Two years ago this month, we found our place in paradise at Red Feather Lakes.

After searching the country to find Jerry’s Acres, we landed in a place we had passed three times in our travels.

Not once did we realize that paradise awaited deep in the Mummy Range on the way to Walden.

If it wasn’t for the relatively affordable land for sale and our awesome realtors Mike and Marie Edwards, we never would have guessed that everything we were looking for was just an hour from what we think is the best small city in the nation, Fort Collins.

The Honeymoon’s Not Over

When you’re in a spot for a while, those little annoyances you didn’t see upon your arrival tend to make their debut. But not here, not for us.

Sure, there’s the pine beetle epidemic that’s killed quite a few magnificent trees, but we can’t control what the beetles do (thank you, climate change), only try our best to shoo them off with pheromones and natural tree fertilizers.

Sometimes this place does cost more than if we were still fulltime RVers. And while I don’t like the financial burdens of having a piece of the American Dream, I keep reminding myself that ultimately our little place will serve us even better than it does now.

Property values actually increased this year up here, which was a shock. Still, we felt incredibly fortunate to have been in that boat, even if our taxes went up.

Where to Next?

If we stayed here during winter, I think my complaint list would grow.

But we’ll still fly south in winter for the forseeable future.  Just as we start to get fat, happy and settled into routines, it’ll be time to go test our wits out there in the world and live spontaneously once again.

We love Red Feather Lakes. And although it’s nice to have a beautiful place to stay for a while, the adventure of the road tripping lifestyle will always beckon.

Don’t you just love getting a whiff of that “new RV smell” whenever you open the door to your brand new house on wheels? We sure did!

But ever since learning that the new RV smell is really just the formaldehyde used in RV construction materials, it creeps me out. Short of gutting our RV and re-installing all eco-friendly materials, there’s not a lot we can do other than cooking the formaldehyde out and leaving windows open as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Jim and I take measures to live as healthy a life as possible to keep our immune systems strong and able to fight off toxins exposure. We’re on the road to even healthier living thanks to a book I recently won, courtesy of The Good Human, the web’s best resource for keeping you and the planet healthy.

The Healthy Home: Simple Truths to Protect Your Family from Hidden Household Dangers

I like to think I’m knowledgeable about living healthy. We eat semi-vegan, don’t use Teflon pans, stay away from toxic health and beauty products and make homemade cleaning products.

But The Healthy Home book is helping me understand many other risks I hardly think about, such as:

EMF Exposure: Electro Magnetic Frequencies (EMFs) are bombarding us more than ever and studies prove they increase a person’s risk of developing cancer. From cell phones to WiFi networks, humans are being exposed to more EMFs than at any other time in history. Now that we are at the 20-year mark of this technological advancement, cancers are starting to take hold.

So how do you decrease your exposure? Keep your wireless devices out of the bedroom and away from your head and turn off your WiFi when you’re offline.

Toxic Air: The air in our homes is more toxic than the air outside, thanks to all of the chemicals (especially in RV materials) and the toxins used in our daily lives. Consider that oil you burned in the pan last night at dinner, your bathroom air freshener and your cleaning products: they all emit toxins.  You can neutralize your home’s toxic air by keeping the windows open as much as you comfortably can to release these deadly fumes from your home.

Kitchen Risks: From the dangers of using plastic to cover your food in the microwave to cooking the minerals out of your vegetables,The Healthy Home presented lots of ways to make a healthy kitchen like mine even healthier. For example, I had no idea that over-chopping vegetables could lead to a huge loss of vitamins and minerals.

While I don’t plan on gnawing on uncut carrots for dinner, I’ll try to keep vegetables and fruits as whole as possible before eating.

These are just a few tips packed inside this well-written, quick read book. Although the authors presented some crazy scare tactics I disagreed with (like how CFL blubs are so mercury-laden we should opt for incandescent bulbs instead), overall The Healthy Home is a great way to examine all aspects of your home and health habits so you can live longer, healthier lives.

Check out the Healthy Home website for some great free tips and then buy the book from us !

When you’re boondocking, do you dump? Your grey water, that is.

Our wheels had barely started turning the first time anyone introduced us to the concept of dumping grey water somewhere other than a septic system.

Wisconsin’s Amish country beckoned but the nearest dump station was closed and our grey tanks were full.

