Tomorrow will be one year since I left on my first work-from-the-road trip with my Rpod camper, which lasted from Jan. 26 to March 31, 2023. This year I left on Jan. 4 and I’m shooting for returning to Minnesota the second week of April, just in time to do taxes. So far I’m loving it as much or more than last year, in part because the camper feels more comfortable, and I’m more comfortable with it, now that I mostly understand how everything works.
One thing noticeable this year is that about every 5th or 6th camper has Starlink satellite internet, whereas last year at this time I’d maybe see one other person using it anywhere I went. It’s catching on fast, and way more people are hitting national parks etc. than just a few years ago, perhaps a Covid silver-lining.
Tonight I talked to a guy who converted a 40 foot 2007 school bus into an RV. He and his wife and kid and dog live in it full time and have done so for nearly two years now with no plans to stop. He bought it for $7,500 and put $55,000 into it (did the work himself), sold his house and hit the road. He has 1,500 watts of solar and his kid is a gamer so uses tons of power but he rarely has to use a generator. He’s 45 years old and retired from a 26-year career in the Navy where he was a submarine communications officer. He pays $25 a month for health benefits and as far as I can tell from a Google search, the Navy pays him 65% of his highest 3-years of pay. He seemed really, really pleased and loving life and has no plans to ever work again.
I think probably the biggest thing in America preventing lots of people from retiring early and living their best life is health benefits, or lack thereof. The Affordable Care Act reduced those costs for a lot of people, but it’s still not an insignificant amount of money to have a good plan. I wonder if CEOs making $20 million a year would be pissed if working age Americans were able to get affordable health coverage without a job, because a lot of people would then tell them to go ahead and fuck right off, I don’t work for you no more. It would become way easier to quit a job you didn’t like, but also way easier to try to start your own business since that’s a huge expense you have to consider. Fortunately I like my job so I’m not complaining about my personal circumstances, but I wish everyone had health insurance (and I’m happy to pay more in taxes to make it so) and that so many people didn’t have to go into debt and have their lives ruined because people feel the need to make tons of money off human beings who fall ill or have genetic or chronic conditions. Someday we will catch up to the rest of the developed world.
Today I worked outside in full sunshine and 70 degree weather. It was magnificent. I took breaks to read a book and finished my 5th book of the trip already, thinking for some reason that 7 books would be enough for three months or so, but I’m going to have to hit a bookstore and buy a few more. I found one in the campground free box today, some kind of John Grisham-like spy thriller that probably won’t be very original, but I bet it will have lots of explosions, which I’m into, and it’s better than nothing. I think I’m also going to buy a small guitar or travel guitar for like $100, because I’m missing playing music. I didn’t want to bring my guitar and have it sit in a potentially hot truck or camper when I’m off hiking and get warped.
Tomorrow I’ll have been at Big Bend for two weeks, so my time’s up and I’m hitting the road first thing in the morning. The tentative plan is to be in Tonto National Forest in Arizona by Sunday night, but if I find something I like along the way, I’ll reschedule. I made a rough plan of my trip but it basically blew up immediately and I’m half winging it at this point. I’m hoping to make it 400 miles tomorrow and then Saturday spend the afternoon at White Sands National Park. Then either that evening or Sunday morning I’ll drive another 300 miles to Arizona.
This isn’t a very good post. I’m tired from sitting in the sun I think and my eyes are dry. I’ll do better next time.
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