Sarah MacLachlan penned the song ‘Ordinary Miracle’, where the “birds are meant to have their fling, they always make it home on spring, it’s just another ordinary miracle today.” That is how we feel about our 6 month trip. It was an ordinary miracle of the Lord in whom we trust, guiding and blessing us every mile and step. We have felt like we have been travelling in a protective bubble. Even when we had a tire blow out, the rig was very stable and we stopped in front of a cell tower, which was providential considering our spotty ATT cell coverage throughout the trip. We enjoyed the Lord’s protection and presence, just as Israel did in the Exodus, with God’s glory-cloud over them by day and His fire with them by night.
We are really glad to be heading home and that the prediction of an early spring for the Maritimes is coming to pass. When we saw the 14 day forecast for mid to late March, we had our window to drive home and miss any winter weather (well except for Augusta Maine). The trip home was fast for us. 400 miles a day in our RV is enough. We stopped at CJ Mustang parts in Harrisburg PA for some new seat belts, got through the border with only 1 question about how much we bought and my Arizona cactus plants were allowed in! We enjoyed breakfast Friday morning with Joanne and Corey Barton at their restaurant in Sussex. We then picked up a few favourite snacks unavailable in the USA. We got home Friday afternoon and managed to get the RV turned and parked in our soft slushy driveway. Suzy had our heat turned on and Bonnie had our plump orange cat Beeper returned to us shortly after (they are fine examples of “keystone species”). Home never looked or felt so good!
So, what’s it like to travel 6 months in an RV? For me the best part has been new roads, new natural wonders, new towns and just seeing what is over the next hill. We enjoyed great scenery, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, California and South Dakota, including old places I heard about from westerns as a kid, like Virginia City, Yuma, Tombstone and Apache. We planned for an 11,000 mile trip but it ended up being 13,300, due to many diversions we took, like missing the US northwest due to weather. For Glenda it has been seeing the countryside, the old friends and new people we met and the history of places we visited, plus beaches, shells, pelicans and gators – never saw a snake by the way.
Some favourite places: the drive through South Dakota to the Badlands, then from the Black Hills to Wounded Knee – the drive through western Nebraska past Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff – coming through the southern state line from Colorado and the panoramic view over the New Mexico landscape of mesas and mountains – the incredible beauty of the Valley of the Gods in Southern Utah leading to Monument Valley in northern Arizona – the road through the bleak desert of western Nevada with its ghost towns and mountains – the crazy drive up the side of a mountain to get to old Virginia City – just like it was in the days of Bonanza – like being 10 again!
California lived up to hopes and expectations: the road through central California with its incredible rolling pine hills – the rugged northern California coast and the Redwood giants – the southern Cal coast and the endless summer weather and sand – playing ‘Ventura Highway’ and ‘California Dreaming’ as we wound down highway 101 – then pushing against the Santa Ana winds and the packed highways around Los Angeles to get back to Arizona.
Ah, Arizona, our favourite state! Quartzite with its half million winter RV-er’s – boondocking in the deserts – the month in Yuma with its sunny days, bike paths and new friends – Organ Pipe National Park with its cactus forests – the beauty of the snow-capped mountains around Tucson – Tombstone with its authentic old west lawlessness – the lonely Geronimo monument in the tiny place of Apache, nestled beside the glory of the Chiricahua mountains, another reminder of how whole nations and tribes of people were displaced or eradicated.
Back to New Mexico on the southern route, with a steady stream of trucks blasting past us at 80mph and busy train tracks alongside the interstate. Coming over the mountain pass east of Las Cruces into the majesty of the Tularosa Valley and White Sands Desert – taking the northern route from El Paso to the Guadeloupe mountains and the El Capitan mountain face with ghost towns from both a century ago and maybe a decade or two ago – finding southwest Texas scenery a bit boring until we got to the Rio Grande and smelled the tropical humidity. We had a great drive through the Texas Gulf Coast and really enjoyed Louisiana. Florida was beautiful and got quite hot as we drove through the panhandle to the central coasts. Best weather for sure.
There are many pros to an extended RV trip. Its your own travelling coffee shop and bathroom, and good coffee can be hard to get on the road when ‘coffeemate’ is all that’s offered. Boon-docking is basically staying where and when we want. Stayed at over 30 Walmarts! We ate out only about a dozen times which saved a lot of money and we like our own cooking. Sure enjoyed ‘Golden Corral’ though. We only had rain less than 10 days out of 171, plus 2 snow-flurry days . It was mostly mild to hot everywhere, and a Maritimer never saw so much sun!
We were so relaxed most of the time – the only stress some busy roads or the gps. We had 24/7 time with one another, to walk, talk, bike, study, write, celebrate an early Christmas with Ben, Ally and Mike, remember Jenny, play guitar and ukulele together and the great discussions about how to park the RV (lol). The only cons: the RV becoming too small at times plus missing our own home and people. 6 months is a long time – 3 or 4 months would be ideal. We had planned a 180 day trip, as Canadians are allowed a max of 6 months in the US without incurring any government tax issues. We met a retired lady doing the Kingsley Plantation tour who put 80,000 miles on her RV in two years and visited 160 parks. So our trip was rather tame compared to hers but it was epic for us and the fulfillment of a dream.
Another reason we called the blog ‘Doing the 180’ is that it is a metaphor Christians use for how the Lord turns your life around when you turn from sin and follow Jesus. I’ve been ‘Doing the 180’ for almost 38 years now and enjoy a life filled with mercy, purpose and hope. There is no better way to live than following Jesus, and in the end, life eternal. Do you have that kind of joy and hope? It is offered to anyone who will put their trust in Christ.
Thanks to all who read our blog and communicated with us along the way. We always felt your love and prayers.
Let's Do The 180! 