Ingrid's Corner

What I Love about RVing

by Ingrid

There are lots of things that I love about RVing and near the top of that list is traveling with my home in tow. I sleep in my own bed, cook in my own kitchen, and have all my necessities within easy reach around me. All the comforts of home with an ever-changing yard, but that’s not the best part…

Our friend’s beautiful property near Cotopaxi, Colorado

Our journey continues

It was day two of our summer excursion. The day before was a long nine-hour drive from Phoenix, Arizona to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I’m grateful Al and I slept well and woke up with energy. Sleeping in our own bed makes a huge difference and the good night’s sleep had us ready to tackle another long day of driving.

It was a little before 6:00 a.m. when I put the kettle on the RV stove to heat the water for coffee. When we’re boondocking and other RVs are nearby, we won’t start our generator this early in the morning so that we could use our drip coffee maker. (This post contains affiliate links) So, when I don’t have the power for the Cuisinart coffee maker, I use the pour-over coffee brewing method … just as tasty.

After a quick breakfast and one cup down, we were once again rolling with our second cup of coffee in our travel mugs. We knew we had at least a six-hour drive in front of us and a destination that was new to us. Even though we were familiar with the general area, we weren’t familiar with the specific piece of private property where we’d be spending the week.

The best thing about RVing

If you follow other RV blogs, join any RVing Facebook groups, or read any RV Forums, then you’ve probably heard from others that as much as we all enjoy the freedom of the RV lifestyle, most of us will agree that the best thing about RVing is the people we meet and the friendships that are made. It’s the best, and it’s unlike any other lifestyle.

There’s something about the camaraderie of the RVing community that turns complete strangers into true friends in a short amount of time.

Al and I spent our winter in an RV Park in Phoenix. Many of our neighbors were doing the same while others were there for shorter time frames. One such neighbor, Dick and Steph, were only there for a couple of months. They were on a snowbird trial run to test out the desert southwest with their RV. (By the way, they loved it and will return to Phoenix next winter.)

Noticing their Colorado license plates, I was quick to stop and chat to see what part of Colorado they were from. Turns out they live just west of where we used to live in southern Colorado. During one of their last days in the park, we discussed our upcoming summer travel plans. When I made mention that we’d be in their neck of the woods near the beginning of June to tackle our storage units, they were quick to offer their property as a place for us to stay.

Seriously? These were folks we barely knew and yet they were offering us the opportunity to stay on their land for as long as we needed to. Well, twist my arm! This scenario was so much better than staying at the Lake Pueblo State Park where we’d need reservations to get us through the busy weekends. Dealing with those storage units would be stressful enough without adding in the stress of a time frame.

The only real downside was the distance. The state park was only a fifteen-minute drive to the storage facility while Dick and Steph’s place would be over an hours drive. We’ll take it!

Not a bad place to call home for a week!

An emotional, yet fun week

After getting settled in and getting acquainted with Dick and Steph’s beautiful home and property, it was time to take the hour and twenty-minute drive to the storage facility. We spent about five-hours that first-day pulling box by box out of the jam-packed unit on the left.

Whatever were we thinking? Obviously, we weren’t!

The next day, we spent four grueling hours going through more boxes. The task was a combination of tedious, grueling, and emotional which lead to a much-needed break on day three.

Our day off

Even though we had previously lived in southern Colorado and knew all about Bishop Castle, Al and I hadn’t personally visited. So Dick recommended the four of us enjoy a scenic drive to a castle.

Dick, Al, and Steph on the rear deck.
Al and me in front of the castle

Hmm … it’s an interesting structure surrounded by a lot of controversy. I don’t think it’s an attraction I would recommend driving out of the way to see, but since we were somewhat in the area, I found it to be a unique sight and fun day with our friends.

I do question the safety of the structure which is why government officials have tried to stop Mr. Bishop from keeping it open to the public. If you have even the slightest fear of heights, I wouldn’t recommend exploring the inside of the building. Nor would I recommend visiting with children even though we saw quite a few.

I don’t necessarily agree with some of the county’s tactics to close Mr. Bishop and his castle down, but I do understand the concerns. When we lived in Colorado, I remember watching our local news channel and hearing about Mr. Bishop’s problems with local law enforcement and county officials. Talk about an interesting story!

After our enjoyable day off, we had one more day at storage. Whew! We were sure glad when that task was done. We did widdle our stuff down to 1 1/2 units. Part of that half will be going to our children (at their request) which means we’ll be moving all our stuff to Phoenix. Nope, I’m not even going to talk about the plan to move everything from Pueblo to Phoenix this fall for fear of breaking out in hives from stress.

Perhaps I should do a blog post on How not to move into your RV full-time. Do as I say, not as I do!!! 🙄

More fun

Once the storage job was complete, we weren’t in any hurry to move on. After all, we had a full hook-up RV site and it was free … awesome! But the best part was hanging out with Dick and Steph and enjoying the amazing views. Our next few days were filled with laughs, good food, and great company. They even invited us to revisit anytime … always a good sign that we didn’t overstay our welcome.

