Part of my process for making goals for the year is to review the previous year. That, plus when I did the blog survey 18 months ago, a couple people asked for a map of my travels. So, I compiled some data about my 2019 travel year. I thought you might find it interesting.

My Pattern

This is so dumb but I have to admit it so you’ll have context for what follows. My pattern of travel is not the way I want to travel. I know I’m the person who makes my agenda so I have no one to blame but myself. And, yes, I know I talked about it all the way back in the post about what I learned in my first 11,000 miles of travel. Even back then I said I was going to improve in this area. Obviously, it remains an area for improvement.

In my mind, the ideal way to travel is slowly. There are a couple reasons for this. First, it makes for bite-size travel days which reduces stress of reaching somewhere before dark or before they close. Second, it means having time along the way to stop for road-side adventures.

This latter reason really hit home for me when I traveled the 2,000 miles from Desert Hot Spring, California to Lake Guntersville, Alabama in three days. While I have mostly learned my lesson about night time driving coupled with the fact that one of the rules of Harvest Hosts (where I like to overnight whenever I can) is you must arrive during business hours has helped reduced the number of hours I drive in a single day. A year prior, I would’ve done that 2,000-mile trip in two days.

Cadillac Ranch

Have you heard of Cadillac Ranch? It’s a well-known art installation with 10 Cadillacs half buried near Amarillo, Texas, where visitors are encouraged to add their own touch in spray paint to the cars. It’s just off of I-40 (old Route 66). Guess what road I was on? Yep. And guess who had to get to a Harvest Hosts before they closed so couldn’t stop at Cadillac Ranch? Worse still, I had purple spray paint in my van from a previous project.

I have many examples of wanting to see something roadside and not feeling like I had time to do it. That’s not right. I may not have improved but I’m also not ready to accept that the way I’ve traveled for the first two years as my travel style.

Recap of 2019 Travel

I finished my workamping assignment on the coast of Oregon in the first days of 2019 then headed south to California’s Desert Hot Springs where I wintered. Then, I headed east across the lower part of the US until I reached northern Alabama. For several months I was in various places in Middle Tennessee and Northern Alabama.

From there, I ventured northwest to Branson, Missouri where I stayed for three months. From Branson, I drove through Kansas (and, though very flat, I quite liked it and want to go back) and came up through Colorado to get to Laramie, Wyoming where I visited with my dad before heading straight south to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta.

Finally, I went even farther south to within 30 miles of the US-Mexico border to finish the year in Deming, New Mexico.

In the 2019 journey, I drove 8.900 miles which was down from the 12,000 miles I drove in 2018. And it still felt like too many miles.

Map of US with travel route from Oregon south to California. Then east to Alabama. Then northwest to Wyoming and, finally, south to New Mexico.
This was my first time using Google Maps. It didn’t do quite what I wanted it to do, but you get the idea.

2019 Travel Stats

I overnighted in 17 places in 12 different states though I drove through 14 states. Oklahoma and Mississippi were the two I drove through without overnighting. Eight of the 17 places I overnighted were only single-night stays en route to my next stop.  

That means I stayed a week or more at nine places. Of those, four were places I stayed a month or more, including one place for one month twice (in two separate months). You can probably guess those as I wrote (or will write) posts about those stays. They were Desert Hot Springs, California (January and February); Lake Guntersville Alabama State Park (March and May), Branson, Missouri (mid-June thru mid-September) and Deming, New Mexico (mid-October thru the end of the year).

Map of US with 17 pins scattered in the west and south.
All the places I overnighted during 2019.

Breakdown of Where I Stayed

A big picture overview of where I overnighted looks like this:

  • 323 paid camping spots
  • 4 Harvest Hosts stays
  • 34 free nights
  • 2 workamping nights
  • 2 nights were “other”

But to make meaning out of the numbers, let’s take a deeper dive. First, you might remember that last December I workamped as an interpreter for Heceta Head Lighthouse. I got permission to leave on the 2nd but then ended up with some trailer problems which left me needing to stay an extra night, leaving on the 3rd of January. So, while I wasn’t technically workamping since my position ended on the last day of December, I still counted those two nights as workamping nights.

The free nights included stays at a friend’s place in northern California and my dad’s house in Wyoming. Plus, I stayed at the Oliver Trailer office one night (conveniently, they have hookups) so, bright and early the next day, I could get the trailer in for service. Then there was free nights at Meriwether Lewis State Park near Oliver where I stayed after the trailer was serviced. I talked about it last week as I boondocked there for 13 nights. The feature image for this post was taken there.

The back of a trailer trailer under the entrance sign overhead that reads Bar Z Winery.
Pulling into the Harvest Hosts winery.