We asked a farmer if he knew of another station.

“Yah sure, right there” he said as he pointed to his field.

Our heads spun ’round. “Are you kidding!” we asked. He wasn’t. “Just your greywater of course. Go ahead and pull in, the field needs it.”

We couldn’t believe it. As dedicated backpackers who took every precaution to avoid polluting water sources on the trail, we were horrified.

But our 35 gallon grey tanks were full and we had nowhere to go. So we did it.

The Blue Boy Blues

Avid boondockers know; when you’re settled into a spot, going to the dump is a huge ordeal.

Some folks haul a blue boy around. Many are brave enough to use the blue boy for blackwater dumping, which seems pretty disgusting. We would never, ever get that close to our own poo water (other than the occasional RV dump mishap).

You’ll see blue boy enthusiasts driving 3 miles per hour through Quartzsite, which appears to take longer than just pulling up stakes and moving the rig.

Our fifth wheel is too small to keep a blue boy, so that option is out for us.

Desert Dumping

Our boondocking experiences have taken us to many places where dumping greywater in an open field was accepted by the local population, whether they were land owners or fellow RVers. Usually it’s in the desert.

At the Slabs, it’s a given. Some folks push the envelope of decency by digging gopher holes for grey and black water. Trust me, we won’t go there. Ever.

Playing by the Rules

Stealth greywater dumping is always contingent on the dumping area being safely away from water, other campers and only in barren locations. And always at night (by daytime the puddle has evaporated). We only use biodegradeable soaps and never allow liquid kitchen wastes to go down the drain. That’s just smelly.

I know stealth RV greywater dumping horrifies a lot of people, but the reality is more of us do it than are willing to publicly admit.

So I’ll be the first to step forward. You’re next!

Do You or Don’t You?

If you do, or are considering the possibilities, here’s a handy little device made specifically for this purpose.

The Valterra T1020-5VP Gray Water Drain Adapter.

We saw a camper in Ajo, Arizona using one. Just attach a garden hose and point it away from your rig. Downhill, of course.

If we’ve lost any sort of respect you had for us over this, we apologize. But I’m just coming clean with our reality. It’s just like a saying among scuba scuba enthusiasts:

There are two kinds of divers out there: Those who pee in their wetsuits, and those who lie about it.

Weather is crazy everywhere right now but apparently in Northern Colorado, springtime weather extremes are a way of life.

We arrived  here naively thinking we had beat Mother Nature at her own game. The sun was out, the snow was melting and it was almost warm.

But Gaia had other plans. Instead of warmer days ahead, we’ve been pelted with snow, hail, thunder and rain since we arrived.

Tips for Flying South

The first question a lot of people ask us when we tell them we shut down the homestead and fly south is “Aren’t you afraid of what you’ll come home to?”

My answer is….not really. I do my best not to invite negativity into my life by thinking the worst. I hope for the best and do what I can to prevent mishaps in my life.

What Not to Leave Inside

Our place is in bear country and right about the time we come home, the bears are waking up. Leaving any edibles inside would be stupid. And, as this picture shows, messy.

We left a stash of wine here and are really lucky it didn’t uncork! This is the worst situation we’ve encountered after returning to Jerry’s Acres (find me some wood, quick!).

It says a lot about a place when the inside of an unheated house can get so cold that soda cans explode.

I can’t imagine living here during winter, even with the heater running.

Other things we do to protect the house from weather include winterizing the plumbing and setting out bear un-welcome mats.

That’s about it. There’s not a lot to think about when we fly south for the winter, except trying to find warm weather and figuring out how we’re going to pay for our adventure.

Had we chosen a place in a more populated area, I’m not sure we could live this lifestyle. I wouldn’t want to leave a vacant house with more people around.

But up here in the sticks, things sit untouched all winter while the snow falls.

Would you want to visit?

Summer Beckons

Home Cheapo isn’t getting our business the summer. The only business we’ll be taking care of is work that will help generate more income.

We have more RV adventures to share with you, but you won’t be reading about my high altitude gardening attempts either.

That’s because we’re  hitting the road again in August for another Hay Chronicles at Vickers Ranch over in Lake City, one of our favorite places in the world. Jim’s getting even more fit for some heavy hay lifting and I suppose I should try to recall how to clean cabins again.

