2023 By the Numbers: A Crazy/Brave Year on the Road

couple standing beside a river in the rain
Rainy Days in Washington State

Our 2023 was spent on the road living in Stevan, our self-built, low-budget Ford Econoline van. While our year began and ended with family on the West coast of Florida, we looped through a great swath of the continent. Wandering North, then around the province of Quebec, the Great Lakes, the West, British Columbia, the Pacific Coast, desert Southwest, and finally back to the Southeast: In short, we’ve been everywhere, man!

A dashboard view of a sunset on a highway outside the city of montreal, CA
Dashboard Sunset in Montreal

Along the way we visited with family members we hadn’t seen in a long time, celebrated big birthdays and a bar mitzvah, and pushed our comfort zone on rough roads and stealthy camping spots. We also sold our house, an emotional (though welcome) event that deserves its own post.

woman standing by a reservoir at sunset with open van doors and folding chairs in foreground
Boondocking in Colorado

We are truly nomads now. Many things that seemed noteworthy in the beginning of our year are old hat. We can cope with extreme weather and “parking lot” style camping (still don’t like them much). We are down with rough roads and cacti and wild campsites. And we made some awesome new nomadic friends along the way. Among these, are Paul and Vicki of Gekko RV. Their “2023 by the Numbers” post, inspired this one.

A black ford econoline van with starlink satelite on top parked on a river bank with sunset in background

2023 by the Numbers

Numbers can only say so much

2023 was one for the books. For us, living on the road is just “living” now. And although it isn’t as comfortable as “house living”, it more than makes up for it in adventure and new experiences. We’re going to keep at it!

We are looking forward to sharing stories from 2024

a couple taking a selfie on a beach with glare of sun in the background and on their faces
A goofy beach selfie in Oregon

2 thoughts on “2023 By the Numbers: A Crazy/Brave Year on the Road

  1. I love a numbers post! I wish I had kept track of the different places we have slept and the number of different beds (from house sitting) we have slept in. It’s 12 years now, it would take a while to remember them all.

    It amazing how after you do this for a while you have less and less worry. I used to always have a plan or a back up plan, but now, hey, I live in a van, I can sleep anywhere.

    So great you got to spend time and reconnect with family.

    That’s a lot of miles. And Master Theses graded. That seems like a crazy amount to me!

    You need to go to Baja and up that whale number for this year!

    1. Thanks, Duwan! Your 12 years of travel are an inspiration to us! Our Google Travel Maps really help us keep track of the places we have slept –wish it was that easy for us to track our budget! Maybe our priorities need adjusting ๐Ÿ˜‰ I (Perri) like to joke about Dan’s laidback work situation, but he puts in a lot of hours. We definitely want to go to Baja… hoping for next year!

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