Speaking of going to Oliver for service. One of the changes they made (it was kind of frustrating as I didn’t learn about it until I arrived so I was completely unprepared) was that if service takes multiple days, owners can no longer stay in trailer at night. So, if you were wondering what could possible be the “other” category, it was two nights I spent in a hotel. (Shout out to Motel 6 because they allow pets.)

The four Harvest Hosts stays included two wineries, one museum and one farm.

Finally, there are the paid nights. There isn’t really more to say except that it included State Parks, private RV parks and my time in the parking lot for the Balloon Fiesta.

Adventures Stats

Against a black background, a fun kids locking-pieces art sculpture.
At the museum in Huntsville, Alabama, in the kids’ room, I made 3-D art.

I counted 33 adventures during the year. They ranged from stopping in at Visitors’ Centers to museums to hikes to food tours. I also attended one rally (Oliver Travel Trailer Owners’ Rally) and one conference (RV Entrepreneur Summit). I didn’t count dining out though I can understand how some people might. Nor did I count the four Harvest Hosts stops above though, had I not spent the night, they certainly would’ve been counted.

Now that number might seem low to you. It did to me. In my mind and in my planning, one to two adventures a week is about my speed. For me that’s a good balance with work and chores and my introverted homebody nature.

But, as you can see, 33 adventures is closer to one every two weeks. In looking at things, I think the biggest factor was not wanting to leave Solstice too much for the first four months of the year. And then being too sad to do anything for the couple months after. Further, I didn’t have adventures en route to a place, during the week-long conference or rally. Plus, I’ve been to Lake Guntersville multiple times now and have done most of the adventures the area offers. So, with all that in mind the number makes a little more sense.

2019 Travel Expenses

I know this isn’t entirely related to my travel year and I debated about sharing the costs but I know many readers are not yet living the full-time RV life and hope to someday. So, I decided it might prove helpful to others. Obviously, these numbers are specific to me and everyone has their own situation.

Travel style and what you do for health insurance, I suspect, are the two biggest numbers with wild fluctuations from person to person. These were not all of my expenses during the year. But they are the ones relevant to travel and adventures. They are the ones I think you’ll find most helpful.  

One note about the numbers. They reflect activity in 2019. Not necessary the exact expenses. For example, I paid for the Balloon Fiesta RV spot in 2018 but counted it in the numbers below as it reflects the costs of my camping in 2019.

Breakdown of 2019 Expenses

RV Life Related

  • Camping Fees: $5,119 (making my average nightly cost $14.03). I spent another $107 on supporting the businesses at Harvest Hosts by buying wine, items in gift shops and paying entry fees. The most expensive nights were $40 for the no-hookup parking lot at the Balloon Fiesta. The least expensive nights were in Deming, New Mexico with full hookups at $8.44.
  • Gas for the van was $1,714. Month-to-month expenses were wildly different. I spent over $450 in March while three months I spent nothing.
  • Propane came in at $79. This is a number that other RVers might find low but I prefer to use a space heater for warmth rather than propane. It makes me warmer.
  • Maintenance costs which also included vehicle registrations was $1,710. I included the two nights in Motel 6 in this category since it was because of maintenance on the rig that I incurred the expense. Plus my van and trailer registration are for two years at a time.
  • Insurance for my van, the trailer and a renter’s policy which covers all my belongings in both came to $2,076.
  • RV-Related Memberships and Fees for RV Events added up to $439.
  • Supplies and gadgets for the rig were just under $250.

Other Travel Expenses of Interest

  • Laundry (in the form of quarters) was $200.
  • Internet and blog-related costs added up to just over $2,000.
  • Food cost me $5,500. This doesn’t include eating out but, keep in mind, that’s something I rarely do. Eating out came in at less than $450.
  • Entertainment and Adventure, you might be surprised to learn, was only $236. Keep in mind that I’m the queen of finding free and low-cost things to do. In fact, the article I wrote for January-February issue of Escapees Magazine was on this very subject. Plus, the costs for the five shows and the train ride in Branson were covered by my dad.

Travel Budget for 2020

As I review these expenses, I’m pretty happy with how I did for the year. The only budget category I hope to significantly lower in 2020 is for the camping fees. I am in the process of applying for 2020 workamping opportunities so please keep you fingers crossed for me.

Plus, as I’ve mentioned above and last week, I’d like to increase my number of free nights by doing more boondocking and by visiting more Harvest Hosts in my travels. I’m thinking my target will be to average paying $10 per might. A year from now, I’ll let you know how I did.

Would love to know one or two of your budget goals for 2020. RVer or not.

Happy New Year, my friends.

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