How long do we stay in one spot?

Susanne is your driver for this post!

Another question people frequently ask us: How long do we stay in one spot before moving on?

Generally, we try to move no more often than every two or three weeks. The reasons for this are multifold:

• We don't want to burn out. Moving from one site to another - even if it's just an hour or two away or simply across town - is exhausting. It means cleaning out the tanks, unhooking all of the hoses and pipes, straightening up the interior and securing any breakables, pulling in the slideout, getting the cat situated, sometimes backing out of tricky parking spots, and planning our route. That might not sound like that much... and it isn't, if we don't do it too often. But if we were to do all that every few days, we'd be totally exhausted. It might be a good way to vacation for a couple of weeks, but it's not a good way to live over the long haul.

Clark the Freelander, just relaxing in camp

• Gas is expensive. Our Coachmen Freelander has a fuel efficiency of about 9 miles per gallon and a total fuel capacity of 57 gallons. Let's say gas costs $2.80 a gallon. If we were to fill the entire tank (which, granted, we never do), that's almost $160. Thus, driving long distances on a regular basis just isn't practical for us.

• We need time to work as well as play. We certainly go out and see the sights, but we're a working class family with a kid in grade school. That means that more often than not, we spend our days working and homeschooling. Much of our week is dedicated to these tasks, and we couldn't do them properly if we were constantly on the move. For us, it would be too overwhelming.

Office space

• At the same time, we strive to immerse ourselves in the local community. By staying several weeks in one spot, we give ourselves a chance to see the sights, eat local specialties, find good running and hiking trails, and tailor our homeschooling activities to what's available in the area. We've been in Albuquerque since the end of August, and we've become quite familiar with the layout of the city (always a comforting feeling) and the location of area parks and recreation opportunities. Sam and I have made field trips to the local aquarium, the BUGarium, a trampoline gym, a cat cafe (yup, you read that right!), Petroglyph National Monument, and some area volcanoes. We've even identified a favorite Thai place.

Working

Aquarium

Petroglyph National Monument

Volcano hike

Cat cafe! Such a happy place.

What about you? How often do you and your team move from place to place? What's your idea of an ideal amount of time to stay in one spot?

Campground Expenses: June and July

Susanne is your driver for this post.

One of the most common questions people ask RVers is this: How much does it cost to RV, and how do you afford it? Although I don't feel comfortable putting our entire budget on the Internet, I will say this: The cost depends, and we make it work (so far). We are not a wealthy family. Nowhere close to it. Like many families, we work a lot, we worry about money, and we have debts. We chew on our fingernails before payday. Yet we're still doing this. It just means that while on the road, we try (TRY - we don't always succeed!) to be extremely conscientious about spending.

One of the best things about a nomadic lifestyle is that it's flexible: you can save a lot of money simply by being selective about where you park your rig. Some RVers have the funds to stay at fully-outfitted parks that cost hundreds of dollars a month. Other RVers are at the other end of the spectrum: they look for opportunities to boondock (park their rig without connecting to water, electricity, or sewer) at little or no cost.

We're somewhere in the middle. Because we're currently in the hot and steamy southern U.S., we don't want to boondock at this point. On the other hand, we've found ways to reduce spending at campgrounds and RV parks.

Here's a rundown of our camping expenses for the months of June and July (note: in some cases I have not included discounts; I have also not included the Thousand Trails membership fees in the breakdown):

June 1-5: Thousand Trails Diamond Caverns (Mammoth Cave NP, Kentucky) - Full Hookups - The campground was out of our "network" at that time (before we obtained a TT pass for the entire country), so we paid a fee. Cost: $158.40

June 5-16: Thousand Trails Natchez Trace (Hohenwald, Tennessee) - Full Hookups. Pool. Cost: $0

June 16-19: Tom Sawyer's RV Park (West Memphis, AR) - Full Hookups. No pool, but an amazing view of the Mississippi River. Cost: $75 

June 19-20: Shady Pines RV Park (Texarkana, TX) - Full Hookups. Cost: $29

June 20-23: Escapees Rainbows End Park (Livingston, TX) - Full Hookups. Pool. Cost: $63 (with membership discount)

June 23-29: Thousand Trails Lake Conroe (Lake Conroe, TX) - Full Hookups. Pool. Cost: $0

June 29-July 10: Housesitting and chihuahua-sitting in Austin, TX. Honestly, we are SO appreciative of our friends for allowing us to stay at their house while they were on vacation! The opportunity to hang out with a cool chihuahua and some sassy backyard chickens: priceless. Cost: $0 

July 10-15: McKinney Falls State Park (Austin, TX) - Water and Electric Hookups. Lovely trails and natural pools. Cost: $90

July 15-17: San Antonio KOA (San Antonio, TX) - Full Hookups. Pool. Cost: $150, give or take a few cents (Yup.)

