The day I was booking our stay at a mountain cabin for my birthday getaway, Marina pointed out the irony that as a fulltime RVing family, our definition of a “vacation” is to go rent a house!

And in this case, it was actually a charming, quaint cottage adorned with fabulous rustic decor and a deluxe hot tub on the deck calling my name – but as we all came to find out, it was still a 3 story house, no matter how you slice it.

Now, we take a lot of trips leaving our motorhome parked, so staying in hotels is pretty common for our family; but until this recent stay at the cabin, it didn’t occur to me how long it’s been since we were in an actual house. Until that is, we all started exhibiting some unique behavior as we explored our temporary “digs.”

Throughout our stay, I made note of some hilarious adventures we had that really drove home the differences that we’ve grown accustomed to, and thought  I’d share them with you today. Keep in mind, we’ve been on the road for 3-1/2 years and our former home was also 3 levels – so we were no stranger to the layout… or so we all thought!

Getting Lost: “Morgaaaaaaaan, where are you?” Reply: “I’m right here” – yes, but where is “here?” Every time we turned around, we were losing one another and no one was ever on the same floor with the person they were speaking with. Which caused a lot of confusion when being used to a family of four that is perpetually in ‘line of site’ inside our RV.

Doors: Yes, those round things are called door knobs. They don’t move up and down though – you turn them and subsequently must remember whether they push in or pull out, otherwise, you bang into the door if you are moving too fast.

Windows: Not all of them open to let in fresh air, and by the time you scale the stairs multiple times to find all the ones that actually open, you are so overheated you are ready to crank up the air. But wait, that would require backtracking to find everything you just opened, so you just go sit out on the deck and hope you can remember where they all are by nightfall.

Fridge/Freezer: Ok – this one I thought through and specifically took advantage of! On our trip into town to get some provisions, I headed straight for the frozen appetizer section and bought every huge, oversized box I could find that normally wouldn’t fit in our RV freezer. Despite the fact that our fridge is a large double-door style, there are still just some boxes that simply won’t fit – and they are normally all those gourmet little goodies and appetizers that take up so much space but taste so yummy! So I delighted in finding the biggest boxes I could locate in the frozen food section and bringing them back to the cabin just for a special treat!

Relaxing: As we all kicked back in the living room after a fun day, I looked at Greg and the girls and busted out laughing. Picture a huge, open air living room with a recliner, love seat, two couches and multiple cushy throw rugs. Then picture the four of us sitting all on one love seat and recliner directly opposite one another with about 2 feet between us. We had a football field of room, and yet we all “assumed the position” of linear lounging. It was so funny, but even after we realize it, no one retreated to finding their own space – we were actually all quite content to be cuddled up in tandem.

Decor: The owner of the vacation rental went to meticulous extremes to outfit the cabin with a rustic decor – from the gorgeous mounted elk, bear, deer and pheasant on the walls to the carved statues and figurines adorning every table and counter top. What he probably didn’t envision though was the amusement that our family would get with lifting up the memorabilia and getting a kick out of things that weren’t nailed down, velcro’d in place or otherwise permanently attached. Once the girls realized that the house didn’t sway in the breeze, they started experimenting with placement and probably left the owner wondering if an interior design team had stopped by and what was wrong with the original locations of the stuff that was moved.

Security: We have to lock how many doors before we go to sleep? And who locked what? Laying there trying to sleep, it got the better of me as I crawled out of bed, scaled the stairs (yet again) to double check five doors – one of which I was convinced that someone probably missed… And what did I find? Marina – coming around another corner with the same thoughts as we busted out laughing (yet again!) Who knew there could be so many exits to occupy our thoughts as we nestled in after a long day!

Shower Time: “Daddy, are you done in the bathroom yet? Oh wait – I’ve got 2 more to choose from…” LOL – Nevermind! Again, with 3 bath/shower choices, did we shower simultaneously? Ooooh nooo, there we were, waiting for each other to finish and worse yet – twice during our stay Marina headed downstairs with all her bath stuff… Of course the devious mommy that I am, I waited until she reached the bottom step to point out that there were no bathrooms on that floor. Which had her racing up the stairs to tackle me for playing yet another stair trick on her!

