It might not have been obvious in my previous blog posts, but Mark and I were antsy about returning to the Baja California peninsula of Mexico this winter, because we had a great time here last spring, meeting like-minded travelers and taking a welcome break after publishing a book. On this subsequent visit, we hoped to hang out with friends, explore this 1,000-mile narrow stretch of land a bit more, and relax on its many beaches. Our initial goal was to arrive in early December and stay until sometime in April.
Shell Beach vista
After multiple delays – trying to find jobs in Arizona, going to the dentist in Los Algodones, more camper projects in the desert, and a few important phone calls while still in the US with good cell service, we finally crossed the border into Baja on January 12th, six weeks later than planned. It was a good day! We had arrived back in Mexico and we could feel the stress and anxiety leave our bodies. Yet, we realized it would take a while to fully adjust to the life we intend to have: one of plenty adventures with a good balance between work and leisure, and plenty of walks for Maya.
On the access road to Shell Beach, 4WD is recommended
Parked at the end of the dirt road. We didn’t feel comfortable driving and camping on the soft-sand beach
Now that we have a 4WD vehicle (as opposed to our campervan Zesty, last year), more remote campsites are accessible and we feel that’s what a lot of Baja California is about: reaching peace and solitude surrounded by nature and the sea. One thing we noticed from the start, though, is that it’s much busier than last year. We were spoiled in 2021, when rarely a soul crossed into Mexico, and we often camped by ourselves.
A big shell!
Walking Maya on the pretty beach
Half an hour south of San Felipe is “Shell Beach” along the Sea of Cortez. This was our first stop and an awesome one. Miles and miles of empty beach, low dunes, gorgeous sunrises, clear night skies, and oh-so-quiet.
Sunrise on Shell Beach (Photo courtesy of Mark Kilty)
The empty beach runs for miles
The mountainous backdrop of our camping spot
Small dunes along the beach
A huge flock of pelicans on a sand spit at low tide
Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂
This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits.Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.
Mark, Maya, and I were supposed to spend the entire month of December at an RV park in Buckeye, Arizona. But, as with many of our 2021 goals and intentions, this didn’t happen. Mark was let go from his seasonal job at Macy’s warehouse two weeks prior than promised and expected. (There was not enough work anymore.) Despite having paid up throughout the month, we left the campground a week early after finishing several camper projects. We didn’t like it there.
Campsite #25 was our spot
Our home for four weeks
Crowded RV park with big rigs
The RV park was our highest expense in December. It was “part of the deal” and expected from the start. Most of the fuel cost went to Mark’s commute to and from Goodyear, where the warehouse is located. For anyone interested in trying the Get Upside app, which saves you money with every fill-up, follow this link. (Enter the code FE3MM7 when signing up to receive $2.22 back if you spend $10 by February 9th.)
The money going to camper and car projects (tire installation, spare water pump, hardware) could have been so much more, last month! First, we were sent a free solar panel and wiring by Bouge RV, which we installed at the campground. In return, we will compose and publish an extensive review, planned later this month. If anyone is interested in checking out Bouge RV’s website and gear, click on this link (which will bring you to their solar equipment). Use our coupon code ROAM12 for a 12% discount on any product.
Mark installing the new solar panel
Our new 180W solar panel
Secondly, we bought four Pirelli tires through Amazon and Walmart over a period of multiple weeks, which cost us tremendous time, energy, and aggravation. Everything went wrong. What a nightmare that was!!! The positive outcome was that we only ended up paying a fraction of the price we had in mind, due to Amazon’s generosity with refunds. That made up some of the income missed out on by Mark. We also used Amazon gift certificates for a bunch of household goods. The credit you see in the camper category underneath is a refund from our US car insurance after we made changes to go to Mexico.
Four tires, delivered!
Unwelcome message that did not make sense…
“Hiding” four new tires, before finding someone to finally install them.
Local Mexican tire installer
Waiting for the tire job to be done as dusk sets in
Our robust Pirelli tires
New tires – installed!
The grocery and dog categories are unusually high, because we kept stocking up on specialty items for us and dog food for Maya to consume on the Baja California peninsula this winter. Mark and I agreed to spoil ourselves with take-out once a week, while he worked the night shift. The second time this happened, our friend Greg paid us a quick visit in Phoenix. We only had a couple of hours to catch up, over a late lunch, but what a nice distraction this was. No more “dining out” afterwards, as Mark was not employed anymore. The second photo is of a cheap, healthy, vegetarian, easy, and tasty Mexican dinner: tostados with chopped vegetables and refried beans.
