Maybe We’ll Rethink That Earthship Home Idea After All

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We came across this earthen home near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It’s under construction. We were so thrilled when we saw see a “For Sale” sign on the property. We thought “Hey, maybe it’s a sign! Is it meant to be?” When we stopped to talk to the closest neighbor, he gave us the scoop. The home is for sale because “Wild Bill” as he’s known …

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Show Me the Money: Hard Numbers from a Year on the Road

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Jim with Trucker Cap Leaving Eureka CAOne year ago this week, we drove away from Humboldt County in a daze. We couldn’t believe that we had really pulled our sabbatical off, and year on the road seemed like an eternity. Little did we know that it would fly by seemingly as quick as a two week vacation. We have so much to say about our epic journey. But for now, let’s start with the hard numbers.

Thanks to the meticulous Quickbooks expense tracking I’ve done over the last several years, and Carol White’s Live Your Road Trip Dream book budgeting templates, I was able to put together a budget that works for us. In short: we came in under budget, and the money we’ve saved will enable us to continue to live this lifestyle for at least the next year if we choose to.

If you’d like to see the technical details, a PDF with summarized numbers is here. But if spreadsheets make you snooze, then here’s a quick summary of my numbers for the year, and some ways we saved money:

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Look what I found!

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surprised cartoon invitation proposalWe’ve found ourselves back at the campground in the grove at the trailhead to Cohab Canyon where I proposed to Rene about a dozen years ago on our legendary motorcyle tour of the southwest.

We are just feet from where we tent camped. We probably would have moved if this big ol’ rig parked next to us at the time.

I also just found the following autobiographical early “web page code” and have hereby salvaged it from becoming internet detritus….

Surprised? I saved the cartoon shown for many years before giving it to the woman I knew would marry.

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Our Love/Hate Relationship with MotoSat

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Motosat F2 Satellite Internet Dish in SnowJust the other day, I was thinking of writing about how much I love our satellite internet system. It provides us with connectivity even when we have no cell phone coverage camped deep in a National Forest campground, alongside a roaring stream, in the snow.

Then our Datastorm F2 refused to deploy. Luckily, we had made it back to civilization at Mountain Views RV Resort in Creede, CO with full hookups and WiFi. But now we are taking an 900 mile round-trip detour to Salt Lake City for a factory repair at MotoSat.

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Colorado: What Real Estate Crash?

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Monarch Pass Arkansas Valley ColoradoAs soon as our rig crossed the border into Colorado, my spirit felt as if I had returned home. This land just calls out to me.

From Minnesota to Maine, there are lots of beautiful places in this country that I think I could live in. But none of them feed my soul like Colorado does. I know I’d love living here. But it could be a pipe dream.

Because in Colorado, you’d never know real estate is crashing all over the country. The Rockies are the most beautiful place in the U.S., and property owners know it. They have it made. I’m not seeing reasonable prices on any pieces of land, except for the most isolated patches of non-irrigated ag fields in the plains regions.

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Frozen Fishing Report from the Arkansas River

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Frozen Fly Rod EyeletsAs I write this report about my chilly experience fly fishing the Arkansas River near Salida, CO a couple weeks ago, I’m contemplating fishing Williams Creek near Pagosa Springs where we are now.

But it is snowing, the water is pretty rough, and those who are giving it a go don’t look very happy.

After my windy morning on the Arkansas, I doubt I’ll be contemplating much longer. Even though we had heard the fishing was hot, it was definitely not. And while there is no such thing as a bad day fishing, I don’t care to repeat that adventure.

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Not In Such A Twitter About Tweets

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Rene Tweets on Twitter Social NetworkIt was that funny RhodesTer guy who first turned us on to the whole Twitter thing. Though I must say, I was never really that turned on.

It was Ren? who insisted we add the Twitter badge that shows what we’re doing at every instant.

I fought and stalled, but eventually conceded.

We compromised by placing yet another widget at the bottom of our sidebar. You see … Twitter is only good if you tweet.

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Magic Healing Dirt at El Sanctuario de Chimayo

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El Sanctuario de Chimayo Santa FeYou can’t go anywhere in New Mexico without running into another miraculous historical building or energy vortex. It’s a challenge to pick which ones to visit, but checking out this church was a must for me (the last one for a while, I swear!). Because this church isn’t just any old church, it’s a church built on miraculous dirt.

I first heard about Chimayo through a family friend, who made a pilgrimage there in the 1980s, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She headed there like so many others, in search of the holy spirit that would receive her prayers and aid in her recovery. The magic worked. She beat the cancer, and swears that the reason she’s made it into her 80s is because of her pilgrimage and the miraculous dirt she took home from Chimayo.

Last week, my friend took a bad fall and is now in a rehab hospital. When I heard this news, I decided to make my own pilgrimage to Chimayo, just north of Santa Fe, to get some more of that magic dirt to send to her.

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I could be a turn of the century printer.

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Roger the Miller at el Molino GrandeI must say, I never really thought much of the whole “living history museum” thing. Heck, I didn’t even know what one was until we discovered Shelburne Farms when we stayed at the city campground in Burlington, VT last year. But we didn’t even pay that one a visit.

I have to thank our new friend Roger for opening my eyes to how cool it would be to work as a docent or interpreter at one of these living history museums. Roger volunteers as the 18th century miller at Rancho de las Golandrinas.

Mill at Golondrinas Living History Museum
Mill at Golondrinas Living History Museum Santa Fe
Living History Museum Santa Fe NM
Santa Fe Living History Museum
Rancho de las Golondrinas Santa Fe
Living History Fiber Arts Santa Fe Museum

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Happy Anniversary Baby!

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Beautiful Rene Atop Hecla JunctionPlease allow me this brief moment to shout out to the entire world just how much I love my wife. Isn’t she beautiful?

Living together in a trailer on the road, it’s hard to surprise someone with anything. But since steel is the traditional gift for an 11-year anniversary, and Rene isn’t really into jewelry ? the modern choice ? perhaps I can steal her heart once again with a few heartfelt words.

I recently expressed concern to Ren? about her dancing on the precipice at Black Canyon National Park. OK, she wasn’t dancing. But her scrambling made me nervous nonetheless.

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