Fun in the Colorado Rockies!

Moving on

We reluctantly bid farewell to our Cotopaxi, Colorado friends, and look forward to spending more time hanging out together this winter when all of us return to the Pioneer RV Park in Phoenix, Arizona.

Our next stop found us back in some familiar territory and making new friends. Once again, the common thread of RVing and this little blog of mine lead to a great overnight on private property just east of Colorado Springs. Kathy has been following my blog for a while even though she doesn’t write one herself. In the past, she has commented on various posts and we’ve even communicated via email.

She and her husband were full-time RVers for about a year. Their intent was always to purchase another home near Colorado Springs when their other house sold. Thus, while their new home was being built, they traveled around in their RV. Al and I knew very little about her and her husband, but to sum up our experience with our new friends, we enjoyed our visit so much so that we almost stayed another night, but we had plans which involved a time frame. By the way, their home and property are beautiful and we hope to reconnect with these fellow RVers sometime down the road.

Conclusion:

RVing is a great way to travel and see the country, and although the list of things I love about the RV lifestyle is long, at the top of my favorites list are the people we meet. However, I’d be remiss if I failed to mention the fabulous friends I’ve made via this RV blog who have also offered up their property and friendship.

During our RVing journey, we’ve met so many fine people that we enjoy hanging out with, as well as have developed some really amazing friendships … the kind of friends that I know would drive out of their way to come help us if we asked and we would do the same. Those kinds of relationships are rare and special … thank you!

Next up – South Dakota and meeting blogging pals for the first time!

(Thank you for shopping my affiliate links)

Pour-Over Coffee Brewer w/Carafe
Cuisinart Coffeemaker
Thermal Stainless Steel Cup with Lid for Travel

49 thoughts on “What I Love about RVing”

  1. That’s some crazy kind of castle. It reminds me of a building we saw somewhere in Victoria, Vancouver Island last summer. It looks like you had some fun places to stop on your way east. So, will all your stuff now fit in one storage unit in Phoenix?

    Of course, I have to agree that meeting new people and connecting with old friends is one of the most amazing things of RVing. 🙂 And, good for you guys not to run your generator at odd hours when boondocking. Thank you in the name of your neighbors. We hate it when that noise interrupts us any time of the day, but on crowded parking lots, there is often a big RV running theirs. We always wonder why, especially after they drove a while to get there, so their batteries should be charged. But, after reading your post, I now understand that some gadgets/amenities need a lot of power.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes, I’m down to one storage unit … well kind of. I have half a unit that is going to the kids in September by their request.

      We try to be considerate when we run our gen. Gosh, even I don’t like the noise even though ours is rather quiet compared to others. We decided the cost of solar didn’t make sense for our personal style of RVing and since we already owned the gen that was the most economical thing to do.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Just getting caught up after a few weeks of disconnecting with my laptop. Sounds like you’ve had a great trip so far. The friendships we’ve made have been the best thing about rv’ing. Hope we’re able to get a month at Pioneer when I call the first of August.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. We have enjoyed our summer journey thus far. Connecting with friends new and old is always the best. I do hope to see you guys this winter and maybe we’ll have some WI fish in our freezer to share.

      Like

  4. You are right about always having your home and bed with you, something non-RV’ers just don’t understand. A lot of time when we visit friends they don’t understand why we won’t stay in their house!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. No, they don’t understand. As you know, we’ve been staying at my sister-in-laws … they laugh every evening when we say it’s time for us to go home. Granted, it’s a short walk home making it perfect for happy hour and not having to drive 😋

      Like

  5. Hi Ingrid,
    We are new to the RVing thing, but have been sailors and pocket-cruisers for years and find the relationships and connections you describe among our sailing friends.
    Already we have found the RVers we’ve met to be open and helpful…so looking forward to our adventures in the future and meeting lots of like-minded folks. I even wrote a blog post about our first Boondockers Welcome stay which was wonderful. Our host were incredibly accomodating,

    Liked by 1 person

    1. And a great post it is! I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun adventures in your future with the RV. Be sure and let me know if you make it out to Arizona. Would love to meet.

      Like

    1. It seems that no matter what part of the country (or even world) that we’re from, as RVers we all share similar interests in exploring nature. We do enjoy the lifestyle.

      Like

  7. I totally agree!!! We have met and continue to meet the most wonderful people in this lifestyle!!! Mike and I have talked about this so often!!! It’s just amazing and you have to experience it to really get it!! Looks like these two friends are very special…opening their home and land to you all!!!
    So!!!!! How much were you able to purge? One entire storage building? I’m impressed!! We have two as well and we went there the other day to purge and retrieve a few items we might could use. We opened the doors, stood and looked and closed the doors and left!! Not the way to consolidate into one building!! We will return!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Well, the purging went pretty well. We did get rid of about 1/4 of the stuff. The other 1/4 will go to the children. So, I think we’ll be down to one unit once we get everything to Phoenix and I’ll probably be able to purge even more when I’m not as stressed.