July 17-August 1: Thousand Trails Medina Lake (outside of San Antonio, TX) - Full Hookups. Pool. Cost: $0

TOTAL SITE COSTS FOR JUNE AND JULY: $565 (~$283 per month)

What we've learned so far about selecting campsites with money in mind:

• State parks are a great choice, even if they don't have full hook-ups. McKinney Falls SP has a well maintained dump station, and we had no trouble accessing it when we needed to.

• KOA offers well-equipped campgrounds, but for us, they're generally too expensive. We stayed at the KOA in San Antonio because we wanted to wait a few extra days before signing into Medina Lake. KOA was convenient. Maybe it's worth it in a pinch (especially now that we're part of their membership program), but we won't be doing it often.

• Housesitting in early July saved us a bundle. We may look into housesitting again in the future. 

• Thousand Trails is a great deal. Being able to stay in one place for up to two weeks with full hookups and a pool (the pool makes a big difference in the happiness of our child) without paying anything beyond the membership costs is pretty amazing.

• Sometimes, spending a little more money is worth it. That was the case with Tom Sawyer's RV Park. The sites were flat and level, and we were situated right on the banks of the Mississippi River. The unique nature of the campground made it worthwhile for us.

What are your tips for saving money while RVing? 

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.

Views from McKinney Falls State Park

After wrapping up our Austin house sitting gig, we decided to hang out in this city a little longer and set up camp at McKinney Falls State Park. It's located near Austin's airport, but except for the occasional plane overhead, you'd never know that you're close to an urban area unless you looked at a map.

For electric and water, we are paying $20 a night; however, our Texas residency landed us a half-off-the-second-night deal, so for five nights we're paying $90. The sites are all large and private, unlike many of the parking lot-style places we've stayed at so far. We have good Verizon coverage here: Internet access via our JetPack is no problem.

 

The park is fantastic as it features a gorgeous running/biking path, a stream, waterfalls, and two natural pools in which to swim.

 

 

 

 

In other words, two thumbs up for this park. We'd recommend it to anyone traveling through the Austin area.

The benefits of living in a small space

As I mentioned to a friend on Instagram this morning, moving into our tiny space has involved a steep learning curve - not so much in terms of figuring out sewer/water/electric hookups or deciding where to travel, but very much so in terms of learning to live together in the smallest place we've ever owned.

Three humans and one cat cohabitating in a relatively modest-sized RV can be fraught with challenges, like when the dishes pile up (happens quickly, and can make the kitchen feel chaotic), or when someone's in a less-than-happy mood and doesn't feel like hanging out with family members, or when I reallllly want to get my yoga workout in but have to wait until Trent and Sam are off at the pool for an hour.

When the slide-out is out, this is where I do my workout. Right next to the kitty litter. Ommmm....

But! Even though it's frustrating sometimes, I see multiple benefits to living together in this little home:

1. We can keep only what we really need and/or want. There's simply no room for extraneous things we won't use or can't appreciate, so we carefully consider every single item we bring into our space. We did this before we moved in, but - because it was difficult to predict what we would actually use - we continue to evaluate our belongings. For example, the pretty serving tray that I carefully stowed into a cabinet for Pinterest-worthy dinner picnics is proving to be worthless, so it's not going to stick around. It needs to give up its home for something that we will actually utilize. 

Along the same lines, until we started preparing for RV life, I didn't realize how much random crap people are constantly trying to pass on to one another, such as the little towels that our campground gave us as a "welcome present" (they're not large enough to dry off with and not absorbent enough to dry dishes with), or the mini-frisbees and beer koozies available as "gifts" in the activity center this morning. It's tempting to take and keep these, but we don't need them and ultimately they're just going to serve as dust-catchers. Not worth it. MUST. RESIST. FREE. STUFF.

2. We have a better appreciation for what we do have. This sounds silly, but every morning I look at my coffee pot and think, "Man, I love this thing." I like its design, I like how easy it is to clean, and I like that it produces my favorite caffeinated beverage. I look at it and I appreciate it, whereas before this journey, I owned a lot of things that I walked by every single day and barely even noticed, much less acknowledged.

