“Stay-at-Home” While Living in an RV
“Stay-at-Home” while living in an RV was something we weren’t expecting in early March. Can you believe it’s been 50 days since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic for the new coronavirus? Just a few days before on March 8, I was celebrating my 60th birthday at my first NASCAR race at the Phoenix Raceway with 40,000 race fans! Now, there is no indication when large crowd events will start to reopen. These are definitely unprecedented times for all of us.
My first NASCAR race 
Celebrating my 60th Birthday
Where have we been since the pandemic started?
We lived “off the grid” the first two weeks in Quartzsite, AZ in our 35-foot Tiffin Motorhome we call Destiny. The weather was beautiful with highs in the 70s most days. It was interesting to go for our daily walks and not see anyone in the middle of the desert! As temperatures began to climb in the forecast, we decided to move to Camp Verde, AZ. We made a monthly reservation at Verde Ranch RV Resort so we could “stay-at-home.”
Always a great sunset 
Living “off-the-grid” in Quartzsite
The temperatures have been in the 60s and 70s, which is 10 degrees lower than Phoenix because of the higher elevation here. Verde Ranch opened in August 2019 and it is a beautiful park, even with most of the amenities closed due to Covid-19 (swimming pool, hot tub, clubhouse, store, etc.). We have gone out to explore a few local hiking trails in Camp Verde, Cottonwood, and Sedona. Peter and Janna, Mark’s brother and sister-in-law, arrived last week and we ventured out to explore Jerome and Prescott. The Granite Dells at Watson Lake was spectacular to see!
Fay Canyon Hike – Sedona 
Watson Lake – Prescott 
Exploring as a family
“Stay-at-Home” While Living in an RV
What is it like to “stay-at-home” in an RV? Well, not much different from our regular living in an RV! We usually stay in one location about 10-14 days, so staying a month at the same RV park is new for us. I have lots of time to work on piecing quilts and Mark works on RV maintenance and has been watching several movie marathons. Technology allows us to connect with family and friends. We even had 22 of us together on FaceTime to celebrate Easter! We have limited our time outside of the RV park to get groceries or finding a great hike. Because of limited storage, we have to be careful to not stock up too much! We wear our masks when out in public and are starting to see more people wearing them.
1st time wearing masks 
My finished Twister quilt 
We found a waterfall!
Where are we going next?
Now, with Phoenix seeing highs in the triple digits, it means we are experiencing highs in the 90s. We turned our air conditioner on and now it’s time for us to figure out where we should go next! Not all RV parks are equal. Unfortunately, every state has different rules for campgrounds. Some states have closed all their RV parks, some states are keeping campgrounds open for only monthly RVers, and some states are keeping campgrounds at 25% occupancy! On top of that, National Parks and most state parks are closed. We are working on finding the best route to get to Minnesota to be with family. Mark is using RV Trip Wizard to assist with RV trip planning. To see how RV parks are affected by the coronavirus, check out “State by State Campground Closures & Responses to COVID-19.”
We are all in this together!
Yes, we are all in this together. If we practice social distancing, support local businesses, and wear masks while out in public, we can get to the other side of this pandemic! Reach out to your friends and family with a letter, phone call, or FaceTime and tell them what you appreciate about them. They will love it!
We are adopting a new motto: Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay RVing. Do you have a new motto you have adopted? If so, leave it in the comments below.
Loving the RV Life – Heidi and Mark
Check out our last blog: RV Propane – Our Tank Was Overfilled
Hi Heidi,
We were in Jerome yesterday. Friends told us we had to see the town. We drove right by your resort. We are up in Payson until Friday then heading to Show Low for the month of May. God has blessed us with places to stay also. We’re so thankful! God Bless You and keep you in Jesus name.