Stair Tricks: Ok, so I took full advantage of messing with the girls and watching them run up and down to find stuff. But it wasn’t all that difficult, because when we arrived and spread out our stuff, none of us could remember what was on which floor. Fortunately, I have two spry little ladies that did most of my running for me – those stairs were for the birds! Not to mention pack up day, when I made everyone start on the 3rd level and take everything down to the bottom before packing. Who knew in three days things could wind up in cubbys and around corners that we didn’t even use! I think the Morganator was at work in playing hide and seek on that one though!

And at the end of our stay… I have to say it was an amazing, magical birthday – filled with exactly the serenity I’d hoped for in finding a location with no cell signal or Internet connection and becoming one with nature (including a hike through the woods and up a mountain that I would have bet money I couldn’t scale, but alas I conquered on my 47th birthday!) And the mood lighting in the hot tub on the deck was a welcome respite after each day’s activities, as well as a morning dip with my Dutch Bros coffee in hand.

But as we packed it all in and locked it all up, did we feel like we were walking away from the “comforts of home?”

Far from it! We started the engine of our SUV to head back to our REAL COMFORTS OF HOME!

Indeed, I believe we have the better end of the deal…

For as the owner’s mortgage comes due, the taxes need paid, the grass needs cut, the snow flies and needs shoveled, and the maintenance is required… we will be heading on down the road in our “home on wheels” without the trappings of ownership that we’ve delightfully left behind.

It was a great visit, but as the house faded in the distance, we all chimed in with a resounding… “we wouldn’t want to LIVE there!”

It was funny – when this month’s FOTR Blog Carnival topic was announced and my husband and I heard the word “toys” – both of us immediately thought it was referring to the “big kids” toys – of the ATV and golf cart variety!

Undoubtedly, because we’re both kids at heart too and the toys we have on the road are every bit as fun as the barbies, zhu zhu pets and gazillion stuffed animals that seem to multiply on their own when we are not looking.

Of course, toys – of any sort – immediately bring to mind thoughts of the ultimate premium for life on the road and that’s STORAGE! So while we do the typical bin rotations, giving away old toys to Goodwill, etc., I wanted to focus this post more on our solution for STORING our toys, rather than the toys themselves and I hope it may help many of you who have similar storage dilemmas.

In large part, we solved our storage problem by buying a 20 foot cargo trailer – so in many ways, we have more storage than most. But then again, a motorhome is like a purse – the bigger the purse the more you fill it up with things you “must” put in that purse – even if the prior one was half the size!

When it came time to upgrade to our 2nd motorhome after our first two years on the road – we put a great deal of thought and planning into storage. Realizing how little we had in our first 37 foot coach, and assessing what we all wanted to have with us for our respective hobbies and passion – we decided a cargo trailer was the solution when we upgraded to our new motorhome last year. And now, I happily tow the cargo trailer with our Excursion SUV while Greg drives the Motorhome! And we look like a caravan heading down the road – but hey – it works for us and I tell everyone we get 20 mpg – 9mpg in the MH PLUS 11mpg in the Excursion!

Of course, even with all the space, we are still packed to the gills – but it still allows for a great deal of opportunity for mommy’s penchant for organization. Before the golf cart and Rhino ATV were ever loaded into the trailer, I camped out for hours at a local Lowes and discovered the amazing Gladiator Wall System.

It works based upon strips of wall tracks with grooves to hold all types of shelves, caddy’s, bins, and even ceiling to floor cabinets in several varieties. The “ball cady” shown here is where we store all the stuffed animals – and it’s perfect for the task!

The beauty of the system are these  little gizmos that you can hook into the panels and move around to suit any need. There are over 30 different types of hook that are inserted into the wall track and can hold everything from bikes to tools, to bins and wire baskets.

So we make good use of the multitude of hooks for everything from hanging hoses, extension cords and Christmas lights to the bigger stuff like Greg and the girls’ metal detectors and the sluice box.

And the best part of all is that this entire system is lightweight – so adding it inside motorhome walls, toy hauler’s or even cargo trailers doesn’t tip the scales!

We are getting ready to wrap up a month in Baker City, a small Oregon town that has provided huge opportunities for our entire family since we arrived in town.

