At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, American furnaces, forges, and mills were making around one-seventh of the world’s iron works.
During the Revolutionary War, Hopewell played a critical role in supplying the new nation’s army with weapons. George Washington chose the Valley Forge location in part because of its location to Hopewell.
Charcoal cooling shed
It took an acre of woodlands to make enough charcoal to run an iron furnace for just one day. At Hopewell, they made their own charcoal.
Dining room in the big house
There are several buildings on the property that are open for viewing to show what life was like at Hopewell while it was running.
Grain storage
The barn held up to 36 horses along with a year’s worth of feed.
Wood fired stove
Saturdays were baking days in rural America. They used wood fired ovens like the one above. They would test the heat by sticking their arm in and count the seconds they could leave it in. The number they get to told them if it was too hot or not hot enough for certain breads and pies.
One of the neat things about Hopewell, is that the animals that would have been at Hopewell while it was running are still running around today.
One of the buildings you can wander through is the wash building. I’m so glad we don’t have to do laundry that way anymore!
Furnace in the cast shop
And, of course, there’s the furnace! I couldn’t get a great shot of it, but it’s huge. The temperature inside the furnace would reach temps of 2,600°- 3,000° F and it would run 24 hours a day. Workers would constantly feed it, watched it’s flame, and listened to the sound of the its blast to make sure it was staying hot enough.
Kids room in one of the worker’s houses
Hopewell was ahead of its time. People worked the same jobs for the same wages no matter what gender or color they were. Some workers with families rented company tenant houses.
We had a great time walking around Hopewell and learning about early American iron working communities!
I thought I would start our FAQ series with a question we get asked every time someone finds out we’re a full-time RV family. But first, I should probably tell you who we are (for those of you who don’t know us).
We are Jerl and Jennie. We grew up living about a mile or so away from each other. We went to the same schools from preschool on, but didn’t really know each other. We started dating in 1993 during my junior year in high school (his sophomore year). Yup…I snagged a younger man! We got married in 1997 and started a family in 2000. We were high school sweethearts…we ended up being best friends.
We have three amazingly cool boys.
Mr. Man is our oldest. He’s your typical oldest child. He’s quiet, loves to write, and has a wicked sense of humor.
The Dude is our middle child. He’s got the gift of gab, is always the first to volunteer to help, and he’s always up for an adventure.
Littlest. What can I say? He’s my baby. He’s the family pizza connoisseur, he loves games, and he’s a huge music fan.
We rounded out our family with two big cats.
Sadi is our pretty little fat girl. She’s a little OCD when it comes to food.
Magnus is more like a dog than a cat. Seriously, he even pants like a dog.
Now for the where and the why. Where did we get the idea? I think people expect us to tell them this whole RV thing was Jerl’s idea, but it wasn’t. One morning I was watching the Today show and they were doing a segment on this family who sold everything, bought an RV, and spent the next 13 months traveling to all 50 states with their kids. That night after the boys went to bed, I mentioned the RV family to Jerl and we started chatting about how cool it would be to be able to show our boys all 50 states. One thing led to another and when we couldn’t find a legitimate reason why we shouldn’t make the move to the RV life…well…we jumped in with both feet. We broke the news to our family and then spent the next year and a half getting everything figured out and planned.
When people ask us why we do this crazy nomadic RV life…we always say “Why not?” Why wait? Tomorrow is not guaranteed…it’s not promised to us. Go out and live the life you want to live now.
I’m going to try to put up at least one FAQ post a month until we get through the list of questions.
Have a question for us? Leave a comment here on the blog or email us at js@ourrvtrip.com!
We took a day to explore Valley Forge National Historic Park in Pennsylvania.
Historical Interpreter
We have mixed feelings about historical interpreters. We’ve seen some that are disturbingly creepy, but the Ranger’s at Valley Forge were top notch and a wealth of information.
Log Hut
The new country didn’t have an army when the revolution began. General George Washington had to organize and train an army while fighting the war itself. When Washington and his men arrived at Valley Forge they didn’t have lodging. The soldiers had to build their own log huts. There was a competition to see who could get done first. The log huts you can see today are all reconstructions of what would have been there during the 1177-1778 winter.
Inside a log hut.
They’ve got some of the huts open so you can see what they might have looked like.
National Memorial Arch dedicated in 1917
Trying to build and train an army all while fighting the war was just one of Washington’s challenges. Remember…at this time, the United States of America was a newly formed family. It was more like 13 families all trying to learn how to live in the same house. So, the first thing Washington had to do was unite the men into one army. He needed to ensure that the men’s allegiance was to the newly forming United States and not to their home state.
