per adult, $1 per child (for city residents... Which we aren't, but since we are house sitting, we counted ourselves as temporary residents)

The trail around Lake Austin, where I've been able to get in several enjoyable runs, including a four-miler with two of the women in my online Beachbody challenge group:

 

 

Cost: Totally free! Even parking near the trail is free. 

The Thinkery, a children's museum with an enviable outdoor climbing structure and loads of exploratory activities inside:

 

 

Cost: Free with the ASTC Travel Passport Program! (Totally worth it!)

And of course, many delicious and vegan-friendly places to eat:

Chi'Lantro, which is like a Thai version of Chipotle:

 

It was at Chi'Lantro that Trent ordered the famous kimchi fries... Picture an enormous pile of french fries covered in meat, kimchi, and squeezable cheese (he's an at-home vegan so he's always thrilled to go out and gobble up meat).

Sweet Ritual, a vegan and gluten free ice cream shop: 

 

Tacodeli, because can you go to Austin without getting tacos? I think not:

 

Summer Moon Coffee Bar, for coffee made with fire-roasted beans:

We're house sitting until the weekend and then we'll be moving back into the RV and settling in at a local campground. I'm thrilled that we have more time to explore this city! On the agenda for today: finally try some kolaches!

Two weeks in!

Yesterday marked two weeks since we embarked on our RV adventure.

Our route and the highlights so far:

June 1 - 5: Diamond Caverns RV Resort (Park City, KY)

Things we did: Trip to Mammoth Cave, swimming, learning how to cook in the RV

Best parts: Small but clean campground with a nice pool, close to Mammoth Cave National Park, gorgeous hiking/walking/running trails

Worst parts: None? It was a great few days. 

June 5 - 16: Natchez Trace RV Campground (Hohenwald, TN)

Things we did: Visited the grandparents in Nashville, walked through the TINY town of Hohenwald (including the visitor's center located in the old train station), ate at the Loveless Cafe, drove a lot (Hohenwald to Nashville is a 1.5 - 2 hour drive), went to the zoo, spent time with friends, checked out the Warner Park Nature Center, hit up Whole Foods, reading, swimming, running.

Best parts: All of the above! We also appreciated the consistency of the services (water, electricity, sewer) at our campground.

Worst parts: The campground is pretty and the site services are commendable, but it's also really run down. The roads are potholed, the tennis courts look completely dilapidated (not that we would be using them anyway, but other people might want to), the fitness center is closed, and the recreation center needs work. Given the large size of this campground, maintenance must be a major challenge... but it's a little disappointing that even the Recreation Center at the heart of the campground is falling apart. Hopefully, the management will find the funds to keep this place going and get it into better shape.

Next on the agenda: We're heading to Texas! Houston and Austin, here we come!

RV Vegan?

Yes we are! 😜

Get it? 

It was a joke. A bad one. I blame the influence of Trent's side of the family. They have the best bad jokes ever.

Anyway, in a previous post I mentioned that we've adopted a vegan lifestyle. A "plant-based" lifestyle is a more accurate way to describe it, as a) we are currently using honey, b) I'm guessing we have some leather somewhere amongst our belongings, and c) our child is still eating some meat and cheese.

Back in the day - before we moved to the middle of nowhere in Montana and before we had Sam - Trent and I were vegetarians. If I recall correctly, Trent's reasons were primarily ethical, whereas my reasons were... Trent. He identified as vegetarian and so I wanted to do the same. The truth was, I could watch those horrible videos of animals being hurt and tortured and still think, "Hmm, if I weren't vegetarian, I could totally go for a hamburger."

In Montana we went back to eating meat. Finding fresh veggies and fruits in our tiny town was difficult, whereas finding fresh meat was easy. Everyone hunted. Everyone grilled. The meat was usually top quality. It smelled good. I got pregnant and hot dogs tasted divine (whereas vegetables were nausea-inducing). 

So for the past nine years, we've been omnivores, and to be quite honest, we didn't give a lot of thought to it. Sometimes we purchased grass-fed beef; sometimes we purchased whatever was on sale at Kroger. Sometimes we bought organic eggs; sometimes we didn't. It really varied. We ate a fairly healthy diet and had a "We're doing our best" mentality.

So what changed?

People usually adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet for one of three reasons: ethics (by questioning whether we have a right to raise and kill other animals for food), health (because plant based diets have been shown time and time again to be much healthier than meat based diets), or environment. For me, it was the environmental considerations that did it.

During the winter term that started in January of this year, I taught an Environmental Geology class. For every course I facilitate, I try to identify one or two themes that connect key concepts throughout the semester. This time the theme focused on individual actions: what can one person do to help cultivate a healthier planet?

I had my students use the Ecological Footprint Calculator to determine the number of Earths needed to support their habits and lifestyles as well as the tones of CO2 they produced each year. Most of them ended up with 4-5 planet earths and somewhere between 16 and 22 tones of CO2. 

Then we talked about what we could do to narrow the footprint.

Honestly, I thought I knew the answer already. I talked about reducing electricity use, conserving water, recycling, and walking or biking versus driving. I talked about the role that technology has started to play in conserving resources - the development of Energy Star appliances, for example. 

But when I sat down to put numbers to those calculations, I discovered that for kids living in rural mid-America, who don't travel that much and aren't driving enormous distances to work and school, whose water usage is a literal drop in the bucket compared to what's used for agriculture, none of those things made much of a dent. Even if my students were to make massive changes in these areas, their footprints would decrease by only a small percentage. Not to say that the efforts wouldn't be worthwhile... But I felt discouraged. I didn't want them to finish the class feeling hopeless about the future of the planet. 

Then I stumbled upon some articles about vegetarianism and veganism, and in reading them, I found out that adopting a plant-based diet is one of the most effective ways for an individual to ease up on the Earth. So much of our land is used to grow crops for animal agriculture, so much forest is cleared for said animal agriculture, and so much pollution is produced as a result of animal agriculture that I felt like I, especially as an earth scientist who loves and appreciates the earth and its resources and history, had the responsibility to change my own habits.

 

So on Earth day, we did. We officially went plant based (or plant powered, as I like to put it!) Trent has decided to eat vegan at home but will eat whatever strikes his tastebuds when we are out. As for Sam, he's never eaten a whole lot of meat, but he definitely likes cheese and yogurt. He's nine. He's old enough to make his own decisions about what he will and will not eat, and I don't want to force any ideas on him, especially because I don't want him to develop any issues around food. We will set an example and he can follow suit when and if he is ready.

Cooking vegan meals in the RV has been pretty easy so far. Breakfast is usually cereal, fruit, oatmeal, and/or smoothies. For lunch, we have sandwiches, veggies, hummus and carrots, wraps, or leftovers. Dinner has included spicy baked tofu, beans and rice with fixings (avocado, peppers, etc.), roasted eggplant and peppers, stews, veggie burgers, big salads, and stir fry. It's nice not having to worry about making room for and storing meat in our tiny fridge.

I feel really passionate about this issue, so I'll probably write about it periodically. I don't want to be annoying or fanatical. That said, if this issue is of any interest to you, I encourage you to watch the documentary Cowspiracy. It's currently available on Netflix and does a great job of presenting the facts.