Our friend Greg came by for a very quick afternoon visit one day.
Easy, delicious, and healthy!
December is gift month, but we did pretty well here. I created, ordered, and shipped my annual calendars (with a photo of our little family in different locations for each month) to our loved ones in Belgium and the US. I still had the refund of my unusable Plunge banner from Vistaprint (see this writing update post) for the US versions of the calendar. And, for my birthday the end of November, I was promised a shopping spree at Trader Joe’s for goodies we never buy, namely unhealthy snacks! I spent half of my $50 allowance and am still enjoying the splurges now, after sharing the dessert items with friends earlier this month.
Trader Joe’s bounty for my birthday
A full tub of cookies!!!
Opening Christmas gifts, sent across the country by our good friend Denise
Maya loves her new toy, sent from Massachusetts by our friend Denise
Our other expense categories were reasonable. Mark finally bought a drill, which has come in really handy. I found extra t-shirts at a thrift store and did a few laundry loads, we topped off our propane tanks, and Mark took Thirsty to a carwash.
Filling our propane tanks was easy.
Convenient laundromat – if only all the machines would work!
Sparkling clean truck!
On Christmas Day, we finally had a fun afternoon outing away from the RV park. Our trio went for a decent hike in White Tank Mountain Regional Park, where a trickle of a waterfall became our destination.
White Tanks Mountain Regional Park
White Tank’s waterfall – albeit a small one – after a heavy rainstorm
Happy Maya
Sunset on Christmas Day
Like I mentioned before, I am now adding the credits from our Chase card (money earned back by using our Sapphire Preferred card) to our final total. If you’re looking for a new credit card that offers you 60,000 points (a value of $600).
Stay tuned for our annual 2021 expense report in a couple of weeks!
Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.
Donate to Roaming About to help maintain this website.
This post is not about resolutions, goals, plans, or gratitude. It’s not a bucket list (a word that is wrongly and over used in my opinion). It’s about what I have in mind regarding this blog, my online presence, and our upcoming adventures.
But first, I would like to wish everyone a healthy, prosperous, recovering, and adventurous new year. I truly hope that we will turn a leaf in 2022, on many fronts. Have a rewarding and happy one!
Roaming About blog
Like my previous website, It’s Irie, which I maintained from 2007 until 2015 to document our sailing adventures and which is still active, this blog (started in 2015) was initially meant to keep friends and family up to date about our whereabouts and whatabouts. But it turned into so much more than that! Thanks to you, dear reader.
It’s Irie blog
My blog’s main theme is travel related, so I want to get back to those roots. I hope to write more compelling posts – entertaining and informative – with a smaller selection of photos. This will be a work in progress. As always, I’ll update our current location in the sidebar.
While my writing journey has been a big part since I started this blog, it should not take up 25% of the content anymore. I wrote a book, edited it, published it, and promoted it. Not everyone is interested in all those details or experiences. I will still post updates, but not monthly anymore; maybe every other month or quarterly. January is the first time I skipped this tradition since the mid-2016.
The first box of Plunge books arrived in December 2020.
Proud of my first book, posing inside Zesty
Posing with my book in the desert of Arizona in 2021
The expense reports are fun to compose and seem to be well received. They also give me an opportunity to display places, occurrences, and photos that didn’t appear elsewhere, so I’ll keep them.
Income from this blog
Ever since I became a nomad in 2003, I’ve been very good at working for free or for a pittance. Yes, earning money should be fun too, but there has to be a balance. I’ve never placed ads or pop-ups on this blog (and never will as they annoy me as a reader) and only recently added a couple of affiliate Amazon links for my book, which offers pennies when used.
Working at my computer on our sailboat Irie (2007 – 2015)
Working at my computer in our campervan Zesty (2017-2021)
Writing Plunge in our campervan
Most of you have purchased Plungealready, left a review, and/or spread the word. My tremendous gratitude for all this support! I do hope new and future readers of Roaming About will (eventually) buy and read my book as well, so I’m keeping the little “prompts” on the sidebar of the website and bottom of certain post. As mentioned in my writing update blogs, I earn US$3.50 from every book I sell online.
