Uphill Zen - Life as a gypsy vagabond | Full-time RV travel

It often seems (to other people and to me too), that this must be the perfect life! I can just wander around with my camper, going wherever the latest whim takes us. Uphill Zen life is pretty darn sweet! 😎

But like anything, there are ups and downs. Good days and bad ones. Times when everything’s rolling right along, and others when it seems like the Universe is conspiring against us!

Even so, I wouldn’t want to change it for anything!

But I want to share some thoughts on what it’s REALLY like, living out on the road, with no fixed home, so this where I’ll do that!

Life on the road

The Gaia app is perfect for overland travel

Gaia app: A must-have GPS tool for travelers

GPS is one of those magical technologies that rocked the world, and the Gaia app is an outgrowth from that ...
Read More

Boondocking gets you to wonderful places

RV Boondocking for Beginners

Want to know how to travel extensively with your RV, staying in gorgeous places with all the space in the ...
Read More

GPS waypoints are so useful for overland trip planning

How to use GPS to plan an overland trip

You probably use GPS for on-the-road navigation, but do you know how much more it can do? Find out how ...
Read More

5-star boondocking site along Colorado's East Fork Road

How much do you need? Full time RV Budget Basics

How much does your full time RV budget need to be? Figures vary widely, but if you're thinking of getting ...
Read More

View while driving the Million Dollar Highway

Zennie vs. The Rockies – Driving the Million Dollar Highway

The Million Dollar Highway is one of the most spectacular drives in the country. It winds through the Colorado Rocky ...
Read More

Sample of a Motor Vehicle Use Map

Finding campsites using a Motor Vehicle Use Map

When I'm looking for a good boondocking campsite, I usually research it beforehand. I have some standard information sources, that ...
Read More

Treasure found! Newspaper headline

On the Trail of the Hidden Treasure

One of the great pleasures of traveling is meeting cool, interesting people along the way. Sometimes they can give you ...
Read More

Field mouse

Eeek! Zennie has a mouse! How do I get rid of it?

It all started the night I was camped at the ghost town cemetery. There were strange noises in the night, ...
Read More

Gateway to Dawson New Mexico

Dawson, New Mexico – Grandpa and the ghost town

Dawson is a ghost town in northeastern New Mexico. Like so many abandoned places, it was a mining town whose ...
Read More

Ouch! Vintage sign

Ouch! Getting hurt on the road

Nobody likes to get sick. Or hurt. Or anything that leaves you feeling like less than your normal capable self ...
Read More

Life is good! 😎

View

185 36

So this is where I'm hanging out now - Silver City, NM. It's a nice little historic town up in the hills, and the site of my next project. 🏘 ...
... ...
It's been a long time since I've posted, and the world has been changing. 🌎 My Baja trip was cut short due to coronavirus 😷, and I've shelved the Baja book project I was working on. It's just not the right time to write a travel guide! 😕 ...
... ...
So time to pivot to something new and different, and that's what brought me to this charming place! 😎 #movingon #chchchanges
.............
#newmexico #nm #silvercity

View

256 30

Could this be just a month ago? 📆😱 Way back then, what I worried about was this activity booth falling into the #sea. The whole world has turned upside down since then. 🌎🔄
... ... ...
I have mixed feelings about posting pix of the "good old days". I like to keep the wonderful memories alive, and hope that such happy times will return again. 💭😎 On the other hand, this seems so far removed from today's world, it might as well be science fiction! 🚀😜 #lifebeforecorona
... ... ...
What do you think? Does posting pix from happier times make you feel better or worse? Wherever you are, do what you can to stay healthy! 😊
.............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

50 3

View

143 10

Which way? Which way? ➡️⬅️⬆️⬇️🙄
... ... ...
After reading the news day after day, I eventually decided that as much as I wanted to stay on a Baja beach, I should head back to the states. 😰 Who knows what the next month could bring in either Mexico or the US? So much uncertainty right now - nobody knows what will happen, how many or which lives will be affected. 🙈
... ... ...
So over the past week I've been doing the long drive back from southern Baja to the border, arriving now in Arizona. Zennie was a trooper through a string of long driving days like I usually try to avoid! 🚐💨🏆 I am safe and sound, and want to say thanks to the folks who contacted me wondering. I appreciate it! 💚
... ... ...
I'm going to keep posting Baja pix until the planned end of my trip, pretending that the world is normal 🌎👍 and I am still on a beach somewhere. 🌊🌴😎 #virtualvaca
... ... ... Stay safe everybody, and take care of yourselves! 😊
.............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

165 27

I sit at my #Baja beach camp reading the news, and there's a sense of unreality. The world is closing down piece by piece with dramatic attempts to halt the deadly #coronavirus spread. One day it's Harvard, then the NBA, then Italy. They declare an emergency in Washington state, New York, the whole US. The US bans travelers from Europe, and Guatemala bans those from the US. My head spins with how fast the situation is changing. ... ... ...
Meanwhile, I sit at my Baja beach camp. Social distancing is easy here - it's practically baked into the sparsely populated landscape. Nobody here seems concerned. That's all in a different world, the world out there. I'm in my little Baja bubble, by a beautiful beach. #alternatereality
.............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

191 17

No bad days, right? 😀 ... It's a saying I love, and a sentiment I try to keep. But sometimes, it's hard.
... ... ...
It wasn't that anything terribly bad happened. I didn't suffer any injury more than a stubbed toe and a stiff shoveling arm. 💪 #Zennie got the shake, rattle & roll treatment, but that's par for the course and she's running fine. 🚐💨 The beach camping was crowded, but I headed up the arroyo, where there was still plenty of space! 👀👍 And who needs to be right on the beach anyway? It's not like I haven't spent weeks doing just that! 😜
... ... ... So there's no real problem, just a bunch of little stress points that add up during the day, leaving a sense of dissatisfaction. 😕 This is when I have to shake myself out of it. "What are you complaining about girl? You're healthy, Zennie's strong, you're doing what you choose to do, and face it - this really isn't a bad #campsite." ⛺️👍
... ... ...
And that reminds me of another favorite quote - "#Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure." So cheers! 🍺😎 #nobaddays .............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

