Freedom in a Can: Adventures with Hamlet

30/08/2026

🌊 Greetings from the Caribbean! Ummm...we mean...Lake Huron.

How many of the 5 GREAT LAKES have you visited? Each of these massive inland seas are unique in their own special way.

🚐 Over the past (nearly) 14 years of full-time RVing, we have been lucky enough to kayak in every single one of the Great Lakes, and just recently, their collective terminus...the St. Lawrence River!

BUT....there is a very special place, the Easternmost part of Lake Huron which we had never explored -- the Great Georgian Bay! Georgian Bay is part of the Niagara Escarpment, contains over 30,000 islands, and is the largest freshwater archipelago in the world!!
This massive bay is about 120 miles long and 50 miles wide, covering roughly 5,800 square miles -- that's 80% the size of Lake Ontario and large enough to be called the "6th Great Lake." 🌎🤯 Hmmm, would that make it GHOMES instead?

🚐 Over the past couple of weeks, we traveled through Ontario and explored 3 beautiful Canadian national parks (Parks Canada) that surround this gorgeous bay. 🇨🇦

🚣 Georgian Bay Islands - Island based park requires a personal boat or boat tour to visit. We chose an easy paddle from Honey Harbor to Beasoleil Island to hike around the island's trails and swim.

🗾 Bruce Peninsula - We chose to avoid the incredible crowds on the trails and beaches and kayaked about 16 miles along the jaw dropping limestone coastline filled with caves, rock formations, and cliffs...and stunningly clear blue water.

🏊 Fathom Five - Island based park requires a personal boat or boat tour to reach Flowerpot Island. Hopped on a glass bottom boat tour to see the shipwrecks, hike the island's trail, tour the lightkeepers home, explore the cave and rock formations, and swim in the Caribbean blue water...albeit a bit chillier.

🚐 Off to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for another bucket list trip...stay tuned!

27/08/2026

🙌 Celebrate America's NATIONAL PARK WEEK with us until August 30!

🧭 Today we celebrate a very special park in which Hutch lived out his childhood dream! 🪣

🎟️ He had tried for years to get a permit to raft the Colorado River through the GRAND CANYON lottery, but his number never came up. Then in spring 2024, a fellow paddler and former university student of Hutch's called him one day with a "GRAND QUESTION"... would he like to join his trip?!? 🤯

🌊They launched on July 5th and spent 19 days rafting and whitewater kayaking 300 miles with 13 other paddlers. It was incredibly hard, unbelievably hot, and everything he'd always hoped for!

👉 Even if you don't plan to huck yourself and your family down this wild river in a raft, there are several other great ways to experience the GRANDEST of all canyons!

🎖️To honor "America's Best Idea" we are sharing some of our favorites from our "Best of America's National Parks" series that is published each month in the RV Trader online magazine. From the well-known to the obscure, we highlight:

🚐 Scenic drives
🏇 Favorite park activities
🥾 Must hike trails
⛺ Camping options
🌦️ Seasonal weather trends
🎟️ Park specific permits
🚌 Alternative transportation

👍 BONUS! If you are planning to attend America's Largest RV Show () in Hershey, PA from September 16-20 at the Giant Center, come find us every afternoon in the Club Lounge for one of our most popular seminars -- "Exploring America's National Parks"!

🔗 Find our Best of Grand Canyon National Park article link in the first comment.

25/08/2026

🙌 Celebrate America's NATIONAL PARK WEEK with us until August 30!

🧭 Today we celebrate a very special day -- the NATIONAL PARK SERVICE BIRTHDAY! 110 years ago, the NPS was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson via the Organic Act, protecting 5 million acres of pre-established public land...and paving the way for so much more!

🏔️ Speaking of big celebrations, KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK in Alaska holds a special place in our hearts! In 2022, we rolled into this special place at the very tip of the Kenai Peninsula to celebrate our 10th nomadiversary, 22nd wedding anniversary, and Hamlet's 51st park -- all at the same time! Most folks don't realize that only 51 of the 63 U.S. national parks are accessible by road from anywhere in the lower 48, the remaining 12 require a flight or ferry.

🎖️To honor "America's Best Idea" we are sharing some of our favorites from our "Best of America's National Parks" series that is published each month in the Trader online magazine. From the well-known to the obscure, we highlight:

🚐 Scenic drives
🏇 Favorite park activities
🥾 Must hike trails
⛺ Camping options
🌦️ Seasonal weather trends
🎟️ Park specific permits
🚌 Alternative transportation

👍 BONUS! If you are planning to attend America's Largest RV Show () in Hershey, PA from September 16-20 at the Giant Center, come find us every afternoon in the Club Lounge for one of our most popular seminars -- "Exploring America's National Parks"!

🔗 Find our Best of Kenai Fjords National Park article link in the first comment.

25/08/2026

🚐 We embarked on our summer adventures of the St. Lawrence River region of Quebec with a map, some ideas, a couple of bucket list items, zero reservations, time, and a whole lotta unknowns...💯 EXACTLY how we love to travel!

🧭 What we've discovered has been fantastic -- rich cultural history, ancient geology, massive waterfalls, friendly people, great food, stunning landscapes, abundant marine life, beautiful islands, great boondocking, and plenty of sunshine for our solar powered off-grid adventures! ☀️

🏞️ We have had a blast over the past 6 weeks exploring both sides of the St. Lawrence River -- 🚢 the Route des Navigateurs (southern coast) and the 🐳 Route des Baleines (northern coast), as well as a few side trips to explore more Quebec and Parks Canada national parks.

