The birth of an idea
There wasn't one defining moment when I decided to plan a year of travel. I didn't wake up one morning and realize all I'd ever wanted to do in life was travel. Ironically, traveling gives me mild anxiety to the point I become the person who gets ready for a trip at the last moment possible. So, how did this plan come about?
I went back to work back to work in the fall of 2013. The idea of going back to a familiar life routine appealed to me. Inspired by a friend, I implemented a personal spending freeze in January 2014. Basically, all non-essential expenditures were halted. At the time, I just thought it was an intriguing idea and wanted to try it out. In conjunction with the spending freeze, I kept track of all my expenditures, an exercise I hadn't done since 2009. I did know that if I ever wanted to go on another adventure, I'd probably need money to do it.
Sometime during the summer of 2014, I happened upon the tiny house movement and dove into research. I discovered a subset of lifestyles ranging from the transient poor, to minimalists, to boondockers, to overlanders, etc. One thing led to another and I found myself driving over 2,000 miles to attend the Overland Expo in Fletcher, NC inspired by the Expeditions Overland Alaska/Yukon series on Youtube.
Overland Expo, Fletcher, NC
The Overland Expo was an eye-opening experience and motivated me to get serious planning my own adventure. I started reading. I read everything I could find related to extended road trips. Even though there was limited information out there specifically related to the kind of travel I envisioned, I was able to piece together a plan.
The justification
In general, it's hard to convince me of doing something if it makes no sense. So, how does it make sense to leave full-time stable employment to live out of a truck?
Here's how I see it.
When it comes to travel, it's important to find the balance between where it is you are going and how much time you have to do it to make it worth your while. It makes no sense to plan a one week vacation to Alaska and spend four of those days in transit. If you find yourself short on time, travel can become more stressful than the stress of the regular life you were trying to escape from. Not only is traveling more stressful when you're going at lightning speed, but the faster you travel, the more expensive it will be.
The numbers: It's more efficient. At the rate I was going, I could plan on a solid week vacation once a year or so depending on the other competing demands on my annual leave. So, maybe over the course of my career, I'd be able to travel another 30 times while spending a lot of money on transportation, lodging, eating out, etc. Taking a year to travel would allow me to travel slower and spend less total time in transit since I could see places in a more efficient order than repeatedly returning home. I'd also be able to travel to places which would be both time and cost prohibitive such as going to Alaska or going to the National Field Archery Association Vegas Shoot. I figured that the cost of living out of a truck (including acquisition cost of the truck) would easily amount to the cost of my 30 week long vacations over 30 years.
The other: It's important to do the things that make you feel alive. There came a point where thinking about this adventure consumed my thoughts. I hadn't even realized how consumed I was by the ideas until on random occasions I would talk to someone about it and everything just poured out. The ideas coming to me felt crazy and completely outside of anything I'd ever considered. The only thing different about it and my regular life was that I felt absolutely enlivened thinking about traveling.
The plan
The plan evolved over the course of ten months and is still evolving. It currently involves exploring North America for as long as it is financial feasible or until I don't want to anymore, whichever one comes first. I don't have an official bucket list, but there have been many places I've wanted to visit. Some places have been on the to-visit list for a very long time. My primary interests are visiting National Parks, UNESCO Heritage Sites, the Smithsonian, Alaska, and as many gay villages I can in every part of the United States. I’m hoping to also do some volunteer work and maybe some odd jobs. Overall, no matter where I go, I intend to travel slowly. If you have any suggestions or things I must see or do, please let me know in the comments below.
During the trip, I will be living primarily out of my truck. In short, it’s been modified so that I can have outlet power in the back of the truck to power an ARB 37qt Fridge Freezer. The reason for running a fridge is that I figured I’d easily spend the cost of the fridge eating out. Having cooling will also allow me to eat a wider selection of fresh food while on the road. You can read more about how the Tacoma was modified in The Build: Research and Research (Part 1), The Build: A Course in Miracles (Part 2), and The Build: Dual Battery System with Isolator and/or Solar Panels (Part 3).
The kinds of places I will likely be staying at include: camp grounds in national/state/local parks, national forests, and Bureau of Land Management land. Other places may include truck stops and parking lots. While in urban areas, I may also do a little couchsurfing or Air BnB. And, with the grace of my friends, I might even stay on their driveways. Know of any good places to stay? Let me know in the comments below.
