2020 is for many a year best forgotten. We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have adjusted to a life of isolation together for our 2019 Alaska trip and found we really enjoy being together… living in a van down by the river.. or a glacier .. or an ocean… or anywhere really.

The rudest awakening for us was having a shiny new toy and nowhere we could take it. We understand that people have different levels of comfort for living in this pandemic world, but for us, traveling seemed too daunting. Adding some family responsibility and an ailing geriatric dog to the mix stacked the deck in favor of staying close to home last year, and we did.

Staying in a Seasonal campground for the 2020 summer was a good alternative to having our rig in storage for a whole year; AND it solidly confirmed that staying in one spot all summer is not the solution for us. We did not renew at the end of the season.

Overthinking is a gift of ours as a couple (cough cough snort) and we spent much of this winter skiing and determining what we might be able to work out for this year. The progress with the vaccine and it’s availability left us feeling hopeful about getting back on the road, but closed borders and insight from Canadian friends left us with concerns that we might make plans that ultimately would not be possible north of the border.

A quick review of our priorities and family members left us wanting to be accessible to a certain degree and we made the decision to take a different approach to traveling this year.

We decided to see if we could see the Midwest with fresh eyes.

So, instead of EPIC ADVENTURE – stay tuned for 2021’s heartwarming mini-series of Midwestern vacation brain jaunts through Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota with brief intermissions at home to restock, reset, and see loved ones.

We have already begun our journey at the Kegonsa Lake State Park near Madison, Wisconsin. The weather has been right on target for long walks and bike rides throughout the park as we get settled in and reaquainted with our little powerhouse rig. From here we are off to Governor Dodge State Park.

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Along with the adaptations of traveling during a pandemic, we are also forced to readjust to life on the road sans one family member. Last November we lost Iggy to the complications of old age. He was a source of joy, frustration, laughter and sadness. He was a conversation piece, a distraction, a reason to move, a reason to walk, a reason to love. For any pet owner and anyone that knows us, you know that he was not just a dog to us, he was family and we are still heartbroken. While many things will be easier, like fewer tripping hazards in the rig and no more dashes through the rain at oh-dark-thirty to “find a spot”, there will be an empty spot on the floor and our hearts where our road dog once snoozed in a sunbeam while listening to the birds at a riverside camp site.