The Start
We decided it was about time to go on another adventure outside of San Diego. I had a ton of vacation time in the books over 70 days to be exact and it was just that time to get away. Since living in an RV full-time going on adventures like this is pretty easy. I love it that we can bring home with us where ever we go.
Yuma
Yuma AZ was our first destination on this trip. We decided to try to pick locations that were not too far of a drive each day. I knew Yuma very well as I was stationed there for four years. But I had never camped there especially in an RV so I was excited to see how it would turn out.
We spent a few days here and as you can see above the spot we had was pretty beautiful. While it is the desert so not many trees or greenery I love and enjoy going to the desert. Just something magical about the nice weather during the day and the cooler nights. I am in shorts in January!
The spot we stayed at was BLM land. So it was 100% free for us to stay there. This was funny to us because a mile down the dirt road people were paying to camp. It was pretty cool going back to somewhere I have lived yet have not seen in about 6 years.
We went on a really fun hike with the puppies. Went and did a quick dip in the Colorado River. Well, my wife and the puppies did.
Air Force Camping
The Air Force camping spot my Wife found! It is out in the middle of nowhere and you have to get a pass for it. It looked and sounded a little crazy at first. Especially because I had no idea where it was exactly and we were traveling on roads that were back roads.
We did not stay here long at all. It was about a full day here because we wanted to get to the next destination. While at this spot it did start to rain a bit. Yet as you can see above we just threw on some jackets and hit the trail.
Of course, the puppies came and played in the rain. Just look at how happy Napoleon is in the picture above!
There was even a gate we had to open. This is where the pass comes into place. Once you get a pass and check in they let you know what the code is to unlock this gate. Looks and sounds a little unique I know. Look I’m even rocking my free jacket on the drive!
Overall I enjoyed this gorgeous spot. Wish we had more time to spend at it. There were big cliffs on both sides of our RV and no one at all near us as we were the only ones with the code to get it. It was great for the puppies to for exploring.
Tucson BLM
Tucson was our next destination on this adventure. It was a little unique as we ended up staying in multiple spots in Tucson. Not only that but there were so many cool places to go that we went to a ton of different places for day trips.
It was raining a bit after we arrived. As you can see above we are on dirt. Add water and dirt and you get some fun mud! Kodiak above loves to just live his little life outside and play in the mud.
This spot was somewhat secluded even though there were other people around. We saw people in RVs, Vans, and even tents. It’s nice having the space we do and the amenities even in sites like this. Seeing Van life people around us and people in tents when it’s cold and rainy makes us that much happier with our setup.
This is also BLM land so it’s free! We stayed in this spot for a few days. Honestly planned to stay longer in it but I looked at the weather and saw rain and snow were ahead for the next 3 days. That made us decide to look around for a few days of hookups in an RV park.
Tucson Air Force base
It just so happened that 30 minutes into Tucson there was an RV park on the Air Force base. Not only that but the cost was only $24 a night with full-hook-ups. For those not familiar with RV park prices that is a great price.
The sad part is I did not take any pictures of our spot or the RV park. I will say it was a nice park with very nice landscaping. Bathrooms at the park were all clean and they even had a dog park.
We ended up staying here for most of the trip due to rain and snow toward the end of the trip. I did get a short video of the beginning of the snow coming down though.
It’s all fun and games until it starts snowing.
Bisbee
Bisbee was one of the most unique beautiful towns I have ever seen. I would never have guessed something like this would be in AZ. We spent a whole day here exploring.
This little town had houses built right on the side of a mountain. The snow made it even more beautiful. I took the picture above with my new drone! Right as we got into town we checked out the famous Bisbee Breakfast Club which is a famous spot to eat at in town. The service was top-notch, the inside was a very old-school vibe and the food was good and quick to come out.
The bird I pictured above looks probably a little unique to some of you. When I first saw it I had no idea what it was. I’m an animal guy so I was surprised I had no clue what it was. Well, folks that are the famous Roadrunner bird! They can run over 30 mph if you can believe that.
The rest of the day was just walking the town and exploring it. There were so many old buildings and really interesting houses there. I did not take any more pictures of the town because I was trying to be more involved in the moment. I would 100% recommend going to this town!
Organ Pipe Cactus National Munument
This was a very fun and gorgeous place to see that was close to Tucson. It was a fun day and beautiful weather to get out and explore.
I even got my wife to take a picture of me standing on my old truck. Love having an older used truck to be able to do things like this.
There is a trail that you can drive on to site see and on the way, there are pull-offs to go explore. I liked that how this place was set up. This place was free because I am active duty military!
Chiricahua National Monument
This was a really interesting place to hike. Because of the weather, there was snow on one side and desert on the other side. It reminded me of a winter wonderland. This was free to everyone. The road was closed so we could not go on all the hikes and to be honest all the hikes consisted of about 15+ miles.
We ended up hiking about 4.5 miles maybe 5. It was nice and cool which made the hike nice. We stopped halfway and had lunch on some rocks in the snow.
Finished in Yuma
We decided to finish this adventure in the area we started. A few factors helped us decide this. It is a pretty close drive back to San Diego and we liked the BLM area there.
Did I mention on this trip I bought a drone! I have been throwing around the idea of buying one for some time. My idea was it would be cool for pictures and videos to document for my blog our adventures and everyday life. On top of that, it would be fun to play with.
But living in an RV I don’t have a ton of room so I did not want to buy one for fear of not liking it. Luck would have it we went into Costco during our time in Tucson and I saw one I had been eyeing for under $400 with extra stuff. Knowing I can take it back to Costco made it a no-brainer.
So far I really enjoyed it and took some of these pictures on this post with it and the videos below!
Final Thoughts
This adventure was a great time. It was nice to just be able to unplug from the internet and work. I felt freer just being in the moment of things and waking up when I wanted to. I honestly can’t wait to not have to work and retire early. Adventures like these are my mini-retirement tryouts.
This is a great way to try out how your early retirement could look. Yet there were some down days, with the rain and our generator broke on us.
Yet it was not the end of the world. Three-hour drive to the nearest Costco and we had a new generator working flawlessly. The irony is the generator that broke was a year old from Costco. We took it back and the new generator was $50 cheaper. So we got to use the generator for a year and they paid us $50 to do so lol.
Another issue was solved with no emergency fund. I enjoy living in the RV the longer I do it the more I love it. Adventures like these are what’s it’s all about as a full-timer. This is our daily life.
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