Something old and somethings new...

Husband went back to work FT on 4/25.  He was persuaded to return to his former employer with the promise that he can work from home more.  To start he is working two days from home and two days at the office.  When the summer comes he plans on working three days from home and one day at the office....and then when we leave on our trip he will work 100% from the road (for 8 weeks).  We are not exactly sure how this new arrangement will work out while traveling, but we are going to make it work.

Our current schedule is that I go into work on two days and Husband goes on two opposite days.  When we work from home we also home school the kids.  Brother started going to a home school enrichment program through the local school district one day a week.  On that day he gets to do extra-curricular subjects and has an opportunity to make some friends.  I would say the biggest difference is that we are eating dinner out more often, but we have been able to absorb the extra responsibility rather well.  Husband is also taking one class which will wrap up in three weeks.

It is not that we need the money, in fact we are both diverting the maximum amount (pre-tax) into retirement accounts, but we are both fully vested in the AZ State Retirement System and can early retire at age 50 as long as we both keep working.  The main reason Husband took the job is so that he can continue to contribute to the ASRS and we have the option of early retirement with a source of income for our future travels.  We are also thinking that both of our jobs have the potential to be 100% location independent in future years.  So there is potential for us to be able to travel even when we are working.

In Mesa Ridge Living news - did I mention that our fridge died while we were on our Spring Break trip?  We are SO fortunate we have the outdoor kitchen and fridge because that is what we have been using for the past few weeks.  We are working with a repair person who can do warranty work for Norcold - It seems we are getting a new fridge in a week or so...it has been a pain to go outside every time we need something from the fridge.

ALSO...we got our window shades installed!  We LOVE them.  We had to go through a different company this time because the original folks we hired for the Hideout have retired.  We are really happy with these... We have 12 windows on this rig!

It was really cool how they did it - they had everything they needed including a sewing machine in the back of their truck!

I am really happy with these custom shades and would recommend this company: 

RV Sunscreens (in Arizona)

(903) 880-2832

Not only do the shades keep 90% of the UV rays off the windows, they also provide daytime privacy and are certainly keeping it cooler inside our rig.  We have started running the air conditioners during the day so this improvement was much needed!

"Winter" adventures

It's been really nice having my parents here for the past couple of weeks.  They too are living full-time in their travel trailer. However, they have braved more serious weather than we have as they are primarily located in Michigan.  But this year they experimented with being snow birds and flew to Florida and then Arizona for part of the lingering winter in the Midwest.  I am hoping they got a taste for it and will be back next year for even longer!

This year we managed to see some pretty awesome sights over spring break and even the week after on my flex days.  Here are just a few of the amazing pictures.

Chiricahua National Monument

Chiricahua National Monument

Chiricahua was gorgeous.  Because my folks have a dog we sought out trails that allowed them.  We followed a wonderful trail that led from the visitor center to a homestead belonging to settlers who occupied a boarding house and gave tours of the area.  They called the homestead "Faraway Ranch" and it was a fitting name.  The hike was along a sometimes dry/sometimes not creek/wash bed where vegetation was plentiful and the path was nice and shaded. We hiked over 2 miles and of course the kiddos got a new Junior Ranger Badge!

Next we visited Kartchner Caverns, an Arizona State Park.  It was a rather cold and windy day, but we still had a picnic there and hiked some of the trails before our amazing tour.  Photography is not allowed in the cave - but trying to take pictures would have detracted from the majesty and wonder of the place anyways. There were so many amazing formations.  The cave is in excellent condition as a result of the conservation efforts of the State.  This is a must-see in AZ.  Here is a picture of one of the trails.  I was surprised to discover that AZ state parks also have a Junior Ranger program so the kids earned a badge here too!

Kartchner Caverns AZ State Park

Papago Park

We also did a couple other nice hikes.  The first was at Papago Park in Phoenix.  There is a pristine desert trail and mountains in the middle of the city.  It is a beautiful place and dogs are welcome too!

Oh - and with the new Ford F150 and Mesa Ridge we got an average of 12 mpg when traveling!  This what were getting with our Tacoma and the Hideout (the Tacoma was less efficient and was overloaded)!  We are SO excited that we did not decrease our fuel efficiency with our upsized new trailer.

Papago Park

Finally, we visited Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park.  I have been told how beautiful it is, but to see it and to hike the trail was really a great experience.  This State Park contains a diverse selection of landscapes.  There is a river, a lake, desert, and all of the related plants.  It is wonderful and much of the trail is in the shade of very mature trees.  We will certainly be back!  The kids earned a second AZ Junior Ranger badge and we started a collection of hiking stick medallions - we decided that this year we will collect hiking stick medallions instead of vest patches (since the vests are full)!

 

Well, it took me a while to get this post completed because I've been busy at work!  With that said, I love the flexibility of my career and that I had the opportunity to do a bit of travel with my snowbird parents for two week while they visited.