Welcome back to the blog, fellow trippers. It has been ages since my last post. It has been a crazy few months.

The sun still shines. The birds still chirp. But, we’ve waited anxiously for the smoke to clear so that we can take our first pop-up trip post-Corona (or perhaps, mid-Corona).

Homeless Migration

This summer finds us in unique circumstances – homeless migrants for a few months. In January, we signed to build a new house right before ‘Rona came to visit. And that meant selling the house we were in.

The plan was to sell our current house before our annual cross-country excursion. And we were going to spend the lion’s share of summer in the confines of our pop-up.

While the timeline was altered slightly, it is still mostly intact.

Utah, Oregon, Washington, Idaho

This year, our course is charted through Utah, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Three states would be checked off of our family goal of visiting all 50 states by the time our oldest kid goes to college, bringing our total to 29. We would also visit 10 national parks or national monuments along the way.

As of now, our plans are still a bit hazy. At the time of this writing, Utah parks are in various stages of reopening. Most national park campgrounds remain closed. But, Washington, Oregon and Idaho state parks began taking reservations at the beginning of June – just in the nick of time.

Plan your work. Work your plan. Be flexible.

Under normal circumstances, our family motto is “Plan your work. Work your plan. Be flexible.” That flexibility will certainly be tested as our family of 5 spends nearly 2 months in a 23-foot (when open) pop-up camper.

Before our departure, we will move all of our belongings into storage, minus the ones we need on our journey, and the clothes I’ll need when I return to the office in mid-July.

On June 18, we chart our course through lower Utah and the first 3 National Parks. Then, by day 5, we push West toward Oregon.

We will still be homeless on our return home, with our estimated move-in happening in late July or early August. So, we will bounce between Texas state parks and Corp of Engineers campgrounds for several weeks when we return.

In August, the marathon should find our pop-up camper parked in the garage of our new “farmhouse”.

This year has certainly brought its turbulence. But, we are blessed.

Praying for Safety for Ourselves and Others

We continue to pray daily for health for ourselves, our friends, and our family. We continue to take steps of caution for our time on the road – devising safety plans for ourselves and our children.

• Personal hand sanitizer bottles around our necks. (But, only as a fallback if hand washing isn’t available.)
• The kids don’t touch doors or drink bins at gas stations (or anywhere). That is the the job of mom and dad.
• Normally the potty in the camper is off-limits during the daytime. But, we’re making an exception on this trip to limit the number of visits to public restrooms.
• One rule still remains – no pooping in the camper. For those occasional restroom visits, diligent washing is required.
• We will use showers, but limit frequency. We gathered a healthy supply of ready-to-use body washcloths for non-shower days. And there is always the shower in the pop-up or the outdoor shower if needed.

But, it’s that time of year. Prepare your hearts to join us on our journey. We look forward to the adventure that awaits.