It is hard to believe that we say goodbye to the west coast and begin the eastward swing of our clockwise trip around the country! One moment it feels as if we have just pulled out of the driveway, and yet in the next moment it feels as if we have always lived like this. Maybe it is the Navy training — home is where the Navy sends you — or you park your camper!
Author Archives: kdtitley
Traveling the Central and Southern California Coast
This morning we are set to get underway again, bound for Paso Robles, wine country. Dave has chosen a Harvest Host at Bon Niche Vineyard. Their views get rave reviews. Our route takes us out the Salinas Valley where dozens of fields are churning with the activity of harvesting lettuce, acres of artichokes are ripening, and tractors are raising choking clouds of drifting dust in preparation for planting the next crop.
Monterey and some Business Travel
A very nice friend said to us this week, “I don’t want to bother you, you’re on vacation.” That surprised us. We think of this trip more as an alternative living arrangement or life style if you will, as opposed to an extended exemption from work and daily cares. Nomadic to be sure, we do still worry about the grass getting cut at home, schedule management, and (my dreaded) meal plans. Dave still has students as well as speaking engagements and business meetings. It was just a lightbulb moment I guess you could say.
The Great Basin and Eastern Sierras
Saturday 5 Oct. — Early alarm, set. Shore power, disconnected. Mooring lines, cast off. We are ready to get underway early — but the truck tailgate is frozen shut! It rained last night and then the temperature dropped just enough to make trouble. The tools we need to hitch up are in the truck bed, so Dave drives the truck to find a sunbeam to melt the ice. We’ll be packing a travel hair dryer next trip!
Photography Class in Yellowstone
We returned to the grizzly in the cow field, and I convinced Dave to just watch for awhile and see what would happen. To our surprise and delight, the bear’s zig-zag wandering brought it closer to the road. Dave was shooting out the driver side window with the big lens — and got one of his best photographs ever! Too quickly, it wandered back into the
grass and so we wandered off
too.
A few days in Bozeman
Bozeman, Montana, a college town, has long been on our radar. Our criteria haven’t changed very much: college town, near an airport, and accessible nature close by. Well, and homes we could actually afford. The only addition now, is level parking for an Airstream. Oh, and room for a long-arm.
National Forest Boondocking – and Hiking in Yellowstone
Today, Sunday September 15th is an anniversary of sorts. Three years ago today we visited the big RV show in Hershey, Pennsylvania, just to learn about RV’s. Today, Dave towed our Airstream over the most challenging 190 miles of our trip, crossing the Continental Divide three times from Colter Bay in the Tetons to the northern end of Yellowstone.
Colter Bay, Grand Teton National Park
It is a rainy Monday, so we decide to treat ourselves to breakfast at the Signal Mountain Lodge here in the park — which has a nice view of Lake Jackson from the dining room. Dave has some business to transact, so naturally we head over to Jackson Lake Lodge. The next storm is rolling in and the Tetons are completely hidden from view — much to the disappointment of tourists unloaded from the train of buses who tromp through, stare out the window, take a selfie in front of the fog, buy a coffee, and get back on the bus.
Grand Teton Arrival
It is hard to believe that it was two years ago, in fulfilling our dream of staying in a cabin in the Tetons, that experience would lead us to where we are today — in a campground in the Tetons! Here we are, a month-and-a-half into a five month trip, set up under towering Lodgepole Pines in the Colter Bay campground on Jackson Lake in Teton National Park. (And we think we have the hot shower issue figured out.) WooHoo!
The Black Hills are Amazing!
Tonight we are boon-docking in the Black Hills National Forest, in a campground overlooking Sheridan Lake. Our site is parallel to the lake, with gorgeous views under the Ponderosa pine trees from the kitchen, living area, and bedroom. We have plenty of greenery around us. Below us are water skiers and fishermen enjoying the lake. I sit outside at the picnic table overlooking the water to write, but the cool breezes drive me inside, despite my jacket.