Our Fifth RVenturous Year on the Road

''The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time''

 James Taylor

It is hard to believe that a little more than five years have gone by since we sold our ''sticks 'n bricks'' home in Minnesota and hit the road. For the most part, time has flown by. But like many of you, we experienced a slowing of time as the pandemic closed down our society last March. As we come to the end of 2020, we reflect on our fifth RVenturous year on the road that didn't go exactly as planned. A shortened Colombia trip ... a taste of Minnesota winter ... closed campgrounds, museums, restaurants, and breweries (oh my!) ... and pandemic precautions that made us change the way we travel. But despite all the challenges, we found that being able to enjoy the simple pleasures of each passing day is the greatest gift of all.

By the Numbers

Miles traveled this year in Baby Beest:

17,500

We have put on just over 31,000 miles in the nineteen months that we have owned our 2019 Hymer Aktiv 2.0 Class B van. This year Baby Beest took us from central Florida straight to Minnesota where we hunkered down for a couple of months. Halfway through the summer we traveled west towards Washington and down the Oregon Coast, then through central and eastern California into Arizona and along the southern border back to central Florida. You can see our past travels and (some) future plans here.

Numbers of Campgrounds:

52 different campgrounds for a total of 125 nights.

This included national, state, and county park campgrounds, and very occasionally, a private RV park.

Number of Driveway Hosts:

9 generous family and friends who allowed us to hang out in their driveway for a total of 69 nights.

Heartfelt Thanks 💕 to Mom & Dad, MB & Gary, Mary, Julie & Curt, Laurie & Dave, Mary & Tommy, Joanne & Gary, Liz & Tim, Patty & Ken

Number of Free Boondocking Nights:

28

Free overnight parking spots included: Walmarts, national forest land, a casino, a ski resort, side streets, and BLM land

Number of Harvest Host Locations:

8 host locations for a total of 9 nights.

Our $70/year membership allows us to stay for a night or two on the property of a variety of businesses. Our stops included a couple of breweries, farms, and a cheese/ice cream/wine store (yes, we hit the jackpot on that stop!)

Number of Boondockers Welcome Hosts:

12 host locations for a total of 25 nights.

One of my favorite types of camping! Our $30/year membership allows us to stay from one to five nights on the private property of the homeowner members. Maintaining social distancing was very easy as we communicated with the hosts via text messaging. Once we arrived, we were able to share travel stories with our hosts through a distanced outdoor chat before settling in for a quiet night ... often in our own private ''yard''.

Number of AirBnBs/Hotels:

3 AirBnB apartments and 2 hotels for a total of 110 nights in Colombia, Florida, Minnesota, and California

Number of Habitat for Humanity builds:

Sadly ... 0

Due to the pandemic, all Habitat for Humanity Care-a-Vanner builds were canceled. But we were able to become ''personal'' habitat helpers as we assisted a few family members downsize, fix-up, and prep their houses/trailers for sale.

Number of States Visited for the First Time:

5 

North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon

Number of States Revisited:

18

We have visited 33 states in total during our five years on the road.

Number of New State Capitals Visited:

5 

My quest to see every state's capitol building continued with visits to:

Bismarck, North Dakota

Olympia, Washington

Salem, Oregon

Sacramento, California

Carson City, Nevada

My grand total so far is 23 ... I have a ways to go!

Number of National Parks Visited:

13

We enjoyed the open-air beauty of Theodore Roosevelt, Glacier, North Cascades, Olympic, Mount Rainier, Redwoods, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Saguaro, and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks.

We also visited a number of national and state monuments, historical sites, and seashores. Two of our favorites were the creative cliff dwellings found at Montezuma Castle National Monument in Camp Verde, Arizona,

... and the eerie remains of a real ghost town at Bodie State Historical Site in Bridgeport, California.

Our Favorites

And the Winner is ...

Favorite Campground/Campsite:

Makoshika State Park; Glendive, Montana

The main campground was packed with huge RVs, but Doug and Baby Beest accepted the challenge and drove up a narrow, steep road to their primitive campground where he snagged us a primo site. Spectacular views of the Montana Badlands surrounded us on three sides!

Favorite Craft Brewery:

Deschutes Brewery & Public House; Bend, Oregon

Alright, to be fair, there were not that many craft brewery visits this year. But even if there were, they would have be awfully good to be able to beat out Doug's favorite, Deschutes Brewery. A double IPA and a bourbon barrel-aged dark ale accompanied by their delicious pizza while people-watching in downtown Bend from the comfort of our private canopy-topped table ... it doesn't get much better than that.