Until then, can someone please tell me, where the heck is spring?

It’s freezing here!

As a full-time road tripper, do people you meet on the road ever say to you “Gee, you travel all the time? What, didja win the lotto?”

What do you say to them?

I hesitate to tell people how Jim and I live because most assume that we’re loaded (with money, that is). Which we are not. Ok, it’s all relative, but still.

We manage to do what we do because we keep our expenses extremely low and stay debt free. Our wallets are thin but our spirits are not.

Of course explaining this to a stranger takes more than a 15-second spiel, so I usually just say “we’re snowbirds.”

One of the ways we can do what we do and still eek out a living is through our Internet connections and by scouring the countryside for freebie spots like this one in Utah.

Last week, after taking an emotional beating over our dented Dodge, we hit the road and started heading back to our summer spot.

But before braving the Colorado cold, we stopped near Moab to soak up some sun and camp for a few more days.

Spring has sprung here and we wanted to see more. We also haven’t experienced any warm weather whatsoever since last summer, so I was hoping for high temperatures.

Some fellow road trippers told us about this pretty spot, which I’ve since added to the Escapees Day’s End Directory. (go buy a copy to find out where it is!).

These free spots are widely available to wintertime road trippers in Southwestern deserts. Winter brings many more options for finding solitude on the road.

It’s rare that I actually feel like I’m getting something for my tax dollars, but when we camp on free public land like this, I love knowing that my tax dollars paid for it.

As we prepared to leave Moab and head to Red Feather Lakes, news about President Obama’s awesomely stunning move broke on BBC News.

I never thought I would feel any sense of exhilaration over the death of an individual, but I surprised myself with my reaction when Jim screamed “They got Bin Laden!”

“GOOD!” I said. Yes, I was happy that they killed him. Ecstatic that this horrible human being was wiped off the face of the earth. Now it’s really time for the collective “We” to move forward toward better days ahead. Is that so wrong?

Thank you Mister President.

Now if we can just get rid of Fox News, I’d be even happier.

Land of the Free, indeed.

We used to despise everything about casinos; the stinky smoke, slot machine granny zombies, throwing money at games of chance, and because the house always wins.

I always wondered why fellow frugal road trippers Sean and Louise stay and dine at casinos around the country.

Other than the large parking lots that can accommodate their magic bus, why would they actually go inside, when, like us, they’re rarely willing to pay for campsites? What could possibly lure them in?

Last year when we saw Willie Nelson at Morongo Casino Resort and Spa in Southern California, we understood why. Casinos not only welcome RVers, but many reward us for sticking around.

Why Try Casino Camping?

• Lots of casinos have dedicated RV parking
• Multi-night stays are often fine
• Unhitching is tolerated at many places
• Parking lots are usually well-lit and patrolled by security
• Most have restaurant discounts if you join their “Player’s Club”

We never thought we would surrender our IDs to a casino to join their stupid gambling discount club (did I tell you I hate gambling?).

But when we stopped at Morongo recently, we were hungry and didn’t feel like cooking. Eating out is a rare treat for us, but Morongo has several eateries including a good lookin’ buffet restaurant.

The normal price to eat-till-you-puke at Morongo’s buffet is $15. Join their Winner’s Club and  you can get one $10 voucher per person toward dining or gambling (guess what we chose), plus another $4 off your meal total each time you dine there. We ended up paying $6 for an all-you-can-eat orgy! Six bucks!

All casinos have some kind of discount club to keep the gambling junkies coming back for more. Although you’ll need to hand over your ID and allow them to cram your mailbox full of stupid promotions, you’re bound to get some free meals and overnight spots in return. It’s a win-win for everyone!

Casino Camping Tips

Always follow casino parking etiquette, which is similar to behaving at Wally World:

• Ask security. Find the guy on patrol and ask if it’s OK to park there, where you should park and for how long.
• No setting up camp. That means your generator stays off, your jacks remain up, your awning’s rolled in and your crap stays inside.
• Keep it neater than you found it. Don’t dump your trash there, save it for the gas station that’s ripping you off at $4.50 a gallon.
• Give them some of your cash. Gambling’s stupid in my book but it’s your choice. There are other ways to thank the casino, like dining inside or even just having a beer at the bar. Remember, join their Player’s Club to save tons!
• And if you win big because you tried casino camping as a result of this post, send some our way!

