BrittanyHighland, Author at RV Wanderlust

Off-road Adventures Through Big Bend National Park

April 29, 2019 by BrittanyHighland Leave a Comment

Even though Texas is our home base, we didn’t visit Big Bend National Park (one of only two national parks in the giant state of Texas) until this year.

Our reason was straight-forward: we need Internet to work; we work full-time; there isn’t Internet at Big Bend; we can’t go.

But times change. While we still need Internet to work, we aren’t currently sticking to our old travel rhythm. Many of our community members will remember our rhythm from before: drive no more than 250 miles and stay for two weeks.

When we were staying everywhere for two weeks, of course we couldn’t stay somewhere with no Internet. But now that we’re breaking our own rules, we can pop in somewhere for a weekend and get out before the work week starts.

That’s exactly what we did in order to visit Big Bend National Park. We just couldn’t put off a visit any longer!

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Celebrating National Park Week With Map View of Our Favorite NPS Units

April 18, 2019 by BrittanyHighland Leave a Comment

National Park Week is about to begin! The dates this year are April 20-28, 2019, with special programs and events scheduled across the nation.

The big highlight is Saturday, April 20, when admission fees are waived at all 419 National Park Service units! That’s right: you get in free at any national park, monument, battlefield, seashore, or other site managed by the U.S. National Park Service.

Of the 61 national parks, I’ve been to 27 so far-and it’ll be 28 tomorrow when we arrive at Big Bend National Park! Caspian has been to 34 total units in his two years of life. 💕 What about you?

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RV Wanderlust’s Moochdocking Wall of Gratitude

April 17, 2019 by BrittanyHighland Leave a Comment

RV Wanderlust Moochdocking Wall of Gratitude

We’ve been living in our 25-foot Winnebago View for just over five weeks now. Of those five weeks, we’ve “moochdocked” for more than three weeks.

If you’re not familiar with the term, moochdocking refers to RV camping on the private property of friends and family. While some properties have hookups of some kind, we arrive ready to dry camp. A place to park is enough for us!

Some people take offense at the name moochdocking, like it has a negative connotation. For us, it’s a fun word that’s been around longer than we’ve been RVing. We good-naturedly promote its usage.

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Photo Tour: Inside Our Winnebago View 24J

March 11, 2019 by BrittanyHighland Leave a Comment

We’re so excited to share the interior of our 2016 Winnebago View 24J with you. What a world of difference from our 2004 Class A! We feel like we’re living in a high-tech spaceship. 😂

The Holcombe Family, also known as Famagogo, purchased this rig new and didn’t make many visible interior modifications. This is a highly sought-after RV model, so we also plan to protect the resale value by avoiding major changes.

But why would we need to make changes? The interior is extremely attractive and the layout works perfectly for our family on wheels.

So stroll along with us on a quick walk-through photo tour of our 2016 Winnebago View 24J, which we’ve named Basecamp.

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Say Hello to Our New RV

March 9, 2019 by BrittanyHighland Leave a Comment

RV Wanderlust Bought Famagogo's Winnebago — We have a new RV home, thanks to our friends at Famagogo-Peter and Kathy Holcombe

Anyone who has said yes to full-time travel knows this lifestyle is riddled with surprises. Sometimes they’re hard and make you want to give up. Other times, the surprises are just fun.

We didn’t expect to get another RV so soon. Many of you know we had our 2019 itinerary planned out, and expected to spend the whole year overlanding in our Jeep Wrangler.

But then I was on Instagram and this happened…

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Where We Are After 5 Years of Full-time Travel

February 21, 2019 by BrittanyHighland Leave a Comment

5 Years of Full-time Travel RV Wanderlust

I hadn’t planned on writing today. But as we mark our 5-year nomadiversary, it seems too much of a milestone to leave unturned.

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Our Full-time RV Home of 5 Years Has a New Family

December 29, 2018 by BrittanyHighland Leave a Comment

RV Wanderlust Motorhome Sold — Our RV home of five years, the Tiffin Phaeton named Meriwether

Only we would come up with the idea of moving out of an RV into a Jeep, hosting three family members within the week before our move, which was also the week before Christmas, while simultaneously planning a two-month trip into the interior of Mexico-as new full-time overlanders.

As we’ve shared, we went back and forth about selling Meriwether. Is it really wise to sell our only home out from under us, without any immediate plans to get a new one? But we jumped, forcing ourselves to be brave and chase our long-term dreams.

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Our Final Two Weeks Living in This RV

December 11, 2018 by BrittanyHighland Leave a Comment

Just shy of five years ago, a 40-foot behemoth pulled up in the office complex across from our Austin apartment. I remember walking through Meriwether during “RVing 101” with the seller, hoping Eric would absorb and remember everything. It was all so foreign.

Now I’m sitting here at McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, the first campground we ever stayed at with Meriwether. I’m nostalgic, regretful, thankful, wiser. I’ve grown.

I’m not altogether ready to take this next step. I had this real conversation with Eric last week (we were at my parents’ while Meriwether was getting final maintenance):

Me: I miss Meriwether, and that makes me sad because we’re about to sell him.
Eric: Why are we?
Me: (After silence) Because we have to if we want to accomplish our goals. Because we’re too comfortable.
Eric: (Nod)
Me: But I just need you to know that I’m sad about it.

That’s where I’m at. I know why I’m doing what I’m doing, but it doesn’t come without a bittersweet taste. Do you know what I’m talking about?

I’m tempted to list what I’ve accomplished during this chapter-these five years of full-time RV travel. You know-how many states I’ve been to, how many miles, how many national parks. But I’m not going to do that.

Our Jeep Wrangler “Guardian,” home for 2019 as we overland across Mexico, the U.S., and Canada

For tonight, it’s enough to reflect on why I’ve chosen a life of travel. The whats are only surface-level.

There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.
Aldo Leopold

The wanderlust in me craves strange vistas. Though I desire stability, a part of me can’t live without uncertainty.

On the Living List we made before we were married, Eric and I included, “Do one spontaneous thing every day.” We didn’t know then that our best days would come when we stopped planning and embraced the unexpected.

So look at me. I don’t know what I’m leaning into, but I’m leaning hard. I’m cutting ties with comfort, and embracing the uncertain road. It’s never disappointed me before.

To learn more about our plans for 2019, read “RV Wanderlust Travel Plans” and “Why We’re Saying Goodbye to Our Diesel RV.”

-B

We Finally Made It to Nebraska With a Stay in Scottsbluff

November 19, 2018 by BrittanyHighland Leave a Comment

As we drove into Scottsbluff, Nebaska, we weren’t sure how long we wanted to stay. We considered spending a night or two, so we could add the state to our map, then head into Colorado to get a head start on our adventures there.

But when I checked my Chimani national park app, I learned there are three National Park Service sites in the immediate area. That changed the game, causing us to settle in for a week-long stay. After our whirlwind month in the Rapid City area, it was good to slow down and regroup.

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Buried in South Dakota’s Black Hills for Weeks

November 14, 2018 by BrittanyHighland Leave a Comment

Exploring Black Hills of South Dakota by RV

South Dakota’s Black Hills have magic in them. This wonderland of nature is at once mysterious and easy to access. The old, towering trees will give you strength. The wildlife will charm you.

Quite unlike our norm of arriving in a new place and parking there for two weeks, we bounced around the Rapid City area for nearly a month, camping at a total of five spots.

If I were to structure this travel log like I normally do-campground, activities, food-then I might as well publish it as a book. This time, I’m going to try a shorter form that traces our movements in each area. If you have a question about a specific place, don’t hesitate to leave a comment and I can elaborate for you.

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