September '24 Canlife Correspondence -- Memories, Memberships, Magazines, Money Saving Tips, & More

We are thrilled to have so many new folks join us for our midlife journey as well as this newsletter!   For those of you who haven't heard Hamlet's origin story, we thought we'd share a bit about our early days...

On September 3, 2012 we took a deep breath, and made the first of many leaps of faith by pulling out of our driveway.  We had just quit our busy university careers, downsized our life, rented out our home, said goodbye to friends and colleagues, and hit the road in a restored 55 year old camper which Shari had purchased on eBay for $900.  That special day was our 12th wedding anniversary, and this midlife adventure was intended to be both a gift to ourselves and our marriage. Simply put, it was time for a change to something more sustainable, and drastically different.  We thought it would be for a year, maybe two at most.

We often refer to everything in our crazy lil' lifestyle as #canlife. You may have heard of #vanlife, which came on the scene a couple of years after we'd already hit the road.  So, what's the "can" part all about?  For those who aren't familiar with vintage campers, these tiny travel trailers from the 1950's and 60's are known as "canned hams" or "tin cans,"  -- named after the portentous pork product sold in a shelf-stable can.

Our lil' can was born in 1957 in Cortland, OH, then reborn in 2011-12 in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC where we were living when we completely refurbished him, both inside and out.  Along the way, we named him Hamlet.  With multiple meanings (none of which have anything to do with Shakespeare BTW), it seemed to fit, and his personality emerged over the next several years.

Hamlet is a Sportcraft travel trailer, 15 ft long from tongue to tush, completely electrified by Renogy solar equipment, and has an inside space of 72 sq ft with everything we need to thrive full-time and manage an international, mobile business.

Now 67 years old, Hamlet has rolled nearly 200K miles to 49 US states and 10 Canadian provinces, explored hundreds of NPS and Parks Canada locations, has crossed both the Mississippi River and Canadian border at least 15x.  He is our tree house, mountain cabin, beach batch, desert getaway, lake cabana, wine country weekender...and occasionally, our winter retreat.  Not bad for an investment of a few thousand dollars including our renovations costs!

Hamlet has also waited patiently for us as we've backpacked, sailed, paddled, rafted, and bike packed in the backcountry as well as flown across the country for work, visit family, and volunteered abroad.

Now, if you'd have asked us, 12 years ago, if we would be still on this road trip, in the same camper, and making a living educating fellow and future travelers  -- we would have said that you were absolutely crazy.  We probably would have guessed that we'd be settled back down into regular jobs, maybe with another university, or maybe with the National Park Service.  But here we are writing to you from the Oregon desert and still loving the freedom...and we may be the most surprised by that! 

"An expert is someone who has made all the mistakes 

that can be made in a very narrow field." 

- Niels Bohr, Nobel Prize Winning Physicist

Mistakes OR Lessons Learned?

September is a beautiful month, whether we're in the Northeast, Midwest, or in the Pacific Northwest as we are now.  We've spent most of August and September wandering about the coast, mountains, and desert of Washington and Oregon.  It's a month of speedy transitions, when autumn begins to knock on the door in earnest and everyone seems to be feeding their pumpkin spice addiction.  

We just returned to the west coast from a week at the Hershey RV Show, which has become a September tradition for us since 2021.  We're there as "experts" to share our stories, insights and lessons learned from many years on the road.  The audiences there are simply the best, with a genuine enthusiasm for RV travel and camping that inspires great conversations and questions.  We hope you leave inspired because we always return to Hamlet full of good vibes and ready to get back out there and continue exploring! 

As Niels Bohr so poignantly notes, our "expert" credentials include a few bumps on the way, and we thought we'd share some of our earliest mistakes:

• On our very first night on the road, we stopped for some sandwiches on our way to our first camp site.  When we got back in the car, the truck wouldn't start.  We tried to jump it with some help from fellow Subway patrons, nothing.  It wouldn't even turn over.  In my exhaustion, I had failed to put our new-to-us automatic truck in park when we arrived, and so the starter wouldn't engage -- too many years driving a stick shift!  

