We set out on the road in mid-November, 2019 and worked our way from Washington State to Arizona where Shannon did her first travel nursing gig in Gilbert (a suburb of Phoenix). That job kept us there from December until the end of February, 2020 and gave us an opportunity to get a taste of the beautiful desert southwest, and we definitely will be back to see more of it.
After that, we spent almost the entire month of March working our way toward her second gig, this time in Iowa City, Iowa. This was intended to be a relaxed meander through multiple states enjoying many sights along the way, but the Covid-19 crisis was ramping up and we ended up self-distancing so we missed a lot of the parks and destinations we would have liked to have seen.
But we made it to Iowa and Shannon’s second gig was a dream job for her and we made good friends in Iowa City.
Since then, we’ve sold our house and criss-crossed the country visiting all but about 5 states. See all the places we’ve overnighted on the map below.
Here are our travel blog posts...
Monument Valley
We planned ahead this time for a better experience than when we passed through here three years ago. Back then, we weren’t sure what to
Horseshoe Bend
If you’ve researched where to go in your RV or Camper Van, and you’ve been interested in the desert southwest, you’ve probably seen the Instagram-style
Desert Bloom
We knew this might be a year to see a good desert bloom as it was a very wet winter and spring was late in
Leaving Olympia
Shannon has been working a travel gig in Olympia for the past 6 months. These usually last only 3 months but they loved her so
Dalton Highway to the Arctic Ocean
Prudhoe Bay was our ultimate destination. Swimming in the arctic ocean on the summer solstice was our ultimate goal. Prudhoe Bay is where the top
9 Things We’ve Learned So Far as Newbies in Alaska
Our original plan was to arrive in Alaska for the 50th Anniversary Iditarod Race held the first weekend in March. But as fate would have
Off to Alaska!
Well we finally made it. Last Wednesday we caught a ferry in Bellingham, WA bound for Skagway, Alaska, and it turned out to be one
10 Essentials of Van Life
Our vanlife lifestyle is continuing to be a wonderful experience with so many plusses – we’re seeing places we’ve only dreamed of, there are new
Guardians of the Seeds
We visited the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (CMBG), a world-class botanical garden in Boothbay Maine. Besides seeing a very impressive mix of flowers, trees, plants
Boston by Bicycle
We stealth camped at an undisclosed location on the streets of Boston last night, at a little park not far from Harvard. It was a
Our 10 Favorite Gear Items for Van Life
After 18 months of living full time in our self-converted Sprinter Camper Van, we decided it was time to make a list of our favorite
Mississippi River Trail
“Y’all aren’t from around here are ya?” No one actually said that to us today. But they didn’t have to – we could read it
Brazos Bend State Park
We would like to thank Sandy, our good friend back home for this one. Sandy, grew up in Houston, Texas, and has been giving us
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
We had a good visit to this place – because of Covid-19, it is “closed” which means, they’re not charging admission. But we have the
Goose Island State Park
Wow this was a great find. It’s a campground about 20 miles north of Corpus Christi, Texas and the campsites have a lot of privacy
Serendipitous
I found out from my dad that I had relatives from the Dean side of the family buried in Iowa. So after I finished my
Our Visit to Death Valley National Park
We need to install a high altitude kit on our diesel heater. Prolonged use higher than 4,500 feet above sea level can cause soot buildup,
Visiting Utah’s 5 National Parks
We didn’t plan to visit all five, it just kinda happened that way… It all started for us when we were in Utah in 2006,
10 Things We Loved About IOWA
1. University of Iowa Hawkeyes You can’t love Iowa without loving the Hawkeyes. Tim and I never saw the Hawkeyes football team, but rather only
On The Road Again
Shannon’s gig at the University of Iowa Hospital ended on Friday, July 24 and after a busy day of packing up RIGBY on Saturday and
Kayaking in Our Own Backyard
It’s Throwback Thursday! And it’s the first time (I think) that we’ve ever posted anything for Throwback Thursday), but this seemed like a good time
Biking the Cedar Valley Nature Trail
One thing we’ve wanted to check out almost ever since arriving in Iowa City is the Cedar Valley Nature Trail and we finally made that
We’ve Landed
Yes, we found a place to stay. One of the women in our previous post was happy to offer her driveway and an electrical outlet
A New Home Base?