Our hosting and domain fees total about $400 every three years. This month, it’s pay-up time again. We have always fronted this money, but because our living costs keep increasing, I’ve added a little “tip jar” on the sidebar in the form of a donation button. Followers have been encouraging us to put some kind of “support system” in place. Of course, unless on a laptop or with devices in the desktop setting, nobody will probably see the button. Can you find it? We have no need for contributions to a pizza, coffee, or beer fund; we’d just like to cover the cost for keeping this blog alive and maintained. We are also considering writing product reviews (like this solar panel one), being sponsored by companies, or becoming brand ambassadors as we embark on our next epic trip.
My blogging interactions
This blogging hobby, and especially reading (and engaging on) other blogs, is very time consuming. I think it’s safe to say that I follow about 50 bloggers and have been adamant over the years to read most of their posts and leave a comment. Since I’m curious about the host’s reply, I mark the checkbox to receive all comments, resulting in a flood of emails in my inbox. I’ve become pretty effective at deleting the masses and singling out the reply I was waiting for. Still, blogging is taking precious time away from real-life adventures, reading books (my current average is six a year!), writing, and trying to earn money. If I was retired and/or living in a stable home with not much going on, it would be different.
Rest assured, dear blog readers, my Roaming About website remains a priority. I still plan on posting about once a week and I always, always reply to comments (eventually) and react to legitimate emails sent my way.
Rest assured, dear blogging friends, I will keep following along and reading the articles that interest me. When I give your post a “like,” it means that I read it, and – well – liked it! My internet availability might prevent me from interacting much, but know you are still a part of my life.
My social media presence
And, what to do about social media, that other time-sucker? I’m taking a step back from Instagram (after three years of having an account, I gained a “whopping” 338 followers), hope to engage more with Twitter (how long have I been saying that?), and will keep using Facebook as my main “channel.” I also wonder if we shouldn’t try YouTube one day, but that is opening a can of very different, technical, timely, non-stop, and even more time-consuming worms!
Facebook page Liesbet
Facebook page Roaming About
Facebook page SV Irie
Instagram Page Roaming About
Twitter Page Liesbet
LinkedIn page Liesbet
Our lifestyle
If you know us and/or have read Plunge, you will be accustomed to our attitude of not planning much, going with the flow, and being a tad impulsive. As we get older, however, it feels like we need to be better prepared and organized. Gone are the days that we bought a truck camper – or a sailboat – and set out on an international adventure within months. How long have I wanted to take a small camper to South America? Plunge readers might remember…
Ready for new adventures
So, our big incentive is to get this open-ended adventure started in 2022. Of course, a lot depends on the pandemic situation, our choice/change of mobile living quarters, and preparing ourselves, our vehicle, our camper, and our dog for extensive and indefinite travels again. Stay tuned!
Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary
Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂
This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits.Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.
Mark, Maya, and I spent the entire month of November on the road in T&T (Thirsty & Temp), exploring New Mexico and Arizona, which explains our high fuel cost. Camping in nature was free, as usual. This was NOT what we had in mind when we left Massachusetts mid-September. It was the start of a new string of negative developments that would affect our decisions and continue well into December. Let me explain…
Nice and private free campsite in Gila National Forest, NM
Camped on BLM land near Espanola, NM
Another peaceful free campsite in Arizona
Before we hit the road in our new set-up, we had a two- to three-week house sit lined up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for home owners and dogs we are familiar with and have done repeat sits for. The owners asked us back, were going to pay us, and wanted to meet Maya. We had a destination and a time frame (mid-November), came up with a loose route, and would enjoy two months of travel and sightseeing until the sit started.
As our trip progressed, Mark and I made plans (yep, the P-word that we should ban from our vocabulary!) for our stay in Albuquerque. Other than taking care of the dogs, the home, the mail, and the yard, we looked forward to sitting still for a couple of weeks enjoying the luxuries and comforts of a fabulous house, dealing with much-needed camper projects (making adjustments to our camper platform, equalizing the cells in the lithium battery Mark built, fixing the bathroom sink, modifying parts of the interior), doing promo work for my book, focusing on freelance work, creating an annual calendar for my family, and getting some administration in order.
We did stop in Albuquerque, NM, for an afternoon at Home Depot, for platform attempt #2.
So, when this sit was cancelled, we lost more than the prospect of extra income. We were pretty bummed, but more imminent and important, we needed to figure out where we could work on the camper for a few days. Luckily, we have a friend in Benson, Arizona, a fellow Westy owner, who agreed to our presence in his driveway for a couple of nights that turned into four. Not only did we have the space we needed, but John is also a wealth of information with a wealth of tools and scrap materials!
John, a battery expert, helps Mark diagnose what’s wrong with the individual cells.
