Our public lands provide places where we can boondock for free or for a very low cost. The permits for parking for seven months on the Long Term Visitor Areas in AZ and CA have gone up to $180, up from $140, but still a bargain. Water, trash receptacles and dump station locations are available for this price. Areas where you can stay 14 days like Tecopa are still mostly free. Half-price camping clubs and membership clubs can also be a budget-saver now that many RV parks have hit the $25-$40/night mark.

By working or volunteering in an area we can see way more than the typical tourist, have a free or low-cost site and cover expenses and add to savings. Yet we aren’t stuck there. Our homes have wheels and we can move on at the end of the season or if things don’t work out as we had hoped.

The RV lifestyle also brings new adventures. I’m sure each of us has several places or things we’ve done that we would not have done in our former lives. I might have gone to Alaska but I wouldn’t have spent a summer in Skagway, ridden the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, or kayaked among porpoises and whales in Glacier Bay. I had always wanted to go to Niagra Falls but had never done so until last summer when George and I traveled by Buffalo, NY in our RV. We decided to see the falls so stopped for a few days in that area. Just like that.

If you are not a full-time RVer, traveling by RV is so much more pleasant. No living out of a suitcase. You sleep in the same bed each night. You have a choice between eating out or in and you have all the little things that make life more pleasant for you with you.

We are truly blessed to be able to participate in this lifestyle. We can be "home" for the holidays, wherever we are parked. We’ve spent Thanksgiving parked at family member’s homes, joined a group of RV friends for a potluck Thanksgiving at parks or in the desert and invited those who are alone to join us. We can create community any place we choose.