Cosmic Campground in Glenwood, NM
Snapshots!
Sunset from Ventura Pier in Ventura, CA
Ayers Natural Bridge Road in Douglas, WY
This is Us
Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park in Custer, SD
Our Inspiration
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to make each day a new horizon? To open your door to a new view? To travel from Point A to Point B without worrying about your house and paying all the bills that go along with it? Are you working to live or are you living to work? These are some of the questions we thought about, and that inspired us. When our nest became empty, we sold our house. We no longer have a patch of land to call home. Instead, we move about freely, like tumbleweeds in the wind.
From the Beginning
Some Background
My husband and I basically lived in the Hudson Valley in New York for most of our lives. He and I were both raised in Upstate New York, and John and I met in high school. My parents, and later my brother, relocated to South Carolina to start a new chapter in their lives. Meanwhile, John and I built a house near his family in New York, and we lived there, raising our two daughters.
My brother passed away in South Carolina and then my father passed away 6 weeks after him. And then in 2013, we decided to move from New York to South Carolina to be closer to my mom, and a change in our lives at that point made sense. We had a 2-day moving sale, sold our home in New York, and bought our house in South Carolina. We lived in Myrtle Beach, raising our daughters, and my Mom eventually moved in with us.
The Idea 💡 is Born
F a s t f o r w a r d 11 years . . . . .
Our daughters are now grown, and my Mom sadly passed away from cancer.
John was transporting recreational vehicles from the RV Capitol - - Indiana - to various destinations. He would generally be away from home for 3-5 days or more every week. After delivering a trailer, John would always come home to South Carolina, which usually meant extra unpaid miles to get back home. One evening, when John was on the road, and I was sitting in our 2,735 sq. ft. house by myself, I wondered....where is our life going? We were working to pay for a house that was now too big for us and not in the best location for John's work.
But......we had an idea! If we sold our home in South Carolina and bought a truck camper to live in, then I could go with him. We would be free of him driving extra miles to get home, free of a house that was now too big for the two of us, free of working full-time to pay for a house that was too big for us. You get the picture. Then we thought....Is this a good idea or a bad idea? I was worried about giving up a secure full-time job with coworkers who I love. I certainly wouldn't have an income for quite some time during the transition, but we also wouldn't have a mortgage, property tax, house insurance, and everything else that goes along with home ownership. Owning a house used to be the American dream. Are we really thinking about selling our house and not having a corner of the earth to call "home?" As John and I talked about the idea, the pros just kept coming. They came so fast, it was over-the-top exciting! Even though I loved our neighborhood and my job, there were more reasons to leave than to stay. When John was not on the road, he wanted to be home, which meant I rarely got to leave our town. This kind of change -- me going on the road with him - would allow me to become a nomad!
Another topic of discussion was our age. I had just lost my Mom to cancer. When you lose someone, it brings to the forefront.....if my energetic Mom was not invincible, then we certainly won't be! We are getting older. We should do this before we are too old to do so. However, we are also not at retirement age. John's income would not be interrupted during the transition. I could explore the possibility of working remotely, possibly start a blog, and monetize our travels. This would allow us to work, travel, and explore possibilities for our eventual forever place.
When we told those around us, we were met with some questions and skepticism, but, in the end, loving support from all. Our adult daughters were 100 percent supportive from the beginning as they want us to be happy and fulfilled.
Route 83 near Murdo, Nebraska
Starting to Think About Life On the Road
When we started to think about a life on the road, we wanted to read and watch other people's experiences. We wanted to learn and soak up everything we could, not only to help us finalize our idea, but to take advantage of the wisdom of those who ventured before us. When we watched others who are already in the midst of their journey, I often wondered........How did they get to that point? For this reason, I am going to share our Journey Preparation. This will provide some insight on what was involved in our preparation, our stopover in California, a peek at our truck camper installation day, and our first night in the camper! If you are interested in our journey preparation, click the link, and I'll take you there......
Contact
Thank You
Tracks of 2 Tumbleweeds would like to remember and to thank . . . .
We would like to remember and thank our parents for our adventurous upbringings! Camping has been part of my childhood from a very young age. Camping feels like home......it gives me peace and tranquility, calm and quietude, yet the adventure of ever-changing scenery and opportunities. Camping feels necessary, like the air we breathe.
My father-in-law, Pop, refers to our journey as searching for our El Dorado. He listens to the El Dorado song (Nelson Riddle rendition - 1966) and thinks of us being on the lookout for our forever place.
Thank you to our daughters, Montana and Rory, and to my son-in-law, Alan. Montana is our older daughter who lives in California. Our younger daughter, Rory, and her husband, Alan, live in South Carolina. With a daughter on the West Coast and a daughter on the East Coast, we are traveling everywhere in between! While doing so, we have felt a great deal of encouragement, support, and enthusiasm from all of our family and friends. My sister-in-law, Dottie, going so far as to say she is living vicariously through us!
Thank you to those who join our journey for your unending curiosity about this wild adventure that has become our lifestyle.
"The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
- Alex Supertramp
Quote attributed to Christopher McCandless (Alexander Supertramp) (Alex Supertramp) from a letter he wrote to Ron Franz, a man he befriended in California, advising him to leave his secure life and travel.
Into the Wild book by Jon Krakauer
Into the Wild movie available to stream on various video streaming platforms