During our stay here, we had the good fortune to be in town for the Baker County Fair and the Union County Grassroots festival, as well as the peak farmer’s market season – and we’ve taken full advantage of the cornucopia of activities that presented themselves when we least expected it.

For years we’ve visited state and county fairs in our travels and Marina and Morgan have always marveled at the ribbons on display in the exhibit halls. Until this stop in Baker City however, we never seemed to be in town at the right time to both enter craft projects as well as be there to pick them up after the fair was over. So we previously remained fair visitors with the promise from mommy that one day we’d be in the right place at the right time to enter our projects.

Baker City ended up being that time and place – and it’s been a treasure trove of experiences from it all.

As a child, I have fond memories of entering our local fair each year and just because we’re on the road doesn’t mean that the girls can’t build those same memories as well as the self esteem that goes along with it. So when we realized the timing was right, as soon as we hit town, we pulled out the craft and jewelry making supplies, and the girls started combing through the fair booklet to decide what they wanted to enter.

Morgan came up with a list of 7 items and Marina had 12. And systematically, they planned what they would create, kept to a schedule of getting them finished on time and submitted their wares with as much excitement as Christmas for opening day when they’d arrive to find out if they’d won any ribbons.

As noon arrived on opening day, we were among the first at the gate and headed straight to the exhibit booths to see if we’d be taking home a coveted ribbon and what color it might be. As we rounded the first corner, I saw a bright red ribbon hanging from Morgan’s photo of Multnomah Falls and I felt the excitement too – just as if I were back to being a bright eyed child again at our own county fair.

As we scanned the wall of photos, we spotted two more red ribbons on Marina’s roses, taken at the International Rose Test Garden in Portland – and the ear to ear smiles started to appear. But where were the “chipmunks?” We were looking all around and Marina’s 3 set collection of chipmunks seemed to be missing. Then we saw them…

GRAND CHAMPION! The chipmunks were in a special spot – reserved for the top winners of each age division and there was Marina’s entry – with a huge purple ribbon reserved for champions. Tears started and hugs were flowing all around as the three of us stood there doing the happy dance!

But we weren’t done yet! We hadn’t even made it over to the crafts exhibits, where we were soon to discover a sea of blue ribbons, red ribbons, and yes – TWO MORE purple Champion Ribbons! (One was even on mommy’s wire wrap – woohoo!) So as we headed to the crafts, Morgan ran ahead and discovered first place ribbons on three of her items and reds on everything else. Along with that, Marina spotted her 2nd Grand Champion ribbon for the crafts division and the yelping from us all continued.

All in all – the girls took first or second on EVERY item they entered – including decoupage, herbal soap, beaded jewelry, wire wrapped pendants, wood burning, and their polished gem and petrified wood collections. And on closing day, when we arrived to pick up our entries and prizes – the girls were over the top when they were handed $50 and $47 checks in prize winnings.

But beyond the ribbons and the cash, this experience canvassed a multitude of learning platforms that are indeed Priceless! I watched as a lot of hard work and determination went into each project as the girls worked diligently to put their best efforts and energy forth. The pride of accomplishment before the projects were even submitted was on the ceiling and a great deal of emphasis was put on the importance of doing their best, doing it themselves, and meeting the deadline – and not just the awarding of ribbons.

At the end of the day, when the fair was packed up and headed out of town – these memories will indeed last a lifetime along with the positive messages and self esteem that was earned in knowing that they accomplished a job well done. I’m proud of my girls and they will carry this with them as the ribbons hang on the wall of the motorhome marking this month in history!

CLICK HERE To enjoy more photos of all the submissions.

So the subject of family friendly campgrounds has come up again in topics of conversation amongst our full-time RVing friends.

To explore this topic, several of us have posted our experiences here – both good and bad – and I’d also like to share my take on the subject for you here today because my theory is that the problem may not lie entirely with the age of your offspring but rather the age of their parent’s – yes, YOU! But more on that in a moment as our story unfolds.