Mark working on the sink contraption
Attempt #3 (and more money invested) for a camper platform that works
Extra project, yet tricky and time consuming: cutting the long cupboard lids in three pieces
John helped Mark with many of our projects
The separate parts are easier to open and close
A new spigot in the sink
Some of our expenses last month are related to this stay, as we – again – attempted building a different platform to rest our camper on. Maybe the third try is the charm? We modified and fixed a few camper items and installed new faucet in the bathroom. We took our friend out to a fabulous lunch at Mi Casa restaurant (look at those reviews and check them out if you pass through!) as a thank you and cooked an extensive Mexican dinner for him as well. It was a productive mid-week.
That’s not Zesty! It’s John’s Westy. We traded ours for a truck camper…
Fish tacos a la Mark in Temp – our first dinner guest!
Lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Benson, AZ
Look at those dishes! Not only tasty and filling, but pretty too.
Good find, John!
A few of November’s categories are high as we started stocking up and preparing for our winter trip to Baja California, Mexico (which has now been postponed, but more about that in another post). And we purchased special ingredients for two celebratory dinners in Temp: Thanksgiving and my birthday.
Chicken instead of turkey – the camper way….
Thanksgiving dinner, most of it made from scratch
We bought extra food for us and Maya and we took our dog to the vet for her annual check-up and a couple of vaccines. Mark needed his second shingles shot as well, which we had to pay out of pocket as we have Massachusetts health insurance that only covers us elsewhere for emergencies. On the same topic, Mark and I also received our booster shots for Covid, which were free. The family is all set for Mexico!
View for a week from our bed – Saddle Mountain BLM
Scenery along our hike
And, some saguaros here too.
Taking a breather in the shade of the mountain
Hiking in the rocky desert of Arizona
Found it! Petroglyphs at Saddleback Mountain.
It was very rocky and not ideal to walk, especially for Maya.
Free entertainment came in the form of dog walks in the desert, soaking in natural hot springs, and finding local and cultural treasures.
Black Rock Hot Springs
Maya remained on the rocks
A cold river next to comfortable hot springs
Gila Cliff Dwellings, New Mexico
Gila Cliff Dwellings, New Mexico
Without friends inviting us to use their washing machines, we have to pay for laundry again. 🙂 The amount we spent was actually higher than mentioned in this overview, but we had extra quarters left from a previous laundry expense category. And last but not least, because of our credit cards and cash back program, we received a bit over $50 back. From now on, I am incorporating these amounts in our totals, something I haven’t done in the past.
(The Chase offer of 100,000 bonus points I mentioned a few months ago is not available anymore. When signing up for this credit card now, you can earn 60,000 points when following the directions here.)
Free camping next to Saddle Mountain, AZ, for one week
Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.
Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary
Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing.A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional.For December, the question is: “In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?”
My answer to the question – In your writing, what stresses you? What delights you?
I’ve always had a strange relationship with writing… It comes easy for personal use: diaries, notes, blog posts, emails. But when I have a deadline or an assignment, I find it hard to place my bum in front of a computer. Something is fighting it. Pressure? Yet, from the moment I start, the words flow and by the end I’m usually pleased with the result.
Regarding book writing, I enjoy most of the process, especially the writing and editing steps. Promotion can be fun if my creative juices are flowing and I have time. When I put my mind to anything writing-related, most of it delights me. If I don’t have other priorities or distractions, which usually is the case. What stresses me is the lead-up to events, like in-person/online presentations, interviews, podcasts, meetings, or other performances. Afterwards, I’m always glad I participated, though.
My book news
November was a relatively quiet month for Plunge. Mark and I have had a lot on our minds lately (more about that in a future post), so book promo was not a priority. That being said, I continued posting the occasional content, positive reviews, and a link nudge on different Facebook groups I am a member of.
Fellow author, blogger, and book reviewer Sue Bavey is featuring me this week in her Indie Spotlight on Sue’s Musings. The post went live on November 25th, Thanksgiving Day in the US. Not the best timing, but the interview was fun to do and exposure is always a good thing. You can find our Q&A here.
It is always a delight to hear from readers, known or unknown. When my Facebook notifications showed that someone mentioned Roaming About in a post and I checked it out, this appeared: a wonderful review of my book and a photo. This new reader didn’t post her review on Goodreads or Amazon, but she shared it with her followers and friends on Instagram and Facebook. A wonderful surprise.
