Home is where we are parked

Home is where we are parked
Home is where we are parked

Monday, April 25, 2011

We have our new home!

 

We went to Happy Valley, Oregon on 20 April 2011 to pick up our Arctic Fox travel trailer.  The kind staff at the dealership gave us a two-hour orientation on how to operate everything in the trailer.  After handing them a check and signing paperwork, we headed to Ainsworth State Park in Columbia River Gorge.

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It took some adjusting to towing a 30-foot trailer behind the large Dodge truck, but we managed and things went smoothly.  We got set up in a nice pull-through camp site by dinner time and relaxed our first evening in our new home.

    

Over the next three days we thoroughly checked out all the systems in the trailer.  We also did a couple of hikes and bike rides and toured the area. 

    

    

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing “Herman” the sturgeon.  Herman is a 70-year-old, 10-foot long, 450 pound sturgeon that you can get eyeball-to-eyeball with in a viewing room.  He was cool!  Google “Herman the sturgeon” for all kinds of info, pictures, and video.

So far we are very happy with the trailer.  Now we just need to get a buyer for the house so we can hit the road!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Why “Mud on the Tires”?

 

This country song captures our spirit nearly perfectly.

Sung by Brad Paisley…and Shawn and Arleen when we hit the road!

I've got some big news
The bank finally came through
And I'm holdin' the keys to a brand new Chevrolet (Dodge)
Have you been outside it sure is a nice night
How about a little test drive
Down by the lake

There's a place I know about where the dirt road runs out
And we can try out the four-wheel drive
Come on now what do you say
Girl, I can hardly wait to get a little mud on the tires

'Cause it's a good night
To be out there soakin' up the moonlight
Stake out a little piece of shoreline
I've got the perfect place in mind
It's in the middle of nowhere only one way to get there
You got to get a little mud on the tires

Moonlight on a duck blind
Catfish on a trot line
Sun sets about nine this time of year
We can throw a blanket down
Crickets singin' in the background
And more stars than you can count on a night this clear

I tell you what we need to do is grab a sleepin' bag or two
And build us a little campfire
And then with a little luck we might just get stuck
Let's get a little mud on the tires

'Cause it's a good night
To be out there soakin' up the moonlight
Stake out a little piece of shoreline
I've got the perfect place in mind
It's in the middle of nowhere only one way to get there
You got to get a little mud on the tires

And then with a little luck we might just get stuck
Let's get a little mud on the tires

The evolution of our dream…

In 2005, give or take a year, Arleen and I were driving along the autobahn in Germany or Switzerland and trying to figure out what we wanted to do when we grew up.  “Growing up” for us meant life after the military when we’d both retire the summer of 2011.  As soon as “full-time RVing” was said out loud, we knew that was it. 

Right away we began to learn as much as we could about the full-time RVer lifestyle.  We read every book we could get our hands on and we spent many many hours researching online.  Our rapidly expanding knowledge confirmed that our plan was doable and our excitement grew.

Next we mapped out a plan.  We determined the necessary steps, a rough timeline, and set goals.  Some steps like saving money and furthering our knowledge were implemented immediately.  Other goals like choosing a truck and trailer and deciding what our “residence” would be, would take more study and could wait awhile.

We moved back to the U.S. in 2007.  That summer we ramped up our trailer research.  We went to dealerships and RV shows.  After checking out hundreds of motorhomes, 5th-wheel trailers, and travel trailers, we got a good idea of what would work best for us: a travel trailer.  A primary reason is that it would allow us to use the bed of our truck to store our toys (fishing gear, bikes, ski gear, kayak gear, etc).  Because we would be living in our trailer year round, we needed a real “4-season” trailer.  This led us to two brands:  Komfort and Arctic Fox.  By 2009, we determined the Arctic Fox 29V was a good fit.

Arctic Fox 29V floor planRoughly 300 square feet of living space!

We also ramped up our research on tow vehicles.  We needed something reliable with a high tow rating.  We chose the Dodge Ram with the Cummins Diesel.

During this time we also determined that we would declare South Dakota our new residency.  A mail forwarding service in Rapid City called “America’s Mail Box” has been helping full-time RVers for years and they would gladly help us too.

By summer 2010, we were a year away from our retirement.  Now it was time for serious action.  We started going through all of our possessions and scaling back.  We tackled a room each weekend.  Items would either be donated, given to friends, taken to a thrift shop on consignment, or disposed of.  After the house sells in 2011 a few things will go in a small storage unit, but everything else must go!

In late September 2010, we went to Rapid City to get our new truck and establish our new residency.  Getting our truck, getting our South Dakota driver’s licenses, registering our truck, and driving away with sparkling new South Dakota license plates went smoothly.  After five years, we finally made tangible steps to accomplish our goal.  We were ecstatic!

South Dakota1     New truck - Sep 2010

In late October 2010, we ordered the trailer and told the dealer we would pick it up in April.  They would wait until January or February to build it.

Now it is April 2011.  The house is on the market and the trailer awaits.  We will pick it up on April 20th!  If things go as planned, we will be on the road by July.

This blog will capture our adventures and memories.  And we want to share those with you!

Shawn and Arleen