To begin with, let me say that by and large, in our travels over the past 3 -1/2 years, we have run into very few locations that were not welcoming to kids. After all, by virtue of the fact that “camping” is a family activity, it only stands to reason that campgrounds are going to have a few little sprites delightfully running around and for the most part as long as a campground isn’t designated as a 55+ community, we’ve found little problems using some basic common sense when scoping out our next spot.

But on the flip side of many great experiences, we have one particular nightmare of a story under our belt as well and this is where it gets interesting…

During the winter of 2009/2010, we settled into what we thought was going to be a phenomenal winter spot at the Palms River Resort in Needles, California. The tropical pool setting was right out our doorstep with 2 hot tubs under palm trees, surrounded by tiki huts & torches, backlit with rotating colored mood lighting. Ahhh, yes, it was as if we had arrived on a Hawaiian island just in time for the holidays.

For the first few weeks we cooked poolside at the two provided Jenn-Air grills every night while the girls played in the pool and game room and we were in heaven… until the snow birds arrived!

One morning we heard talk that new managers had arrived and along with it they had a following of friends that were coming in from the prior campground they managed and the place was about to fill up. Great we thought – the more the merrier… but this was not to be the case.

Instead, we came to discover that the “friends,” were actually about 30 retired couples who had wintered for the past three years or more in a neighboring campground in Parker, AZ.  And unfortunately, these snowbirds were coming from an Adult 55+ community – so the stage was set for disaster from the gate.

As the park began filling up, we continued our routine that we had come to know and love in the first few weeks since we’d been there. Grilling at sunset and hopping in the hot tub to enjoy the rest of the evening.

But one night after dinner, as the girls and I headed to one of the two hot tubs, my youngest daughter was one step into the larger of the two with me standing directly behind her and one of the men in the hot tub looked at her and said in a venomous tone, “No! You need to go over there with your mommy,” as he poked his arm abruptly to the other hot tub.

Of course, this stopped me dead in my tracks and with feelings hurt, Morgan stepped back out and began crying at the abrupt (and rare) rejection she’d just encountered.

For me, I was still a bit stunned and wavering between mommy instincts of protecting my daughter and shock at what I just heard. So all that came out of my mouth was, “Excuuuuuse me????”

And again, the “gentleman” (and I use the term lightly) said directly to me – “YOU need to go over there with those kids. You’re not  welcome in here with us!” (note: it was not THEM, but ME as well! Hmm…)

Ok, now I was just downright p$*#’ed.

I had a child in tears, my blood pressure was rising and Marina was looking for the popcorn to watch the “show” because she knew that mommy was about to go off on someone.

Taking a deep breath and realizing as I glanced around at the glasses of cocktails lining the rim of the hot tub, that there’s no reasoning with people in altered sates – I chose to take the higher road and take my issues up with the management directly – so off we went.

In short, the managers (which I will note that we’d become very close friends with by this point) assured us that it was a misunderstanding, there were no segregated pools or hours, and they’d get to the bottom of it because after all this WAS a family resort.

Well, I’m sad to say that as the next few weeks progressed, things got worse rather than better.

The snowbirds proceeded to snub us (and every other family in the park) at every turn and host potlucks that were announced with signs that had the disclaimer “snowbirds only.” And the managers just kept playing both sides against the middle.

What blew me away was that there was no subtlety whatsoever in this group’s collective behavior.  They exhibited a demeanor that would rival disrespectful school kids on a playground and for a generation who was purportedly raised to respect, honor and cherish those around them – it was a sickening example to say the least.

The breaking point happened one evening when I was coming around a corner in the clubhouse and got body slammed by one of the most vocal of the group who refused to step out of the way as I was carrying a plate of hot food.

I stopped dead in my tracks, looked him square in the eye and said, “What IS your problem!”

And the tone and camber of my voice caused everyone within earshot to stop to hear the answer…

“I’ll tell you what my problem is lady – YOU aren’t entitled to be here! All of us worked long and hard years to earn the right to retire and travel in our motorhomes and YOU aren’t old enough to have paid your dues to live the life that we are living. You need to go get jobs and get outta here!”

Whoa! And there is was… the real sentiment behind this entire debacle that we had come to know as our daily life at this campground.

Jealously, envy, regret… some nasty embedded issues there, but a revelation into the mindset of a generation that time has passed by.

These people didn’t hate kids, they hated themselves.