Post by Plunge reader Regina
Photo from reader Regina
And my friend Kavita, whom we visited in the suburbs of Chicago a few months ago, brought Plunge on her vacation in Southern Utah, where she posed with it in the amazing scenery. Here she is with my book at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park. It’s one of the photos that she publicly posted about her adventurous trip. Incredible!
Kavita with Plunge in Canyonlands
Three days after Thanksgiving, we celebrated my 46th birthday and Plunge’s 1st birthday in the desert of Arizona. I can barely believe that it has been a year already since I published my travel memoir. The book has come far, but the three of us are still/again in the same place: Southern Arizona.
When Mark and I met Jon and Gail on a remote, gorgeous beach in Baja California, Mexico, this past spring, we hit it off immediately. Jon Crane is a renowned, accomplished, and outstanding painter and his lovely wife, Gail, had just published her book Mystic Travelers around the same time I released Plunge. The four of us had a lot to share – stories, food, drinks, and art.
Jon and Gail (who travel with their cat, Cosme) in front of their truck camper
Gail and Jon sign our copy of her book.
“Mystic Travelers” by Gail Crane
The couple spends half a year on the Baja peninsula in their truck camper and the other six months in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where they built an incredible home based on Jon’s vision and skills. Ever since I read about their place in Mystic and saw a photo of their unique house in Gail’s book, I’ve wanted to visit. So, when we found ourselves in the Badlands, two hours east of the Black Hills, we got in touch with our friends. Would they still be home mid-October or had they already left for Baja?
Exploring Badlands National Park with TT
Mark and Liesbet in the Badlands
We were in luck. Jon and Gail were still around for a couple of weeks and more than happy to see and host us. But there was one problem… They live in the middle of nowhere, deep into the black hills, and the first snowfall of the season had arrived when it rained in our neck of the woods. No worries. We’d amuse ourselves for a couple more days and assumed the snow would be melted when we ventured into the hills.
We stopped in Rapid City to do some shopping and say hi to a bunch of presidents.
(As always, hover over or click on images in galleries to read the captions.)
Mark looks for the president route on his phone.
President Barack Obama and one of his daughters
President George W. Bush
President Thomas Jefferson
President Franklin Roosevelt
President Harry Truman
President Martin Van Buren
Then, we left civilization and were greeted by this. Yikes.
Entering the Black Hills
What just happened?
Mark and I are warm-blooded humans. We don’t do well in cold weather and we certainly didn’t plan on seeing any of that white stuff when driving across the country, except, maybe, if and when crossing the mountain passes in Colorado!
The road condition deteriorated the further we drove.
Mark, Maya, and I have been back on the road in this new-to-us camper for two months now. It’s time to properly introduce our new set-up. I haven’t done this earlier, because the post would be on the longer side (and require a lot of time to create), we have been contemplating a name for the two components, and I wanted to get a feel for our home on wheels first. Some of you might have been wondering how our changed living quarters are working out, why we swapped modes of transportation/accommodation, or how a truck camper compares to a campervan.
Meet T&T
Picking names is difficult for me – my book title, our dog, our previous sailboats, the marine product we invented and developed. The decision process takes ages and the label has to be fitting. Mark and I really liked the name of our campervan, Zesty, which we sold in April of this year. Once we finally found the right truck (which we bought after the slide-in camper), more naming was in order.
(Hover over or click on photos to read their captions in galleries.)
Thirsty without cargo
The tailgate had to be removed (and stored) to fit the camper in the truck bed.
For reasons you might guess, we have decided to call our black Ford F350 short-bed, extended cab, 4X4 gasoline pickup truck Thirsty. If you’ve followed our current expense reports, you would agree this is a suitable name for a vehicle of this caliber. Of course, our truck – like us – is thirsty for adventure and freedom as well.
Temp disconnected & rebuilding the truck camper frame in Newburyport, MA – take 1
It might come as a surprise that our nuCamp Cirrus 820 is not our ideal camper to take to South America. I’ll elaborate on why later, but we have been on the look-out for another truck camper (a Northstar Arrow U) for seven months. Because our current camper is supposed to be a temporary solution, the in-between version, we are calling it Temp. This particular brand and model – modern, streamlined, and fancy – was very tempting to buy and our #2 on the list. Add to that, that all campers can be temperamental… Since irony plays a big role in my life, I wouldn’t be surprised if we eventually end up keeping Temp, needing to explain its name with sarcasm. There is a lot to love about him.
Rebuilding the truck camper frame at a Home Depot in Albuquerque, NM – take 2
Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂
This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits.Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.