Deb
Nice! We were in Payson on Sunday! We stopped at Culver’s and had a sundae!😂 It was definitely cooler there. It was 98 degrees here yesterday in Camp Verde, AZ. We are leaving on Saturday and will be driving to Albuquerque to stay for 2 nights and then will be driving to Colorado Springs. I think we found a campground in the mountains that looks pretty good! Glad you are enjoying full time life as well!!❤️
Happy Trails and a belated happy Birthday Heidi. Enjoy the wide open social distancing! Love your stories!
Hello, Lorne! Yes, open social distancing is what we are doing! Heading to Albuquerque on Saturday for 2 nights and then we are heading to Colorado Springs (we thinK)! Not sure how long we are staying there. We will be heading to MN soon. Thanks for checking in with my day a few weeks ago. He said you had called💕
Thanks for the “stay-at-RV” update! And happy belated birthday! It is weird, isn’t it to think of the last thing you did in a group?! Ours was a little party for a dozen people for my Dad’s Leap Year 92nd birthday on February 29! Then Phil’s stroke March 5 and 2 weeks he could have visitors until NO visitors Allowed his last week in the hospital. We’d have been on a spring road trip in Nashville now but TWO things caused us to cancel it… stroke recovery and a pandemic!
We’d heard that many campgrounds are closed! Glad there have been SOME for you to stay at!! Wow 90°’s! We’ve hit 74° and lots of lovely 60°’s and I’m planting and painting. Phil is still having PT she no more walker… just a cane outside and he’s driving again. We aren’t sure if we will be able to hitch up a camper and go this year yet. One day at a time.
I get in a walk daily and a bike ride 3.5 miles around a lovely lake near us. Outdoors no mask. In stores a mask. Luckily Phil still had a few from
his transplant. Haven’t tried to make any. I bet you could see some beauties with your skill!!!
You will like seeing family!!! We’ve seen ours a few times but keep the 6’ distance. Better than FaceTime and outdoors so we’re grateful it’s springtime.
Stay well and keep up the nice updates. Love ya!
Hello, Rollie! It is quite unprecedented what we are experiencing now isn’t it! I’m so glad Phil had his stroke before it got really crazy out there. Sounds like he is definitely on the mend and getting better and better every day! We will be heading out here on Saturday and heading to Albuquerque for two nights and then we think we will be heading to Colorado Springs. We are checking out different campgrounds now, some are closed and some are definitely open. So, we should be able to find something. Maybe we can get together when it all get better regarding social distancing when we are in Minnesota!
Heidi, some people we follow on the RV Miles podcast may be in the same campground as you. The Eppersons (Jason, Abby, and three boys) have a travel trailer. You might look for them and say hi from six feet away. (Imagine three boys and a closed pool!C)
You also might have trouble finding overnight spots on your way north. Long stays (at least 14 days) have been allowed in many places, but one or two nights have been harder to find.
Nice quilt!
Thanks for your reply! Yes, we have met the Eppersons! They are a really great family and we have been following them for at least two years. They are the real deal – very nice family. We see each other on our walks in the park. We even told them about the waterfall we found at a nearby park and they went to see it last week with the boys (before it got really hot here). We are heading to Albuquerque on Saturday and found a park we are going to stay at for 2 nights. Then I think we are going to head north to Colorado Springs. We found a park that is open that has really great reviews and we can stay there for a few days, week or even a month. We want to check it out first before committing to an entire month. Take care and thanks for being a supporter of Loving the RV Life💕
Nice post Heidi!! Yup as the temps start heating up (90 – 96) here in Elephant Butte NM we are heading to Santa Fe area and continuing our northern trek up I-25 to chase the cooler temps, but still trying to stay safe and practicing social distancing 🙁 while trying to find places to stay.
You and Mark stay safe and hopefully we will reconnect (face to face) back in the fall/winter time frame
That’s funny. You were going East on 260 , and we were going west. BTW Heidi – you made our time at Daily Bread really enjoyable. Congratulations on your retirement. Dan Bohn
That’s funny. You were going East on 260 , and we were going west. BTW Heidi – you made our time at Daily Bread really enjoyable. Congratulations on your retirement. Dan Bohn
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