Our Eighth Year of Fulltiming in Review

As of this date, we have completed our eighth year of traveling all around the country. It seems like only yesterday that we pulled the motorhome out of the driveway of our home in western New York. At the time, we didn’t have any real definite plans as to where we would go or how long this journey might last. We just knew there were a lot of places we wanted to see. While our initial pace was a bit more hectic than we wanted, over the years, we have settled into a more comfortable travel flow and have gotten better at staying in interesting places for longer periods of time in order to more fully experience what an area has to offer. I’m not sure we have any better answer to the question about how much longer we plan to travel. We are enjoying this lifestyle and feel like there are so many new places we want to visit and quite a few previous locations we wouldn’t mind seeing again. So as long as our health permits, we see no reason to come off the road.

In last year’s review, I commented that we had crossed the Mississippi River six out of seven years. Only during our 4th year did we stay out west for the full year and I had placed some blame on COVID for that fact. Well it turns out that we didn’t move across the country this past year either but this time we stayed in the eastern part of the United States. 

So why did we stay east? Well, we started out year #8 in western New York to visit with friends and see as much of the natural beauty of the region as we could fit in. Since we were on this side of the country, when we left in mid October, we decided to spend the winter season in Florida. During our 5 months exploring Florida, we ended up buying an RV lot at a place called The Great Outdoors in Titusville Florida. Check out this blog post if you’re curious about the reasons and logistics of getting a lot at TGO. Our pattern had been to head out west after spending a winter in Florida, but with our owning a lot, we figured we should plan on coming back the next winter so we made our plans for the warmer months to tour around the New England states visiting some places we didn't get to see when we were last in that area in 2018.

We managed to fit in some pretty amazing stops over the year. We were able to revisit many of the state parks in the Finger Lakes region that we used to explore during our 32 years living in that part of New York. Heading down through Virginia we explored more of Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. We stopped to visit friends in North Carolina on the journey south and even made it to a couple of coastal towns we had never been to before - Wilmington and Myrtle Beach. Our timing in St Augustine Florida was perfect to experience the wonderful Christmas lights the city is known for. 

We ended up spending a total of 67 nights at TGO over three visits - first as renters and then as owners later in the winter. We had a wonderful 2 weeks working on several Habitat for Humanity builds in Vero Beach. We even made it down to southern Florida near Naples to experience alligators up close and personal. As Florida heated up, we started the trip north with longer stops in the mountains of North Carolina for hiking and Martinsburg West Virginia to find some creative geocache hides. We had several nights in Saugerties New York to get in a few hikes in the Catskills Mountains before ending up in our last stop of year #8 in the Green Mountains of Vermont where I am writing this post.

Below is a map of the general route we traveled in year #8. It’s clear that the route from western New York to Florida in autumn was very similar to the route from Florida to Vermont this spring but we managed to see mostly different places on each part of our travels. Below is a screenshot of the Google Map I created to keep track of our journey and there is a link below the image that will open up the actual map. It is possible to pan and zoom on the map to see better details. Each of the 34 stops has a pin and clicking on any pin will open a popup window giving the name of the stop and links to the blog post(s) that are associated with each stop.

Click Here to Bring Up Interactive Google Map

Another style of map that I customarily create are “heat maps” for the past year. This shows that we only camped in 9 different states last year. The states that we did camp in are shaded in red with the darker reds representing more nights in the state and the lighter reds meaning fewer nights. A second heat map includes the data from all 2922 nights over the 8 years. From the legend below the map, we can see that Florida has now overtaken Arizona for the state we have camped at most often. We are still stuck on 44 states as fulltimers. Oklahoma, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Alaska and Hawaii are the states missing from our full time travels. However, we have actually camped in 4 of these 6 states but did so prior to going full time. Technically we need to still camp in Rhode Island and Hawaii. One of these states is much more likely than the other! Since we have “filled in” most of the states on our maps, I have one last heat map that shows each state broken down by county. This helps to better visualize with finer granularity of where we have camped within each state. We have camped in 252 different counties but for reference, we have found geocaches in 1026 counties!

Heat Map of Year #8

Heat Map of First 8 Years of Fulltime

Same as Above But at County Level

As former engineers, we are both rather detail oriented. So I have all sorts of data that gets recorded in various spreadsheets to help track our travel statistics and costs. Below is a table of the condensed statistics for each year. With so many years under our belts, I was finding the table was too much of an eye chart so now it only includes the past 6 years. I don’t bother tabulating costs that we would have if we weren’t traveling fulltime and still owned a sticks and bricks house. So groceries, dining out, health care, insurance and the like are not part of this table, just things specific to our travels.