Mark, Maya, and I spent the entire month of October on the road in our truck camper, getting from Illinois to New Mexico with stops in Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado. Lots of driving and extra gear were the main source for our high expenses. We bought a new faucet for the bathroom, latches for the drawers (we had three break in one week – what to do with all their contents while we drove?), a grease gun, and a battery monitor. I have to stop stating that it was – yet – another costly month and face the fact that life has gotten incredibly expensive in the US. And I’m not only talking about fuel.
(As always, hover over or click on photos for captions.)
New faucet for the bathroom. It was cheaply made, so Mark needed to replace the O-ring and make adjustments to it.
Maya at the reservoir of Shep Canyon, where we stayed multiple nights.
In 2020 (and previous years), our monthly average expenditure was around $1,300. We met this goal only twice in 2021. Prices of products in grocery stores and online have risen and the cost of fuel – which I realize is still much lower than in Canada, Belgium, or Mexico – is becoming cost-prohibitive for us. Now is NOT a good time for a cross country road trip or camper life as a nomad. It’s not that we can cut more in other categories as we’re pretty careful already. Mark and I have daily discussions about our options. Sitting somewhere for longer periods of time? Finding “real” jobs for a bit? Changing gears once again?
Camped at Oliver Reservoir Recreation Area, Nebraska
In the past, readers of this blog and people following our adventures have asked us how they can support us. Why don’t we have a tip jar, pizza/beer/coffee fund, ads on the website, or a crowdfunding platform? Apart from a few affiliate links, we are staying clear of any of this. So far. The best, easiest, and most rewarding (and beneficial to you) way to support us, is by buying my book – via links on this website, as a hard copy from me personally if your address is in the US, or elsewhere online.
Trying to save money has caused us frustrations in October (and this month too). Usually, we use the free app GasBuddy, but with prices fluctuating from hour to hour, we often show up at a station to a price that is 30 cents a gallon higher than last reported. This means we drive to a different station on the other side of town, costing us more fuel – and time – to get there than it is worth buying gas for a few cents less. If the price at station #2 is, in fact, lower. More often than not, it isn’t and we end up paying a premium anyway, despite the detour.
Getting expensive gas in Bayard, Nebraska
GetUpside is a wonderful alternative. This app gives a discount at certain stations and seems to be more reliable these days. If anyone is interested in signing up, feel free to use the promo code FE3MM7 or this link. It should give you a discount of 15 – 40 cents per gallon of gas or diesel on your first fill at participating fuel stations.
Another problem is our dismal fuel economy. We only get 10 miles to the gallon in this pickup truck, which is less than half of our campervan Zesty! This reduces our radius from 500 miles to 300 miles before we need to fill up again (despite the bigger tank), is twice as expensive as before, and makes us plan our routes a certain way (as in, avoid the Rocky Mountains in Colorado). And that’s with Mark not using cruise control and being extremely aware about how he drives, which is exhausting. Even then, our fuel cost last month was outrageous – over 1/3 of our total expense – and so was the expense for propane, which also has gone up substantially compared to six months ago.
Maya with her new tracker
Maya’s big container of fish oil
Parked overnight at the Bas Pro Shop of Colorado Springs, Colorado. They allow RVs to spend one night a year here.
What else did we spend money on in October? We bought a new gps tracker for Maya. Tractive (a company Mark researched in the past) had a special, offering the device for free and an annual data fee for $84. We switched from Whistle, because Tractive provides coverage internationally and has more usable features. We stocked up on the fish oil supplement for our dog as well. This container should last at least six months.
Tasty and healthy lunch on October 1st, in Wicker Park, Chicago, provided by Peta and Ben (Photo courtesy Peta Kaplan)
Appetizers and dinner at Keith & Kavita’s place in Chicago
Alcohol was high, because we visited friends and brought stacks to share and leave. We also treated our friends in Chicago to a Thai take-out meal. On the flip side, wonderful friends treated us to lunch (thank you, Peta and Ben), dinner and fresh veggies from the garden (thank you, Gail and Jon), and other food (thank you Keith, Kavita, and Margaret).
Our TV swings out from the bed area towards the dinette.
Mark convinced me to get a Chromecast device on sale. For about $20 we managed to snatch the last one at a department store and now we actually use the TV that came with our camper by pairing it with a tablet and streaming Netflix, etc. to enjoy a bigger screen; luxury!