Statue of George Washington
French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon had a life mask made of Washington when he was studying Washington to do a sculpture so when you look at this statue, you’re looking at a very realistic depiction of George Washington.
Washington’s Headquarters and office
The house above served as both residence and office for Washington and his staff during his stay at Valley Forge. Unlike the log huts, this is the original building.
Washington’s Office
The National Park Service has tried to get period pieces to show what Washington’s office would have looked like.
Bedroom in the Washington Headquarters
The house went through a few different owners who made some changes during the 100 years after Washington resided there.
Kitchen in the Headquarters
When the Park Service got control of the house, they tried their best to restore it to what it was while Washington was there.
Staircase at the Headquarters
Through all of the changes the banister was never changed. So…we all had to touch the same banister that George Washington touched as we walked up the stairs.
Valley Forge
In December of 1777, 12,000 soldiers and 400 women and children made their way into Valley Forge. Six months, 1,500 log huts, and two miles of fortifications later Valley Forge was the fourth largest city in America.
Badge Ceremony
The boys got their 42nd badge at Valley Forge. They don’t do it for the swag…we don’t force them to do it…they do it because they love to learn and it gives them something to do while we’re at a National Park. It’s fun for the whole family.
flowers
I couldn’t leave out the flowers. I’ve just got this one picture, but I thought these pale pink flowers were so pretty!
While we were staying in Gettysburg we made it to Harrisburg to see the State Capitol Building.
Pennsylvania State Capitol Building
We went on a Sunday to try and avoid all of the end of the school year tours. I think there were seven other people in our group…it was great!
The Dome
The Pennsylvania State Capitol Building is definitely the most opulent one we’ve seen so far. I mean…look at that dome. See all of that gold? It’s real. Impressive, right? The dome is 272 feet, weighs 52 million pounds, and was inspired by Michelangelo’s design for St.Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Bronze Door
At the entrance is a set of 17 foot bronze doors weighing in at a full ton each.
The Capitol Rotunda
Several of the Rotunda’s features were borrowed from the Paris Opera House.
Moravian Tiles
One of my favorite things about the Penn State Capitol Building is the first floor. There are close to 400 tile mosaics portraying different aspects of the state.
Art Mural
I love all of the rich colors.
The Senate Chamber
We were told that the Capitol Building has been called a “Palace of Art.” It’s definitely filled with beauty.
Senate Chamber Stained Glass
There are 24 stained glass windows in the Senate and House Chambers. Each window represents a theme and are framed in 24-karat gold leaf embellishments.
Pennsylvania House Chambers
The six crystal chandeliers in the House Chamber require over 1,000 light bulbs and weigh from two to over four tons each. When our tour guide learned that this was our seventeenth Capitol Building, she kept asking us what we thought. I got the impression she was a little competitive. We were asked by more than one person at the Capitol Building what our favorite one is so far only to be told that the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building is rated number two in the country. I can safely say Pennsylvanians are very proud of their Capitol Building! And it is gorgeous!
While we were in the Harrisburg area, we took the opportunity to visit Hershey.
Hershey’s Entrance
Yup. That Hershey.
Bean Sorter
There’s a free tour ride where they explain the whole process starting with where they get their beans and how they clean them
Roaster
to roasting them (it was warm on this part of the ride)
Melting
to the melting process (it smelled heavenly during this portion of the ride).
Littlest
And, of course, you can buy candy there.
Candy
This was my favorite section.
Sweets
They even had some baked goods available. It was kind of like dying and going to sugar heaven! I think I got a sugar rush just from the smell!
Hershey’s Ride Photo
We had to buy it. But, it was fun and we got a free candy bar!
We spent a week in Gettysburg. Most of the time the weather was cold and rainy which makes it hard to explore a battlefield. We did have a few hours here and there with decent weather. We crammed in as much as we could during those times.
The boys in front of the Visitor Center sign.
There are a few ways you can see the battlefield of Gettysburg. We opted to buy the auto tour on disc that came with a nice booklet. The set was really well thought out and very informative without being dry or boring.
One of the many memorials.
The first thing that struck us was how many memorials there are. Every army, corp, division, brigade, regiment, company, and state that took part in the battle has a memorial, monument, or marker.
Barn on the auto tour.
On the second day of the battle the Trostle Farm was stuck in the middle of a battle. If you look closely you can see the cannonball hole still there.
Pennsylvania Monument
Some of the monuments are so elaborate! You can actually go into the Pennsylvania Monument. There are stairs that lead to the top where you can look out over the battlefield.