I’ll never bash casinos again, we’re hooked on casino camping! From now on, if we have a choice between a WalMart or a casino with a restaurant, guess where you’ll find us?

Our time in Arizona has come to an end, just in time for the heat to set in.

We arrived in Elfrida in mid-February, already knowing that the caretaking job we had agreed to do at one property had morphed into a caretaking job at another property just down the road. Long story.

Unsure of what to expect when we agreed to that job, we went with the flow and gave it a shot.

“At it’s core, adventure is a willingness to commit to an uncertain outcome with an open heart and an open mind.”

Our situation ended up being much different than we originally envisioned, but it was still a positive adventure. We connected with some great folks who we plan on staying in touch with for future winter caretaking opportunities.

Just as we were getting ready to go, a very dear friend of ours from Eureka passed away. He was young and vibrant and should never have left this earth so soon. The unfairness of it all is upsetting beyond words.

We’re not ready to share his story just yet, since a life like his deserves so much more mental bandwidth than I can dig up right now.

When word came of his passing, we knew we had to be there for his memorial service in Eureka. So instead of pointing east to Texas, we turned and went the other way.

After a too-brief visit with family in L.A., we’re now driving north and will be in our old stomping grounds, Humboldt County, for a short stay. Time to dig up the winter clothes that I had just put away.  Brrrr….

Good, bad, boring, adventurous, whatever; there’s never any telling what will happen in life. All we can do is live as best we can and try to make a positive, lasting impact on others in this world, just as our friend did.

Recently, we were thrilled to be the lucky winners of this Xantrex 400-watt Portable Solar Pack.

The pack was courtesy of RV Parking.com, the largest online directory of RV campgrounds and campsites on the web and the only one with a mobile app for your iPhone.

Stay tuned for an upcoming review of the solar pack, but meanwhile, we wanted to let you know about this fabulous new directory.

RV Parking: Over 19,000 Reviews to Date!

RV Parking is a new kid on the block, at just nine months old. But, this new site already features over 19,000 listings of North American RV parks and freebie spots.

The reviews tell you everything you could possibly want to know about a campsite or parking location and features photos, amenities and other information to help you decide where you want to spend your time.

RV Parking even has an iPhone app that will store your data locally so it’s still accessible even if you can’t get a signal.

There are other directories for RVers out there, and you’re probably wondering what makes RV Parking so special. With that in mind, we asked founder Erik Budde why he decided to undertake this huge project to catalog RV parks around the continent:

Besides your parents being RVers, what got you into creating the website?

“It just seemed to me that RVing was a little behind. I mean, the phone book died about 5 years ago, but still most all RVers are carrying around the equivalent and basing their decisions on an inch of text and maybe an ad. It just felt archaic.

I mean, before you drive 50 miles to camp somewhere, don’t you want to hear what other people think? Don’t you want to see some photos?

What makes RV Parking different from other campground review sites?

“So many of the main sources of information seemed inherently biased. Lots of websites might have info, but they are also taking money from the parks (one way or another) and not always being clear about it.” RV Parking takes no money from parks or campgrounds mentioned on the website.

Download RV Parking’s Mobile App Today

RV Parking is the only online directory with a a free iPhone campground directory app. Erik says he created the app because “no one had a mobile version of their web site (at least that I could find).”

RV Parking’s team wants to create all the tools (reviews, photos, directions, etc.) an RVer needs to find the right park, and to make these tools accessible on any device  from a laptop to a smart phone.

Expect to see more reviews and more photos on the site in the coming year. Erik wants to hear from as many RVers as possible who are willing to share both good and not-so-good park and boondocking experiences, so check out RV Parking to add your review.

Even though it’s still in its infancy, RV Parking’s content shows that Erik and his team have poured their hearts into this project. It’s the best online directory we’ve found to date, and we hope that you’ll visit this resource and add your two cents to campground reviews while you’re at it.

Check out RV Parking today!

Industrial tourism has a place in the American landscape. These sites are like train wrecks and natural disasters; you just can’t help but look twice at the horrific results.

From the world’s largest open pit ecological disaster in Butte Montana to the Lavender Pit Open Mine here in Bisbee, the North American continent is full of scenic locations that showcase man’s wanton destruction of the planet through the years.