130 10

You lookin' at me? 🐴 📸🌟
... ... ... I'm happy to see there are still donkeys on the East Cape Road, because that's one of the things I remember from the first time I drove it. At least something hasn't changed! 🐴👍
... ... ...
But there are plenty of other changes. I still read people saying something like "You can pull off pretty much anywhere off this road and set up camp." Sadly, that is no longer true. 😰 Now most of the property along the road is fenced in. 🚧 Clumps of luxury homes appear now and then, and there is a plethora of real estate signs.🏡 It's obvious things are a-changing!
... ... ...
You can still find lovely free beach camping spots ⛺️, usually where there's an arroyo so people haven't built due to flood risk. But before long, my crystal ball 🔮 shows a nice new paved road lined with beautiful homes with million dollar views. 💰🖼👀 ... ... ...
If you want to see this luscious place before it's changed beyond recognition, this is a good time to do it! 🚐💨 #goinggoinggone .............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

199 24

The East Cape Road starts out looking so easy, doesn't it? 🚐👍
... ... ...
This long dirt road winds around the eastern tip of the Baja Peninsula. I was expecting #washboard, rough patches, some washed out spots. But let's just say this was more of a #driving adventure than I anticipated! 😱
... ... ... When you've been driving for hours on a bone-jarring #road shaking everything you own to pieces, then you meet somebody going the other way who rolls down his window and says "You're not going through are you? It's bad up there. Water holes as deep as my bumper, and mud. No 4wd? If I was you, I'd turn around." 🥺
... ... ...
If we weren't so far into this road by then, if I hadn’t already had to dig us out of the sand that day, if we hadn’t passed a dip so sharp we dragged the read end, I might have taken his advice. Instead, #Zennie got to show her stuff! 🚐👍 #zenniethewondertruck
.............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

140 18

Time to be moving on. Or not... 🚐💨👍👎❓
... ... ...
One of the things I love about solo travel is that I can change my mind as many times as I want to! I want to go Here, no I want to go There, no maybe Stay where I am another day, no I definitely want to go Here, but on the other hand There looks awfully nice too... 😜
... ... ... There's nobody else impacted if I change my mind. No need to explain or justify. No need to make a final decision until I reach a fork in the road.🍴I can't do this all the time, because every once in awhile I do have a commitment to keep. 😬 But in general, I don't set #decisions in stone until the last minute. More chances to change my mind again! 😎 #wafflelikeapro
.............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

110 20

This was NOT the shot I was trying for! 😜...
... ... ...
You see, after some previous feedback, I decided I should figure out how to take an occasional picture with me in it! 🙄 So I set up the tripod to do just that, but discovered that a 10-second self timer is not quite long enough for me to run across the rocks and get ready. ⏳ All I got was shots of my butt as I went to sit down, and nobody needs to see that! 🙈😂
... ... ...
Anyway, when I cropped me out, I found this guy in the picture. 🧔🏻 I have no idea who he is, but he's the new star of my photo! 📸🌟
... ... ...
Do you have any tips on getting photos of yourself? I could use some help! 😎
.............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

232 15

A beach with good #hiking = perfect! 🚐🌊🚶‍♀️⛰😎
... ... ...
From the big #beach where Zennie is parked, there are a bunch of paths that lead over the hills and down to smaller beaches like this. You can also walk around the rocks to get there (easiest when it's not high tide), but some days you want more than a beach walk! ⛰🚶‍♀️👍
... ... ... When I first pulled into this place, I wasn't immediately in love with it. I mean there's a huge long beach with great views and only a few other campers, but that's the new normal! 😜 But when I started hiking around and realized the other places you can get to, then 😎💚🌊 #couldstayawhile
.............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

88 15

It's always something! Know what I mean? If you've ever had a boat or a motorhome or an old house, I'm sure you know the feeling... 🙈⠀
... ... ...⠀
The good news is that I'm learning more about how stuff works on #Zennie & getting better at #fixing things. 🛠👍 I call it "just too late learning" - figuring things out as soon as they're broken. 😜🤣⠀
... ... ...⠀
So this was finally the time to tackle the failed USB charger (after carrying around the replacement for a few weeks)! 🙄 Surprise, surprise, it turned out to be a super simple #repair! 🥧👈 Somehow I always go into this expecting difficulties - missing parts, the wrong tools, an unexpected snag, etc. When everything goes smoothly, I'm kind of amazed! 😱 #alwayssomething #msfixit⠀
.............⠀
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

229 20

Always there yet never the same. Endlessly fascinating. As hypnotic as a campfire. #lifeisgood
.............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

229 6

Another day, another wonderful #beach! And #Zennie gets to admire the view at this one, too! 🚐👀🌊😎
... ... ...
I never would have found this sweet spot without a tip from @casacaravanbaja. These folks are experts in the area, and incredibly friendly & helpful! Thanks so much! 🙏😊 #campsiteview
.............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

View

174 14

Awww... 😊🐢💚 So #cute! This baby #turtle is ready to start his journey into the sea, waiting for the evening release on the beach.
... ... ...
Sadly not many of them make it to adulthood, but I like to believe that the little ones I get attached to will be the lucky ones! 🍀😎 #circleoflife
.............
#mexico #bajacalifornia #bcs

Load More... Follow on Instagram