A Road Trip is a Journey on Roads
As I write this blog, I am looking at the Chemehuevi Mountain Range outside of Lake Havasu City, AZ. The mountains are beautiful and something I’m not used to. I grew up in Minnesota where there are 4 distinct seasons, lakes everywhere, fields of corn/soybeans and temperatures ranging from -20 to 90. In Lake Havasu City, there are cactus/scrub plants, red soil/red rocks, and mountains all around. The temperatures, even with the current cold spell, are warmer than Minnesota. We are enjoying Lake Havasu where the famous London Bridge was rebuilt piece by piece from London, England. Everywhere we go, we get to experience what is special about the part of North America we are in. We can’t wait to find out why people make these special places their home!
A road trip is a journey on roads.
When I decided on a topic to conquer this first week of 2019, I came up with road tripping. Wikipedia defines road trip as “A road trip is a journey on roads.” Isn’t this amazing! Everyone goes on road trips, either short trips or trips across North America! Mark and I did a road trip when we brought our RV here in December. Last week, my daughter and I brought our Subaru CrossTrek (our tow car) from MN to Parker, AZ in four days. Road trips can be fun, but they could also be frustrating when it takes time to make it to your destination.
Here are 4 things I learned from my recent road trips:
- Find something interesting along your route and do it! Mark and I stopped at the Danish Windmill in Elk Horn, IA. Yes, it was kinda corny, but it was fun to do a quick side trip to see it. My daughter and I stopped at the White Sands National Monument on Route 70 about 16 miles out of Alamogordo, NM. Even with the Government Shutdown, we found a spot right off the highway to see and experience this amazing and beautiful place. We would have missed out, if we just drove past!
- Stop every two hours to stretch and get some exercise. When you stop every two hours, your body can recover from being in the same position. Every stop we make, we took a brisk walk to get our “exercise steps and stands” (I have an Apple Watch, of course). We looked pretty funny doing this, but no one knew us. Our bodies were made for moving, so get out and move at your stops!
- Switch up drivers. My daughter and I switched driving responsibilities every time we got out to stretch. This helps the driver be alert when changing weather happens. We drove in snow when we were in New Mexico and in Arizona. I am the mother that thinks we will go off the road and my daughter is the one that is very confident in her driving skills. I confess I did some praying when my daughter drove in the snow. In the end, I’m thankful for her because she really is the better driver!
- Find something to do in the car. Going over 2,000 miles in 4 days can really be exhausting if you can’t agree on what to do. My daughter and I read a book together, listened to songs from the decades (the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and more), set our 2019 goals by chatting with my daughter in Alaska, and determined where we were going to stay overnight. If you need a recommendation on where to stay when traveling, try Drury Inn & Suites. Amenities include a free hot breakfast, free hot food/alcoholic beverages at the 5:30 KickBack, and free popcorn every night! Their customer service was extraordinary, so I joined their Rewards program!
2019 is here!
Well, now that 2019 is here, I have to pinch myself that Mark and I are full-time RV nomads! Two years of planning brought us to this point in our lives! So, don’t hesitate to go after your dreams. Do something every day so you can get closer to realizing your dreams!
Find Joy in the Journey – Heidi
Your post made me think of an app that was very fun to have on our road trip out west. We learned about it from Gretchen who’s used it on their tripe. It’s called “Roadside America – A Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions”. I don’t think I can add a screenshot of it here so I will text it to you.
It can be anything from a giant chicken to something more elaborate. It’s really user-friendly and shows you how many miles from your current location it is and describes it. There are reviews and you can leave one too. We loved it! It made the road trip much more fun and gave us more reasons to stop. It’s actually better to stop more often than every two hours for air circulation in your legs as well it can be anything from a giant chicken to something more elaborate. It’s really user-friendly and shows you how many miles from your current location it is and describes it. There are reviews and you can leave one too. We loved it! It made the road trip much more fun and gave us more reasons to stop. It’s actually better to stop more often than every two hours for air circulation in your legs as well.