Some of them make great attractions, while others make you want to turn your head and weep.

We’re here in Bisbee, ground zero of Arizona’s copper, silver and gold mining boom of the late 19th century.

This town once prospered because of man’s awesome ability to cut open the earth and extract riches.

Bisbee was a company town complete with housing, schools and stores for employees who took on this dangerous work to feed their families for a pittance of a salary.

Bisbee Today

There was once incredible wealth here and today many of the oldest buildings still stand.

Bisbee’s narrow streets and twisted pathways lead to houses stacked on top of eachother, perched alongside the steep hills this town was built on.

Funky thrift stores housed in historic buildings and cafes built into mountainsides give it a dusty Southwestern flair that’s attracted tons of creatives.

Soon after the artists arrived, however, so did the art buyers, which meant that real estate prices went sky-high and proprietors figured out how valuable those antiques in their junk stores really were. There are few real deals to be found here.

That’s alright though. Some of the “come here’s” progressive attitudes have really improved this community. There’s recycling on every corner and a true appreciation for public art, not just the kind that hangs over a wealthy person’s mantle.

Relics of Bisbee’s past blend with modern artistic touches that make it an interesting place to amble along on a Saturday afternoon.

While it’s somewhat out of your way to get here unless you’re going to the Mexican border, trust me when I say it’s worth a visit.

There’s no place like Bisbee.

There’s a lot to be said for staying in one location, if only for a month or so.

After just a couple of weeks at our current gig, caretaking a vacant property in Southern Arizona, we’ve already settled in nicely and created daily routines that revolve around working, playing, eating and resting.

These routines are much like those of a stick-house dweller’s, except that we don’t see anyone else all week until we leave the property to go grocery shopping.

It’s just us and the wind most days. Oh, and the nasty javalenas.

Caretaking 101

The assignment is easy and our bosses are great people. They’re not asking much  from us, so we have plenty of time to catch up on our own work and bringing home the bacon. We love it.

We feel fortunate to have hooked up with a gig like this, thanks to fellow roadtrippers Kelly and Al of the Bayfield Bunch.

They’ve known the property owners here for a while and were caretaking a neighboring property, but just left.

The weather’s almost been nice enough to work and eat al fresco, but it just turned ugly and we hope this is only temporary.

Still, even during the brisk 50 degree evenings we’re seeing incredible sunsets, like this one. I’ve made a pledge to see every one while we’re here. Most of them look something like this (and no, I didn’t Photoshop this image).

Meanwhile, our Wyatt loves the freedom to roam the fenced property like a dirty ol’ ranch dawg. He’s made a  new friend too.

Gregory the Peccary.

That nasty javalena drives Wyatt insane (moreso than usual) whenever he makes an appearance at sunset. Gregory provides hours of entertainment for all of us.

Water, Water….everywhere?

I was surprised to see that even the smallest properties around here have irrigation running out to landscaping, chicken coops, you name it.

After all, we come from Colorado, where it’s illegal to wash our truck, or water our outdoor plants with our own well water. Water is so precious to Coloradoans, because no water comes into the state, but it all leaves and heads south . . . eventually ending up right here, in the big ol’ Rio Grande dustbowl along the border.

Once that precious resource gets here, people get to water their plants with the very same water that I’m not allowed to use in my backyard, where it originally comes from.

I have to buy water from our property association if I want to use it for outdoor purposes. But Arizonans don’t. Huh?

I like griping about it. Jim says I’m just mad because I can’t use water like this on our property without getting busted. You bet I would, if I could get away with it.

Off the Grid, Away from the Rules

But here in Southern Arizona, just shy of the border, it’s no-man’s land. People who live here are free to do what they want. From the funky handbuilt houses to the backyard shooting ranges, in a lot of ways the Wild West lives on.

And why not?

If you’re rugged enough to make a home for yourself here, I guess you deserve to make your own rules. It’s not exactly the most hospitable environment and most people aren’t cut out for it. I know I’m not.

Someone’s gotta do it though, right?

There are some great sights nearby, like the artsy old mining town of Bisbee, which we plan on exploring more during our stay.

Until then, we’re putting our noses to the grindstone, working away to make a buck on that great hamster wheel of life. We put in some long hours most days, but at least we’ve got a spectacular view out of our office window.