View from the top of the Pennsylvania Monument.
You know, you can read about these things in books, watch documentaries about them…but when you’re out on the ground where it took place while hearing about the personal struggles of the soldiers and the citizens…it really gives you a new understanding of what took place here. Three days in July two armies met by chance…and the country changed forever.
Soldier’s National Cemetery
When the battle was over on that third day and the armies left Gettysburg, they left behind a community in ruins and over 51,000 soldiers who were dead, missing, or wounded. More men fell during the Battle of Gettysburg than in any other battle on American soil.
Monument with the Gettysburg Address on it.
The Soldier’s National Cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863. President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address here. The speech was 272 words, lasted around two minutes, and transformed Gettysburg from a scene of utter destruction and death into a symbol of inspiration to those still living. Lincoln stated that the war would lead to a “new birth of freedom” for our young nation.
Soldiers’ National Monument
You can’t stand in the spot where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. The Soldiers’ National Monument was erected in that spot. Unfortunately, when we were visiting the monument was undergoing some restoration work so we got to see it covered in scaffolding.
Gettysburg Address Memorial
The Gettysburg Address Memorial isn’t too far from the spot Lincoln gave the speech.
There’s so much to see and do in Gettysburg. You could spend an entire day touring the battlefield alone. It took us two days to finish the battlefield auto tour, but you could do it in one really long day.
Eisenhower National Historic Site
Part of the Gettysburg experience is the Eisenhower National Historic Site. You have to take a bus from the Visitor Center to get there because there’s no public parking at the farm.
Eisenhower Home
When Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower bought this farm in 1950 the house was in bad condition. When they started remodeling it, they found a decaying 200 year old log cabin under the brick veneer. They saved what they could of the original house and used bits and pieces of it around the new house.
The master bedroom
Mamie Eisenhower’s favorite color was pink. If you didn’t know that about her before you visited her home, you would figure it out pretty quickly. The main color scheme throughout the house is pink.
Black Angus
Eisenhower used the farm to breed Black Angus for shows.
Award Ribbons
Eisenhower Farms show cattle gained recognition in the Angus raising community by winning ribbons at major competitions across the U.S.
Secret Service training
The boys took the opportunity to earn a Secret Service badge.
Secret Service Swag
This booklet was challenging physically and mentally. They definitely earned that badge!
The tour of the Eisenhower Farm is a self-guided tour which is kind of a bummer. When we visited the Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch it was a guided tour and the tour guide told us little stories and details about each room we saw. We were talking to one of the Ranger’s outside of the Eisenhower home and he told us this great story of when the Eisenhower’s first moved onto the farm. Not far from the farm is a watchtower for the Gettysburg Battlefield and the Secret Service wanted to close it down for safety reasons. Ike didn’t feel like it was necessary so one of the Secret Service agents gave him a copy of a book about assassins. After reading the book Ike had the tower closed. I feel like it’s stories like that that help us understand and maybe even relate to the person and not the public persona.
Lilacs
There were several lilac bushes in bloom while we were at the Eisenhower Farm. I took the time to smell them all…
flowers
I’m not sure what kind of flower this is, but it’s pink! These were also at the Eisenhower Farm.
We were in Clifftop for almost two weeks. We stayed at Babcock State Park and it was wonderful!
The Glade Creek Grist Mill
Our first day in the area was pretty cold and misty. We’d heard about the grist mill so we went to check it out. It’s a gorgeous area.
Grinding tools
We walked in thinking we would take a look around and move on, but when we found the Miller there…well, one thing led to another and suddenly we had plans to come back after lunch so the boys could help grind corn.
The Dude and the Miller
The Miller was a wealth of knowledge. He explained the process and actually put the boys to work.
Corn kernels
Each boy took part in each job. They scooped the corn kernels into the hopper. The Miller explained about the phrase “nose to the grind stone”. When you’re grinding corn (or whatever you might be grinding) the stones will get hot. You don’t want them too hot or they’ll ruin whatever your grinding so you have to smell around the grindstone to make sure you’re not going too fast and getting too hot.
Littlest sifting the grain
As the ground corn comes out of the meal spout it lands on a big wire mesh screen where it needs to be sifted. You get corn flour, corn meal, corn grit, and then the waste which was used to feed the animals. Nothing was thrown away.
Mr. Man holding some freshly ground corn mealDifferent products from the mill
I’m watering down the details here. There’s more to it than this, but I’m not a miller and I don’t remember all of the technical jargon. In the jars above you can see the different products that could come out of a grist mill.