      We’re spending the summer at my sister-in-laws in northern Wisconsin and I’m helping her purge and organize … and remodel her kitchen. Whew! The last thirty days have been exhausting.

      Like

  9. Now that we’ve had a taste of taking the trailer on the road, we LOVE the RV life, Ingrid! I love that idea of taking our house with us and sleeping in our comfy bed. The plus is we can take our dogs and they don’t have to be “put up with” by family members at their homes. We essentially boondock at our delta campground all summer (weekends), so I was so happy to find a pour-over coffee maker (Melita). Just heat the water on the stove and pour! It IS just as good, but I have a new coffee maker in the trailer for when we are plugged in. It really is about the simple pleasures! We plan to store our trailer closer to home rather than an hour away near our delta campground, so we can use it this fall and definitely this winter to your neck of the woods!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Glad you plan to use the trailer a bit more and I look forward to reconnecting with you this winter in AZ. Let’s hope the weather is better than it was last winter. Hope you have something fun planned for the summer.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. The Europeans make do with just the RV. I don’t think rental companies allow tow options. A small Class C fits in most parking lots just fine.

          Like

  11. So glad you two decided to park here for a night. We do love all the connections we’ve made with new friends during our rv travels. Makes this phase of life much more interesting! Enjoy your time in the Midwest! We’ll hopefully catch up with you in AZ or CO again in the future.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. We enjoyed our stay with you very much. I know we could’ve continued talking for hours. Thank you again for your hospitality and we look forward to reconnecting down the road.

      Like

  12. Always great to have nice people to let you camp. We have never encountered that, but staying South in the Winter, we are always moving around. We sure do meet great people along the journey, though!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. If we were part-time, I think we would travel similarly to the way you guys do. You’ll find a different type of camper via the various camping options (RV parks vs. state/federal). As much as I love (prefer) a state park, COE CG, or national park, we’ve rarely made any friends or connections at any such campground. But the beauty of the environment makes it worthwhile.

      Like

    1. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. There’s always the ability to rent an RV for a trip and visiting some of our beautiful national parks.

      Like

  14. Great post. Cotopaxi, CO looks amazing–what a treat to have met friends that allowed you to rest and recreate. Awesome. Say, how did you manage to pull and post the 9 hour trip from the map with the blue locator? I bet it’s easy, but I’ve never done it before and would like to.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s definitely a beautiful property, but they’re thinking about selling. So hopefully we can make it back there before they do.
      The Google map is a little tricky.
      1. Go to Google maps. Top left you’ll see 3 lines (menu, next to search) click on and go to “your places”
      2. Go over to Maps and at the bottom click on “create”
      3. Now you’ll need to start playing around. Once you think you’ve got your map …
      4. Click “preview” then click “share”. You’ll need to make it public.
      5. In preview mode, click embed on site, and copy blue code
      6. Embed the code on your site. I’m pretty sure you need to add the coding while in ‘text’ mode and not ‘visual’.

      Email me if you get stuck or run into a problem with the map. It does take some playing around to figure out the whole process and I forget if I haven’t done it in awhile.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh my gosh, I’m sorry you had to respond with such lengthy directions. That is, I was hoping it was easy. Thank you, I will play around and see if I get it.

        Like

  15. Ingrid! No hives. I am doing what you say, the hubby and I are less than one month out from putting our house on the market. No storage unit for us. But, you have kids… that would make up a storage unit of memories. Maybe you shouldn’t stress about it, just accept it is what it is??? What a beautiful piece of property! I can’t wait to start RVing. The pour over coffee maker is A Brilliant find! Thank you!!!😊💫

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Since Al and I are morning people, it’s not uncommon for us to start the coffee around 6:00 a.m. and that’s just too early to start a generator so the pour-over coffee method is perfect. Some folks like a French press but I find there’s more to clean up.
      You’ll meet some of the best people out here RVing. Keep me posted if you plan to visit AZ.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I was wondering how it compared to the French press! Ok. I went through your link and put on on my RV shopping list. It should credit back to you when I buy it? Hop3 also… ok! Arizona. Maybe by January! 😉💫

        Like

    1. I wouldn’t drive out of the way to see it, but if you’re visiting southern CO, it’s worth a slight detour to visit. I’d be interested to hear what you think if you do visit.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Yes, Ingrid, you are right; it is the people you meet along the journey. We do miss the lifestyle though not sure we would buy another motorhome, never say never!! That building is very unusual with what looks like a Spanish influence?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That structure is interesting. I’m not sure there’s any specific influence other than one man’s vision. It’s definitely rough and not the safest.
      We’re spending our summer at my sister-in-laws on private property, and although I’m enjoying it, I am beginning to miss life in the RV park. We’ll be heading out on a short excursion on Sunday. The RV life is addicting.

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.