Coffee pot and rooster mug: Key players in my morning ritual

3. It's easy to clean and organize. Sam - the most organized person in our family - will tell you that I have a lot of opportunity for growth here, but overall I think we do a good job of keeping Clark tidy. And because Clark is small, it really doesn't take all that much time and effort. We can go from kitchen disaster zone to Instagram-worthy countertops in a matter of minutes. (Not saying that lasts long, but whatever.)

Post-breakfast is always messy, but it takes minutes to clean it up.

4. A small space requires less energy to heat and cool than a traditional home. It's hot here in Texas, so yes, we have our fan or A/C on most of the time. That said, it doesn't take much to cool the place down. Of course, our goal is to eventually "follow the weather" and get solar panels so that we can further minimize the use of fossil fuels for heating and cooling. At the very least, we're more aware now of what it takes to bring our space to a comfortable temperature. It encourages us to think about the resources and processes required.

5. We're forced to deal with interpersonal issues right away. This is a tough one even for a family that generally gets along. Sometimes our RV is like a pressure cooker! Things I've been trying to work on: not getting bent out of shape about the way Trent does the dishes (yes, I realize I'm crazy), being more patient when I need space but can't have it immediately, and talking through problems as they happen instead of letting the issues build up. This was my idea, and yet of anyone in the family, I'm the one who is most attached to the concept of a personal bubble. That part is tough for me, and I'm figuring out how to navigate that particular issue. So... yeah. Definitely a learning experience. 

6. I get to spend more time with my family. I love that. Sometimes it's really nice to hang out for hours in the same tiny room with them. As I write this, Sam is sitting across from me with a pad of paper, a ruler, and a pencil, designing a new hotel for his Minecraft world. I type, he draws, and we share ideas as we go. That kind of experience makes this wild journey totally worth it.

Scenes from Texas

We're in Texas now! AND we're Texans! With Texas plates and Texas driver's licenses! (However, a Texan friend tells me - and I believe her, because she seemed very serious about it - that we are  not actually residents until we make our chili without beans and have our photos taken amongst blue bonnets, some sort of flower that Texans apparently really love.) 

Yesterday we established our residency all in one day. It involved a lot of filling out of forms and writing of checks, but it got done and now we're Texans. Or fake Texans. Fexans. That sounds more honest. Trent is going to write a blog post very soon detailing how one obtains Texas residency. You know. Just in case you want to follow in our RV tracks.

As he'll describe, the first step to establishing a Texas residency is obtaining a legit Texas address. You could go whole hog and buy or rent a place, OR you could be cheap like us and get an address through the Escapees RV Club. 

 

That's right: you can get a mailing address that the DMV and tax offices will recognize and honor even though everyone involved knows that you're not a real live Texan. They will even welcome you to the state and do an Oscar-worthy job of acting like they want you here (I don't think that has ever happened to me at the DMV before now).

Escapees also has a campground, and that's where we're currently parked. Despite the heat (shockingly, it's hot), Clark is perfectly comfortable beneath a nice little stand of trees.

 

It's not a swanky RV park, but it's got everything we need and the management is super professional. They've clearly been doing this a while and know what RVers want, like laundry machines and shade.

 

To celebrate our Fexan status, Sam and I drove down to Houston today to visit the children's museum. Can I just say that Houston + heat + lots of children = a really loud museum experience? But that was fine. Sam enjoyed it, clearly:

 

 

 

A coup for us: the museum honored the ASTC reciprocal membership we have through the Kentucky Science Center, so the visit was free! (Parking was not.)

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!

Some things we have learned

Biggest lessons learned so far:

(1) In certain places in middle Tennessee, Verizon coverage and wireless Internet are basically nonexistent. 

(2) The Instant Pot is like the best thing ever. I will now take it everywhere with me.

(3) It's... kind of weird to wake up in the morning and realize that you don't have a permanent home. Definitely an adjustment.

A few highlights from the past few days:

From June 1 - 5, we stayed at the Thousand Trails Diamond Caverns RV resort near Mammoth Cave National Park in central Kentucky. We played at the pool, visited the cave, and went for some runs on a beautiful path located right next to the campground:

We'd definitely stay at that park again, and we'd definitely recommend it to others. It's small, and it isn't fancy, but the facilities were clean and there was plenty to do. 

We then headed down to Tennessee, where we're parked for the next several days. The campground is massive and extremely hilly... so much so that my run this morning turned into more of a walk-up-the-hills-try-not-to-fall-down-the hills hike. 

While we're here, we'll be visiting my parents and some of our friends, running, doing yoga (well, I'm trying to practice yoga in the main room of the RV), learning to live with the spotty Internet, and practicing our RV vegan cooking skills.

Yup, we went vegan... Because why make just one major life change when you can make TWO AT ONCE?