They hated us – the 40 year old generation – that they perceived as “not paying our dues.”

They were miserable in their retirement years because their life had passed them by, and despite their attempts at trying to reclaim it with a bottle of whiskey at their daily 4pm happy hour – they weren’t finding their golden years at the bottom of the bottle.

The notion that families such as ours had found a “better way” was simply stabbing at the heart of the matter and there was no denying that our positive energy was a continual reminder of all that they were trying to escape.

So what’s a momma to do what THAT new found knowledge?

I mean, here we are – smack dab in the middle of where we planned to winter with a group of people that disdained our very existence.

Do we pick up and leave – as we often say is the beauty of our fulltime mobile lifestyle – or do we stand our ground and teach our children that running any time something doesn’t suit us is the way to handle life?

In the end, we chose to stay and in retrospect, I think it was the wrong choice. Not catastrophic, just not the best thing we could have done.

We felt at the time that it sent a better message to our daughters that while not everyone in this world will resonate with what you stand for – standing for what YOU resonate with is the elixir of life.

But at the same time, enduring the ongoing negativity was not necessarily the only way that message could have been learned. After all, we never taught our daughters that the fire pit was hot by holding their hands in to until they got the point.

To this day, I’m saddened that the negative conditioning we endured there that winter has resulted in all of us tensing up when encountering retirees camping nearby – not knowing whether we’ll be shunned or applauded.

And it’s especially frustrating because for the most part – if you know me personally, you know I don’t much care what others think as long as our family mantra remains “to thine own self be true.”

On the other hand, our experience also allows us to share this powerful insight with others that begets the question as to whether the whole “family friendly campground” concept is perhaps more of an issue about a “fulltime friendly” mindset and not really about the kids at all.

I mean, who among us has not at one point or another faced the challenge of people not understanding who we are and why we do what we do? But the greater good that comes out of our own evolution and the development of our children will forever remain to be the guiding light  by which we travel.

And at the end of the day, as the last log on the fire is reduced to its glowing embers, we retreat to our “homes,” content that we are indeed entitled to this glorious gift we’ve been given!

So far, this summer has certainly been chock full of fun, frolic and freedom as we’ve gone non-stop from one exciting adventure to another. Starting with all the friends we visited along the way to the Fulltime Families rally in Astoria, Oregon and continuing afterward as we have explored the greater Portland area. (Not to mention the American Idol Live Concert that had us staying near Portland for the big night.)

And I promise that I’ll catch up my posting here to tell you about it all in more detail as soon as I can!

But while we’ve been hard at play, we’ve also be extremely hard at work and that’s been every bit as thrilling (maybe for me even more so!)

So even though the posts about our rving lifestyle & adventures have been slow in coming, the rewards for all your patience will pay dividends far into your future as we embark on teaching those of you who are fulltime RVers how to make money on the road.

Just this past week, we officially launched a new Facebook page called Fulltime RV Living Income Strategies and our companion site MarshmallowMarketing.com And the culmination of these two sites has paved the way for a tremendous opportunity that we’ve wanted to share with our fellow full-time RVing friends for many years.

I’ve written a free report detailing it all (you can grab it at either of the above two links) and it’s all about how anyone can earn an income online to support your full-time RVing lifestyle and leverage the years of experience Greg and I have in doing the exact same thing.

So please go here and LIKE our Facebook page: Fulltime RV Living and you’ll get all the details on how to make money on the road with your passion as your guide!

As the temperatures have started to rise toward 100 degrees here in Quartzsite, AZ over the past few weeks, we’ve heard the call of summer and started to finalize plans for our trip north and the new adventures that will lie ahead.

It’s amazing how fast the winter has flown by and as the tarps have come down on our tent/playroom/hobby workshop, we are scrambling to finalize all the last minute details as we prepare to hit the road. (Including the whopping 10 new tires that are being put on the motorhome and the Excursion before we leave town. Ugh)

This summer, one of our early targets is Astoria, Oregon for the Fulltime Families rally and the first time in a long time that we’ve had to be somewhere on a specific date.

