Six months later, we've learned that... — To whoever is not listening to the sea

Curt & Rufus in Joshua Tree National Park.

This is awesome!

It was probably early February that we instituted a no-complaint policy related to our lives. (Donald Trump is another matter.) What we are doing is so much fun and such an opportunity that to complain about anything we just be plain annoying.

What's essential is...

What you use…often.

Living out of bins has the benefit of making you really aware of what you unpack and use…or even what you are willing to unpack and use. We did (and do) have lots of things that we just weren’t using and so we gave them away….books, wireless router (?), etc.

The things that probably get the most use are our computers, our day packs, hiking poles and camel backs. (We were late coverts to the latter two, but now can't live without them.)

But we still have too much in the way of clothes... Although we gave scads away prior to leaving, and to be fair we are carrying 4 seasons worth with us, there is still too much. Mostly because when you are working from home, and spend most of your off-hours hiking, you really don’t need much. (A fact Curtis has known for a long time, but Wendy is just recognizing…she’s been eating a bit of crow.)

We aren't trying to be like these Japanese minimalists, but they certainly do make us pause for thought.

It’s all relative

Every place we’ve rented reportedly had “all the essentials”, but that’s a relative term. Mop and bucket? Coffee maker? Iron & ironing Board? Vacuum? It’s been hit or miss. So we’ve added to our haul in each place things we’ve deemed essential...we now own a Dyson (doh!)

Santa Fe National Forest.. 10,000ft+...with one of our 4 cameras!

Nice to have is allowed!

We had some random things we brought along, about which more than a few people said, “Really?” But they’ve come in handy…our goal is to live simply, but not to create misery. So a few things that we don’t need but use all the time:

Chapti roller — works great on pizza.
Kids gate —works great for corralling Rufus.
Second computer screen — makes work a lot easier.
Two yoga mats and props…Curt is now a star yoga student!
Four cameras...maybe we can't explain that one!

Pay attention to elevation.

We (just Wendy?) were completely oblivious to the elevation of many places we stayed prior to arrival. Who knew both Flagstaff and Santa Fe were at 7,000 ft? It was an adjustment and we still sometimes have to stop to catch our breath...but the good news is during the massive heat wave of June '16, hiking at 10,000 ft is still bearable.

Ditto on the above for pollen. We somehow managed to follow pollen season throughout the Southwest!

Working 3 days a week is hard!

We are still far from our goal of working 3 days a week (or 24 hours.) Curt’s business is in growth mode so he easily works 50-60 hrs a week. Wendy is closer to 30, as building a business from nothing is no small effort. So we spend more time at the desk (aka kitchen table) than we had originally planned. But we are having a blast, so what does it matter!?

The good news is, we are making the most of the flexibility of working for ourselves. So we often work on a Saturday, but take Wednesday off, etc. It’s makes a world of difference.

Ironically, we never use an alarm except when we want to hit the trails early. We still wake up between 5:30-6:30am every day, and the leeway to wake naturally is something we are truly grateful for.

We don’t get bored!

I think we’ve only felt bored twice, for a couple of hours. Both times have been in cities, when we were waiting for something to start.

There is so much to do and it’s an ever changing menu of choices, we can never do it all. So boredom has not yet been a problem.

But, it is possible to wear yourself out.

We went full throttle into our adventure in Jan & Feb and spent a lot of time feeling weary. So we pace ourselves more now…and still find we are able to do a lot. We have yet to have a day where we just don’t do anything…I mean, c'mon!

Aim to be <30 minutes from lots of stuff!

The closer we are, the more we do. It was pretty cool to just pop into to Joshua Tree for a morning stroll...we were only 15 minutes away, so why not? Alternatively, Flagstaff was about 45 min - 1 hour from lots of stuff...which meant we spent a lot of time in the car.

Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Parks, AZ

The optimal stay is 45-60 days.

Packing and moving takes time. We’ve gotten packing/unpacking down to a combined 8 hours, but that's still a lot of time. Doing it twice month is too much and it’s a bit too much change for Rufus. So, we are aiming for 60 day stays from now on.

Also with more time, we can truly explore. Sometimes visiting the same place 2-3 times…or in the case of Joshua Tree National Park… 15-20 times! It makes a difference in our understanding of place, but it’s also helpful psychologically. It’s a bit hard to feel constantly disoriented, so staying long enough for a place to feel familiar can be comforting.

Plan 6 months ahead.

It's completely possible to find nice places within our budget around lots of stuff to do. However, we've found those places get taken quickly, so it's necessary to book 6 months out.

Our VRBO and AirBNB experience so far has been great. All our landlords have been different, but all fine. We are living RIGHT next to our landlord at the moment, but others we haven't seen at all. Our next stop is a cabin on a sheep farm in Cortez, CO...so, stay tuned!