It is interesting whenever we get the question, “So, where have you been?”
After almost 4 years of living on the road and travelling around the United States, you can imagine the answer isn’t short!
To make matters worse, the longer we travel, the more new places we keep going to, and this summer is going to add a lot of places to the list! I personally think it is a good problem to have.
We have continually sought new roads. We have a Rand McNally Road Atlas from 2015 (the year we started living the RV Life) and we highlight every route and road we’ve taken in it.
Even if we are hitting repeat places, we consider our route to drive a new way. We do this to not only see what new sights there are to be seen, but also to highlight a new line in the atlas!
Day 1 of the Adventure
We woke up in Alabama Hills on Day 1 (a place we have been before), opened the shade and there it was! The reward for our hard work shone bright in the morning sun, and for the first time in months my mind was quiet and my heart was light and happy.
Fears and anxiety about embarking on this expedition melted away.
After making coffee, we took some time to gaze at the blessedly beautiful view of the tan boulders against the bluish snow-capped Sierras. We day-dreamed about the countless breathtaking views that we would see out that back window in the journey ahead.
After a short hike through the mesmerizing boulders, we began our drive on a new road.
Watch Go North Episode 4 for the Full Story:
Battle Born Batteries in Reno, Nevada
This new road was Highway 395 that took us up past Mono Lake to Reno, Nevada, where we stopped to install our Battle Born Batteries and our electrical system.
These guys were awesome to work with and we are so excited about what this system is going to enable for us this summer! You can read about that system over in Tom’s Tech Stuff: Battle Born Battery Install in a Lance Truck Camper With Alternator Charging
That installation took 4 days, including the time it took to build our own batteries (which was SO COOL!) film the process and to do a little touring of Downtown Reno, which turned out to be a delightful place.
From Reno to Whidbey Island, Washington we hopped on and off some previously traveled roads, which is more or less what we tend to do a lot of in our general travels. The drive by Lava Beds National Monument up towards Crater Lake National was a familiar one, but the cut through the Oregon mountains to Eugene was new and beautiful.
This back and forth of new and old routes was the perfect way to learn to drive the Lance truck camper – which wasn’t hard at all, but just added to our confidence and comfort with taking this completely new setup somewhere as far and remote and NEW as through Canada and Alaska.
And really, an old familiar road with a new vehicle is kind of new in a way, isn’t it?
Adventure Begins at the End of the Roads You Know
Familiarity is comfortable.
Sometimes it can be so comfortable it can be boring, right? Like a commute to and from work.
On the flip side, change can be uncomfortable. Sometimes it can be so uncomfortable it hurts. In our years of travelling we have gotten somewhat used to change – to where change is almost the new comfortable.
Working and waiting in Lancaster for two months on the preparation of this project seemed like an eternity, but then the sudden change that happened in just a few days leading up to our departure nearly pushed us over the edge, and then BOOM. Now we are in a new and difference Lance truck camper!
As we adjust – which from past experience in switching rigs I expect will take time – it will be interesting to see how malleable we are. In our first 6 months on the road we struggled a lot with the big change.
This time, we’ve left our “home” again, but the traveling lifestyle is already something we are used to. We’ve already got our support network in place, which is HUGE on the road where you can get lonely if you’re not proactive.
The only differences are the rig and the pace. We will be moving pretty quickly, and I hope we have opportunity to stop and recharge along the way. That is the biggest adjustment that I foresee on this adventure.
Six months is a long time and I wonder how it will change us.
Will 33 ft seem too big when we get back? Will it still feel like “home”? Will we be sad to leave the truck camper? Will we never want to be cold again?
So many questions, and I’m perfectly content with any of the answers we find. I am open to the change, whatever it is!
Let the adventure begin!
The Go North Expedition is made possible by Lance Camper Manufacturing, Battle Born Batteries, Truma North America, Dometic, LivinLite.net, Hellwig Suspension Products, and viewers like you through Patreon. Thank you!
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