• During our first week on the road, it wasn't just the extra stuff with us (storage bin of unnecessary shoes, small baker's rack for outdoor cooking, extra large pasta pot) which taught us something about our new RV life.  On the second night in Hamlet, the overnight torrential rain turned our kitchen tarp into an elevated bathtub, and soon after snapped one of the new poles right in half. 
  
  
• While rolling down the Massachusetts turnpike, I kept seeing something flashing into and out of the sideview mirror -- it was the camper door, which we'd forgotten to lock! Everything was there, including the extra keys and my sweatshirt hanging from the hook inside. 
   
• On possibly the narrowest, winding, dirt road which clings to the side of the Salt River Gorge in Arizona, we kept hearing a strange sound coming from the back of the truck.  For 20 miles or so, we drove without the trailer coupler completely down on the ball hitch.  The noise was the creaking of the metal parts in an unusual configuration.  
  
  
• On the interstate near Portland, OR, I had that sneaking suspicion that I'd forgotten to do something.  "Did I lock the tongue coupler down?"  Pulling over near an exit, I walked back to the hitch and found the lock happily resting exactly where I'd left it on the bumper of the truck 20 miles prior. 
  
  
• One month and a day into our journey, we were struck on the front driver's side wheel of our truck by an impatiently passing commercial cleaning van while we were making a left turn along the Trans-Canadian highway. The accident totaled our first tow vehicle, but thank goodness nothing else. It was an experience that shook our resolve, but it also taught us a few things:  1) Stuff is just stuff, and stuff can be replaced. 2) People want to help -- if you need help along the way, accept it. Receiving help is just as much a gift as giving it. 3) Having a flexible schedule is key as it took us nearly 3 weeks to deal with it all, including a 30 hour bus ride to Michigan City, IN to purchase another used truck.

Blog of the Month: A Few RV Secrets to Help You Save on Camping Fees 

We've recently started writing for RV Trader Magazine and it's been a great outlet (and exercise) in learning to be pithy -- not my strong suit. We've been asked to cover topics from hitch weight to camp cooking to national parks to solar power, all in under 750 words.  Check out some of these easy reads on our author's landing page!

Escapees Membership -- More Than Just a Mailbox! 
We get a lot of solar power questions, and we do just about everything we can to answer each and every one of them. We just finished up a 6 part RV solar series with Escapee's Magazine, which covers everything you might need to know from start to finish. Receiving this bi-monthly magazine is just ONE of the many benefits of club membership.  

You'll also get invited to all of their incredible gatherings, find jobs perfect for RVers, discover many ways to volunteer from the road, learn the basics of domiciling in another state, obtain a mailbox that travels with you, get discounts on RV camping and accessories, and so much more.  For those senior travelers or those who need to recover from surgery or a serious medical condition, the C.A.R.E. program is like no other -- allowing RVers to remain in their rolling home in an assisted living facility type of arrangement in Livingston, Texas.  

The $49.95 annual membership is worth its weight in gold for RVers -- both part-time and full-time, those new to the road as well as those with many years of experience.  And, with their recent merger with Harvest Hosts, there are several new things on the horizon!

Hack of the Month:  Second Use for Our AirSkirts!

One of the easiest ways to maximize storage in your RV is to have things that offer multi-purpose functions.  So, how can we put very specific things, like our AirSkirts insulation that help Hamlet stay warmer in the winter, to use in another way?  Check out how we used of these inflatable tubes as an air jack to lift and reposition a friend's truck bed cover!  

Video of the Month: 50A DC to DC Battery Charger Installation

It was time for an upgrade!  We just finished installing a new 50A Dual Input DC to DC Battery Charger with MPPT that keeps both our 12V ICECO refrigerator 50Ah battery (in the back of our truck) as well as Hamlet's 200Ah LiFePO4 battery bank charged up while driving. The dual input function allows for greater recharging flexibility, as we can now use either our 400W portable solar suitcase to recharge our fridge battery while camping OR recharge either of our battery banks at a faster rate while driving.  Perfect for the coming winter months, when the sun angle is lower and solar availability is often less abundant.

