RV living is an amazing adventure. No matter where you are you can turn around and go somewhere else. Among the full-time RV community, there is a joke about if you don't like you, neighbors, you can just leave. This is so true but there are things you can't simply leave behind. Living full time in an RV or simply owning one for part-time use requires almost constant maintenance and care.
While wintering in Florida we tend to do a lot of the maintenance and updates that need to be taken care of. This year there seemed to be a few more than we expected. One big job was to upgrade our solar so we would have more charging capability. Another, that was loads of fun was getting the electric hot water heater to function again. It was a simple issue but a big job.
Sometimes it is the little things that make a big difference.
Along with maintenance and care, living in an RV means you have some chores that aren't very much fun. One such chore is emptying the black tanks. If you are moving from campsite to campsite, this task is relatively simple as you have full hookups and it is only a matter of hooking up hoses and pulling a few levers. If you spend a long period of time with family, however, where you are 'driveway surfing, or 'mooch docking', you may have to get a little more creative. Full-time RV living is not for the faint-hearted.
So do the benefits of full-time RV living out weight the work? The answer for us is yes. Not only does it allow us to travel and see new things, or move around to visit family and friends it is giving us a unique opportunity this year as we take on a temporary job.
In July of 2018 we set out on this RV adventure completely unprepared for where the road would take us. We had one big goal for that summer season and set our sights on Yellowstone National Park. It was such an amazing place to visit and now we are going back. This trip, however, will last a little longer. The Every-day-hero has signed on to take a job in the park for the summer season. We will be leaving soon to go to Pennsylvania to be with
my mom and then on to Wyoming to get set up for the April-October run. We are both really excited about this opportunity and maybe just a little nervous about taking on the early spring and early fall weather. It is not uncommon to still have a good deal of snow in that area so we have been getting ready to deal with that. Since we'll be 'plugged in' at our destination we have decided to put small heaters in the wet bays. The stop in PA should be a good test of their efficiency.
On top of the adventure of working in America's first National Park we will get to spend time with my talented friend Peggy L. Henderson. I'm excited to see what this season will bring and to all the books I'll be able to write sitting in the splendor of nature.
This month I have just finished my sixth book in the Brides of Needful, Texas
. Rosa finally got her story and we'll be taking a little break from that series to work on a few more. I'm also currently working on a new Whispers in Wyoming
story even as we rework the series and update a few things. To make things even more interesting I'm finally getting to the second book in the Generations of the Cattleman's Daughters story. I think you've all waited long enough on that. The new story will be about Meg and Clayton's son Blake and will explore some of the most memorable aspects of the Roaring Twenties.
I'm truly excited about what comes next in our journey and I hope you'll stay with us along the way.