We've been on the move 7/7/21

One of the nice things about keeping your own travel log is that you soon realize it is literally- your own travel log. So even though I told myself I would be making a daily note each day of our adventure, I have the freedom and the flexibility to change the rules.

We have been on the move. Yes, I know - that is the nature of our life on the road - but we do stop and set up camp for periods of time - and then it is time to move again.

Over the weekend we moved from Sioux City to just outside of Des Moines. I keep getting asked why Des Moines, and the only answer I can give is “why not”? We had never been to Iowa before, and they had a reservation available over the busy 4th of July holiday, and Des Moines looked to have some cool things to visit, and we needed someplace to land for a few weeks so we could get some chores done. So here we are - about 40 miles from downtown surrounded by fields and corn. Just us and about one hundred of our newest and closest camping buddies, along with a few feral cats and a rather aggressive flock of Canadian Geese.

When we first began thinking of this plan to live full time on the road we came up with the idea that we would spend four to six weeks in each location so that we would not have to move so often. And, just like the idea of writing a travel post each day, it seemed like a really good idea at the time. And then we hit the road and figured out it wasn’t the best option for us.

For starters we are just beginning this process and almost every place we visit is new. There is an excitement of discovery in that but there are also some drawbacks. Not every place is as great as you imagined it would be. But more importantly there is the trouble with camp sights.

You can only discover so much online when making a camping reservation. You may get lucky and find a picture of the actual campsite - but that is not very often. And so you find yourself looking at pdf maps, guessing what spot might be quiet, where the girls may find some grass, where the busy roads could be in relation to the sight, cruising through review pictures online to see if it looks like there are trees. And, even if the posts look like there are lots of trees (like the campground in North Platte), you may find yourself in the only site without a single tree to give you shade on hot summer days. And, even if you ask really nicely in the office, they may not be willing (or able) to move you to a shady spot.

There is a sense of adventure about not having a physical location for a house, but it can get old when you are at the mercy of some stranger telling you where your will be living for the next couple of weeks.

Enter the idea that maybe we don’t want to stay longer than a week if we have not been there before.

But there is another reason for our change in plans that has taken us by surprise - realizing that our travel days are maybe even more important than the places we set up camp for the week. Travelers like us need to travel and days on the road feed our souls. We will need more of them if we want to make this new living on the road thing work.

When we set out on our travel days the rest of the world seems to melt away. Inside the enclosure of the truck we get quiet time to talk, to imagine, and just be together. Our best (and sometimes our most difficult) conversations happen in that space. They provide a break from the day to day responsibilities that come with living on the road and include time to listen to a podcast, watch the world flow by, or just listen to music. And since we are firmly attached to the hermit travel philosophy of taking the smallest roads and the longest route possible, they also give us a break from people, and cars, and the general hubbub that exists in a busy campground.

So we are changing plans, allowing for shorter times in places, and more travel days.

What does that mean for my travel log? It means that when we are in travel mode I won’t be showing up here - and that is okay - because I make the rules.

We are learning about flexibility - not the first lesson I thought would greet us on this journey but the one that is here nonetheless.

It is good to be nimble, and to know that you can change the things that aren’t working in your life. What a novel idea don’t you think?