Freedom in a Can: Adventures with Hamlet

Don’t have much space on your RV roof for solar, but have big power needs? It’s not about how many solar panels you can fit up top, it’s about building in flexibility to charge up your off-grid batteries in multiple ways.  We’ve lived with nearly 100% off-grid power as we’ve traveled full-time for over 13 years in our vintage camper – from California to Newfoundland and Alaska to Florida!  It’s a wonderful life where we can live, work, and play, from anywhere we want to be.  We’ve traveled throughout all 49 US states connected by road and, as of this summer, we finally made it to our final Canadian province (Newfoundland & Labrador) to which you can tow your home on wheels.  Sixty-one states, provinces, and territories in total, all in a 1957 solar powered travel trailer.  Follow us on social media to join in the fun…we aren’t stopping anytime yet! Here are the 3 ways we keep our off-grid batteries charged up: Solar Power (while camping / driving) Engine ...

A Canadian Thanksgiving Worth Remembering... Let's start this one off with a big "Thank You" for being here, for opening this email and simply giving us a chance to share our story.  Your responses and comments are heartwarming and we love it when something we say sparks an idea or inspiration!  So keep on writing us back, we love hearing from you... This newsletter now goes out to nearly 2000 people "almost" every month and we know that over half of you read it regularly.  We started this newsletter just a few years ago and we're excited to see it grow beyond our wildest dreams.  Please share it with someone you think might enjoy it too! This holiday is so important, we just have to celebrate it...twice!  Camping along the shores of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, we're getting into the Canadian version, taking stock of our good fortune and looking back with gratitude.  We'll be only too happy to do it again next month in more familiar surrounding...

In every campground in the U.S. and Canada, we’ve seen RVers with e-bikes!  People of all ages are using e-bikes for exercise and as an alternative transportation while their RV is set-up at the campsite.  It’s exciting to see this trend that not only gets people out of their vehicles and into the outdoors, but also helps reduce car traffic and pollution in and around popular campgrounds and national parks!  All U.S. national parks allow e-bikes , though some have restrictions on the class of bike and the areas / trails in which they are allowed to be ridden.  It's always a good idea to check the regulations at each park before you ride. But, e-bikes have their downsides, they need to be recharged frequently.  Recently, we’ve seen signs popping up in campground bathrooms explicitly banning the charging of bikes at the bathroom electrical outlets.  Why?  E-bike batteries are large, expensive, and take a lot of energy!  I mean, who wants to have to ...

What's Up with National Parks During the Government Shutdown? We wanted to find out first-hand.   After a summer of traveling in the Maritime and Atlantic Provinces of Northeast Canada, we finally crossed the U.S. border and into Maine about a week ago.  With its small towns, coastal roads, nearly 4,000 islands, it offers a nice soft landing for us after our remote travels where rush hour means that the caribou joined us for dinner.  We're not quite ready for most East Coast U.S. traffic! We spent a few days in Downeast Maine at Acadia National Park.  This park is dear to our hearts, because it's the first US park that we visited with Hamlet (2012) and also the first in which we volunteered in the Education Program during the spring and fall seasons (2015).  We wore the Volunteer Ranger hats and tan shirts, and felt so wicked cool when we walked into a third grade classroom.   Through visits  this week  with our friends who remain connec...

If getting away from the intense crowds, summer heat, and going off-the-grid interests you, then go north…far, far north…my friend!  From arctic tundra where the summer sun never sets, to stunning rocky summits, to grasslands larger than the state of Montana, to coastal beaches and rocky coves which seem forgotten in time, Canada has it all…and then covers it in cheese curds and gravy. Bon appetite! Road trippin' with solar power in Canada might surprise anyone unfamiliar with the “Great White North.” While the friendly land next door might be filled with more evergreen trees than hockey pucks, it offers a surprising diversity of landscape. Many solar powered RVers might think that Canada’s forests are probably so dense that no viable charging sunlight can penetrate. And while that’s certainly true in a few places, just like down in the states, there are an equal number of places where solar is not only the best option – it’s the only option. The US might have the oldest and per...

We've officially done it, y'all!  After nearly 13 years and 12 trips across the US-Canada border, July 24, 2025 marked the day that Hamlet made it to the northern-most village in Labrador -- the final Canadian province to which he can travel!   While Canada has a total of 10 provinces and 3 territories, the  territory of Nunvat  has no roads into it.  Hamlet will never be able to go, but  we  sure hope to go someday... Did we save the VERY best for last?   Newfoundland & Labrador is definitely VERY HIGH on the list of stunning places we've explored north of the US border -- and the geologic and cultural history of this place is truly second to none! Our goal here is to provide practical tips, direct links to key resources, and money saving strategies to help you plan your own NL road trip.    2025 TRIP STATS: 8.5 weeks (not enough!) 3741 miles (best roads: Labrador for the win!, worst road: Hwy 480 to Burgeo) 6 ferry rides (sho...