Entrance sign to the national park
Driving through Badlands National Park
Enjoying the American Badlands
We bought a few new items for the camper household (our cereal bowls broke after I forgot to latch one of the cabinets; our drives are VERY rough and often on bumpy dirt roads) and shorts for Mark. We also paid the $30 entrance fee to Badlands National Park and renewed one of our domain names. Phew!
Camped along the badlands of South Dakota
Little Swan Lake, Iowa
Oacoma Flats, South Dakota
Camped south of the national park, before a rain storm
Camped at Shep Canyon National Recreation Area, SD
Camped at our friends Gail & Jon’s house in the Black Hills, South Dakota
Camped for one night in the prairie of Monument, Colorado
Camped at Mountain Home State Wildlife Area in Colorado for a couple of nights
As usual, we camped for free in the most amazing places. Imagine we’d stay at real campgrounds with fees of $20-$40 a night.. We definitely wouldn’t be able to afford this lifestyle anymore! Hurray for boondocking spots and the American west that is full of them. 🙂
One of our favorite campsites, in Colorado, last month. Happy to report our heater works at 8,500ft altitude!
Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.
Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary
Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing.A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional.For November, the question is: “What’s harder to do, coming up with your book title or writing the blurb?”
My answer to the question – What’s harder to create, your book title or the blurb?
What a great question! I think most authors struggle with both. If not, I envy them. The title (and subtitle) is of the utmost importance and is not easy to change once you commit to one. For Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary, it took me years until the one-word, punchy title popped up. I loved the fact that it was short and catchy and that it described my personality.
The subtitle was a different story – I’d made a list of about one hundred potentials and eventually boiled them down to three or so (at which point, I involved others to “vote”). None of these made it. As I hit “send” on the email with crucial information for my cover designer, I impulsively changed the subtitle to the current one. There was no turning back.
Writing a blurb is hard work; much harder and less fun than coming up with a book title. I did not enjoy this process and was glad to receive help from fellow authors, whom I thanked in my acknowledgements. It was a work in progress. I ran the drafts by many people. While it took less long than eventually creating a title for my book (one month versus years), it certainly involved more focus, frustration, and actual keyboard time to put the final blurb together.
My book news
Mark, Maya, and I have been traveling, exploring, and camping the entire month of October. As expected, not much promotion work has happened for Plunge.
I post the occasional promo spiel, when allowed on specific Facebook groups I’m a member of. Once in a while – even though the guidelines indicate promotion is allowed once a week (on Sundays in this case) – I get booted and my post is removed, even before it goes live. Often, these posts have to go through moderation first and either get ignored or go unnoticed. Oh well.
I played around with a free quotes program, but haven’t used anything yet for marketing. All Author offers free banners for certain occasions. I’ve posted a few of those in the past; most recently a Halloween one. These are fun but don’t create sales.
Happy Halloween!
Talk about fun, look at this email I received in my inbox recently… For a company that keeps a close eye on who reviews your book and blocks/deletes what they think are inappropriate ratings (always 5-star ones), I find this hilarious.
Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂
This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits.Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.
Mark, Maya, and I lived in a guest room in Massachusetts for the first half of September and returned to the road, in a new-to-us camper after that. The second part of the month was spent driving through and/or visiting the states of New York, Ohio, and Illinois, arriving in Chicago by the end of the month.
Free overnight parking in Chicago, at Lincoln Park
Those first two weeks of September were quite hectic, as we prepared for our trip, installed more parts to make our mobile lives easier or more comfortable, and I aimed to get to a stopping point with my book promo. Mark added an inverter and charger to our home on wheels and rewired parts of it to suit our homebuilt Lithium battery.
(As always, click on or hover over photos to read the captions.)
Rewiring the camper for the new battery and adding a charger and inverter
Tweaking the Lithium battery Mark built
Maya resting in the garage, as close to us as possible!
The most tricky – and annoying – task was figuring out a way to bring our e-bikes with us, now that an extension swing-out hitch and our original bike rack were not an option anymore. We ordered durable hooks, a backing plate, hardware, and straps to come up with a decent solution. This configuration on our ladder had to be changed – in Massachusetts and on the road – multiple times to avoid chafing and reduce damage on our bikes. It’s been an ordeal!
Installing straps and hooks on the ladder to carry our bikes
Protecting the carrier rack and adding a layer to our bikes in order to barely rest them on the back bumper.
Figuring out a new way to transport our e-bikes – not so easy without our swing-out hitch and rack from Zesty.
