In April of 2018 two buddies, and I embarked on a month long journey in an RV. We didn’t have an exact itinerary planned out, but we had an idea of where we wanted to go and we would figure it out along the way. We completed the trip and us three men survived a month of living in the close confines of a 30 foot long RV. If you ever want to rent an RV, I highly recommend Cruise America. They have a ton of options and a nice selection of RV’s that can help you take the journey of a lifetime. They did not pay me to say that, I promise.
The Stats
States = 4 (Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico)
Miles Driven = 3,017. The equivalent of driving from San Diego, California to Salem, Massachusetts and a tad further.
Miles Hiked = 118.6
National Parks Visited = 9 (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Grand Canyon, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, Petrified Forest, Zion)
RV Parks Stayed In = 12
Laughs = Too many to count
The Places
Driving 3017 miles, we covered a lot of ground. We had a lot to see, and we did exactly that. I could go into a lot of detail about the journey, but I will just let the pictures below tell the story of the amazing things we saw.
The Team
Dave - Dave is a jack of all trades. He is super smart, he is a musician, I.T. guru, has a quick wit and has a positive, easy going outlook on life that makes living in an RV with him for a month super easy. My respect and admiration for Dave grew as we traveled on this journey together.
Rob - Rob has traveled all over the world. He has a great sense of adventure. He is quick with a joke, and a great song from Australia. He is funny, super smart, and very easy going. Rob is easy to be around, making him also an ideal candidate to live in an RV with for a month. Rob was the catalyst for getting this trip started and I will forever be grateful for that.
Chris - Me. I would be good to speak in a random accent, and would make sure to regularly ask one of my fellow travel mates if they thought they were bettah than me. My need to have somewhat of a plan and be organized led to the self proclaimed nickname of Logistics Guy.
We all met during Remote Year. We traveled the world together, and even took a few trips together, but none of our worldly travels would prepare us for a month in the close confines of the RV. That sounds more dramatic than it really is, and wasn’t that bad at all.
The Food
Our RV had a full kitchen, and we took advantage of it during this journey. We would stop at grocery stores and stock up on the necessities we would need to provide us sustenance. The essentials for the trip were pretty simple: Burgers, Sausages, Pot Pies, Avocados, Salsa, Chips, Frozen Vegetables, Muesli (AKA Granola, AKA the most boring breakfast ever, just kidding guys, I loved it) Fruit, Peanuts, Clif Bars, Greek Yogurt, instant coffee and most importantly Beer. Obviously we would try to eat in the RV as much as possible to be economically smart, but sometimes after days of eating all of the above, we would have a treat yo self moment, and hit up a restaurant near where we were staying.
The RV
Bessy ended up being the name of our RV. She was a beast of a vehicle. She had a V10 engine, was 30 feet long, and about 12 feet wide. The wind would rock her like a kite in a hurricane, and her turning radius proved to be tight at times. We had a kitchen, a kitchen table area, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a shower. The couch in the kitchen table area folded into a bed, and the area above the driving area had a bed as well. All and all Bessy was very comfortable, and served us well throughout the journey.
The End
We said goodbye to Rob in Albuquerque, then Dave and I hit the road back to Arizona. We returned the RV in one piece, and got a pleasant surprise from the lady at Cruise America about how clean it was. In a flash, the trip was over. If you ever are looking to hit the road and explore the beauty of the American Southwest, or any part of the country for that matter, I can’t recommend an RV enough. It is your home, and it is a great way to cover a lot of ground while having everything you need within reach. If I ever have a family someday, I look forward to driving an RV to visit my other family members at Christmas time and getting this license plate.
Thanks for reading. Peace and Love!