Favorite Restaurant:

La tRes Uno; Envigado, Colombia

This category is even harder ... as we have rarely eaten out since March. But even still, very few American restaurants would be able to compete with the small family-run restaurants in Colombia. La tRes Uno's specialty is beef (''res'' in Spanish), and they served it up well. Our favorite was the filet mignon with a mushroom sauce and two sides for the equivalent of about $10. It came with two filets making it a perfect meal to share. Make sure to order the locally grown grilled pineapple as one of the sides ... muy deliciosa! No pictures of the food as it disappeared too quickly, but I thought the little shopping cart that contained the check was rather cute.

Favorite Natural Area:

The Oregon Coast

363 miles of endless beauty makes a trip down the Oregon Coast one of those ''gotta do'' vacations. Beaches, sea stacks, cliffs, state parks, hiking trails, whale-watching and more ... the pictures don't do it justice. Just trust us on this one ... go for it!

Favorite Church: 

Feeling a little sad that this category is blank this year, as the pandemic closed down in-person worship for us. We enjoyed visiting many small neighborhood churches while we were in Colombia, and since our arrival back in the US, we are grateful for Sunday worship on YouTube. We look forward to the time when we once again will be able to hear the beautiful church choirs in person.

Favorite Biking:

Route of the Hiawatha Trail; Wallace, Idaho

One of the most magnificent ''rails-to-trails'' ride ever! This fifteen mile gravel trail took us on a gentle downhill ride through tunnels and over trestle bridges, and rewarded us with spectacular views. We could have taken the shuttle bus from the ending point up to our starting point, but why? The uphill ride back was just as beautiful and just a little more work.

Favorite Hike:

Heather-Maple Pass Loop; North Cascades, Washington

This 7.2 mile hike with 2000 feet in elevation gain was one of our most challenging and most rewarding hikes of all time. With every step, new and even more magnificent views greeted us. This was definitely the highlight of our visit to North Cascades National Park.

Favorite Tourist Attraction:

The Grand Canyon

I suspect that most everyone has the Grand Canyon on their travel bucket list, and for good reason. The famous view that stretched out before us is simply breathtaking! It almost made us want to attempt a rim-to-rim hike, but for now we were content to join the throngs of other tourists gathered on the South Rim enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Favorite ''Random Stop'':

Salem Sue; New Salem, North Dakota

Once again, Roadside America provided another wacky ''aren't you glad that you drove five miles out of your way to see this'' stop. Salem Sue claims to be the world's largest Holstein cow. While just a little ''udderly'' ridiculous, it provided a nice stretch break during the long trip across North Dakota.

''Home'' Improvements

Shortly after we bought our van, Doug noticed a crack in our shower pan. No big deal ... I was certain that we would never have to use the very small shower. But as we learned during this strange year ... never say ''never''. With many campground and Planet Fitness showers closed, a hot shower became a hard-to-find luxury. Doug consulted other Hymer owners and researched YouTube in order to devise and execute a creative fix that has so far solved this potential ''stinky'' situation.

My home ''improvements'' consisted of trying to get creative with food prep space and storage since ''Chris' Kitchen'' is currently Doug's favorite restaurant in town. Food prep requires counter space ... of which I don't have much. I am very excited about my recent discovery. I found a Pampered Chef cooling rack that I had stored away at my mother-in-law's, and a ''brilliant idea'' light bulb went off. I found that the rack fits securely inside my sink creating eighteen more precious inches of food prep space. And I can even run the faucet with the rack in place!

Other modifications/improvements included a Rolef screen for the sliding door, a car stereo that does so much more than just play music, and beefed-up solar and lithium battery system. Baby Beest lost her black stripes, gained some height with the addition of suma springs, and got shorter when Doug decided to take off the spare tire that hung on back. We are hoping that we are not going to need that spare with the new set of tires that Baby Beest received for Christmas. Unfortunately, the coolant leak that Doug has been monitoring hasn't been fully resolved yet ... always something for Doug to continue to figure out.

 

During this Challenging Year ... The Joy of Time Spent in Nature

A hike through a true rain forest to Chorro de las Campanas (Stream of the Bells) waterfall near Medellín, Colombia

Back in Minnesota in time to enjoy the spring bluebells

Camping near the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Minnesota's Lake Itasca State Park

Avalanche Lake and all the beauty that makes up Glacier National Park

Tide pools, sea stacks, high cliffs, and crushing waves along the Washington and Oregon coast

Amazing views despite the haze from distant wildfires at Yosemite National Park

Sequoias and Redwoods towering over us

Checking out the lowest point in North America at Death Valley National Park

''Grand'' views of the Grand Canyon

Saguaro hugs and and arms raised high in the Arizona desert

Who said that Texas was flat? Enjoying the beauty of the Guadalupe Mountains

 

And back to the beaches of Florida.

Rain forests, waterfalls, wildflowers, lakes, rivers, mountains, oceans, forests, deserts, canyons, and beaches ...

Where is your happy place in nature??

A Year Filled With Special Masked Memories!

While traveling during this Covid year has been challenging, we are forever grateful for these special masked and distanced moments.