We covered about 1,000 miles last month, which is reflected in the high fuel cost, but is nothing compared to this month. Our fuel economy is terrible! Even worse than we expected. This is hard to swallow for us “thrifty travelers” as we are still getting used to our new camper set-up and weigh the pros and cons compared to a campervan. That topic will be for a future post!
Driving through the countryside in New York
Passing by Cleveland, without stopping
Driving through the countryside of Ohio
Figuring out how accurate the fuel gauges are… And, yes, our fuel economy is HORRIBLE. More about that later.
Approaching Chicago the end of September
Now that we live in our truck camper, we needed to change its insurance policy to reflect its higher value. We also bought more household items, like an outdoor mat, shower curtain, towel bars… Our first propane refill was expensive. Hopefully this is related to us messing about with the refrigerator setting. This fridge, unfortunately, runs on propane.
Remember that pricey Mexican lunch last month? The friends we treated back then, covered our part of a take-out dinner before we left on our trip. Hence, no dining out category for September. Since we mainly drink in company these days, the alcohol cost is for beer, wine, and sangria that we brought to “parties.”
Saying goodbye to good friends before we take off indefinitely
A spread of fabulous food and drinks over Labor Day Weekend
Labor Day Weekend get together with friends
Fabulous pasta dinner at our friend Sean’s place in Schenectady, New York
We pretty much cooked all our dinners in September
Our favorite, affordable wine – a red blend from California, available at Trader Joe’s (depending on the state)
We decided to spend money on entertainment this time around, by visiting two of New York’s most iconic state parks, sporting loads of waterfalls and hiking trails: Watkins Glen SP and Letchworth SP. You can read more about those sites here.
Watkins Glen State Park, New York
Letchworth State Park, New York
And, some attractions are free, like Indiana Dunes National Park, where we hiked, biked, and even spent the night! 🙂
We passed this attraction on a previous cross country road trip
Small snake on the path
Happy Maya on the beach
The biggest dune in the park
Deer along our bike ride
A twenty-mile e-bike ride to stretch the legs – after a five-mile hike…
Scaling a dune
Sandals do collect… sand!
Finding a massive body of (fresh) water and white, sandy beaches that resemble the seaside is strange.
In true Liesbet and Mark fashion, we once again boondock every night. This means camping without hook-ups or – usually – facilities. It’s also called “dry camping” or “wild camping” and is often (in our case, always) free. We use the no-cost app iOverlander (for campers by campers) to find suitable locations to spend the night. We also contribute to this service by adding new places, reviews, photos, experiences, and updates.
Our first night boondocking (in nature, not in driveways) in the truck camper
Free camping in Watkins Glen, NY
Parked overnight at a rest area – not sleeping well those days
Camped at the MH/RV Hall of Fame in Indiana
Free overnight parking at the visitor center of Indiana Dunes National Park
This expense report was a tricky one to create, because my accounting is different than Mark’s, who actually keeps track of everything in Quicken. His total expense for September 2021 resulted in a negative number, because we – finally – sold many valuable items that came with the truck and camper that we didn’t want. The idea being that this amount went towards our expenses for the truck and camper. Based on that math, the first category in my list underneath boiled down to only $20. Yes, we sold $990 worth of stuff. Most of it last minute!
The truck came with a sparkling, fancy Tonneau cover, which we tried to sell for months
The swing-out rack and massive storage box that came with our camper sold within a day of posting the ad!
The second “discrepancy” (a credit of $857) came from our Chase credit card points that had a value of 1.5x the amount if we used them before September ended. We still have another $300 (at 1x the amount) left for this month. If anybody is interested in checking out an incredible credit card offer – 100,000 free points (a value of $1,000 at 1x the points) – this is my Chase referral code: https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6c/PR3FJUQ8CP.
Maya loves her new home and can’t wait to start another adventure
Completely ready to leave Newburyport, Massachusetts!
Telling the readers of this blog that we spent -200 dollars wouldn’t make any sense, so I decided to itemize our expenses like I usually do and the credits and returns on our money will be incorporated in our yearly report. Now, let’s hope that we can finally bring our costs down to the $1,300 monthly average soon!
Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.
Roaming About – Liesbet Collaert & Mark Kilty & Maya
We have been perpetual nomads as RVers, sailors, house and pet sitters, and overlanders since 2003. Currently, the three of us are roaming about South America in our truck camper Bella.
As lifetime adventurers, we are self-employed and maintain a tight budget. This blog is about all that – and more – to inspire a life less ordinary. Don’t dream but do! 🙂
