This trip has been a test. Yes. A Test. It has been said by many fulltime RV'ers that a month long trip will tell you if you're cut out to be a fulltime RV'er. If at the end of your trip, you can't wait to get home, you are probably not cut out for it. But if you dread going home and wish to continue, then you can probably cut it. We are the latter. We absolutely did not want to go home. We considered "home" where we were at the time. The last two days of the trip we could have made it home in a day. However, we were determined to stay gone the entire month and we did. Some may think we're crazy, but to live full time (or almost full time) in an RV and traveling is something that we want to do. And we want to do it very badly. This trip convinced us that we can live in limited space and still enjoy it. There is so much to see in the USA that you could spend a lifetime traveling and never see it all. We have no desire to leave our country. I don't think that any other country could possibly have something that we can't find equally as impressive in our own. Our trip to the Grand Canyon proved that. 75% of the tourists there were from another country. It was rare to hear a word of English. They're coming here to see our country. And as long as they LEAVE WHEN THEY'RE DONE it's okay.

There were hundreds of things that we wanted to do and see but we had limited time and could not do them all. We learned about the necessities of fulltime RV living and learned just how much space we needed. Although our trailer looks big, it is not as big as we would need to live full time in it. A washer and dryer would be a must. The cost to wash in laundromats is WAY more than you might think. This was one of the learning lessons. To fulltime in an RV we would not be able to stay in the more expensive RV parks like we did on this trip. Our month's cost for parks was $780. This is about twice what would be appropriate for fulltiming. We would also not be able to travel the number of miles that we did and use $1400 worth of fuel. But then, if you're fulltiming, what's the hurry? We had to fit what we could in a month's time so the need was there to continually travel. We now have a very good idea of what would be required for us to accomplish a dream and it is very reachable in the coming two years. We now know our requirements for a trailer and even though the one we have is not even a year old, we will most likely be trading it within the next two years for the right one to accomplish our goal.

Imagine being able to have a different view in your backyard whenever you wanted, but when you walk back inside your RV, you're home again! Don't like your neighbors? Move! Tired of the scenery? Move!

We also learned a little more about keeping in touch. One place we stopped we could not get internet access even with two different connection cards. As many of you know, the internet is my livelihood and I MUST be able to access the internet to work. A Datastorm satellite dish will be a must. The Datastorm can not only give me high speed internet but also DirecTV. The initial cost is $1500 for the tripod mounted dish and the monthly fee is less than $100. This is still about $150 less than what we're paying now with the two connection cards and the satellite we have at home that can be replaced by the Datastorm.

Yeah, you think we're NUTS. Total Crazy Nuts. But that's okay. In a couple years, we'll be the one's that have a different beautiful view outside our window whenever we choose. We'll be able to move with the weather. Too cold? Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, South Texas. Too hot? Upper Michigan, Maine, Washington State, Oregon, whatever.

During this trip we met many RV'ers. Some fulltimers, some part timers and some people who just like to camp. We have never had to lock up anything at a campground. Life should be this simple. Meet great people, live where you want to live at the time and be free to roam this big land of ours.

See You On The Road!