Beginnings and endings
Joe and Ethan were heading back to Colorado for a couple months to spend the holidays with family and friends who are still there. There were so many things we had not yet seen or done around the area, so we crammed as much stuff as we could during these last few days. Went on…
Golden Birthday
We celebrated Joe’s 17th birthday on the 17th. We don’t have much space for purchased items, and we’ve learned that we don’t NEED to buy things just because it’s a celebration, so we decided to take Joe on a little mini vacation. Before we left, Ethan’s grandmother decided to take care of Joe and Ethan’s…
Out-and-about Asheville
Our first week in Asheville was filled with food, so we decided we wanted to spend more time DOing things. At the little pond near our site there are several species of duck. The white ducks with cotton ball heads are our favorites. At the Oyster Bar, one of the locals recommended a website I’ve…
Foraging for winter
We’ve been eating often lately. Like EVERY day. This post is filled with pics of us eating, sorry, but that’s what happened a lot this week. Luella’s Bar-B-Que is a cute little place in downtown Asheville I’d highly recommend. The chef/owners and employees were all super kind and chatty, but the food…oh man, the brisket…
Change of plans
“The only constant in life is change” – Heraclitus Earlier in the summer, Eric bumped the scar tissue on his ankle and it became a tiny hole. Over the past few months, that tiny hole has grown into two holes and is now one large hole. It’s boomerang shaped, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, and…
It’s so hard to say goodbye
The day after getting set up, we attended a little orientation from the owner of what we could and couldn’t do and where things were around the property. We were told we can’t go on the resort really unless we were working, and if a guest of the cabins said hello or wanted to talk,…
Chapter 2 – Heading East
Our next journey is a workamping experience. We’re planning to help renovate cabins, take care of farm chores, and assist with the Healing Springs guests as needed. Our journey out was a long and tiring one. It snowed, in the beginning of September, for our first two days on the road and then continued to…
End of summer lake fun
As we rounded out our trip from the Northwest expedition, we made met up with my Dad and step-mom at Alcova Reservoir in Wyoming. There were fires all over the Western side of the country and it was tough to breathe and see. Didn’t stop us from having a great time though! Eric played “king…
Heading South
After Bonners Ferry, we were on a mission to make it South to meet Tiffany’s Dad and Chrisma at a lake and then to the Denver metro area for Tiffany to work and us to switch out summer stuff for winter stuff. Our first stop was another fairgrounds in a place called Moscow, ID. It…
Wedding Crashers
Eric here, humbly taking on the task of trying to write this part of the blog. I’ll do my best and please make fun of me if you need to! We decided to stay at the fairgrounds in Bonners Ferry, a little town very close to the border of Canada in Northern Idaho. Who would…
Until we meet again
The bond we’ve created over these past couple of months with our children has been more momentous than I even hoped. The last day of our summer together, or as we’re calling it, Chapter 1, we sought out a nice little thrift store that had some of the most fun nostalgia I had seen. I…
We found a unicorn and Harry Potter at Coeur d’Lane
Ethan has been wanting to grow his hair out. He wants it so long that a braid will go down his back. Jillian is trying to convince him not to do it, but I think it’s his hair and he can do whatever he’d like, so, we’ll see. After he told me he wanted braids…
Let’s go chasing waterfalls
The temperature outside, in the shade, was 105 degrees. We thought we were so clever coming up north during the middle of the summer, but with a heat wave like this one, there wasn’t much escape. We got set up on some BLM land for a couple nights, just between the cities of Troy and…
Little irritants
Our next stop was another lake, McGregor Lake, but this time we had full hookups again. The campground hosts were very friendly, and we were across the street from a great little lodge/restaurant that many locals frequented. On one side of the campground was McGregor Lake, and on the other side was Little McGregor Lake.…
Be my cherry pie
The next location was a Bowman Orchards on Flathead Lake. It was harvest season, so the trees were stunning with the bright green leaves and red cherries. The location itself was a bit different than we had imagined, but the hosts were delightful, and the cherries were delicious. Eric and I are attempting to make…
Rest and Relaxation-y
There was a local beer I tried, called Moose Drool, that I believe is absolutely delicious. We found out their brewery, Big Sky Brewing Company, is a Harvest Host in Missoula, MT. Excitedly, we made arrangements to go and stay a night there. We needed to run some errands, and on our way, we saw…
My Anaconda don’t…
Anaconda is the place where the largest free-standing brick building in the world, and is actually about 300’ higher than the Washington Monument. One of the people we ran across said it’s so big that the inside of the top of the tower is big enough for a truck to drive around. We attempted to…
History Lessons in Mining and Early Western Life
We attempted to go to the statue Our Lady of the Rockies, a bright white marble statue of Jesus’ mother, Mary, that stands watch over the vast Berkley Pit, but the only way to get there is to take a tour, so we opted to do something else. In Butte and Anaconda are known for…
ah! Bob Saget!
