Tents We Like so far...

This tent is mama's favorite:

Coleman Tenaya

This tent is dad's favorite:

Field & Stream Wilderness Cabin


We haven't seen any pop up campers in person but we've watched Youtube videos and we love the A-Frame pop ups.  They are EXPENSIVE if you buy them new.  Wouldn't we be better off just buying a used RV?

Hmmm?

Research, research, research.

If I had my way, we'd Tent and leave on October 1st.  But there are a lot of pieces that need to fit in the puzzle before we depart.

Pop Ups & Test Travels

We've been researching and changing our minds and researching and changing our minds.

Although, tents offer more room in general, a pop up camper offers more "amenities" like heat, comfie beds, a sink, a stove and they just seem more pet friendly.  Tents are more affordable, so there's that.

We've been traveling every weekend to visit local campsites for general ideas of what's out there.  We've found some pretty nice spots:

Randolph County State Recreation Area  on July 10th.  It was nice, clean, offered RV sites and primitive camping.  It was super Uncrowded.  We saw deer & ducks.  We fished and caught some tiny pumpkinseed sunfish.  

Pyramid State Park on July 17th.  Again, it was nice and clean.  Tiny, tight, primitive camping in some areas.  Very calm.  We saw deer, turtles, ducks.  Crazy butterflies and dragonflies.  We ran out of bait so I dug up worms.  Still didn't catch anything but tiny pumpkinseed sunnies.  We did get to see 2 mama sunnies guarding their eggs which was pretty cool.

Kinkaid Lake on July 24th.  This was a confusing trip.  The GPS wasn't updated maybe, so we had a hard time getting to where we wanted to go.  The signs seemed to be confusing.  They have awesome marinas but when I asked about beach swimming I was told I had to go to the Spillway.  The "camping" was basically grassy knolls with markers.  A lot of the RV's were permanent fixtures with porches built on.  We did see deer frolicking in a pond, which was something I'd never seen before.  We also saw deer in fields.  We saw cranes & Traveling Jackson saw a "beaver" which was actually a ground hog and a turtle on a log.

(Note about The Spillway; ironically my mom and her cousins spent part of their childhoods living in close proximity to the spillway.  They cousins built a tree house there years and years ago.  That treehouse stood for a long time. Sadly it's no longer there.  But the spillway is amazing.  Traveling Jackson & I actually go into the water there.  It was a nice trip.  It would have been more fun if it wasn't 100 degrees outside.  The water is warm at the spillway.

Lake Murphysboro on July 24th.  As far as tent camping, this was one of our favorites so far.  Camping right near the lake with excellent views.  We saw a few tents, but no too crowded.  They had a separate RV park, which was nice as well...but not hoity toity RV's, again, with excellent views.

These weekend mini trips are just one day excursions.  We may try an actual camping trip with our current gear and see what happens.  I think we are going to try Carlyle Lake next weekend.  Maybe an actual camping weekend.

Living in a Tent? For Real??

So, I think we've decided that for the first few months we are going to do our traveling and camping via tent.  Mostly because that will be the most budget friendly.  If you've never shopped for an RV...don't get sticker shocked when you discover that RV's...like the top of the line RV's...can cost as much as a house her in the midwest!  What?

Tenting with our pets might be difficult.  The dog will be fine.  But we have 2 cats.  So, that's an issue.

But...the whole concept of living a simplistic lifestyle is so appealing to us.  I mean...travel, no stress, eating and shopping local and did I mention no stress?

We are headed out now to look at some real tents.  We've looked online so we have an idea of what we need and want.  I'll come back and post some reviews of what we've seen and where we saw them.

To be continued...

PS:  We also have some great ideas about Jackson's homeschooling and educating kids across america.  Super excited!  We'll share soon!

A list of items we'll need/want for our travels...

A list that will evolve...


