Stay at home.
Shelter in Place.
Self-Isolate.
Quarantine.
Essential Services Only.
Don’t travel!
All phrases new to most of us.
And for nomads, it’s been a confusing logistical landscape.
Why We Can’t Travel as Nomads
Full time nomads (RVers and boaters) travel in their homes. And many of us are old-pros at self-isolating.
Put us at anchor miles from no-one or park us in the boonies – and I can be happy and self sufficient for quite a while. We’re electrically independent with our solar and lithium batteries (and generator as a back-up), our holding tanks are large, we know how to conserve (a month in and we’re still on our first roll of toilet paper!), we bring our own internet and we know how to provision for weeks or months at a time.
Marina life and RV Park life also can be quite self-isolating – with the convenience of full hook-ups to not need to worry about the basics of power, water and sewer.
When we first started considering possible impacts of the emerging COVID-19 situation as we were headed to Savannah to get our boat launched and projects wrapped up (just a month ago!) – our game plan was to just continue to cruise and anchor out all of the time.
We intended only needing to rarely make shore runs to ditch trash, pump out, occasionally fuel up, and have a grocery delivery meet up with us. We even ordered in a water maker so we could not worry about fresh water.
While we feel fairly confident we wouldn’t have been a greater contagion risk to society with our limited contact with other humans by pursuing our original plan (as compared to say hunkering down in one location and still needing groceries and essentials) – the reality wasn’t playing out that way.
Society in general just doesn’t ‘get’ us nomads – even those of us who travel in our own self contained homes. We’re lumped in with travelers – the vectors of this virus.
- Some local towns & counties started closing up to outsiders – not a resident? Go away.
- Marinas and campgrounds started closing up – either not allowing new arrivals, and even evicting existing residents.
- For boaters, fuel & pump out options started to dwindle.
- Boating even started to become restricted in some places – not fishing for sustenance? Go home.
- Local shelter in place orders might even make leaving your current location an effort in futility.
We suddenly went from feeling like we’re living an enviable lifestyle of freedom, to becoming the enemy.
Right or wrong… we decided the best decision for us was to find where we wanted to be for the long term, get there while we could still arrive .. and then discuss the point later.
Especially with summer heat and hurricane season coming, we wanted to be sure we were somewhere safe and comfortable for several months at least.
Sanford, no doubt, checked all the boxes for us.
Nomadic Life after 14-years… on pause.
And, aside from the overarching world turmoil stuff (you know, that little thing) – we’re actually quite content.
But Now.. It’s Time To Speak Up
There are estimated to be well over a million of us full timers out here on the road and waterways. People with no sticks-n-bricks home to return to. Our RVs and our boats are our homes. Our legal domicile address may be hundreds or thousands of miles away from our current location.
While we had some foresight (and blessings on our side) to find an ideal spot to be, many of our community are facing bigger challenges.
There’s of course some obvious adventurous nomadic friends who were caught up in overseas travels and have had to navigate some challenging returns.. or even make the decision to stay where they are.
But even domestically based nomads have had more than their fair share of struggles too.
- Folks who were enroute to RV parks with reservations, who got cancellations because decisions were made to accept no more new arrivals – with no warning.
- Folks boondocked on public lands who have been told to leave because they’re not local or have exceeded their 14-day limit.
- Folks kicked out of campgrounds that have closed down entirely.
- Folks working in essential services who need to move to their next gig, with no where to stay once they arrive.
- Required 14-day quarantines if you arrive from out of town or state.
Even with complete intentions of sheltering in place and putting travels on pause – nomads are having to be extra resourceful to figure out just what that means in a world that is currently not so friendly to travelers.
At this point, it’s estimated that about 40% of campgrounds & RV Parks are closed. I’m not sure of the percentage of marinas.
And while the intentions of stopping recreational & non-essential travels is appropriate to encourage those with traditional fixed homes to stay there – these decisions are not necessarily keeping in mind that RV parks and marina serve a dual purpose.
They also provide essential housing amenities (electricity, water, sewer) for full timers with no where else to go.
And many communities that have previously welcomed us nomads – and even relied upon nomads as their seasonal workforce – are now flat out rejecting nomads when we need somewhere to park for a bit to ride this out.
And that’s why it’s important to help educate those making decisions to include RV parks and marinas as essential services.
There’s petitions going around, folks tracking closures and openings – but we think the most impactful avenue is joining the Escapees in their charge to educate law makers.
We highly encourage you to join us in participating in this letter writing & phone campaign (if you’re a boater, you can use these templates and just replace ‘RV’ with ‘boat’):
Write Your Law Makers – RV Parks & Marinas are ESSENTIAL SERVICES
A Note About Summer in the Desert
We are seeing several of our nomadic community still hunkered down in the deserts of southern California and Arizona. Lovely locations to be in the Winter, and even Spring.
And you may have heard about the heat that is to come.
If you’re an acclimated year round desert dweller – you know what you’re in for. But if you’re new to summer in the desert, please read on.
You may be talking yourself into sheltering in place in the desert as this pandemic endures into the summer months.