Grist Mill Certificate
For their effort, they were each given a certificate
Corn meal
and we got to keep a bag of the corn meal they’d just ground! We’ve got some plans for this corn meal!! This stuff is so different from what you’ll get at the store. So much better!
White tailed deer
We pretty much had the campground to ourselves…except for all of the wildlife. We counted nine deer grazing outside our front door one afternoon.
Junior Ranger swag
We were fairly close to the New River Gorge Bridge so we took the opportunity to go check it out. The boys snagged a badge and a patch there. It’s called New River, but it’s actually one of the oldest rivers in the world. It’s older than the Appalachian Mountains. At 876 feet, New River Bridge is the third highest bridge in the country.
Boys and the bridge
So, at the visitor center you can walk down the hundreds of stairs to get an ok view of the bridge. Don’t get me wrong…it’s a nice view…but, I’d heard about a hike you can do to get a better view. The hike is called Long Point Hike for anyone interested. It’s a bit strenuous, but not terrible. I definitely earned the burger I had after that. We ended up hiking a total of around four miles round trip. It was so worth it! Check out the view from Long Point in the photo above! You come out on this point and you’re looking straight at the bridge and you’re far enough away that you can get the whole bridge with the river below it in your shot! Just watch out for the red wasps. It’s a long way down if you fall off the edge as you’re dodging the wasps…
Cathedral Falls
We also made it to Cathedral Falls! I don’t really know anything about Cathedral Falls except they’re super easy to get to.
Cathedral Falls size
It’s always hard to judge how big something is in a picture unless you’re given a size comparison. If you look closely in the above picture, you’ll see Jerl and The Dude checking out some tadpoles to the left of the falls.
Nuttallburg
We only had time for one more place so we hit Nuttallburg. It is impressive!
The tipple
In the 1870s John Nuttal wanted to take advantage of the rich coal deposits along the New River gorge and began buying up the land around it. By the turn of the century, Nuttallburg was a pretty busy mining community, but after his death it didn’t do so well.
The conveyor
In the 1920s Henry Ford leased the town’s mines to provide for his company’s steel mills. He spent $100,000 to build the “button and rope” conveyor system you can see heading up the hill. Ultimately, his plan failed when he couldn’t control or buy the railroad, he needed to carry the coal form the mine to his mills and he sold his interests in the Nuttallburg mines in 1928.
Infosign
There was an entire community at Nuttallburg. Homes, stores, schools…
Ruins of a home
In the two photos above, you can see the same plot of land then and now.
Coke Oven
The row of coke ovens are still there. You can see where the Company Store was. You’ve heard the song 16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford? “I owe my soul to the company store…” wasn’t far from the truth. Miners worked long hours in dangerous conditions to earn their pay. When the only store around was owned by the mining company…well, prices weren’t fair and miners usually ended up owing the Company Store more money than they made each week.
Coal
Yup, that’s coal! We saw it everywhere. The only other place we’ve seen it so easily available is in Alaska.
Campfire S’mores
We took advantage of the fire pit and had roasted hot dogs and s’mores several nights. You might be surprised to know that most of the RV Parks we go to don’t have a fire pit and don’t allow fires at the campsites. So…we indulged and took advantage of the fire pit while we stayed at Babcock State Park!
Pink Dogwood Tree
Flower report! The dogwood trees were everywhere and in full bloom!!
Blooms & Butterfly
This is also a tree. I don’t know what kind it is, but I love the delicate pink blooms on it and so did the butterfly!
Purple blooms
Ok…so…this isn’t the best picture, but these purple flowering trees were thrown in all over the place along rivers, railroads, and roads. We were told by a Ranger that they came over on trains from China. She also told us the name of the tree, but for the life of me I can’t remember. They were super pretty though!
We loved West Virginia more than we expected to! One of our favorite things to do is talk to locals. You really get a feel for an area when you chat with the people who live there. West Virginia is filled with hard working, genuinely nice folks that are trying to make ends meat in a dying state. Every time a mine is closed it’s taking jobs and livelihood away from an entire community. I encourage everyone to take a trip to West Virginia this summer. Go explore and support the small towns and communities that depend on tourism to stay alive.
We spent a week at the Huntington/Fox Fire KOA just outside of Charleston. It’s giving our favorite RV Park a run for its money. The owners are super friendly, and really care about your stay. The park is very clean and family friendly.
The boys rode these banana bikes almost every day we were there.
The KOA has banana bikes in various sizes for all to enjoy for a small price. It’s very reasonable.
Fishing.