We arrived at Farimont Hot Springs RV resort, a town located between Anaconda and Butte, MT, ready to check on the damage of our blow-out. Damage details: No power to the kitchen slide (no microwave, outlets or refrigerator), bumpy kitchen flooring with only one staple poking through the linoleum, and a bit of cosmetic damage…
Yellowstone…the Finale
I caught a little bug (non-COVID) so we spent most of our last week in Yellowstone just hanging around camp and living. Once I started feeling better, we did our last few days of tourist sight-seeing in Yellowstone park. One awesome thing about this lifestyle is that I can sit with my computer and work…
“F” if for Flowers, Floats, Fourth Festivities and Fire
Enjoying more time in the gorgeous forest just outside Yellowstone; not sure we’ll ever tire of this neighborhood. Joe makes an almost daily round of taking pictures of flowers in the different light. The forest floor is literally carpeted in these beauties, such a great time of year to visit! We’ve held marshmallow roasting competitions,…
Brown Chicken, What Now!?
I have now developed a fear of moving days. We needed to clean out our systems. Like REALLY…our home smelled like an outhouse and we couldn’t wait any longer. Honestly, we had done GREAT on our resource conservation. We went almost an entire week, with 6 people, using the resources we had without moving, dumping…
Yellowstone Part 1
Another gorgeous drive took us even further North near Henry’s Lake, a spot about 15 miles outside of the West entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Tanks were filled and we were thoroughly scrubbed and showered and ready to go off grid and boondock again. Eric navigated us to some BLM land and we landed a…
Recharging our batteries
Sometimes a nice hot shower and the ease of plugging a phone charger into an outlet and having it charge without a generator is all a person really wants. That was us, we’re “a person”. After our first real off-grid living at Lake Hattie and Shumway Farms, we were ready for some modern convenience. The…
Brown chicken brown cow
On our way to our next back yard, we went through Little America in Wyoming. I’d always wondered what it was exactly, and I’m sure since Covid-19 has changed the face of pretty much everything that we missed a lot, but it was like a really nice truck stop. They had some tourist items and…
For some it’s the kitchen, for us, it is the table
For some it’s the kitchen, but for us, the table seems to be the heart of our new home. I had forgotten what a dynamic gathering place a table can be until we didn’t have one big enough for all of us. At our last place, we had a square table and 4 chairs, so…
The band is back together
Lake Hattie helped us create some memories. Some good, some not as good. We learned that the rocket fireworks with the large wax wicks just blow up in your face when lit. We learned that this location is either VERY windy or clouded with swarming hungry mosquitoes. We’re learning how to co-habitate as one big…
Some quality Eric and kiddo time
Eric, Gabe and Jill enjoyed a few days alone at Lake Hattie while Ethan and Joe spent time with their dad and I spent time with my sister and tied up some more loose ends back in Colorado. They enjoyed pizza and rode bikes around our new site. Jillian sported some of her new birthday…
It was a dark and stormy night…
Quite an eventful weekend in the books. We knew to expect some drama, but just knowing it’s coming doesn’t prepare a family completely. Friday was our leaving town day. Since I will be working remotely, and will be coming into the office occassionally, we’re trying to find boondocking spots to stay within an hour or…
Nightly good-bye BBQs
We’re hosting small family BBQs with close family and friends in our mini-groups this week. It’s been full of good times and makes this adventure feel bittersweet. We have an incredibly loving and fun family and will miss them terribly. Wading in the lake. Learning how to cast and fish. Making fire with only flint…
Mom! I think I have ringworm!
