Sharing our Journey

Enter: The Big-Ass Truck

A couple of weeks after he left we decided that I should buy a truck before I left Colorado. We knew we’d eventually buy a camper and we had an awesome mechanic in Colorado. Cody needed to approve any vehicle purchase. I brought him several options and he picked out an excellent truck for us. With two vehicles in Colorado and a rental in Minnesota, I got back in the car and headed up to Minnesota again. It happened that our anniversary landed right in the middle of the trip, which worked out perfectly. To celebrate, we headed up to the Boundary Waters and had a memorable weekend.

After our anniversary celebration, I flew back to the Rockies and finished packing up while searching for larger, pet-friendly, accommodations. Two days before I left Colorado we found the full basement of a house just 10 minutes from the job site. It was the perfect answer for our little family, which includes a dog and a cat.

Committing to the RV Lifestyle

After four months on the Minnesota job we were sent to Idaho. We rented a cabin on a small ranch near Boise. It seemed the perfect place for us until two weeks later when our dog, Spotty, killed four chickens. Consequently, our RV purchase was pushed to the top of our priority list.

We officially joined the RV Lifestyle as an experiment in November of 2016. A 2012 Cougar fifth wheel, shown here, was our first house on wheels. The separate bedroom in a fifth wheel was a huge selling point.

In April 2017 we were sent back to Minnesota where we parked on the same property where we had rented the basement. It’s amazing how many great friends we’ve made on this journey. We quickly realized how much we loved the travel lifestyle and decided that we would need a better-equipped RV to continue. That first fifth wheel served us well and got us through the worst winter in Idaho history. We kept that RV for exactly one year.

Our New Home

From April until November of 2018 I researched our options. We created a list of “must haves” and “would be nice” options. All that research included looking at hundreds of floor plans. Our final decision wasto stick with a fifth wheel. By October we had found the perfect layout. In November we started negotiating. We learned in Idaho that dealers up north are ripe for haggling around the holidays. Just before Thanksgiving, we bought a 2018 Cougar 338RLK, pictured.

Customizing

Due to the time we planned to spend in the unit, we began customizing. We took out the dining table and replaced it with our small elliptical and a fold-down desk. I commissioned a carpenter to build a custom cabinet that houses our cat’s litter and offers quite a bit more storage. For more counter space we added three wooden, fold-down extensions to the island.

To maximize the space, and add a decorative touch, we had custom guitar hangers made for two of my honey’s guitars. On the cargo hauler, which came standard, we built a cat kennel from a wire bookcase so she can get some air. Our Princess loves to climb out the window to her kennel and patiently wait for a silly bird to land on her domain. She’s never caught one but she’s given quite a few the scare of their lives.

Our original plan was to travel for a year and then go back to a “normal” life in Colorado and buy or build a house. Happily working Plan B to buy a few rental properties and retire into a toy hauler. Looking forward to the garage/guest room, UTV, and fenced patio. Men make plans and God laughs. So glad He has a sense of humor.

Enjoy the Journey!