Notes from the road: March ’24

Welcome to Notes From The Road, a monthly recap of where we’ve been and what we’ve been up to.

March began in a small town in Mexico, where we waited two days for fuel to be delivered to the local gas station, and is now ending in central Arizona, where we’re waiting for temps to rise in Colorado before returning to our property for the spring. 

After arriving back in the States from our winter spent in Baja, we transitioned out of living in our truck camper and back into our travel trailer. That means our travel pace slows from moving every few days to moving every few weeks.  Migrating back to Colorado will likely span the course of a month or more.

How we decide where to camp next

The weather is the primary driver for when and where we move.  We’re on a perpetual hunt for sunny, 70 degree days.  Not only does fair weather make RV living more enjoyable, our cost of living is less when we don’t have to pay to heat or cool our living space.  Basically, if we’re camped where our back door can be open from sun up to sun down we’re happy.

Every few days Mark will surf the temperature map on the Windy App, zooming out to view where we currently are and where we’d like to go. This is extremely helpful in gauging whether or not we want to continue our trajectory north back to our home state of Colorado. The Colorado Plateau, which extends from northwestern Colorado, through much of Utah, and all the way to Sedona, AZ, is significantly higher in elevation and therefore cooler than the Sonoran Desert, where we are now. We try to remain south of the Plateau until the temps get more comfortable for RV living.

As we’ve found to be true over the years, Arizona is a great place to be during the month of March.

Dog love

While camped near the town of Wickenburg, AZ we spent an afternoon at the Wickenburg Humane Society donating our photography services. We hope the portraits we made will help these sweet pups find their forever homes. Especially Nutmeg who has been at the shelter the longest and could not have been sweeter.

Media we’ve enjoyed this month

Books / Music / Podcasts / Videos

Books

Atomic Habits by James Clear

There are certain healthy habits that come easily to Mark & I while we’re in living in the truck camper in Mexico that always seem difficult to transfer over when we’re back in the States.  This year we’ve been more determined to make those habits stick and Atomic Habits turned out to be the perfect book to read to make that happen.  Author James Clear makes many compelling points for how and why certain habits stick and others don’t.  More than any other book, this one has helped me establish habits that are aligned with the life I want to live and the person I want to be.

Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday

This is Ryan Holiday’s follow-up to Ego is the Enemy and The Obstacle is the Way. I’ve enjoyed all 3 books and Mark just finished listening to the audiobook version of Stillness in the Key. We both enjoy the way Ryan Holiday pulls ancient wisdom from Stoic philosophy and applies it to the stress and chaos of our modern world. In Stillness he shows us how slowing down can lead to contentment, excellence, and a greater sense of meaning.

You Tube channel

Toyota World Runners

Matthew & Stacy are well in to traversing the Pan-American highway from Canada to the tip of South America.  Their short films on You Tube are beautiful accounts of their travels.  The most recent one documents their time in the Amazon rainforest including a multi-day driving leg followed by 3 days floating the Amazon river on a barge.  

podcast

What no one tells you: Interview w/ overlander Dan Grec

Last year I read Dan Grec’s two volumes of The Road Chose Me.  Volume One is an account of the two years he spent driving his Jeep from Alaska to South America.  Volume Two is all about the three years he spent overloading the entire African continent.  On this hour-long podcast he recounts memorable moments from those travels and talks about why he’s dedicated his life to overlanding.  I really enjoyed both books as well as this podcast interview.  

Music 

If you’re looking for some new music in your life I’ve compiled our favorite tracks from 2023 and turned them in to a playlist on Spotify.

In case you missed it, these are the posts that we shared in March:

• Winter in Baja Day 65: Cast in gold
• Winter in Baja Day 66: The perfect trifecta
• Winter in Baja Day 67: Back to San Juanico
• Winter in Baja Day 68: No man’s land
• Winter in Baja Day 69: No man’s land part 2
• Winter in Baja Days 70 & 71: A different kind of vibe
• Winter in Baja Day 72: We must be allergic to pavement
• Winter in Baja Day 73: Desert treasures
• Winter in Baja Day 74: Houston, we have a problem
• Winter in Baja Day 75: Not your average Monday
• Winter in Baja Day 76: Powered by the sun
• Winter in Baja Day 77: The sun is shining, the weather is sweet
• Winter in Baja Day 78: Will we make it out of here in one piece?
• Winter in Baja Day 79: No diesel ’til Sunday
• Winter in Baja Day 80: Livin’ on Taquitos and Tostitos
• Winter in Baja Day 81: Fingers crossed for fuel
• Winter in Baja: The last day
• 82 days camping in Baja: a Recap
• Thank you
• Why we have a truck camper and travel trailer for full-time travel
• The art (and delight) of noticing

It’s definitely starting to feel like spring around here.  Wherever you are may you be enjoying some sunnier, warmer days. 

Cheers!
Michele & Mark