After all, it’s a dry heat. How bad can it be?
We can speak from experience. In the summer of 2011 we were on our hunt for a bus conversion that lead us to Yuma, AZ. In mid-June.
By that time, it was 115-120 degrees most days. By early July, temps got up to 127. We rarely saw a day below 110.
If you’ve not experienced heat like that before, my best comparison is that it kinda feels like stepping into a convection oven.
The heat zaps the energy out of you, exhausts you, and can bring on a level of insanity. Your body can’t stay hydrated with water alone, you pretty much have to supplement constantly with electrolytes. Walking outside during the day can feel like being a vampire with skin sizzling from the sun.
We survived 6-weeks in our bus before escaping to higher elevation with our ACs cranking all day long and never catching up. We tried evaporative cooling methods (misting sprayers and wet clothes over our vent fan) and it helped some.
We kept all our windows covered and insulated, so it was dreary inside And by midnight, it was cool enough to be able to sleep.
We were blessed to have access to a pool to cool off in. We spent our afternoons sometimes wandering aimlessly inside a big box store, taking in a flick at a theatre or eating out just have have access to ‘real’ AC.
With most things shut down these days, we’d not have those options as distractions.
Extended self isolation is already trying enough. I’m honestly not sure I’d want to combine that with extreme heat (it’ll be bad enough summering in Florida!).
If you’re thinking you might not want to experience it, please don’t wait for it to get too hot to start making an exodus. It may be too late by then to find alternatives still open. Get further north or to higher elevations.. now.
Travels on Pause
These are unusual times, and I’m sure you’re going through a similar swirling of emotions and thoughts as we are.
We hope this pause is giving us all reason to stop and really think about the new normal we want to return to when we can. To our balance in life & happiness, to our fellowship to each other, to our planet, to the acceptability of working remotely.
This article on Medium is insightful to help us all bring consciousness into the world we awaken to.
Thanks for the great article! I was already in disbelief on how hard they are making it for full-timers. And also does not make sense as RV’s are the perfect way for those in crowded sticks and bricks situations to “bug Out” and self quarantine! Closing RV parks are counter productive to public safety on SO many levels. And what about all the newly “job loss” homeless, some of them will move in to an RV also and need parking. Also many full-timers boondock and more now than before and running that AC that won’t keep up is not a possibility. Not sure most of S. AZ would be possible in that case. Still workable in some cooler areas and cases. I run MightyKool space units and fine for me. But depends on the given needs of the person and how many animals etc. These units have been life savers and could not take it here w/ out them them!
Thank you for informing so many. Keep up the great work!
Great post and advice!
Thanks Cherie and Chris. We find ourselves in Yuma AZ as I type. Our escape is planned for May 1. We will travel north to Salt Lake City, UT and on to Dillon, MT as weather improves. Thanks to your warning about the closed camp grounds, I will start calling ahead today. Having no home base “site” leaves us feeling a bit exposed. Fortunately our MT stop is on a friend’s ranch where we can spend the summer. Between here and there could get interesting.
May your fuel mileage exceed your expectations! Kris and Mark Gurley
HI There:
While I totally agree with your thoughts on the predicament of full timers, there are additional issues with opening up RV parks, and locations for full timers. First, once these are opened up, all it does is encourage non full timers to holiday, travel and potentially spread the virus. there are additional sources of transmission with an RV or Boat that you are not taking into account as well, far more public touch points in spread out areas as one moves around. Moreover, how would one determine who is full time and who is just on holidays breaking protocol.
We too are full timers, however maintain a property that we can and have taken our RV to in order to sit out tough times. Full timing is a decision that we have made, as well as your self. Part of this decision was the awareness on being reliant on others and businesses more so than being in a traditional dwelling. This was one of the reasons we kept a small lot with hook-ups for a stand-alone in-expensive location to weather various potential storms, pandemics, or health issues etc.
I agree that it is very difficult for full timers at the moment, but it was a conscious decision which was made with costs and benefits like any other life style decision.
Yes, full timing is a conscious choice – but I doubt many (nomads or stationary folks) had made plans around the current situation we’re in. Good for you for doing so. But you represent a very small portion of full timers who also keep land or a lot for just such a scenario. But what if access to your lot had been restricted before you could get back? You’d be right out here with the rest of us trying to navigate this.
We too have an RV lot that we keep as a safe haven, and as our winter base – it would have been a back-up option for us if getting the boat somewhere safe didn’t work out.
Telling other full timers it’s their fault and they should have considered a scenario like this in their decision – I find – to be quite dismissive and lacking compassion. It’s like telling those who have lost their income sources that it’s their fault and they should have made other career choices.
Oh – and there are ways to safely provide places for full time RVers and Cruisers to hunker down during this time. Such as what the Escapee’s have done with their Rainbow Park system – only allowing monthly stays. It’s a great way to discourage vacationers, as they’re typically only interested in nightly & weekly stays anyways.
Thank you once again for a level-headed and thoughtful not to mention helpful post.