There was also a couple of fully stocked ponds to fish in. The two little boys each caught a fish. It was a great way to spend the evenings. There were several activities offered by the KOA, but the boys’ favorite thing there is the owner’s dog! He does a great trick. If y’all are ever in the area, we highly recommend the Huntington/Fox Fire KOA!
Charleston Capitol Building
We didn’t get to take a tour of the Charleston Capitol Building. The website said tours were available, but when we got there, we found out they’d recently changed that. Bummer. We did get to walk around some, but we really enjoy taking the guided tours. You learn more about the building and sometimes you get into parts of the building you wouldn’t normally get to see.
WV dome
The Charleston Capitol Building was one of the more reserved buildings we’ve seen so far. Where other state capitol buildings have decorated every space this one has gone in another direction. And you know what? I like it. It’s not flashy. It’s modest. The building speaks for itself without all of the flash.
Crystal chandelier
They call it a chandelier and it weighs 4,000 pounds. The chandelier is made from graduated crystals imported from Czechoslovakia. The light was definitely twinkling! Y’all know I prefer the stained glass, but I will admit the crystal chandelier is lovely.
Charleston Capitol Building rotunda
Just like all the other capitol buildings, there is marble everywhere.
What a general store would have looked like during the late 1800s early 1900s in West Virginia.
The museum across the courtyard from the Capitol Building was a nice surprise. We spent a couple of hours learning about the history of West Virginia.
Blenko glass blower
We went to the Blenko Glass Company. The building the glass blowers work in has an observation deck for tours. We watched that blob of glass turned into
Indigo vase
this. It was very cool. We stood there and watched them do several before we went down to the gift shop where we got a pretty blue vase to give someone as a gift. I somehow missed getting a photo of the vase we bought.
Milton Covered Bridge
We also found this covered bridge at a park near Blenko Glass!
Inside of the bridge
I used it as a background for some school pictures of the boys. They turned out great this year.
Flowers at the KOA
Loving all of the spring flowers!
Flowers in Charleston
These tulips were in a vibrant shade of purple…one of the best colors in my opinion…
We immensely enjoyed our time in the Milton area. We’ve already decided another trip is in the future!
Ohio was still one of those skim states for us. We did get to stay a week, but we only went to one city. Columbus.
We toured the capitol building. Notice there’s not a dome?
But, when you go inside…surprise! It looks like there’s a dome! Apparently, they planned on putting a dome on the building, but it took so long they’ve just left it the way it is.
The biggest thing that stood out for me about the Ohio State Capitol building was all of the pink. It was everywhere! Not even the carpeting escaped the pink treatment.
We’ve seen several Capitol Buildings now, but I haven’t seen a ceiling quite as lovely as this one. The picture really doesn’t do it justice.
The other thing that stood out for me was the hand laid tiles. We’ve seen this a few other times, and I always enjoy it.
We toured the American Whistle Corporation! The American Whistle Corporation is the only metal all American made whistle company in the United States. The company has nine employees and they make the entire whistle there in the factory. We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the factory floor…even though you can see it all on the TV show they were on one time. *shrugs* I did sneak a photo…but felt weird about putting it up. So, if you want to check them out, you can go to the show How It’s Made and look up their episode. The tour was both really interesting and boring at the same time. I’m not sure how they pulled that off, but they did. We made it through the tour and got a shiny new whistle at the end! It’s been loud at our place ever since.
We found an all you can eat German buffet. All. You. Can. Eat…
They didn’t disappoint. It wasn’t the best German food we’d had, but it was better than a kick in the pants!
They also had desserts. So, of course, we had to try some of them! Schmidt’s is known for their half pound cream puffs…we got two…they were enjoyed.
That’s about all we did in Ohio…this time! We have a list of other cities to visit and will be doing those on a different loop!
Remember when I told you about the skim states. Well, Indiana is one of those skim states for the Eastern Loop Tour 2016. We were there for a grand total of two days and during those two days the weather was not nice. We saw snow, hail, and sleet as temps dropped below the freezing mark. I really thought it was supposed to be spring temps during the month of April.
We jammed in as much as we could during a brief respite from the weather. The Indiana State Capitol Building was big!
We took the tour. Our tour guide was a retired school teacher and did a fabulous job. He was engaging, entertaining, and kept the kids involved. He indicated that the people of Indiana were very proud of the fact that Indianapolis has more syllables than any other State Capitol city. Go ahead…we’ll wait for you while you check the syllables of your state capitol city…I know you’re curious. Now that y’all have checked your syllables (two name cities don’t count), let’s move on.
I know you’re wondering about the dome. The Indianapolis dome doesn’t disappoint.