Find Your Perfect Campsite!

What is our perfect campsite or boondocking spot?  We often rave about the beauty, peace and quiet, and low price of the off-grid campgrounds we enjoy across the continent.  While we prefer first-come, first-served sites, we occasionally snag a last minute reservation in a national or state park. 

To choose our perfect spot, we use our FIVE S's: Does it feed our Soul and feel Safe?  Does it provide enough sky for Solar gain and Starlink* so that we can live and work?  Finally, does it Save us money?  These "holy grail campsites" (from free to $25) CAN be found all over the continent!

To get a feel for some of these special spots that you'll find Hamlet happily parked all across North America, check out our complete list of every U.S. campground we've ever reviewed on The Dyrt PRO -- our favorite campground locator app.  

One of our recent favs is the Salt Creek Recreation Area on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.  Try this awesome app for 30-days for free, then it's just $34.95 per year (which pays for itself nearly instantly with all of the great features it provides!).

*P.S. If you are considering adding Starlink to your rig or home, check out this deal!

Recipe of the Month: Camp Cooking Techniques & Tools

In this newsletter we frequently share recipes to inspire a more diverse, healthy, and fun camp cooking experience.  This month, we thought we'd include many of the creative techniques upon which much of our recipe repertoire relies.  Grab your favorite bevvy and settle into this online seminar that we produced while camping in Texas back in 2021.  Oh, and be sure to watch it hungry! 

Environmental Education Resources:  PeakFinder App

Ever wonder what peaks you're looking at while on a hike or at a beautiful view spot?  Do you love studying those relief maps at the overlook outlining each peak before you?  PeakFinder helps you do this no matter where you are, no matter what view -- from Denali to the hills in your own backyard.  Pull up the app, line up your phone's camera, then take a photo.  Before saving, you can adjust the labels and overlay the names of the peaks right on your photo. This app is $5 per year and available at Google Play Store or the App Store.  
Here's a fun one from Olympic National Park...

Where Are You Headed Next?  

If we had a nickel for every time we've answered this question. We are at a serious crossroads at the moment.  If you'd asked us a week ago, we were going to start our journey from Bend, Oregon to the Baja Peninsula, Mexico in mid-October -- joining thousands of other RVers who make this winter commute to find the beachfront campsites along this famed peninsula. 

This south-of-the-border trip has been on our bucket list for many years, but in the last several, something has prevented us from going -- from waiting for 5 months to receive a permanent license plate for our new truck during the '21 supply chain crisis, to Hutch's family in Michigan needing our help in winter '22, to a family member's cancer diagnosis in winter '23.  

Now, after the devastation left in the path of Helene, our previous hometown (including many of our friends, former colleagues, and Shari's parents) in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, we are once again reconsidering our journey south and feeling pulled back East to help in whatever we can!  While everyone we've checked in with so far is ok, many of our Appalachian neighbors are not.  So we may be heading eastward earlier than we had planned, then we'll remain based there for our 2025 winter RV show season.  Stay tuned!

Parting Shots: Washington's Spectacular Olympic Peninsula

We simply fell in love with the Olympic mountains, lakes, beaches, and hikes.  There's so much to this place that feels otherworldly and yet it's within just a couple hours drive from a major metropolitan area.  While we've visited before, this year we took the time to really linger and wander -- all with only one last minute camping reservation.  We hiked out to Cape Alava (the western most point of the contiguous 48) as well as up Hurricane Ridge to see the glaciers on Mount Olympus. We waded through creature-filled tide pools. We enjoyed a surprise show of both the Aurora Borealis and Mount Rainier from our ocean front campsite near Port Hadlock.  We wandered through the moss-filled Hoh Rainforest and were greeted by a herd of Roosevelt Elk munching their way across the trail.  We swam and kayaked in the cold, Pacific currents and walked along the beaches at sunset. We spotted Gray whales feeding off the shore, and thousands of seals and sea lions basking in the low-tide sun.  During our final few days, we surprised each other with some fun experiences to celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary and 12th nomadiversary.  It was a tremendous 3 weeks spent in a spectacular place!

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