Welcome to Notes From The Road, a monthly recap of where we’ve been and what we’ve been up to over the last 30 days.
This edition of Notes from the Road, I’m happy to report, is coming to you from a stunning and secluded beach on the west coast of the Baja peninsula. While this November recap is a bit late, in all honesty, I considered not sharing anything from November at all. Two thirds of the month were spent packing and preparing for traveling around Mexico this winter and when I looked through my small collection of photos from that time, my initial thought was nobody wants to see these. When I relayed that thought to Mark, we both agreed…the mess and the stress and the preparations are all part of what makes the dreamy-looking travel lifestyle possible. We don’t want to share just one side of this life, we want to share it all; the photogenic and not so photogenic side of life on the road. Here’s a look back at a long month that eventually got us to the beach.
preparing to head south for the winter became a race against the weather
All the work we had to do in order to be ready to leave for the winter wasn’t so bad until winter really set in on our property in Colorado. We don’t have any kind of structure on our property since we travel full-time and so truck maintenance and packing is all done outside. Once temps got below freezing all the work got a little more challenging, physically, mentally, and logistically. Mark would bundle up and work well past sunset in order to make as much progress as possible. By mid-month, with lows hovering in the teens, we were more than ready to be on our way south.
Mark working on projects after sunset. We knew it was cold when everything flash froze right after sunset. 
The inside of our travel trailer was unrecognizable while packing, especially on this day when all the new foam arrived for the cushions and mattress in our Four Wheel Camper. 
A couple of November snowstorms made for a beautiful scene but only temporarily. It soon melted from the heat of the sun, turning everything to mud. 
The ensuing mess when you live on a dirt road and it snows and melts and snows and melts some more. 
We were extremely grateful to be graced with clear skies for our final days of packing.
Back on the road
By late November we were elated to be on the road and headed south, a trajectory we would stay on for many months. Driving away from our property this year felt quite different as we weren’t taking our travel trailer with us to Arizona like we usually do and we weren’t taking our utility trailer with us to Baja like we’ve done the last three winters. This was why we’d spent the last four months building out a new truck bed, so that we could travel lighter. It felt really good to be living out that goal.
Our first day back in the desert was a sweet one. 
The temps steadily increased the further south we got. 
Our last night in the US was spent in the California desert.
If you missed the last post, here’s all the details on our truck bed conversion.
The payoff
We could have easily parked in the Arizona desert for a week to thaw out and decompress but we had the best kind of motivation to keep us heading south and into Mexico. Some of our closest friends, Josh, Darci, and Hannah, had just crossed over into Baja and we were within a days drive of reaching them. The choice to get to Mexico sooner than later was an easy one. Pulling up to our first beach for the season and reuniting with some of our favorite people in the world, was the best feeling ever. All the hard work of the last few months suddenly felt entirely worth it.
Coming soon – the return of the daily blog
For the last two winters I’ve shared daily posts of our adventures around Baja. The response we’ve received from you, our readers, about how much you enjoy following along on our travels has delighted me to no end. And since this year we’re not only traveling around Baja but also mainland Mexico, I’m excited to bring you all along again. No two days on the road are the same and in the 10 days we’ve been in Baja we’ve already lived some stories that I cannot wait to share. Starting next week you can expect daily posts straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to receive posts directly to your inbox.
In case you missed it, these are the posts we shared in November
- say hello to version 2.0 of Our Ford F250 with Four Wheel Camper Hawk
- Finding patience in presence: how our truck build has been a practice in chilling out
- 10 years on the road with Peter & Kathy Holcombe
- All your questions answered: a Q&A with us
- The Ultimate Baja Camping Guide is now available for purchase!
Thanks for sticking with us while we spent the last few months doing far more work than travel. We hope you enjoy all the travel content that’s about to come!
Cheers!
Michele & Mark
It’s been gray here in the PNW for weeks. Lots of rain. I’m delighted you’re heading south to warmer weather. I love your book on Baja. Just wanted to say thanks! Safe travels to you all.
I’m so excited you’ve started your blog and so happy you have met up with Josh, Darci and Hannah! Such a cute family! The spot you camped in was beautiful. Can’t wait to see more. Love you both.