Homemade mask (thanks, Maureen!) and homemade soup (Thanks, Ann!),

ready to devour,

The smiles shared by friends during happy hour.

A ''CDC-approved'' hug from a sibling or a friend,

Video chats, YouTube and Online worship ... a God-send.

Spending time with those we love,

And the beauty of nature sent from Above.

What's in store for 2021?

One of my favorite quotes is ...

If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans for the day!

Well ... We are almost afraid to talk about our plans out loud. What a year it has been! But despite the many challenges and changes in travel, we still are very much in love with RVenturous lifestyle ... and still really kinda like each other!

This winter, as we wait for our turn to get the vaccine, we will continue our ''safer in our little home'' lifestyle in Florida as we spend time with our folks. Our ''optimistic'' plans for spring and early summer have us heading up the east coast and possibly into eastern Canada before heading to Minnesota for some late summer gatherings with family and friends. We are cautiously hopeful that we will be able to return to Colombia in early 2022. I am looking forward to many in-person HUGS!!! 

But, as we have learned during the past year, we need to be patient and go with the flow. We are grateful for the ability to be flexible when plans have to change. Our hope for the new year is ...

To enjoy the passage of time ...

Every sunrise and sunset ... in 2021!

🎉 Happy New Year 🎉

Christmas Greetings 2020: Appreciating the Star Moments

The winter solstice had arrived. It was the shortest day in what has seemed like the longest year for our world. As we stood on the beach looking out at the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, the two planets appeared to take on the shape of a heart. Dubbed 'The Christmas Star', I thought that this is no coincidence. God is showing His love for us even in the midst of all the difficulties. As we gazed upon this once-in-our-lifetime phenomenon, it seemed to be reminding us to appreciate the Great Joy that we experienced with so many small but 'brilliant' Star Moments in 2020.

Star Moments like our two and a half months in Medellín, Colombia.

We were able to once again immerse ourselves in the beautiful paisa culture from January until mid March. As volunteer English teachers and participants in language exchanges, we enjoyed refreshing our Spanish skills as well as renewing friendships with our dear Colombian friends. There was extra 'sparkle' added to our lives when five of our American friends flew down to discover why we love Medellín. Star Moments included mountain hikes, coffee farm tours, and English/Spanish Karaoke night. 

 

Star moments like returning to the United States in just the nick of time and still being able to 'enjoy' a little bit of winter.

We returned to the United States two days before the Colombian borders closed and made a quick trip up to Minnesota because ... the hospital would need nurses during a pandemic, right? Wrong ... no hours for me as a supplemental nurse this spring/summer, so I am now officially retired. Star Moments included being able to 'shelter in place' in the comfort of an AirBnB apartment and taking daily walks around Rochester ... although we preferred the days without the snow!

Star moments like time with family and friends in Minnesota, Michigan, and Indiana.

Visiting outdoors, six feet apart, and donning our masks when needed became the new social norm. Despite the distance, we still appreciated the 'celestial' glow as we spent time and shared smiles with those so dear to us. Star Moments included being able to use my nursing skills to help out a friend, hang out in some pretty nice driveways as we visited family and friends, and help Doug's parents clean out and sell their Michigan summer home.

Star moments like being able to explore the western part of the United States from the comfort of our 'home'.

In the middle of July we headed west to explore a new-to-us part of our country. Wanting to avoid large crowds, we steered clear of restaurants, breweries, and large cities. But Doug was the 'stellar' navigator when he found amazing lunch time views that included mountains, rivers, scenic overlooks, and oceans. Star Moments included being able to create many tasty meals from my tiny kitchen that I enjoyed making as much as Doug enjoyed eating.

Star moments like seeing God's glory in nature.

Teddy Roosevelt, Glacier, North Cascades, Olympic, Mount Rainier, Redwoods, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Saguaro, and Guadalupe Mountains ... we were able to enjoy the 'lustrous' beauty of thirteen national parks ... and even more hiking and biking trails off the beaten path. We will save the big cities for another time, but for this year, we appreciated God's glory 'shining' upon the mountains, oceans, and deserts. Star Moments included boondocking on public lands or in quiet public campgrounds, and enjoying unique and ever-changing scenery during our daily hikes.

Star moments like gazing in the sky and realizing that the pandemic cannot take any of the Joy out of our lives,

... Because Great Joy is found in the everyday blessing of spending time with the ones you love!

Wishing you many Star Moments filled with Great Joy this Christmas season!

Thank you for your continued friendship and support. We look forward to more Star Moments in the new year when RVentures brings us near to you!

In Friendship, Chris and Doug

PS ... All right, maybe not my best Star Moment, but with more time on my hands, I found myself starting to follow some of the travel and music vloggers on YouTube this year. I will leave you with a song sung by one of my new favorites, the talented 7-year-old Claire Crosby.