We we’re lucky enough to be able to leave the road and shelter in place with our son. But I know so many hundreds out there on the road who are looking for places and each day don’t know if the next day they’ll be able to stay. I am so thankful for Escapees and will do my Park in joining their campaign.
After reading your last post and the Escapees post we elected to leave our Arizona home on April 6 and head to Montana. We are under a 14 day quarantine because we came from out of state. And you are right–people don’t realize we were all ready quarantined–in our home in Arizona for at least two weeks and before that with trips only to the grocery store. We traveled in our motorhome stopping only for gas and interacting with no one. I paid for our one night of camping over the phone and was assigned a spot, we interacted with no one. We boondocked the second night and were home. It’s cold, snowy and miserable here in Montana but we are still glad we came.
Thanks for this post. Like the previous commenter we were scheduled to move north and got stuck in San Antonio. Worst comes to worst, we can literally move into a vacant house my sister owns and stay there just because of the AC. But, we really don’t want to do that.
I appreciate your effort to advise people on the heat of the desert. And, this is uncharted territory. My cats would not be happy in the desert in that heat, for sure, not to mention us. Pets would be at a huge risk there, especially if left alone.
So, thanks again Cherie and Chris. I have to say I missed your 4/1 annual fun post, but get why you didn’t do it. Just doesn’t make any sense right now. But, the humor would have been well received, regardless.
You two are the best, THANK YOU.
Yep! Totally agree. We’re hunkered down in Palm Springs and the park says they may stay open past their typical close date of May 15 but we’ve seen 100+ temps in this area in April before. Even with full hookups we’d rather never do that again, especially the kitty.
We will head north in May regardless. Best wishes to everyone. We can do this. Just be smart and don’t believe anyone saying boondocking in ”dry heat” ain’t all that bad. Teena Kitty can tell you different
Feel your problems, but remember there are 1,000 snds of folks with far greater problems. Those who have contracted the virus, Drs & nurses on the front lines, and those who have not be able to visit loved ones in hospitals & nursing homes. And how do those families who after not seeing their loves ones for weeks learn their family member has now passed away and they never got to say ”Good-bye” and now face the pain of trying to plan a funeral for a loved person they can’t see or visit?
Remember others, not just your small inconvenience, everything is relative.
I’m not sure how potentially hundreds of thousands of full time nomads not able to find a safe place to hunker down through this is in anyway implying that all of these other tragic things aren’t happening too?
Or how this is a ‘small inconvenience’? Homelessness, being evicted, not feeling safe – these are not small inconveniences. And I’m sure society at large wouldn’t appreciate full timers who can’t find basic essentials to be a ‘small inconvenience’ when they can no longer responsibly dump their waste tanks.
So you’re saying that because others have it worse, that full timers should just grin and bear being displaced, continue to travel and be potential vectors (making maters worse) – and dump their waste on public streets?
Well said, Cherie
The argument that there are people worse off never sauce anyting. There are always people worse off somewhere else. That does not solve the very real problem that there are hundreds of thousands of people who will be left wandering around, potentially dragging their germs from place to place, risking accidents which will put more pressure on already overworked hospitals.
This post was excellent, not only in raising the issue of what us full-timers are facing but in giving information for those who may never have summer in the desert.
I don’t think any of us need to be schooled in the idea that there are people worse off. But, right now there is a new problem.
sorry Cherie for butting in but I’ve just seen too many of these from people who seem to think that those who give advice are in need of a reprimand.
Wise words (especially about summering in the desert.)
If you’re currently in southern Arizona and don’t want to risk traveling too far, there are BLM and USFS options at higher elevations within a 4-5 hour drive. Specifically, along I-40 (Williams to east of Flagstaff), along I17 (Flagstaff to Camp Verde), northeast of Phoenix (SR260 between Payson and Show Low), and southeast of Tucson (Patagonia or Sierra Vista). As a year-round Yuma resident, these are some of our summer escapes.
GREAT POST! Your thoughts are echoing my own. We’re stuck “hunkering down” at a members only park in Alabama (last nights storms were BADDDD!) and have paid extra to stay longer than our membership allows but in a few weeks we will have to move on. We want to head straight from here to our seasonal site in Maine but they are in a shutdown and any new arrivals must self quarantine for 14 days. Like you, we have already been self-isolating for close to 3 weeks already. They don’t get it at all! We can travel and still stay isolated! All we have to stop for is fuel and with pay at the pump we don’t need to interact with anyone to do that! We debated heading to Maine sooner but the weather up there is still very cold and the campground hasn’t turned on the water. Frustrating situation indeed! Hopefully by early May some of the restrictions will ease up!
Stay safe everyone!
Rob Bibber
Stay safe, great to hear a voice of reason. I always enjoy your posts. Many thanks
We left Tucson at the beginning of April to avoid the heat you describe. (Actually, none of the 3 of us do well at all once the temp reaches even a balmy 90 degrees.) It’s a lot colder in Colorado at the moment, but we fear more extensive travel bans so wanted to get to a more temperate climate sooner rather than later. We still have a large number of friends in the Phoenix/Tucson area and I hope they can make the move when they need to.