As part of our free spirited lifestyle, it’s rare that we know where we will be next week, let alone 2 months in the future. So this has thrust mommy into planning overdrive, mapping out the first 6 weeks of our summer and making plans with all the friends we are going to be meeting up with along the way.

Timing our trip to arrive at the KOA in Astoria has now turned into a series of 9 campgrounds that we’ve booked along the way – staying 2 or 3 days in one spot and a week at a time in a few other spots where we know we want to cover more of the local sights and attractions.

This has meant pulling out the atlas, consulting CampClubUSA and Passport America locations for the best deals on camping rates, and heading to rvparkreviews.com to check out what others are saying about our potential picks. And it is also the first time that I’ve actually mapped our travels out on a calendar and sat for a few hours making phone calls to book 9 separate reservations! It’s been a great deal of fun, but definitely not something I’d relish doing all the time.

In addition to planning our stops, I’ve also had to research and compile our “to do” lists in each city we’ll be visiting. And since this trip will involve three brand new states (Idaho, Utah and Washington), we’ve already had a wish list of things to do and see along the way (Bryce & Zion) as well as new spots that others had told us about that we are looking forward to exploring – Lagoon amusement park, Roaring Springs waterpark, the Treehouse Museum and so much more!

So in a few day, the slides will come in, the engine will roar and we’ll be off and running on making memories for the summer of 2011.
Stay tuned for our adventures!

So what do Donkeys and General George S. Patton have in common?

They are representative of our family’s “unschooling” approach to learning on the road through natural life experience as opposed to the confines of a traditional classroom. I mean, how many of our daughter’s public school counterparts can say that they’ve fed a donkey and sat on General Patton’s WWII tank all in the same day?

And further, how often would you have an opportunity on a typical family vacation to trip over a tiny Arizona town like Bouse (population 630) that was so far off the beaten path that the top top secret maneuvers at Camp Bouse were not even publicly listed with the dozen other training camps back in the day. I haven’t seen any traditional history text books lately, but my guess is this desert oasis doesn’t even merit a footnote, let alone a class field trip.

One Part Socialization, One Part Education, and One Part Recreation – Stir It All Together & Watch Them Grow!

On this special day of unschooling, Marina & Morgan met up with our dear friends Michelle, Derrick and their daughters Michaela & Riona (whom we initially met thanks to Families On The Road.)

To the girls it was a play date and an adventure – thus, the learning along the way was absorbed like a sponge as a natural extension of their enjoyment, not a contrived lesson from a textbook – the whole thrust & effectiveness behind unschooling to begin with.

The first stop was Cutler’s Donkey & Bull Show.

Now to properly frame this experience, I have to first share with you my initial encounter with Bandit (a Sicilian miniature donkey) and Rowdy (a Miniature Brahma steer). I had pulled several days straight in front of the computer earlier in the winter, and decided to go romp around Quartzsite to shake the cobwebs out of my head a little.

Well… here I am driving down the road and in front of me I see a van, your typical family style variety that might haul the kids back and forth to soccer practice. But suddenly out the back passenger window pops a donkey head! Then, before I could blink, a bull pops out the other side.

Whaaat? Do I really need new glasses that bad and am I fit to be driving? But alas, after following this mirage in the desert for a few miles, I was able to discern the signage on the van describing Cutler’s show and after all, we were in Quartzsite, so nothing should surprise me!

So checking out Cutler’s got added to the “must see” list, and it was a great show put on by a wonderful couple with a definite love for entertaining and sharing their knowledge of these classic animals. The show was both educational and well orchestrated and left all of the 50 or so visitors who showed up out of the woodwork,  in the middle of the desert on this particular day with a smiles on their faces.

And on top of it all, the show was free and subsidized simply from optional donations and t-shirt purchases. For the Cutler’s it’s about sharing the love of these animals, educating the public and putting a smile on the faces of children – another life lesson for the girls that can’t be found inside a classroom.

Next it was off to the Camp Bouse Memorial and an opportunity to get up close and personal with a spectacular slice of history. And mind you, since there are signs posted that climbing on the tank pictured here is prohibited, no one in our party set foot atop the tank out in the middle of nowhere with no other souls in sight No, really, honest we didn’t!

Suffice it to say a good time was had by all but more important, the value of the education that all four girls received that day and their subsequent retention was priceless.