🌊 Here's just a few of our favorite finds on both sides of this absolutely enormous "river" filled with hundreds of islands, thousands of shipwrecks, and more marine life than we could possibly get our heads around! 🐳🦭

🤷 Want to know more about any of these images? JUST ASK! Each one summarizes several days of our 2026 summer journey in Quebec. ☀️

Thanks for another great summer adventure, Canada! 🇨🇦

24/08/2026

🙌 Celebrate America's NATIONAL PARK WEEK with us until August 30! Has a national park visit ever changed your life?

🧭 Today we celebrate a park that CHANGED OUR LIFE DIRECTION, just 6 months into our new nomad lifestyle.

🧘While staring in awe at the endless Chihuahuan Desert landscape of BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK in Texas, Hutch looked over at me and whispered, "Do you ever want to go back?" "I don't think I can now, " I quickly replied.

👉 This simple conversation was the turning point for us -- changing our "one year road trip to explore some national parks" into a full-blown commitment to our nomadic outdoor lifestyle. Over the past 14 years, we've become national park experts.

🎖️To honor "America's Best Idea" we are sharing some of our favorites from our "Best of America's National Parks" series that is published each month in the RV Trader online magazine. From the well-known to the obscure, we highlight:

🚐 Scenic drives
🏇 Favorite park activities
🥾 Must hike trails
⛺ Camping options
🌦️ Seasonal weather trends
🎟️ Park specific permits
🚌 Alternative transportation

👍 BONUS! If you are planning to attend America's Largest RV Show () in Hershey, PA from September 16-20 at the Giant Center, come find us every afternoon in the Club Lounge for one of our most popular seminars -- "Exploring America's National Parks"!

🔗 Find our Best of Big Bend National Park article link in the first comment.

24/08/2026

🙌 Celebrate America's NATIONAL PARK WEEK with us until August 30! How many national parks have you explored?

🌳Let's kick off this amazing week with OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK in Washington!

🎖️To honor "America's Best Idea" we'll be sharing some of our favorites from our BEST OF AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS series, published each month in the RV Trader online magazine. From the well-known to the obscure, we highlight:

🚐 Scenic drives
🏇 Favorite park activities
🥾 Must hike trails
⛺ Camping options
🌦️ Seasonal weather trends
🎟️ Park specific permits
🚌 Alternative transportation

👍 BONUS! If you are planning to attend America's Largest RV Show () in Hershey, PA from September 16-20 at the Giant Center, come find us every afternoon in the Club Lounge for one of our most popular seminars -- "Exploring America's National Parks"!

🔗 Find our Best of Olympic National Park article link in the first comment.

21/08/2026

🥂 What a better way to celebrate the end of our time along Cote-Nord than a romantic evening on a sunset harbor cruise along Quebec City! 🌇

🛳️ After our cruise, we walked all over Old Town at night. Up and down hundreds of stairs, along cobblestone roads, all with twinkling lights and the historic Frontenac Hotel lit up like an enchanted castle. 🏰

👉 TIP! If crowds don't bother you, explore Old Town by day. You'll have lots of company. If you prefer to avoid the masses of people all trying to share the same sidewalk, a nighttime moon lit stroll is where it's at! 🌛

👉 DID YOU KNOW? Quebec was founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain on the site of the former Indigenous village of Stadacona. Quebec City is one of the oldest European settlements in North America.

20/08/2026

👋 Bonjour Belle Quebec City! A final hoorah for us along Cote-Nord. Our favorite way to explore cities is on our mtn bikes -- to get some exercise and save parking hassles. We've found many Canadian cities to be very bike friendly with lots of bike paths. 🚴🚴

🏕️ Beauport Outdoor Centre Campground (just outside of Quebec City) connects directly to the path, making it easy to leave your RV behind and ride into town!

🏞️ 🏰 We spent a couple of days exploring Montmorency Falls, the Citadelle de Quebec, and Plains of Abraham. It's always a shock to our system when we get to a city after so much rural traveling -- we hadn't seen this many people in one place in weeks!

💂 Witnessed the historic changing of the guard ceremony by the Royal 22nd Regiment (complete with the 🐐Royal Goat "Batisse" in attendance!), followed by a guided tour of the Citadel that was built by the British in the early 1800's, basically in response to the War of 1812.

🏰 The Citadelle de Québec is now an active military installation, a Canadian
National Historic Site, and the secondary official residence of both the Monarch and the Governor General of Canada. 👑 Perched atop Cap Diamant overlooking the St. Lawrence River, it is the largest British-built fortress in North America...and a great vantage point to see the city and harbor! ⛴️⛵

👉 DID YOU KNOW? The name Quebec comes from an Algonquin word meaning 'narrow passage' or 'strait'. The name originally referred to the area around Quebec City where the St. Lawrence River narrows. It served as the capital of New France before falling to British forces in 1759 during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

19/08/2026

This made us absolutely laugh out loud! 🤣 What's your PG version of gettin' lucky?

At this point, romance is nice…but have you ever pulled into a campsite and realized you don’t need leveling blocks?

Now THAT’S getting lucky. 🙌

What’s your version of “getting lucky” at a campground? 👇

19/08/2026

Thanks for asking y'all...YES, we'll be at the (aka America's Largest RV Show) again -- our 6th year, their 57th!

We will be presenting RV lifestyle seminars EVERY DAY in the Club Lounge, Main Concourse.

🗓️ MARK YOUR CALENDARS...
September 16-20
Giant Center
Hershey, PA

🎤 OUR 2026 SEMINAR TOPICS...

✨Six Simple Strategies for Reducing
RV Travel Costs
Wed - Sat: 2:30-3:30pm
Sun: 1-2pm

✨ Exploring America's National Parks:
Make the Most of Your Next RV Road Trip
Wed - Sat: 4-5pm
Sun: 2:30-3:30pm

Hope to see y'all at this awesome show!