In 1980, Mike saw the mountains for the first time at the age of 16. It was love at first sight, and he longed for the mountains ever since. For the next decade, he did tent camping with family members in the midwest states until he married Jeanne in 1990. From there, they both traveled together covering many state and national parks along the eastern US; including a two-week tent camping trip in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 1997.
Since the late 1990s, they began tent camping in the western US for family vacation with their two young daughters. About every two or three years, they would visit Colorado periodically until they were gifted with a brand new 2004 Fleetwood Cortez travel trailer. The pop-up tent made traveling easier with their children, two dogs and two cats. They took many western US trips with their new pop-up, learning how to travel lightly, utilizing limited storage spaces, and soon packing became an art. Every item had a place; including luggage, pillows, sleeping bags, coolers, folding chairs, gas grill and everything else just in case.
For the next decade until mid-2010s, they used their travel trailer from early spring to late fall. Occasionally they would get snowed on and have camped under 10-degree weather; surviving with layers upon layers of blankets. They one thing they were missing was winter camping, or the ability to travel during the winter season when the crowds have dispersed. It was not easy to setup a pop-up camper in the sub-freezing weather. The canvas would become nearly too frozen to fold when packing it up. That’s where the idea of a RV would begin to play in their minds.
Finally, in the fall of 2015, Mike and Jeanne finally traded their toting pop-up camper for a 32'' Tiffin Allegro motorhome. The possibilities of traveling at all seasons of the year soon become a reality. With the convenience of modern-day technology, traveling has never been easier. Such a far distance from those pioneers who traveled by coach wagon and horses across the Oregon trail.
Thus, begins their journey of living the RV life, blending both volunteer and travel while on the open road across US and Canada. Be sure to follow their stories, blogs, and photos as they travel on chasing their lifelong dreams.