Still having growing pains and adjustments to our new lifestyle as we wrap up our move. We’re still having a hard time getting over the bugs. As you may know, many bugs are drawn to light, so when the sun sets and someone opens a door – the little friends fly inside and start exploring.…
Danger noodles
Moth season has hit Colorado HARD this year and being in a camper seems to make them even more excited to be our friends. Jill and Ethan are not thrilled with the idea of any bugs coming near us. There has been a lot of screaming and running terrified from them and we’ve now named…
Captain’s Log: Day 2. We’re entering a different world
Mission: Find gas burning fire pit for evening gathering. Urgent. There was a shortage of portable gas burning fire pits and we realized that a fire is a definite necessity after our first non-campfire evening. There is a fire ban, so really gas burning is the only option. Several hours and in-person rejections from stores…
Chief’s successful weight loss plan
We had great intentions of using the wheelchair lift in the bus as a deck or aid to help us move heavy tools and generators, etc. Unfortunately, the bracket on the other side of the lift broke. We don’t have the time for setbacks on this, so out it goes. Thankfully, Joe’s friend is an…
Dear Diary, Seriously though…what were we thinking?
Holy emotional roller coaster, Batman! We knew things could get tough. Things were going to fail or break and people were going to lose their minds. We had our first sleep in the trailer and I woke up near tears wondering if we’ve made the right decision in this journey. Eric and I practiced backing,…
Memorial Day and moving
We spent most of the day moving and sorting and organizing and getting rid of ancillary items as we could. But it was also Memorial Day, so we spent time talking with each other and the kids about what it all means. Eric is a really effective teacher. I knew that this day was for…
The multiple uses of a bus
This bus thing has really come in handy. Used it to move from one storage unit to another and Joe and Ethan were having more fun than they should being trapped with a bunch of stuff in the bus. Never mind all the blurry pictures of Ethan…he thrives on me NOT being able to get…
Celebrating Eric’s birthday and deep cleaning Miss Liberty
We spent a good chunk of the day DEEP cleaning Liberty, prepping for move-in and testing all of her systems. I’m sure we did 403 things wrong, but all in all we were pretty satisfied and sore by the end of the day. Our last test was our ‘wireless’ connectivity test. Using our phones as…
Chief picking up Miss Liberty
We pull out of the RV Sales lot and hit our first curb. No damage, just a bit of adrenaline, phew. Less than 5 minutes later, we pull onto the highway and something flies off the trailer. We narrow down the possibilities and it’s confirmed once we arrive at the Walmart parking lot. The propane…
Hard, frustrating and rewarding bus reno
Eric has been hard at work getting Chief jazzed up to be the man-cave/escape area when one of us needs to get away. This week has been full of events. The wheelchair lift has been bittersweet. We want to keep it. It’s a great place to load/unload the generator and could be a cool little…
The beginning of Chief’s renovations
Eric and I have a deal. I get to decorate and organize the inside of the trailer, he gets to do the same with the bus. Ideas have been thrown around about what we want to do with the bus from a garage, to a kid room, to a man cave to storage and combinations…
Meet Chief
I was inspired by somone in the RV community who pulls their rig with a converted bus. Out of curiousity, I got on the ole Google and searched away. Somehow down the rabbit hole I stumbled upon a government auction site. I registered, not thinking I was qualified to do so, and bid on a…
What is Chief and Liberty?
Chief and Liberty are our vehicles, both literally and figuratively, for our new lifestyle of exploring everywhere we can drive with our family. Wherever we go, there we are! We are both thrilled and terrified of what we’re about to do, but our goal is to show our children that the world is filled with…
Hello, there! We’re Eric and Tiffany!
When we met, we quickly realized our equal opposite in each other. Our dreams of travel, adventure and a lifestyle filled with great people and memories instead of stuff aligned. Daydreams turned to reality much sooner than we thought possible, and we are grateful every day to be blessed with this ability to live the life of our dreams!
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Chief and Liberty 