As I was working recently on an Alaska entry from July 15, 2015 (yes, I'm several months behind on many of last year's entries) I found this article written by an unknown writer on the RV Travel.com staff. I'm guessing it's Chuck Woodbury, the editor, but he usually signs his pieces.

So I don't know to whom to give credit for this excellent piece that gives readers another person's perspective of the full-time RV lifestyle Jim and I enjoy so much.

Living in One Place, In One Home, Isn't as "Normal" as it Once Was

by RV Travel staff

An idea has been bouncing around in my head lately that living in one place, in one home, isn't as "normal" as it once was. The fact is, every day the number of people who sell their homes to travel full-time by RV grows.

Just observe the traffic along a busy highway. Notice the numbers of "big rig" RVs passing by. These folks are not on the way to the Grand Canyon for a week of camping. Many are on their way to yet another temporary home base where they will stay a week, a month, or maybe a season. Some are following the sun. 

Have you been inside a big Class A motorhome or fifth wheel trailer recently? If not, visit an RV dealer and take a look. Check out one of these RVs with its slideouts extended. They're "houses," aren't they? They have virtually all the amenities of a traditional home. They're not made for "camping" — they're made for living. 

Here's a glitzier motorhome interior than Jim and I would ever want!  It's a photo of a
top-of-the-line 2015 Tiffin Zephyr -- and there are more upscale manufacturers than this, even.

The fact is, if you are the type of person who loves to travel, who gets restless in one place, who doesn't need a lot of "stuff," then you may find that the life of a full-time RVer is incredibly stimulating (and ultimately addictive). 

As the baby boom crowd grows older and retires, it seems to me that full-time RV travel will become even more popular than today. Face it, mowing a lawn gets old. And many of us, as we get older, realize that most of our "stuff" isn't important.  

I can envision millions and millions of happy, wandering nomads, exploring the nooks and crannies of wherever a road leads.

And what do they give up for this life of freedom and exhilaration? Not much. In their rolling houses, they have cellular phones, computers with Internet access, televisions, DVD players, and all the amenities of any home — bedroom, bathroom with shower, heater, coffee maker, refrigerator and, yes, even a kitchen sink. 

Anyone who is possessed with wanderlust who travels by RV even once is in serious danger of catching a bug — the travel bug. It gnaws at you. It won't go away. It makes you question why you continue to live in the same place and do the same things over and over. You start to feel like you're rotting. You need to "air out" — to get away — to see something new — to have adventures. Life is short. You begin to fear that day by day, week by week, you are letting your life slip away.  

Saguaro cacti along a trail in Black Canyon, AZ, not far from Prescott. (10-23-15)

Those of us possessed by the travel bug look at a map and go crazy. We see names of towns and rivers and lakes, and we see thin, twisty blue lines that are roads. We want to get on one of those "blue highways" to see where it goes. We want to drop into a roadside cafe to order ham and eggs from a gum-chewing waitress who calls us "Hon." We want to gab with the toothless cowboy on the stool next to us at the counter. "Been here long, pard?" 

In Prescott, Ariz., as I dined on ham and eggs in a packed, little cafe, a guy walked in and asked to buy a pack of cigarettes. "We don't sell 'em," the waitress said. "Check across the street at the health food store."

Yeah ... that's what she said. Funny, huh? I could tell you a dozen more stories like this from my RV road trips. What fun! What a life! How utterly opposite from boring! When I think of these stories and my many adventures on the road, I want to drop what I am doing right this moment and run away. Alas, I can only do it part time ... for now. 

Will there be more people on the road full-time in RVs next year than today? I think so. Maybe one of them will be you.

Next entries: summary of our five months at Yuma Proving Ground and photos from nearby scenic areas where we hiked, biked, and drove

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, Cody the ultra Lab, and Casey-pup

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© 2016 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil