[halfwright]

It is hard to believe it has been six months already. We left Denver CO on June 9th. Before that, we had dreamed and planned for years. We are both drawing social security and have no other income. I joined the Moose and VFW before we left, and we have parked with them many times. All have been a pleasant experience. We have stayed at casinos, national forests, BLM land, and some state and local parks. Our average cost for overnight camping has been under $4. We have not stayed in a Wal-mart lot yet, but someday we may have to. We have a mobile hotspot for our internet access, which we use a lot in planning our next stop (place to stay, things to do, information about the area). We also use libraries, McDonald's, and other free wifi spots. I installed 4 150 watt solar panels, a charger, 4 6 volt batteries and an inverter to our 35 ft. fifth wheel before we left. We can use the microwave and coffee pot while dry camped, which is very nice. We also use a Tailgater satellite antenna for TV. To keep our fuel costs down, we usually go under 200 miles and then stay for 3 to 5 days exploring the area, or just being retired. We started with Glacier NP. We had not seen it. We spent 3 weeks around Butte MT looking at old buildings and ghost towns. We came across Idaho, into Washington, Oregon and California. As I write this, we are in San Luis Obispo CA at the Moose Lodge. Our plans now are to go south into San Diego, exploring along the way. Then, we will winter over in Arizona, maybe. Or go on into New Mexico and see relatives (and park in their yard). I had very high hopes for this lifestyle and all my expectations have been exceeded. I am an avid amateur photographer and have shot over 8000 pictures since we started. (and thankful that digital is so cheap.) If anyone that is hesitant about going full-time reads this, I can tell you that is is doable. And, I do not think you will ever regret it.

That is a cut and paste I put on a different RV forum 2 months ago. It has been 8 months now and we are still having fun,after some rough times. We had to make a quick trip at Thanksgiving to Illinois because my mother-in-law went into hospice care. We had made it as far south as Simi Valley. We stayed at the Moose Lodge in St. Charles IL and you could not find a nicer group of people if you looked for years. We were treated like long lost relatives. After the funeral, we headed south and west, seeing some sights along the way. We have been in New Mexico for almost a month now, staying in my sister's yard, waiting for warmer weather and the bank account to rebuild.
Since this is a Montana forum, my fifth wheel is a 2007 model 342PHT. I took the bunks out of the bunk room and we use it for storage, making sure to keep the heavier stuff (canned goods, mostly) out of the slide area. I put a closet rod across the slide out bunk area and we keep clothes, linen and light stuff (paper towels--TP) in that area. Other than modifications, the only work I have had to do is to replace the shaft and gears in the passenger side landing jack. We bought a New Mexico state park pass ($225) and will be staying in state parks ($4/night with water and electricity) in the southern part of the state, waiting on spring. Then, we plan to go up the east coast staying the longest at Washington DC in the Beltway Park and seeing ALL the Smithsonian Museum. I have also joined the Eagles now and have 3 organizations that have RV parking.
Even with the extra 2000 miles we had to travel to Illinois and the funeral expenses, we are just a little over budget. We are going to keep our expenditures down and we will be on budget by March. I would not change this new life style for anything.

Jim and Darlene Wright
plus Ryder, the Ethiopian monkeybeaver dog