Tiny Home on Wheels

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift - that's why it's called the 'present'".

Do you remember where you were 1 year ago? I do. August 11, 2022 was such a momentous occasion for us. After years of researching, learning, planning, and saving, it was finally here...our first 'official' maiden voyage in our new tiny home on wheels.

Let's take a step back to how this "tiny living" came about. My husband Stephen and I have always been drawn to the outdoors - we especially discovered a deep love for camping, hiking, and backpacking with the help of our friends at Four Season Guides in Flagstaff. Having spent many nights under the stars in some of the most remote and unforgettable locations in the SW USA, we knew we wanted to replicate that feeling, but with a home. We initially purchased a Mercedes Sprinter with plans of upfitting it with a one-of-a-kind design through a tiny home builder in Canada. Unfortunately, COVID hit and closed the Canadian borders which put a damper on those plans. We looked at other upfitters in the US but ultimately decided that #vanlife wasn't for us. We listed and sold our Sprinter online, in a matter of minutes, to an awesome family in Napa and were on the hunt for our next adventure mobile.

If you know my husband, you know he thoroughly researches everything prior to making a decision - we test-drove 20+ cars before deciding on my Subaru Outback. We had spreadsheets on every type of RV you can think of, everything from teardrop campers to fifth wheels to expedition vehicles. In February 2021, we flew out to Idaho to meet with the owner of a startup company building expedition rigs. We were familiar with him due to his previous rig which had quite a big following on Instagram. Upon meeting Mike and his right-hand man Taylor, touring his shop, and hours of conversation jammed into a 48-hour period, we were fairly certain we had made our decision.

This was not, by any means, an easy decision for us. We would be saying goodbye to our first home of 8 years, and I would be giving up a 13-year-long career as a Foster Care Director. We also had to figure out the logistics of how Stephen could continue working while on the road (shoutout to StarLink) while I embarked on a massive life/career change. After much careful consideration, serious planning, some tears, and lots of support from our family and friends, we threw the 'For Sale by Owner' sign in the front yard and counted down until our tiny home on wheels was completed!

Fast forward to August 11, 2022...we made the 4-hour drive to Howell, MI (ADV's new shop location) where we picked up the rig from ADV Mobil and hit the road! UpTime Energy in hand, JRE playing on the stereo, and Google Maps directing us where to go.

Hindsight: I am a little salty that I didn't have the wherewithal to start this blog while we were in the rig, but like my first post says - better late than never! I did, however, keep a journal along the way documenting our travels, interesting people we met, cool places we stayed, and some fun experiences along the way.

Stay tuned...