I Paid the extra three dollars I think it was to add another section of the country. You would likely need all the sections eventually. I think it’s worth it… A very fun app! We saw some unusual and interesting and fun things. They are not just “tourist traps.” Most are free things to say but you wouldn’t know about them otherwise. Plus if you find something that’s not on the app, you can add it. Paid the extra three dollars I think it was to add another section of the country. You would likely need all the sections eventually. I think it’s worth it… A very fun app! We saw some unusual and interesting and fun things. They are not just “tourist traps.“ Most are free things to say but you wouldn’t know about them otherwise. Plus if you find something that’s not on the app, you can add it
Our trip in 2017 was 7526 miles in 51 days, 15 states and 15 national parks/monuments.
Have you purchased the senior pass? Or at least the yearly pass if you’re not old enough for all the national parks? The senior pass is really great because it’s lifetime. We paid $10 for it! It’s $80 now but it’s still worth it. Some national parks are $30 for your car to get in so it pays for itself pretty fast. Have you purchased the senior pass? Or at least the yearly pass if you’re not old enough for all the national parks? The senior pass is really great because it’s lifetime. We paid $10 for it! It’s $80 now but it’s still worth it. Some national parks are $30 for your car to get in so it pays for itself pretty fast
Rollie, thanks for these great comments! I just downloaded the Roadside America app. Yes, it was $2.99, but it looks like a great app to find those out of the norm places that no one knows about. Thanks for supporting us in our full-time RV journey! Also, we did purchase one of the annual national parks pass. We aren’t quite old enough yet to get the lifetime one. About 2 years out for Mark! Wow, 7,526 miles in 51 days, 15 states and 15 national parks/monuments – that’s amazing!
I’m sorry I missed your “clap out”, Heidi, but I saw the video. And I’ll be following your exploits on your blog. Have a great time.
Hi, Bob! Thanks for following the lovingthervlife blog! I plan on getting a blog out every Tuesday!
I so enjoy reading your blog. And you are a great writer as well.
Phil
Thanks, Phil. You are most kind! I hope to get an blog entry out every Tuesday!
Hi Heidi ! Just saw you on Liz Wilcox show! My husband is retired and I am going to teach one more school year! Our plan the last year and a half has been to go full time rving! We are retired military and both our kids are living the military life so we have lots of places to travel to. We went to Redbay Alabama where they make the Tiffins. We’re pretty sure this is the class A we will purchase. Wondering how you like yours and why did you purchase a Tiffin? Connie
Connie, Thanks for reading our blog! It’s been fun to connect with others that are considering full-time RVing! You are going to love it! Yes, we have a 2018 Tiffin Allegro Red 33AA and we purchased new. There are pros and cons to purchase new, but we did tons of research and we plan on having this RV for quite some time, so we went the new route. We have’t had too many items that need to be “fixed” in our first year. The quality is noticeable, so when you are looking at RVs, test them out thoroughly! Test out your floor plan – we used to sit in the exact model we wanted for two hours at a time in the dealer’s parking lot just to make sure we could imagine where everything was going to go. Take your time! You may also be able to find a used coach in the exact model you are looking at and save some money overall. We will be going to Red Bay in the spring to get the few items we have on our list addressed. Tiffin is very reputable and they treat their customers well when there is something that is wrong. We have witnessed this with Mark’s brothers Tiffin RV when they have needed service. Feel free to reach out again if you have any questions!
Hi Heidi.
I’m excited to follow your blog. My husband Bill and I are National Park goers, every year we take a trip. Last year I had my left knee replaced, so no trip. I am excited to be healed up and ready to go this year! We are thinking Colorado…maybe Rocky Mountain National Park and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. So excited to get back out there and travel and take photos. THAT is my passion. I make photo cards of our adventures. My last adventure was Sedona in Arizona, those were this years’ Christmas gifts. So much fun. I’m excited to follow your blog. Save travels. Barbara
Barbara, it is great to be in touch with you again! I’m glad you and Bill love to travel to National Parks! There are 61 of them, so have fun exploring! Have fun checking out Rocky Mountain National Park! That’s where we found out we were going to be grandparents this past December when we were hiking with my daughter and son-in-law. What a special place!
Oh, now I see that at least Heidi was in White Sands! You were definitely off the beaten track there!
So glad I could be with Carissa to experience White Sands – now I’m bring Mark the next time!