Exploring Tomorrows Blog
When we planned our trip south to Florida, we didn’t want to go south too quickly and risk needing to leave due to a hurricane. Unfortunately, fall seems to be the time of year that some pretty severe ones come through the south. So we decided to spend a few weeks in North Carolina and hopefully enjoy some beautiful fall weather.
Read MoreIt is hard to believe that it has been a little over 5 years since we started full time RVing. To be honest, I am not sure what date to use for this anniversary. We officially moved into the RV on Labor Day, 9/2/19 but I worked remotely for a couple more weeks and didn’t officially retire until 9/20/19. We stayed at the campground for another couple of weeks finalizing work on the RV before we started traveling on 10/8/19. So, am I a month late in celebrating or do I use the October date? Either way, in a way it seems like yesterday and in another way, it feels like we have always lived this way.
Read MoreWe managed to have a little fun as summer came to an end even though we were still busy with way too many medical appointments. The good news is that all turned out well with the appointments. Tim had cataract surgery in both eyes and had a good recovery. He still has issues with bright lights and will probably need to keep using sun glasses for awhile. Also, his hand was bothering him again so he ended up getting shots that seemed to have helped. Hopefully that will last all winter.
Read MoreIt is hard to believe that it is August already and summer is almost over. Before we start getting ready to head south for the winter, I thought I would update everyone on our summer this year. So far, it is much better than last year - at least no falls and broken bones! We have still had quite a few medical appointments mostly for annual checks and tests although Tim had cataract surgery on both eyes. Those appointments and the daily eye drop regimen has been keeping us fairly busy.
Read MoreAfter a little over 8 months of traveling, we settled down at our seasonal site in Pennsylvania for the summer. It stills feels like we are travleing though since we are in and out of Pittsburgh a bit as well as made a trip back to Ohio since we have been here. We headed over to Shady Acres the first day back to hook up the batteries and start to de-winterize it. Well we discovered a bit of a mess. It appeared that mice and either chipmunks or squirrels had gotten in over the winter..
Read MoreUsually we aren’t anywhere close to a National Park during National Park week but this year we really hit the bonanza. I got to visit Zion and Bryce the week before and then as we left Utah, we headed back to Arizona to visit two more parks during National Park Week. After a quick overnight stop in Vegas, we headed south and east to Williams, AZ for a 3 night stay.
Read MoreAfter our time in Nevada, we headed further north to Utah to spend a week visiting our friends, Gerry and Mari. We initially met them during our first year traveling in the RV in Berea, KY. We spent a week as neighbors and have kept in touch over the years even though we were in different parts of the country. They settled in St. George, UT two years ago and we were excited that we could finally visit them since it wasn’t too far from Las Vegas.
Read MoreWhile in Verde Valley, we considered a visit to the Grand Canyon by taking the train from Williams, AZ. I realized that it would be a very long day to do that from where we were staying, so we discussed leaving a couple days early and staying in Williams for the train ride. I kept watching the weather since it had been cold and snowing at times up in that area. As we approached our last week in Verde Valley, the weather forecast looked great. Sunny and low 60s for Williams for a couple days in a row. We quickly booked a park in Williams for 2 nights.
Read MoreWhen we purchased our Thousand Trails membership, it included a free week at a Getaway Cabin once a year for five years. Since we are always traveling in the RV, this was a perk that we didn’t anticipate using. Our daughter Katie has taken advantage of our free cabin the past 2 years. This year, she booked the cabin at Verde Valley for the first week we were there.
Read MoreWe did it! We have completed a full cross country trip. In the past year, we saw the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico while staying in Florida and now we saw the Pacific Ocean in California. I love that our lifestyle is able to take us to so many beautiful places. When we initially planned our winter travels, we were going to spend the winter in Arizona, with 3 months in Tucson and we didn’t think we would make it to California on this trip.
Read MoreWe headed a bit further west last week to Yuma, AZ and have now been here for a week. Unfortunately, I started getting a head cold the day we got here and after having it for a week, I am feeling better but Tim now has it. I had to share, right? With both of us being sick, we haven’t done very much yet in Yuma, but we did enjoy our last couple of weeks in Tucson and had a nice stop in Why, AZ on our way here.
Read MoreIt is hard to believe that a 2 month visit to Tucson, AZ is not enough to see and do everything that this area has to offer but it is true. We have found many great places to visit in the area and in the city. I suppose that most cities provide many things to do and areas to explore although I feel that often what we find is similar to other cities. So I don’t always feel that we need to do everything that I have read or heard about in the area. This time, my list of what I don’t want to miss keeps growing and I suppose it is because of the abundance of nature and beautiful settings in this area as well as the abundance of history in the area.
Read MoreWe have now been at Mission View RV Resort for 4 weeks and are enjoying the park. One of the nicest features is our site that backs up to the desert. We have a wonderful spot to view the sunsets and mother nature puts on a show for us most evenings. It is best on partly cloudy days especially when the clouds reflect the colors.
Read MoreIts Christmas Eve and we are enjoying desert views and much appreciated sunshine. While we miss being with family, we are able to enjoy the holidays, especially being able to spend it in such a beautiful place. Today I felt privileged to be able to attend morning Mass in one of the most beautiful missions I have seen.
Read MoreWhen I was planning our trip, I ended up with a month to book between our stay in Alamogordo, NM and our planned 3 month stay in Tucson, AZ for the winter. We had a choice of traveling around Arizona a little bit before settling in Tucson or staying a little longer in New Mexico. I went to work researching our options and checked our various memberships for discounts.
Read MoreSince we were touring New Mexico, I had to book where we could visit White Sands National Park. I remember the very first time I came west many years ago, I expected to see a sandy desert. I was very surprised to see how much vegetation there is and never saw the big sand dunes that I expected. Needless to say White Sands was a bucket list spot to see a true sand desert.
Read MoreMerry Christmas! I went to the Lighted Christmas Parade in Deming, NM on Saturday evening. It was a very cute parade with lots of homemade lighted floats and Christmas music that just put me in the mood for the holidays. I love this Season of Joy especially seeing the children’s eyes light up at the parade. Tim had mentioned that we need to get our Christmas letter written and the parade put me in the mood to do just that so here goes!
Read MoreAfter leaving Santa Fe, we headed south on I25 towards Elephant Butte. It was a spectacular drive, especially leaving the Santa Fe area and descending over the buttes; at least that is what I think these rocky ridges are called. It seemed at one point like the earth was opening up to my right with these rocky drop offs to the valley below and mountains in the distance. I couldn’t get any pictures because I was driving the RV but I can still visualize it.
Read MoreWhen we first arrived in Santa Fe, we noticed a sign for Madrid as we took our exit for the RV Park. I remembered that town from “Wild Hogs”, a movie that we always enjoy and wondered if it was the same place the movie was filmed. Another sign indicated that the route towards Madrid was the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway. Of course, both of those sounded good to me.
Read MoreWe have now been in New Mexico for about a month and we can officially say that we arrived in the Desert Southwest. So I decided to start a new series of blog posts instead of continuing the westward journey series. After Tucumcari, we headed a little further west and north to Santa Fe. I have to say that this town has been on my bucket list for quite awhile and it certainly met my expectations.
Read More
We are full-time RVers making our way across the country. Subscribe to follow our journey and get tips & tricks along the way. Click Contact to subscribe for email notifications of new blog posts.
My name is Deb, I’m the one behind the keyboard. Follow us on social to stay up-to-date.
Powered by Squarespace.
