Tag: RV

Woman and Poodles vs. Mountain

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It has been an eventful past few days! Joe had his work retreat in Santa Cruz, CA, this week which meant that the dogs and I found ourselves in an RV version of Survivor. Let me explain.

When Joe booked our current campsite, Mt. Madonna County Park, he did not realize that the mountain in which the campsite resides lacks cell service/Wifi, and with Joseph needing a vehicle to drive the 40 minutes to Santa Cruz, this left myself and the dogs alone on a mountain for 3 days with no means of transportation.

Well…technically that’s not true. Joe did leave the motorcycle, but who doesn’t know how to drive one and has refused to be taught by Joe? Moi.

Minor planning oversight…right? But not to worry, I had our SPOT device! For those unfamiliar, a SPOT is a GPS tracking device that uses the Globalstar satellite network to provide text messaging and GPS tracking. So, with our SPOT device, I was able to send and receive a few text messages to confirm proof of life.

Meanwhile, Joe was living his best life in Santa Cruz socializing with his co-workers.

Now before you give Joe a hard time, know that the circumstances were unintentional, and he feels terrible. Did I mention that he’s taking me to Disney in a week? Needless to say, all is forgiven!

Despite the less than ideal cell service and Wifi situation, I did have some form of entertainment during my 3 days of solitary confinement – a ticket to an exhibit like none other. What exhibit you may ask? RVers in their natural habitat.

My favorite full time RVer was a woman I met during my quest to find at least 1 bar of cell service. The conversation started out like any other until she casually mentioned that her first bigfoot encounter was in 2017.

She and her pitbull named Sophia Lorraine were on a hike when all of a sudden someone started throwing rocks at her – the kicker is that no one was around her while these rocks were being thrown. Naturally, she went home to conduct some research and discovered that what she had encountered was a bigfoot.

Because of this chance encounter with a bigfoot, my new friend began a YouTube channel and found herself driving like a bat-out-of-hell to Kentucky for a 2 week bigfoot enthusiast meetup. The meetup involved tent camping in the snow, and though she and Sophia Lorraine were freezing, the trip solidified her belief she was capable of RVing full-time.

And so, she sold her house for a cool 1.2 million, bought a brand new RV, and hit the road.

I have to say, meeting and chatting with new people is probably one of my favorite parts of life on the road – everyone is unique, and quite frankly, you never know where the conversation is going to take you!

I could continue to regale you with stories of other RVers that I have encountered in the wild, but you’re probably wondering about the other 7 days that I have left unaccounted.

Well…Joe and I took advantage of our location and visited a local vineyard/winery! We thoroughly enjoyed chatting with the owners’ daughter-in-law as we tasted various wines and watched adrenaline junkies skydiving in the distance.

Not only have we enjoyed tasting the local wines but also the local beers. The night before Joe’s work retreat, Joe and I met one of his co-workers and her husband for some brewery hopping. Afterward, we ate dinner on the Santa Cruz Wharf and saw some seals playing in the ocean!

Overall, visiting this area has been magical – we have enjoyed the serenity of the beach, as well as the cool comfort of the redwood trees. Hiking through the forrest has been rejuvenating and my somewhat exaggerated tale of solitude aside, it has been nice to be unplugged for a few days.

Until next time!

The Not So Little RV That Could

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In each city we visit we have our fair share of adventures, but have I mentioned that the adventure isn’t solely limited to the activities at every stop? Cue the driving between locations. Let’s just say traveling from Simi Valley, CA, to Coyote Lake, CA, was no exception.

Now before you worry, the RV is intact, all poodles and humans emerged from the odyssey unscathed, and we did in fact make it; however, we may or may not have prayed for Jesus to take the wheel along the way!

So what incited our prayers to a higher power? Buckle in friends, allow me to take you on our journey.

Like all great stories, we must start at the beginning…the morning of our departure. You will be pleased to hear that Joe and I managed to wake up early, pack the RV, and walk the dogs prior to readying ourselves for the task ahead – crossing Slide Mountain.

Honestly, the name of the mountain says it all, doesn’t it?

Allow me to set the scene.

It’s 100 degrees outside, and the main characters consist of 2 poodles, 2 humans, a Suburban, an 8,000 lb. camper, and a mountain named after its vertical prowess.