NEED/WANT:

• Laptop
• Go Pro
• Selfie Sticks
• Iphone
• RV (duh)
• Amazing Tent?  
• Air Mattresses
• Pet Immunization updates
• Collars/Shock collars for pets
• Homeschool supplies
• PO Box
• AAA
• 
  

HAVE ALREADY:

• We have a tent but it's not the greatest
• Coolers
• Iron Skillets
• Silverware, dishes, etc
• Mason Jars
• Bedding (sheets, pillow cases, towels, washclothes, etc)
• Tools, Jumper Cables, Car stuff
• Health Insurance
• String Lights
• Household items
• Fishing equipment
• We have 1 laptop
• We have a printer.  Will we need a printer?

Links & Discouraged. :(

I'm feeling discouraged about this plan.  It sounds so amazing...but can we actually do it?  I guess the first thing I need to do is create a budget plan, and see if we can actually live within our means.

I have found a ton of resources regarding boondocking and free camping.  Here's a list of the links...

Boondocking & Free Camping Facebook Page

Free & Cheap Campsites

Next Avenue

Women RVers

Travel Tips

RV Budgets  (This page actually has a plethora of information!)

See, this little exercise of searching for websites has cheered me up!  It seems so doable.  The biggest hurdle will be finding/purchasing the RV.  I have a car that's valued at $3000.  But, if we RV are we going to want to tow a vehicle?  I think not, but I just don't know.   If we sell all of our belongings we could probably squeak out another $1000.  If we stay with family for 1 month, that will save us from paying rent for 1 month.  Plus, we should get back a $900 security deposit.

And I'm thinking tenting will be nearly impossible with our pets?  Does anyone tent with pets?

Another thing that I'm excited about it one of the aspects of this blog will be a series of vlogs/blogs created and maintained by our 11 year old son.  He will be creating history lesson/science lesson etc vlogs/blogs about places we travel.  It will be part of his homeschooling, which I am super excited about.

Ok, I'm getting back to making the blog pretty now.  :)  Thanks for reading!  I can't wait to see where this adventure takes us!

The Plan!

So this is the plan...and it's a crazy plan!  I am aware.  But I also know, that if we REALLY want it to work, it can work.

We are kinda tired of just being rather than really living.  Work, come home, live in a house that's too big and too expensive, eat, sleep, work and so forth.  I'm tired of it.  I'm bored with it.

We've decided to LIVE.

First, the point here isn't just to travel.  It's to travel and learn.  The plan is to have Jackson do a weekly blog, vlog, etc on our travels for other kids (and grown ups!).  I also plan to keep a blog regarding our journey.  The ups, the downs, the good, the bad, the ugly.  I'd also try to find writing gigs to supplement our very limited income.

I do good with bulletted lists: 

• Obtain an RV.  We can't afford to buy a new one, so we'd have to either get one SUPER cheap or get one donated to the cause.
• The other option would be to obtain a super awesome tent.  More affordable all around but less safe?  
• We'd have to sell all of our regular worldy stuff.  Couches, tables, etc.  All of it.  Gone.  I've read about other travelers who put stuff in storage but the cost to do that sorta negates the point of RVing/Tenting.  This would be very difficult.  It's hard to get rid of stuff from the past.  We could keep some things that are truly sentimental & perhaps store stuff in a family members basement...but we'd have to get rid of almost everything.  Then, if/when we decided to stop RVing, we'd have to start over again from scratch.
• We have a dog & 2 cats.  I'm sure it's doable, but it is something to think about.  I know it can be done.
• Our budget would be SUPER tight.
• I'd offer advertising on my blog-I'd write articles etc-on the blog for businesses who donated?  
• We'd come home and stay with family for holidays.
• Jack would get the education of a lifetime.
• I saw a set up where the people had a tiny green house in their RV for growing a garden.  That would be awesome.  I guess if nothing else I could have an herb garden.
• We already have a lot of stuff that we could use for camping.  We basically only have to buy the tent and a few really good air mattresses.  

That's all I've got for now.  It's just getting the ball rolling and committing to the crazy idea that's going to be difficult.