The stained glass was beautiful. Does it kind of remind you of an owl? We were in the Supreme Court room and the owls on the windows are supposed to represent wisdom.
Indiana is also very proud of it’s Indiana Limestone which is the stone that’s mainly used on the State Capitol Building. You have to make sure you say Indiana Limestone because it’s different (don’t ask me how) but they’ll call you on it.
We weren’t expecting all of the great murals.
We also weren’t expecting to really like Indianapolis. I don’t know why. We have nothing against Indiana…I promise. But we found ourselves wishing for better weather and a longer stay in Indianapolis. In the picture above is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. We only got to drive by it, but I’m already making plans for a second visit during another loop.
Yep. It’s the LOVE statue. I know…it’s been done a thousand times, but I couldn’t help it. I’m sure you’ll see our kiddos in front of other LOVE statues before we’re done.
I’m going to leave you with another look at that gorgeous stained-glass dome. Isn’t it pretty? Oh, and by-the-way…if y’all could arrange for us to have nice weather while we’re in your respective states we would greatly appreciate it. *winky face*
Guys! It’s been one year already!! Can you believe it? We thought it might be fun to look back at our year and talk about some of our favorites and share with you some of the things we’ve learned.
This photo was taken the day we left my parents’ house in 2015.
We left on Mother’s Day 2015 (sorry mom). We were full of all kinds of emotions, questions, and worries as we drove off that day. Most people assume we already had our RV when we decided to switch to a full-time RV life and that we knew what we were doing. We didn’t. We jumped in with both feet and hoped for the best. Now, don’t get me wrong…we’d totally planned everything (I’m a planner), but it’s hard to really know what you’re going to be facing when you’ve never had any experience with something. By the time we reached Nebraska (our second state) we were pretty certain we’d made the right decision.
Let’s start with some of our favorites!
We all agree that Alaska is our favorite state.
Waterfalls, glaciers, ice fields, and rainforests…. Alaska is pretty spectacular!
Our favorite experience so far is the day cruise we took to explore the Kenai Fjords National Park in Seward, Alaska.
And…it may be no big surprise that our favorite National Park is Denali National Park in Alaska. It was so fantastic…we’ve been trying to decide when we can go back since we left.
Our favorite State Park is Makoshika in Montana with the unforgettable gumbo incident. If you don’t know about it or want to read about it again, you can find our post on Makoshika here. We’re looking forward to a time when we can go back to Makoshika to finish a very cool hike we had to turn back on while we were there.
What you’re looking at is our favorite burrito. Y’all know we’re foodies…we’ve got our favorites…and this, my friends, is the best burrito we’ve ever had. It was so good we drove 45 minutes one way…twice just to get it. This is the Green Mix Burro, Enchilada Style from The Burger House in Miami, AZ. We will go back to Miami, AZ just to get this burrito. Yep, it’s really that good!
Our favorite grocery store is still HEB. Here Everything really is Better. We’ve been to a lot of grocery stores and we’ve only found two other grocery store companies that even come close.
I know y’all are wondering (since we talk about burgers all the time) what our favorite burger is. Tucker’s Onion Burger in Oklahoma City, OK is the best all around burger we’ve found so far! It has all of the elements a good burger should have!! Now, if we’re talking about a green chili burger…we would have to go with Rockin’ BZ Burgers in Alamogordo, NM!
7th Ranch RV Park in Garryowen, MT is our favorite RV park for numerous reasons. We like it so much we did a post on it! You can find it here and read all about why it’s still in our number one spot!
We have quite a few favorites from over the past year, but these are the only ones all five of us agree on. If y’all are curious about any of our other favorites give us a shout and we’ll tell ya!!
We’ve learned a lot over this past year. Here’s a small list of some of the things we’ve learned:
1. Not all grocery stores are created equally. I’ll be the first to admit that we were super spoiled by our HEB in Texas, but we had no idea how spoiled we really were. It didn’t take long to come to the harsh realization that we were going to have to say goodbye to some of our favorite items and brands. We never really know what we’ll find in a grocery store when we walk in and it’s turned into one of my favorite things about moving around. It’s always interesting to see different brands and regional items and to even find a few new favorites. Sometimes tiny grocery store will have a great selection like the Cottonwood General Store in Terlingua, Tx and sometimes we struggle to find anything we would eat in one of the well known grocery store chains (like the Piggly Wiggly). One of my favorite isles to peruse is the ice cream isle. Not only do brands carry different flavors per region, but some of the basic flavors have different names. I love trying all of the different ice cream brands and comparing them! It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it…right?