People….we climbed over 4,000 feet in elevation in the span of 25 minutes. Oh. And did I mention that the mountain has a 14 1/2% grade?

Despite the steepness of the mountain, we inched our way up slowly but surely. As we made our ascent, we noted several trucks pulled over to cool off their engines. Before we reached the peak, we too would need to pull over for a quick cool down!

On the way up, Joe made sure to pull out all the tricks – turning off the A/C and blasting the heater to draw heat away from the motor and pulling over occasionally to open the hood.

If only the descent was easier than the climb! We counted at least 4 runaway truck ramps on the way down as we descended from 4,100 ft. to 150 ft. in elevation. Hence, the prayers!

Thankfully, we made it in one piece and will be avoiding said mountain by taking an alternative route on our return to L.A.

So, we survived the mountain and the drive to Coyote Lake, but what were we up to prior to leaving?

The day before we left, Joe and I met Rick, Andrea, and Harley for dinner at a Casa Blanca themed restaurant. Joe chose it based on its quirky decor and reputation for tasty tequila. What can I say? Marry a man who knows that you’ll find a themed restaurant endearing!

The Casa Blanca themed dinner was delicious, and despite the promise of tequila, we decided to forego margaritas in favor of driving to a mini golf course after dinner. There’s nothing quite like a friendly family competition involving putt putt!

Now, not to brag…but Rick and I may or may not have tied for mini golf champion. *insert flex. I had two hole-in-one’s though so really who’s the REAL champion? Marinate on that.

Needless to say, mini golf was a blast, and we can’t wait to come back to see Rick and the fam in a few weeks!

For now, Joe and I will continue to enjoy Coyote Lake and later, Santa Cruz! We have gone shopping at the outlet mall, hiking along the trails at the park in which we are staying, and working out at the local Orangetheory gym.

It’s both peaceful and beautiful here, and we are enjoying the respite from the big city.

Stay tuned for what’s to come!

Until next time!

Our Setup

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How do we traverse the United States in a camper while working remotely? Well…the answer is multifaceted, and to truly respond to this line of inquiry, we must begin with the very core of our setup aka the camper.

Prior to beginning our travels, Joe spent months researching different types of campers. He asked all the big questions. Did we want a couple’s camper, a toy hauler, an RV? How big of a rig did we want? Which type of camper would allow us both to take meetings from a tiny space?

Honestly, the number of questions he asked, and the various scenarios he pondered are endless. In the end, Joe narrowed the search to two options: a toy hauler, which is a type of RV with a garage in the rear and a large ramp-door for access, or a camper around the 30 ft. range with a rear bunkhouse room that could be used as an office.

We went with the toy hauler option – a 33 ft. Forest River Wildwood FSX. The garage would allow us to bring our favorite toys like Joe’s motorcycle(s) and our kayaks and once unloaded, give us ample room for an office. Plus, the rear ramp-door has the option of folding down into a deck granting inside/outside access! I have included some pictures at the bottom of this post for reference.

Once we, and really I mean Joe, determined the best camper for our needs, the next step was figuring out the internet situation. Thankfully, this was really a nonissue. Our home base in Texas is located in the boonies, and as such, we were already accustomed to utilizing an alternative internet solution. Through our trusty cell service provider, Verizon, we pay a premium price for several gigs of data that come in the form of hot spots.

On top of paying for several hot spots, we also have a moveable cell signal booster that Joe attaches to the back of our camper. Basically, with the cell signal booster, you locate the nearest cell tower, point the antenna in its direction, and voila!

So, camper…check, office…check, internet…check!

The final piece of our traveling while working remotely puzzle includes the issue or potential issue(s) of power. Sometimes we stay in state parks, but frequently, we boondock by staying off grid on public land. In order to power the camper, as well as all our devices, we have a gas-powered, silent generator, as well as a Jackery, a huge, portable solar-powered battery.

The Jackery is fantastic because it allows us to mitigate our carbon footprint by solar farming, as well as saves us gas money. Plus, many places don’t allow you to use a generator.

There are a few different types of Jackery models, but we chose to purchase a Jackery with unfoldable, movable solar panels, rather than mounted solar panels, in order to farm the best rays in each location.

All in all, we have a pretty sweet setup! For those interested, I have listed and linked everything we use under the “Resources” section of our website. There are a few items listed there I didn’t address in this post, but I plan on writing about them soon! Stay tuned for Boondocking 101.