lonniehuffman's Journal, 07 July 2020

Beautiful! How do you find these great places 

Fantastic as usual! You take the most beautiful pictures!!! And you're swinging!! Looks like a lad having fun!! I have a question too. How long have you been a full time traveler? Did you start out little by little going place to place while maintaining a residence, or did you just jump in all at once. I guess that is a couple questions! 😁 Keep the pictures of your beautiful gym coming!!!  

Hi, Kenna! We find these places on the internet, mostly. The best website is campendium.com. Another great one is freecampsites.net. 🙂 

I've authorized you for an unlimited number of questions per day, Melissa. We're halfway through our third year of fulltime RVing. Before fulltiming we had a smaller camper for a few years that we would take on vacation or go places on the weekends. It was always our dream though to eventually do it fulltime once we retired. We eventually sold that first camper when we realized it was a too small to use fulltime. It was also too often sitting in the driveway while we were making payments on it. As retirement drew near, we bought the one we have now. Over the next several weeks, we had a couple of huge garage sales and got rid of almost everything, because only so much will fit in a camper. On Thanksgiving Day 2017 we moved into our camper and put our house up for rent. For a little while we camped locally in South Carolina, where we were living, because we had another rental property that we had to fix up after a tenant destroyed it. We both retired from our day jobs the following April, finished fixing the rental and hit the road in May, and we haven't been back that way since.  

And another question! 😁 What do you use for electricity? Solar, generator?  

Both, Melissa. When we bought the camper, the first thing we did was have a generator installed in it. The generator is powerful enough to run everything, including the AC, however it uses a lot of propane if you run it very long, so next, while we were already traveling, we installed a solar system. The bank of batteries that the solar system charges isn't powerful enough to run the AC or the microwave, but it runs everything else. We also bought a small portable generator that runs on gasoline so we could charge our electric bikes, and for emergencies. Right now the big generator is on the fritz though. It needs some servicing, but we've put it off until the virus goes away. The only thing we can't use without the big generator is the microwave. We don't need the AC, because we purposefully follow the mild weather. We still have a stove and oven for cooking, so it's not a big deal. 

Beautiful area, I love any place near water. Being indoors for months in the city is giving me the urge to go back to country living. Your pictures are strengthening that urge. And, as I have no ties (children live away), I can live wherever I choose. 

I prefer country living too, Shir. My favorite campsites are the ones way out in the boonies. It's so peaceful, and you should see the night sky! Check out this picture I took of the Milky Way in Utah! https://flic.kr/p/2cfPtkU Here's another one I took in Idaho. https://flic.kr/p/2brTnZN 

Looks divine! Enjoy ✨ 

I was a swinger... a long time ago. Do you walk with a big stick to beat any wild animals that may attack? That's my question for today. Does your partner come with when it is an unfamiliar area?  

Oh Lonnie your pictures inspire me! Beautiful! We are headed out to Idaho Falls for a quick stop and then Yellowstone. We have reservations tonight in YS but heard that park is a 2-3 hour wait to get in. Ugh..we will probably go off grid for a few days after tonight and enjoy nature. Where are you guys headed after Idaho?  

Beautiful! 😀 

Another beautiful stop. That river looks fantastic. Love that your RV has solar. Enjoy and thanks for sharing. Btw you are looking fit bud💪💪💪💪💪 

Hey, DP! Although I've had a few close encounters with wild animals on my walks, the only animals that have ever attacked me have been mosquitos. That rattlesnake a couple weeks ago was the closest I came to actual danger. When we're in bear country, I will carry bear spray with me. I also don't venture too far when I see the bear warning signs posted. Kevin (my partner) will come with me when I walk slowly, like when we're hiking. He used to come with me when I take my "heart walks", when I first started doing them, but he can't keep up with me anymore, so he doesn't even try. He has asthma, so that slows him down. 

Lonnie, amazing photos - so much greenery, so that’s another amazing camping spot! And that swing looks fun, you’re adorable! 😂 

I'm envious, Diana! I wish we were going to Yellowstone! That's my favorite park! We aren't going to any populated places this year, due to virus concerns. Kevin has asthma, so we're being extra cautious. We went to Yellowstone two years ago, and I can't wait to go back now that I'm better at hiking. It's really crowded at Yellowstone though, so we won't stop there this year, even though we aren't very far from there right now. Our plan this year is tentative, but we're planning to slowly make our way to Glacier Rim, which is a free camping area outside of Columbia Falls in Montana. Glacier Rim is very close to Glacier National Park, which is another place I'd like to revisit, but it too draws large crowds, so not this year. Be safe, Diana, and have safe travels. 

I am looking forward to do this with my hubby. 

Thank you, ocean_girl! I'm probably the most for I've ever been. 💪😁 

I appreciate you, newname! 😉 You're pretty adorable too! 

You'll love it, XryRn! I love RVing!