2. Not all gas stations are big rig friendly even when they have an RV Island. Gas stations…we visit a lot of gas stations. Some are set up so poorly we just drive on by and pity the poor sucker who pulled in and can’t figure out how to get out. We can say that because we’ve been-there-done-that. When we were just starting out, gas stations were a source of anxiety for me… not that I was the one driving…I don’t drive the RV…it’s best for everyone. There have been times that we’ve had to back up, wait for other cars to move, and block the entrance/exit because we were at the RV Island getting gas. We were where we were supposed to be, but the gas station wasn’t laid out with any kind of forethought to the size and turning radius of a big rig. Jerl has become an expert at gas station navigation. I still get a little nervous sometimes, but he’s as cool as a cucumber now.
3. You can’t find good ethnic food everywhere. We were in Montana the first time we found a Mexican restaurant we wanted to try. It smelled good, but when they set the salsa down it had cabbage in it and looked like it was a soup. We should have just left then and there. Seriously. The meal just went downhill from that point. We left realizing that it was going to be a very long time before we would be able to find anything remotely like the kind of Mexican food we like. But it’s not just Mexican food… last summer (2015) while we were in Alaska, Mr. Man turned 15. We always let the boys pick out where they want to eat for their birthdays and Mr. Man chose the only Asian place in Valdez. I left with a mild strain of food poisoning. It would have been ok if the food had been worth it, but it really wasn’t. Live and learn. My favorite ethnic food is Indian food. So far, I haven’t even tried to get it anywhere but back home in Houston, TX.
4. When Google Maps says your destination is five hours away, it’s more like seven hours. We learned this the hard way while traveling though Canada to get to Alaska. We had some twelve and fourteen hour drive days. What The Googles doesn’t take in to consideration is that when you’re driving an RV you probably won’t be going the posted speed limit…at least not very often…and not if you don’t want to tear up your rig. We still compare all roads to the ALCAN (the road to Alaska). There were times when we were going ten miles per hour and that was still too fast. We’ve learned you have to slow down when driving an RV…and really, that’s kind of the point of driving an RV…to slow down and enjoy the journey. We have learned to add an hour for every three hours The Googles has predicted our travel time to be.
5. Sometimes the GPS looses its little electronic mind. It’s one thing when the GPS doesn’t know how to pronounce something. We all laugh and make jokes, but when the GPS takes it’s revenge and tells us to go down roads that are only meant for high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles….well, that’s not so funny. The first time this happened we were driving down the Cassiar on our way back from Alaska. The GPS map for that region hadn’t been updated in a long time so it didn’t know that two parts of the Cassiar had been connected. Our GPS was trying to route us around in a way that added an entire day to our trip. Luckily, we had done our research and knew what way to go. The next time the GPS screwed up we were in Arizona heading to the Lost Dutchman State Park. We happily followed our trusty GPS as it told us to turn down a questionable dirt road where we almost got stuck. This road rivaled some of the worst parts of the ALCAN. We swerved around potholes the size of our car and big mounds of trash that someone had piled up in the road. We held our breath a few times, but we made it in once piece only to find out that there was a wonderfully smooth highway we could have taken to get to the Lost Dutchman State Park instead. The first time we thought it was just a mapping glich…an update that needed to happen…the second time we realized that our GPS has a tendency to loose it’s little electronic mind. That second time we learned to always trust our gut. If a road seems shady, find a different way. A different time, while we were driving near the old Route 66 our GPS decided to have us turn off of a perfectly fine highway and take us down the original 66 highway that hadn’t been maintained in way too long and was more like something you would expect to see a horse drawn wagon on. After our first incident we were on to the GPS’ ways and had more sense than to actually drive down it. We got back on the highway and let the GPS sort it’self out. We have a love hate relationship with our GPS.
The road our GPS lead us down to get to the Lost Dutchman State Park
6. Always make sure you have the memory card in your camera. Funny story…One evening while we were in Valdez we were walking around down by the harbor and there was a sea otter eating and playing right by the docks. It was soooo close! And, of course, I had my trusty camera so I whipped it out and got some ah-maze-ing shots. Or at least I think they were amazing. I’d been editing pictures earlier that day and had forgotten to put my memory card back in the camera. I didn’t know this while I was snapping pictures. My camera just let me shoot away completely unaware that I wasn’t getting anything. I was crushed when I went to edit pics again the next day and all those wonderful pics I had taken were nowhere to be found. Nowhere. I thought I’d lost my mind…I mean…I distinctly remembered standing there taking some once-in-a-lifetime shots. So…where the heck were they. I guess I was too distracted. I learned a valuable, but painful lesson that day. Always check your gear before you leave. Always.