Condensed Stats for Past 6 Years

So how did the data compare to past years? We have slowed our travel pace a bit with only 34 stops. Since 10 of those were just overnight stays as we made distance between two “real” stops, we averaged almost 15 nights per stop. The distance we drove the motorhome was the lowest we have ever had. The reason for this is obvious. We only traveled in the short direction of the lower 48 from New York to Florida to Vermont instead of heading between the east and west coasts. And to go along with the fewer miles driven in the motorhome, our diesel costs were lower working out to be 43 cents per mile. Our cost per night at campgrounds was up to the highest we have had since we started this journey. One stop that definitely didn’t help in that regard was when we spent a month renting a site at TGO to check it out to see if we might want to buy a lot. While it wasn’t our most expensive stop in the 8 years, it was close to the top and having 30 nights at $84 per night really adds up! 

One other item I needed to deal with now that we own an RV lot is how to determine what the lot costs us when we are staying there so my campground cost figure in the table reflects the true cost. I don't plan to account for purchase price of the lot since we will likely sell the lot some time in the future and we may make money, lose money or break even so it is too much of an unknown to deal with in the present. Maybe if I had been an accountant, I could figure out how to deal with this aspect. But there are ongoing costs to us more than just the purchase price. We also owe the home owners association fees and property taxes whether we stay there or not. When we are not staying on the lot, it is in the rental pool at TGO and earns us income. In fact we just recently received our rental check for the first quarter of 2024. We only stayed on the lot for 15 nights but owned the lot for 75 days of Q1 so the income was fairly decent from the rental pool. Until we get a full year of rental income and know how many days we stayed on the lot, I am using the past two years of historical data from the rental pool to put in a realistic cost per night when we are there ($25 per night) and will update the numbers once we have some real world experience with being lot owners.

For the past few years, I have been using our yearly reviews to highlight some of the hikes (or bike rides) that we encountered over the year that we felt most were special. We didn’t get in nearly as many hikes this year as we did in year #7 - about 85 versus 120. But there were still some very good hikes worth mentioning. For each one I’ll give a synopsis of the hike, one picture from the hike and include the link to the blog post that more fully describes the hike with even more pictures that might explain why we believe this hike was included in our best of list. In chronological order, here are our top 10 hikes.

• Gorge and Indian Trail Loop - Watkins Glen NY

Hands down, one of the most spectacular hikes in the region. Watkins Glen State Park is situated along a deep gorge that has Glen Creek flowing to Seneca Lake. The must do hike is the Gorge Trail since it follows the creek up the gorge with many waterfalls including one that the trail passes under. Plan for a crowd if it is a nice summer day and there are lots of steps going up nearly 500 feet in a mile. Tacking on a section of the Finger Lakes Trail and the Indian Trail bumps the full hike to 4.2 mile with about 900 feet of elevation gain. But the added sections of trail gets you to more secluded hiking as well as a trail that follows the rim on the north side of the gorge back to parking.

Blog post with Watkins Glen Hike

Walkway Next to Falls in Gorge at Watkins Glen

• Gorge and Rim Trail Buttermilk Falls SP - Ithaca NY

The common phrase in the Finger Lakes region of New York is “Ithaca is Gorges” and for good reason. The quirky town sits at the southern end of Cayuga Lake and has numerous gorges in the surrounding hills. Buttermilk Falls State Park is a little southeast of town and has a beautiful 1.6 mile loop hike called the Gorge and RimTrail. There is a fair amount of climbing with over 450 feet of elevation gain but it is a pretty hike on both sides of the gorge and falls. Another hike in the area is north of town in Taughannock Falls State Park. Technically we completed this hike in year #7 and it wasn’t able to make the cut with all the excellent hikes we did that year in Colorado and Utah. But it is probably the best gorge hike around Ithaca. Here’s a link to this bonus hike. 

Blog post with Buttermilk Falls Hike

Some Smaller Falls Along Trail at Buttermilk Falls SP

• Erie Canal - Pittsford NY

The Erie Canal runs between Buffalo and Albany and we did about 10 trips during our stay in western New York to different sections of the canal. As a manmade canal, the terrain is generally very flat and while hiking on the path next to the water is pleasant, this is better suited for a bicycle ride (or two). It’s hard to pick a section that is prettiest but the area around Pittsford is very nice since this upscale town has lots of shops and old buildings. Further west, the section of the canal near Spencerport is very nice as well.

Blog post with Bike Ride Along Erie Canal Near Pittsford

Erie Canal in Pittsford

• Bearfence Rock Scramble - Shenandoah National Park VA

This trail, while not particularly long (just over a mile loop) or with much elevation change (about 300 feet), is one of the more unique hikes we found along Skyline Drive in this park. As the trail’s name implies the first section of this loop requires some pretty interesting rock climbing to complete it. A sign at the trailhead warns about it not being good for people with a fear of heights but Chris managed to handle all of the climbs without having a panic attack. Once to the top, the views are spectacular on a clear day. The trail could be done as an out and back but all the rock climbing would need to be repeated. The better option was to cut over to the Appalachian Trail and take the easy route back.

