10/25/2026
We live full-time in an old motorhome and try to avoid camping fees. We boondock along our migration trail, even at the very high elevations in Colorado. We make our own electricity but still need to dump and pump now and then. How did we get here?
I once had a career as an IT professional. At times, it was a one-person shop, and I built and maintained about 20 websites. Each site had a database and interactive parts. It was very stressful, and I cringed every time my phone rang. I developed nightmares near the end before I retired.
I had noticed a decline in my learning abilities nearly 10 years before I crashed. Slowly, I felt my ability to do my job decline. I couldn't read or comprehend as fast, and the code started to look foreign. I fumbled for a few years, but it got worse as my project manager kept filling my task queue. I started missing work and rarely worked a full day, depleting my personal and sick leave. My stress escalated because I couldn't do my job, but I still needed the paycheck.
I had to retire, so I gave my boss June 30th, 2019, as my retirement date. I was so relieved I couldn't care less how I'd pay for it. I had toyed with the idea of living in a motorhome years and years before. I even tried to imagine staying in Taylor Park, Colorado. I tossed the idea because I didn't have the money, and the reality probably sucked. I had $60,000 cash, a $620 mortgage, and no job. I couldn't imagine any job.
My mania kicked in, and I bought an old motorhome for $18,000 and spent another $ 6,000 fixing it up. I justified the purchase as a flip job to earn money, but after one trip, I fell in love with the lifestyle. My plans changed, and I decided to live in a motorhome. In 2020, after 1 year, I sold my house and headed down the road with my dog, Beau. We moved to an RV park in Texas to be nearer to children and grandkids.
I had disability insurance for the long-term and short-term with the idea of protecting myself from a major health problem. Neither would cover my condition, as it was pre-existing because it all centered on my chronic pain. I had already applied for Social Security disability and got turned down as expected. I had two lawyers reject my case, but I found one and surrendered my life to him.
Three Social Security doctors interviewed me, and each had something interesting to say. After it was final, I read through the files. I was approved in 22 months! Now what?
We explored Colorado in the summer of 2021 to get a better feel for life in a motorhome. I had been going to Colorado for many years but never in a motorhome. I spent a lot of money and returned to the RV Park in September of 2021. I bought solar panels and other gear and was ready to unplug.
In March, 2022, we fled to Magnolia Beach to boondock and never looked back. I slowly refined our life, migrating between family in Texas and the cooler summer weather in the Colorado mountains. Living full-time in an RV is much different than a really long vacation, as you might think. I offer my experience to help others who want to give it a try.
Beau passed in 2023, and I adopted Miles from the Humane Society a few days later. We have been through two transmissions, one harmonic balancer, three serpentine belts, and several tires. I just completed my sixth year in Colorado, and Miles has done four.
I'm just a poor old man living in an old motorhome. I refuse to work and live on Social Security. I have no nest egg or storage unit. I accept free handouts but don't solicit them, except through the tip jar on my website. While there, you can find the button to subscribe to my morning email Journal. There's also a button to look at archived journal entries.
We've just arrived home in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. We left here on April 3rd. I used to take us all the way to the beaches of Texas, but have settled here as it's cheaper. I'm getting older, and the motorhome is, too. We spent the summer in the high elevations of Colorado, boondocking around and trying to stay legal. Now we're at our home base.
