A Downside of Full Time RV Living

It has been awhile since I wrote a blog post and thought I would give an update after being in Tucson for the last week. We left California on March 17 and started driving toward Tucson, taking several days. Our first stop was one of our favorite parks, Orange Grove RV located near Bakersfield. Unfortunately, it was past orange 🍊 picking season but the trees were loaded with sweet blossoms which were nice to see and smell. The park was busy when we arrived and we found out that a number of RVers were Canadians who were in a hurry to get back to their country due to the Coronavirus situation. They had been told that their travel insurance was running out and if they became ill in the U.S., their medical care would not be covered. The morning we left the park after a two night stay, the place was almost empty.

Our second stop for two nights was near Parker, Arizona in the tiny town of Bouse which seemed a little more removed from all the virus uproar. This is an area popular with ATVers as there is miles of open BLM land and lots of dirt tracks to ride on. It was my first chance to take a walk in the desert, see my beloved saguaro cactus as well as other desert plant life and enjoy the fantastic cloud filled sky.

The cactus and ocotillo were not in bloom yet but there were plenty of brittle bush, a standout in the desert with their bright yellow flowers.

Upon arrival to Tucson we were happy to be back at Rincon Country West Resort, a place we stayed last March and April for five weeks. It is a huge park that normally has a multitude of clubs, activities, trips, shows and other amenities. We found out prior to arrival that all activities and clubs had been canceled indefinitely due to the virus. This is understandable in this situation as government recommendations are that people not gather in larger groups, maintain distance and concentrate on social isolation. What a difference a year makes.

Arriving a year ago I was busy trying to figure out what activities to participate in, field trips to sign up for and club meetings to check out. Since the library is closed, people cannot gather and work on puzzles together (or alone), a favorite activity of mine before. But all that aside, this is a park we can stay at for awhile and feel secure. Although we are hoping to continue traveling around the U.S. this year, we figure we won’t hit the road for a few months, perhaps longer if the situation around the country remains critical.

Self isolation could be difficult here though. This is a very friendly park where people are used to stopping to chat and gather together regularly on their park model decks or at their RV sites. Especially since people live in such close proximity to each other. But most residents seem to be working on keeping appropriate distance.

This brings me to explaining the title of this post – a downside of full time RV living. It hit me (and Mark too) shortly after arriving in Tucson how tired we were of living in our very small travel trailer. It works out okay as our home when we are on the road seeing all the different states, towns, cities and scenic areas. With new places to get out and explore, we didn’t have to spend that much time in the trailer and could focus on adventures we had found. But after spending four and a half months in one place while in Northern California and arriving to Tucson where we need to stay in the trailer as much as possible, it has become somewhat of an endurance test.

It looks like we might have some relief soon though. We had decided toward the end of last year that we would like to buy what is called a “park model” at Rincon West which is a smaller version of a mobile home. The majority of the sites here are park models used primarily by “snow birds” during the colder months, returning to their main homes in the spring. Our thought was to buy one that we could live in for about four months each year and then continue to travel and visit family in our trailer the rest of the year. It would give us a little bit of a home base and a chance to enjoy all the wonderful amenities of the park each year. We have found a park model we like and are working on finalizing the details. Hopefully in a few weeks we will move in and have a little more room to move about. I never thought that some day I would look at a park model as being “roomy.” Life is certainly a matter of perspective 😊.

For now we will continue to “hunker down” here in Tucson, make the best of our tiny space and see what the weeks ahead bring. We are hoping this finds our readers continuing to be healthy and managing okay in this time of crisis.