Blog post with Bearfence Rock Scramble Hike

Chris Scrambles at Bearfence for the View

• Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve - St Augustine FL

Don’t let the name scare you away from this place. This little spit of land sits between the Guana and Tolomato rivers and has many miles of hiking and biking trails. The trail conditions will change depending on what time of year you are here and how recently it has rained. Our original planned loop of 9 miles needed to be adjusted based on the “flooded and deep mud” conditions posted on the whiteboard at the trailhead. Hiking here would be fun but in order to cover more ground, we came with the mountain bikes. The bikes had the added benefit of allowing us to get through some of the puddles without getting too wet.  It’s a fun place to explore. As bonus for coming here, there is a really nice visitor center to explore after your exercise.

Blog post with Bike Ride near St Augustine

Starting out the Bike Ride at Reserve

• Multiple Trails Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park Naples FL

This place requires several miles of driving on dirt roads to get to either the West Main Tram or the East Main Tram. Both trails can be explored with hiking or biking. We chose the latter to cover more territory. The trails are basically old logging roads in the swamp of southwestern Florida. There are many miles of these trails and it was a scenic place to explore. What made it even more exciting were the dozens of alligators that you will likely come upon during your ride. In fact each of our 3 rides there were cut short by large gators blocking the way and us not wanting to be eaten. In the 12 miles of trails we biked on, we conservatively came across 40 gators!

Blog post with Fakahatchee SP Bike Ride

Large Gator Blocks Our Path

• Cove Creek and Caney Bottom Trail - Brevard NC

A 4.6 mile walk in the woods of Pisgah National Forest with 600 feet of elevation gain. There are several waterfalls along the loop trail and there were quite a few spring wildflowers out during our visit. This was a very peaceful hike with lots of nature to see along the way in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Blog post with Cove Creek Hike near Brevard

Cove Creek Falls

• Chesapeake and Ohio Canal - Paw Paw WV

This rail trail runs over 180 miles between Cumberland Maryland and Alexandria Virginia. It is quite popular with through hikers and bikers and there are tent camp sites every 5 to 7 miles to accommodate them. The old canal was built along the Potomac River to carry barge traffic back in the mid 1800’s to early 1900’s We got a recommendation to try out the section of the route not far from where we were staying named the Paw Paw Tunnel. The 3118 foot tunnel has a narrow path on one side and the water filled canal on the other side (bring a flashlight) and after passing thru it we continued east for almost 15 miles before making the return trip. With views of the river and the old locks that made the canal possible it was a rather scenic bike ride.

Blog post with C&O Tunnel Ride

 

Entrance to Paw Paw Tunnel on C&O

• Overlook Mountain Trail - Woodstock NY

We only spent 4 nights in Saugerties but managed to get in 3 excellent hikes in the Catskills. Any one of the hikes could have been a top pick but this 4.6 mile out and back hike with about 1400 feet of elevation gain won out for a couple of reasons. The concrete walls of an old, unfinished hotel are still along the trail just shy of the mountain summit. It was fascinating to wander around the huge building to think what it would have been like back in the early 1900’s. At the top of the trail is a viewpoint to die for with a view of the Hudson River. A fire tower that can be climbed sealed the deal for making this hike the favorite of the three. I’ll admit that with that much elevation gain, it was a tiring hike but so worth the effort

Blog post with Overlook Mountain Hike

 

View of Hudson River from Overlook Mountain

• Mount Abraham via the Long Trail - Bristol VT

This hike just made it in before our eighth year came to an end but it was our favorite hike so far during our stay in the Green Mountains of Vermont. It is a 4.8 mile out and back hike that gains over 1700 feet in elevation and tops out at roughly 4000 feet. The trail is a popular hike but is quite rugged. With an average grade of 13%, it was tiring and the last tenth of a mile has lots of exposed rock climbs of 30% grade so it isn't for the faint of heart. But the 360 degree views from the top on a clear day are outstanding.. If you know where to look, there is the wreckage of a Cessna airplane that crashed over 50 years ago - all three passengers survived and hiked out!

Blog post with Mount Abraham Hike

 

Almost to the Top of Mount Abraham

Below is a map showing all 363 places we have camped in the past eight years. For additional information on any of them, click on the link below the map which will open the actual Google Map I use. Pan and zoom on the map and by clicking on any pin, a window will pop up with the name of the location and a link to the blog post(s) for that place. Those interested in hiking, mountain biking, geocaching or nature photography, may find some of the posts useful if you plan to visit an area we have explored. Our blog posts are more about the interesting locations we discovered during our stops and less about campground reviews so don't expect to find much information about what campground is the best in a specific area.

Click HERE to open interactive Google map

What does year #9 have in store? Well we have places booked in the New England states through the end of August and hope to spend early September checking out some parts of Maine we haven’t been to yet. Then we will let the weather dictate our pace in heading back south with no real firm route plans other than to end up at our lot at TGO in Titusville Florida. But we don’t plan to sit still over the winter, we have already reserved sites at some state parks in south Florida, the Keys and the Everglades during early January to mid February. Then back to TGO until late April before heading north. We haven’t made plans for summer of 2025 yet but I suspect it will be somewhere out west?