Fingers crossed. Since starting full-time RVing last May, we had planned to travel to Alaska this summer (2021). A few months ago, though, we decided not to put the effort into planning our itinerary because we were hearing the Canadian border would be closed through a good part of the summer due to the pandemic. Taking a ferry is not an option for us—the price is prohibitive for our budget. And enjoying as much of Alaska as we can requires crossing into Canada no later than the end of May.

With three covid vaccines now available, though, we are thinking (and hoping) the border might open by then, accommodating our timeline.

So, planning and preparations have commenced. We will shorten our journey through CA (currently set for the next 2.5 months) to be in northern WA by the end of May. I am so excited! If we don’t go this year, it will be 2023 before we go. Not a big deal. Next year, 2022, our daughter graduates from Appalachian State University with her Master’s degree in Student Affairs, and we want to be in Boone, NC to celebrate with her and attend the ceremony. She (as well as so many others) was deprived of a graduation ceremony for her undergraduate degree in 2020 because of the pandemic, so next year’s graduation is a MUST! We could go to Alaska right after that, but it would require traveling across the U.S. with our Airstream much faster than the pace we like.

A full summer in Alaska is our plan, heading back to the 48 contiguous states by the early part of September. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime journey. There is so much to see and do in the U.S. and Canada that getting back to Alaska will be way down on our list once we make the trip. I look forward to seeing wildlife, kayaking on pristine waters, flying in an air taxi, boating to a glacier, Carl eating fresh salmon, whale watching, maybe dipping my toes in the Arctic Ocean, meeting some sled dogs, viewing the northern lights, breathing in peace and beauty. We’ll see. We’ll be open and absorb the experiences we can while there.

Alaska, here we come! See you in June (hopefully)!

A day trip to the Grand Canyon for one last glimpse before we headed into California ended much differently than expected.

For several years, before we started full-time RV traveling, we watched several YouTubers (Less Junk More Journey, Keep Your Daydream, The Next Exit, and Fate Unbound, to name a few). They all have their personal traveling styles. Fate Unbound, for instance, boondocks in remote areas about 98% of the time. The Next Exit travels almost exclusively in the Thousand Trails system and last year became “snowbirds,” purchasing a casita in the Yuma, Arizona area for the winter months and traveling the rest of the year. The others do a combination of boondocking, RV parks, and state and national park campgrounds.

Based on the expense of staying in RV parks on a regular basis and knowing the budget we had in mind, we initially set our sights on doing a lot of boondocking. Hence, we bought a composting toilet, installed solar panels, and installed a few more 12 volt plugs in the Airstream. We also looked into various memberships with camping perks. And, a few months before we started full-timing, we became part of the Thousand Trails system.

We are still discovering our personal traveling style, but many of the decisions we made before we started traveling have worked for us. Here’s what we’ve learned so far:

Tucked in out-of-the-way areas of the southern AZ desert are hidden gems. Those who traveled West in the 1800s knew this, as this is where gold, silver, and copper mining proliferated. But the gems these days are the sweet towns left behind as various mining operations shut down or moved away.

If it weren’t for the snowbirds or for those traveling to Los Algodones, Mexico for more affordable dental work or eyeglasses, Yuma might just be a tiny dot on the map. Except this is also where winter lettuce and cauliflower are grown—thousands of acres, with rotating schedules of planting and harvesting so that something is always being picked, packed, and shipped.