March 2023 Canlife Correspondence, Our Almost Monthly Newsletter

Vintage California, Kindred Spirits
We spotted the mid-century Avion trailer from a quarter mile away, with its 13 panel arching aluminum half-dome glimmering in the sun.  The truck pulling this sweet, sweet rig had a Maine license plate and a truck camper in the bed.  We suspected that we might just become friends before they even pulled into the adjacent campsite, at Jamala Beach campground along the central California coast, just north of Santa Barbara. 

It's not every day that we meet other folks going full-time in a restored, vintage RV.  Sure, the occasional weekend warrior shows up with some significantly refurbished piece of history, but it's rare that someone chooses this kind of rig for their post-COVID nomadic living & remote working lifestyle.  So, when we do meet a few of these unicorns, we've got more than a few things to share!

Megan, Ben, and their adorable canine companion, Banjo, have only been on the road since February when they left New Hampshire, but have already fallen in love with the lifestyle.  Banjo is not quite sure yet about the whole enterprise, but he's coming around. Evidently, he's a bit more bougie than his co-travelers.

In another twist of coincidence, they installed a Renogy solar powered system complete with 400W of flexible panels on their curved roof to run their off-grid lives and enable both of them to work from the road.  We smiled and nodded as Ben proudly showed off his DIY installation, and nerded out over the finer details.  Well, done friends!  

Through some rain-related relocations and mandatory road closings that have been a result of this spring's heavy California precipitation, Megan and Ben ended up joining us at Lake Cachuma campground, which happens to be Shari's childhood summer campground.  It was nice for Shari to have some friendly company while Hutch journeyed to New Mexico to catch up with some college buddies for the week.  We realized that we hadn't spent a night apart in over 5 years! 

It's connections like these that help enrich our journey and continue to build a wider community defined less by proximity and more by values.  Let's try to get more vintage campers back on the road.

Blog of the Month: RVing to Alaska
One year ago, we were stuck in a snowstorm near Wall, South Dakota, as we inched our way to Alaska. During that stage of the journey, our heads still swam with thoughts about the road we would soon travel.  How would it go with our vintage camper?  Would we get eaten by a bear, capsized by a whale, or collide with a moose?  While we didn't experience any of these worse case scenarios, we came away feeling more resilient and confident in our rig.  In addition to our 15 episode video series, we've been slowly but surely putting our thoughts together about our Alaska trip.  If you are planning a journey to the Last Frontier, this blog will help you get moving in the right direction to plan, and prepare for this epic RV travel adventure.  Of course, experience is the best teacher, but a few words from someone who's been there might set your mind at ease a bit.

"Those who say it can't be done are usually 
interrupted by those doing it." - James Baldwin

Highlight in "I Heart RVing" Magazine
We were recently contacted by this long-standing industry publication for an interview in their quarterly "One Red Hot Handle" feature. To learn more about our story, check out this short article from their recent Winter edition.

National Park Week Challenge – Coming April 22-30th!
You don’t have to follow us for too long to realize that we’re self-proclaimed National Park Nerds -- and we’ll be celebrating this annual event with another week-long Trivia Challenge this year...complete with prizes!  Follow along on our Facebook or Instagram page to participate.  We’ll test your knowledge, drop some of our own, and share some stunning photos which reflect our passion for these collective treasures of our shared democracy.  

How Does the Solar Tax Credit Work?
Another April tradition is right around the corner...taxes!  To save you time, we’ve done a comprehensive review of the recent changes to the U.S. Solar Tax Credit laws, as well as some money saving state-by-state incentives.  If you plan to put solar on your house, RV, or boat, or off-grid cabin, you need to read this blog as it could save you thousands of dollars.  Even if your system is already installed and powering your life, you can still amend previous tax returns to take advantage of these helpful savings.  READ ON!  

Recipe of the Month: Cheesy Corn Fritters with Spicy Enchilada Beans

With the weather improving and daylight savings upon us, it’s time for more outside grillin'.  Over the last year, our OTZI grill has really refueled our passion for outdoor cooking. This fun little recipe that we heavily adapted from The Camping Cookbook made outstanding use of the griddle plate feature of our grill.  Spicy and savory, balanced with a hint of sweetness from the corn and loaded with texture, we devoured these as the main event -- topped with spicy enchilada beans and hearty doses of sour cream, salsa, and green onions.  

New Affiliate Brand:  SOLE Footbeds!
We get approached by new brands nearly every day.  While this might sound like a shameless humble brag – don’t get too impressed, most of these pitches come from folks who have little to nothing to do with our solar, RV adventure lifestyle.  But every now and again, one comes along that piques our interest. 

SOLE Footbeds have the health of our bodies and the planet in mind, as they are made from recycled cork. Cork grows as the bark of the cork oak tree. It's harvested by hand every 9-12 years without ever cutting a tree down. Every bit of the bark gets used; wine corks are stamped out, used as bottle stoppers, and recycled by businesses and individuals like you. The trimmings are ground down and mixed with the recycled wine corks, to create ReCORK Recycled Cork. Creating this revolutionary material requires far less energy and water than synthetic foams. 

We are on our feet a lot -- while hiking, presenting seminars, or exercising outdoors. We’ve been using these innovative footbeds in our boots, walking and running shoes for the past month now, and have been impressed with how much support AND cushion they provide. In the past, we've found footbeds that do one or the other, but not necessarily both. As with many of our other brands, we negotiated a discount for folks who wants to try them out, too!  Check out them out at yoursole.com  and use promo code "CANLIFE" for 10% off your purchase.

Video of the Month – Thriving Wherever Life Might Take You 

In 1989, Hutch shared a freshman class at Kenyon College with speaker, scholar, and Happiness Guru, Dr. Dan Lerner.   Dan is both an author and professor of one of the most popular courses at NYU “The Science of Happiness.”  This pre-reunion talk to the Class of 1993, offers an interesting reflection on what constitutes a “successful” life.  Spoiler alert, it 'aint about the money.  Note: this link starts at the 5:06 mark, after some college specific info about reunion weekend, alumni giving, and other Kenyon specific musings.  Enjoy! 

Parting Shot - Wall, SD vs. Lake Cachuma, CA

We are often asked if we travel to the same places each year or season, and how we choose where we go.  Over the past decade, every year has been different.  Some has been dictated by work and family commitments, but most of it is just exploring places we've wanted to see but have never been.  Overall, we have no pattern, which is what we love about this "roll with it" lifestyle.  In reflecting on where we were in late March 2022 and where we are now, the scenery simply couldn't be more different!

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