7. Not all RV parks are created equally. It always amazes me when we pull into an RV park and it doesn’t look like the pictures on their website lead you to believe. Or, when we go to check in and all of a sudden there are tons of small hidden fees they didn’t tell us about beforehand. Or, when you walk into the park bathroom and you back out because you’re afraid to turn your back to the room for fear something will reach out of the dark corners and you’ll never be heard from again. There are some parks that we feel dirty just pulling into. We pulled into this place in Fox, Alaska and we kind of just looked at each other for a minute. To say this place was rundown would be putting it nicely. Weeds were everywhere, the path to the sites had potholes the size of a small car, and the owner told us not to hook the water up to the RV because it had a bit of rust in it. The water looked like chocolate milk and we later found out was filled with arsenic. And then there was the goat…it was the neighbor’s goat. The goat was in rut and the owner of the RV park was positive that the goat had gotten into its owner’s stash and was high. Well, for some reason the goat thought the boys were a threat and became very aggressive toward them. We almost had goat curry that night. On the flip-side…there are some absolutely awesome parks out there. We’ve learned to thoroughly research the parks we go to.
The goat that was almost curry.
8. We didn’t really need 1/2 of the stuff we thought we would. We’d never been camping in our RV…we’d never been on a trip in it anywhere so, when I was trying to downsize our three bedroom house to fit in our 38′ RV…well, I didn’t have a clue what we would really need. I crammed everything that would fit in the RV into the various storage spaces. Just in case. We’ve spent this first year lightening our load as we’ve realized we don’t need ten pairs of pants each or fifteen different shirts. That it’s not necessary to have two complete sets of dishes. We’re learning how to live a minimalist lifestyle. It’s been difficult. We go to all of these amazing places and I see all of these souvenir-ish items that I would love to have…but we don’t have room. Can you imagine how cluttered the RV would be if we bought every cool item we found? We got rid of a bunch of stuff through the year then made a healthy deposit to our storage unit while we were back in Texas.
9. Gas station food isn’t really that bad. I know, I know…I can hear y’all already…you feed your kids gas station food?!?! Well, yes. Yes, we do. On move days we tend to get up and go so when we stop for gas, we let the boys go in and pick out something for breakfast. They usually go for the donuts or fried pies or something along those lines. But sometimes we come across a gas station that has breakfast sausages and sandwiches. Littlest had pizza the other day. Yep, pizza for breakfast. Let the hate comments begin. We don’t allow them to have these things all the time. These are their treat breakfasts. And then there are the times where we spend the entire day driving and when we pull in to fill up the tank, we fill up the kid’s tanks too. It’s a rare occurrence, but it does happen. Some gas stations have actual food. We’ve found some pretty good stuff.
10. Pay attention to the grey tank. This is probably one of the most important things we’ve learned this year. The grey tank is the tank all of the water we use when we do dishes, brush our teeth, shower, do laundry, and wash our hands goes into. It can fill up fast. This might be a good time to tell you we’ve got two full bathrooms. And cats. We have two cats. We keep the cat’s litter box in one of the showers so we don’t have to move it around all the time and it’s pretty contained. Well, guess where the grey tank water backs up to when it gets full. Yup. The shower. One day I noticed that Magnus (one of our cats) was walking around really wet and that he kept going back into the bathroom with his litter box. Now, this cat loves to play in water and can turn on the faucet so I thought he’d been playing in the sink again. But, when I went back to check on him…well, he was playing in water…the grey tank water that had backed up into the shower where the litter box is. It took me hours to clean and sanitize everything. Gross.
We’ve got one entire year under our belt and we’ve visited 18 states so far, but only 17 State Capitol Buildings (extra points for anyone who can tell me what State Capitol we missed) and we’ve stayed at 55 RV Parks. We’ve traveled a lot of miles…I don’t know the exact mile count…but it’s up there and we’re really just starting our adventure.
For our second year we’re hitting the eastern states. We’re working our way up to Maine and then we’ll make our way down to Florida before heading back to Texas to do all of our yearly stuff. I’ll be using the hashtag #easternloop2016 this year.
There’s a growing number of families who full-time RV, but we’re still in the minority. We’re usually the youngest people in the parks we stay in and as you can imagine…people are very curious about us. We get asked quite a few questions so I thought I would start a new series of posts called FAQs. I’ll answer all of the usual questions we get and if y’all have any questions you’d like to throw in the lineup just let me know!