If you’ve been keeping up with our blog, you know that we were going to check the campgrounds to the north of Iowa City to
One Possible Commute
Shannon’s new job has begun – and Monday (yesterday), being new to the area and not sure where at the hospital to go for the
Empty Campgrounds
As we count down the days until Shannon starts her new job at the University of Iowa hospital, we’ve been looking for places to park
10 Things we love about Arizona
Initially we were a little apprehensive about living in Arizona but after being there for short time we discovered how much we loved it. Here
Scary Times on the Road
We’ve been meaning to write some travel posts for the last couple of weeks, but things keep changing and now it all seems so superficial
Sometimes Life Gets in the Way
We have 3 posts/videos for this blog that have been in progress for a while now – longer than we’d prefer but sometimes things happen
Riparian Preserve
On Shannon’s day off earlier this week, we took a 25 minute bike ride along the canal toward the hospital and stopped to check out
Arizona!
We made it to our destination in Arizona – It’s Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix on the southeast side. For those of you who don’t
Joshua Tree National Park
We started today by waking up at Sawtooth Canyon, in a free BLM campground about 12 miles south of Barstow, CA. We hiked up onto
I Left My Heart…
Today was a trip back through time for me. My family lived in San Francisco for about 2 years before we moved to Friday
Ancient Trees
After flying past them on bikes on the day before, we took a slower quieter approach today and walked calmly – soaking in the
Bumps in the Road
We woke up yesterday to the roar of the ocean. I’d forgotten how powerful it sounded and felt. At times it felt like it was
Off We Go Then…
We are on our way! Only a week and a day later than originally intended. We had a lot of last minute van building that
Hiking Mount Margaret
Taking a break from working on RIGBY we decided to go on a weekend camping/hiking trip with the boys and we had an absolutely
Walla Walla Bing Bang
While this is not a video that we would normally give our stamp of approval, it was something we were able to resurrect from the
There’s No Place Like Home
We left Angel Fire Monday morning and made it to Moab that night. We left Moab in the rain Tuesday morning and after a brief
Movin’ Out
Monday morning we hit the road at 7:45 to begin the journey back home. Looking at the route Google maps had for us we saw
Downhill
“If a trail requires that I wear a full-face helmet, then I probably shouldn’t be riding that trail,” said Shannon back in 2016 at Whistler.
Saturday Morning at Angel Fire
While waiting for my afternoon volunteer duty with Trek Dirt Series, I got to watch some of the other activities happening on the mountain this
Shannon Hit the Ground
We went riding some cross country trails today and I turned around and found Shannon lying on the ground.
Good Decision
A little after sunrise this morning the thermometer said 28 degrees but we wouldn’t have known without looking this time because we were toasty warm
Crested Butte to Angel Fire
We camped just east of Crested Butte last night, near a bike trail Shannon found on the Trailforks app. That’s Mount Crested Butte in the
County Road 12
When Google maps directions gives you several options, with the blue route being the fastest, you may want to consider one of the slower grey
Carson Lake
Another bumpy road and another great secluded campsite. Makes me think we should’ve named this blog “Where the Pavement Ends”.
Kokopelli’s Rustler’s Loop
One of the first things Tim and I did when we first arrived in Fruita was to visit our host bike shop called Over The
Colorado National Monument
We toured through the Colorado National Monument today. It is like a mini Grand Canyon with spectacular views and we have lots of photos that
Boondocking
We tried dispersed camping last week and nearly got our brand new van stuck in the sand. Luckily we were able to back out of
RV Park “Camping”
This has been our location for the past 3 nights. Not exactly the dispersed camping we’ve been looking forward to, but with hot showers, electrical
Why We Came Here
So why did we drive so far to go to Fruita, Colorado? To do stuff like this, of course –
Oilfield
We drove through an old Chevron oil field today. It looked like most of the wells were capped off but there were a few still
Off the Beaten Path
Why travel on the interstate when you can instead have a back road all to yourself?
Yummy Breakfast
Tuesday evening we decided to try dispersed camping for the first time. We used the website www.freecampsites.net and found what looked like an ideal spot
A quick Break for Lunch
After a COLD night at Emmigrant Springs campground (35 degrees), we continued down the road and stopped for lunch at Farewell Bend State Park.
The Journey Re-Begins
With a bit of a last-minute change in plans, we’re off to the desert Southwest in our brand new sprinter! We shot some video after
Not So Good Night’s Sleep
We’re learning lots on our first day or so. Maybe DITTO isn’t the best thing for this trip after all? Bikes are either vulnerable, or
Hitting the Road
So we got packed up and took the ferry off island and hit the road… Day one took us from Friday Harbor to Ellensburg and
Getting Ready for a Road Trip
Wishing we had a Sprinter, but for now, DITTO will have to do. DITTO is a great vehicle, and very dependable, but to be ready
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