As is our opportunity to avail our daughters to learning on the road and experiencing a slice of life that few others will do more than read about in books. Not to mention, without any prompting whatsoever, upon returning home they both headed straight to their computers to look up more information on Patton and their new donkey friends. Which only serves to illustrate that a thirst for knowledge increases exponentially when framed in this positive approach to learning, and supplementing that as we do with access to technology becomes a winning combination!

What I’ve shared with you here today is just a small glimpse of how we approach learning on the road, but it is symbolic of a commitment to our children to avail them to a well-rounded, balanced education far beyond the walls of a classroom. And when combined with computer tools and resources (which we’ll cover here on another day) it has become a winning combination for our family’s full-time RVing lifestyle.

Not a day goes by that there isn’t an ah-ha moment or a lesson to be learned through practical application and life experience.

And the path we’ve chosen to take is in fact shared by many more than one might realize. You can read more about other full-time RVing families who are also learning on the road and read more as they share their special experiences as well.

We had the pleasure of meeting fellow Escapees, Lori & Mike on Sunday when we hosted a Dutch Oven cooking workshop at our campsite.

About 12 of us gathered for a potluck dinner and everyone got to participate in the dutch oven cooking under the guidance of our experts who have conducted small workshops as well as huge rally events for years – giving of themselves and their talents.

On the menu was lasagna, chicken & rice, bbq ribs, sourdough bread, apple dumplings and berry cobbler – all cooked in the dutch ovens assembled between the group in what is called a camp dutch oven (pictured here).

Unlike it’s traditional oven counterpart, a camping, cowboy, or chuckwagon Dutch oven has three legs, a wire bail handle, and a slightly concave, rimmed lid so that coals from the cooking fire can be placed on top as well as below. This provides more uniform internal heat and lets the inside act as an oven.

When cooking over a campfire, it is possible to use old-style lipped cast iron Dutch ovens as true baking ovens, to prepare biscuits, cakes, breads, pizzas, and even pies. A smaller baking pan can be placed inside the ovens, used and replaced with another as the first batch is completed.

It is also possible to stack Dutch ovens on top of each other, conserving the heat that would normally rise from the hot coals on the top. These stacks can be as high as 5 or 6 pots although with our high desert winds, we kept the stack to two.

Lodge Manufacturing Company which makes the majority of Dutch Ovens being sold today, distinguished the two types of ovens by calling the rounded top, flat bottom oven with no legs, a Dutch Oven. The oven with a flat lid with a lip around the edge and a flat bottom with three legs they call a “Camp Oven”.

No matter what you call it and where you get it – everyone agreed that the food was out of this world!

As the holidays have approached in Quartzsite, AZ we have watched this quiet gem in the desert transform from a population of 2000 to millions that have arrived overnight. And with the holidays in full swing, we wanted to share a treasure that our family discovered here in town.

It’s the annual Christmas display presented by John and Celia Schroader and has been one of the highlights of our season. We discovered it through the Thomas’s – another family on the road that we’ve been enjoying spending time with and it blew us away from the moment we pulled up to the driveway.

(Click above to watch video after reading the whole post)

Now, mind you – a lot of huge cities boast magnificent displays – but this corner of paradise rivals them all. What makes this display extra special is you don’t simply stand on the sidewalk and admire from a distance. This display is interactive. Entering through the front gates, we strolled throughout the property listening to festive holiday tunes and marveling at the enormity of it all.

Then, when you thought it couldn’t get more breathtaking, at the rear of the property is a huge building with a miniature Christmas village that has been painstakingly setup along both sides of the building.

But perhaps the most exciting of all are the 3D glasses spread throughout the village that turn the mini lights into snowmen, snowflakes, Christmas trees and more – even the adults had to be coerced to hand over the glasses to their anxious children who wanted to see what Mommy & Daddy were ooohing and ahhhing about.

We’ve already been there several times so far and our plan is to stop by on Christmas Eve when it will put the crowing touch on the magical evening before Santa arrives.

In thanks to the Schroader’s for bringing us this holiday magic – Marina created this video for them so that they can share their display with others far & wide.

We hope you enjoy it too & Merry Christmas to all!