DAYS ON THE ROAD

So many days....

Simplifying down to what you really need is the key to long term adventures. Last fall we spent 98 days tent caMping around the country, in a PriUs. With 5 people that left little space for stuff. We also needed winterjackets and sleeping bags.

After a few sketchy situations and a few months at home we decided to head back out on the road again. With a few changes. In order to be able to go to many places we could Not the first time we opted for a 4×4 truck-unfortunately this also decimated our fuel economy. We then added a camper with a locking door and roof. We continued to cart around our tent. And even added a small kids tent to our collection(used as a place holder for our campsites).

While the new setup adds more stuff to our inventory, it also simplifies our lives by giving Us shelter while not havingto set up a tent every night and a place to cook without setting up the Camp stove. No longer dowe worryabout having to pack a wet tent. And we can sleep at a rest stop in a pinch.

We don't carry much more in the way of clothes or toys. There is almost no storage.And in Order to have space to sleep 5 it's necessary to live sparely. We do have 2 boxes of educational books for the kids, which is a luxury.

Each child has1 drawer, about 12×18X8 in.In this they fit 2 pairs of zip.off pants, 2 Non-cotton t-shirts, l cotton +-shirt 8 prs. of underwear, 3 prs of hiking socks, 3prs cotton socks and 1 longs leeve shirt. In other locations they keep 1 fleece, 1 down sweater, rain jacket, rain" pants, pjs flip flops, bathing suit sneakes, and hiking boots. All of our shoes are the biggest storage issue~ and food. We are alwaus moving these around!

And while we are comfortable with these comparatively few items, we are Comforted knowing it's a choice and all of our stuff is at home. Last time we were home we purged a huge amount of stuff (I do regret not being able to sell more of it, but that was not working, more and more was accumulating). I am hoping to shed more stuff when we get home and realize were any don't need it. I know that when i clean out the camper if will find plenty of stow aways that should never have been carted around for all of these miles!