FOMO...

 

Not to be confused with MoFo.  If you said, "Fear Of Missing Out," you get one bonus point.

Here we are almost to mid-June, and no "escape from the heat" plans.  Before we lived in Phoenix, we got out of the heat for some period of time every summer when we lived in Texas.  Usually, it was for months at a time.  I was beginning to think this summer was going to get away from us - we have made commitments during the next couple of months, keeping us close to home.

Since getting the van, the plan has always been: more trips, shorter duration.  It has been a few trips of short duration and quite a few "day trips."  And now, we are into the heat - any direction we want to go means dealing with heat along the way.  Doing an AI search on places in the US west and southwest... the only place it could come up with was San Diego.  I like San Diego.

RV park prices and availability in San Diego this time of year are: high and tight.  I decided to widen the search area.  Joan asked me, "Where do you really want to go?"

Since we worked two summers there, I have wanted to go back to the Tetons.  I think it is one of the prettiest places in the contiguous United States.  And, we haven't been back since we last worked there.  And, it is a pretty sure bet that it will be cool.

Joan challenged me to "find us a place - I don't want to go there without some idea of where we'll stay."

I'm on it.  At first glance, reservations in the park are tough.  I checked The Virginian, an RV park in Jackson co-located with a motel.  Sites there are $200/night!  And, nothing special.  Part of the reason we picked out this particular van is the lithium batteries, solar, and UHG (Under the Hood Generator) that will allow us to be off the grid, but still have what we're used to for amenities (read: electricity).  We can be flexible in where (our size) and how (being easily self-contained) we'll stay.

I started digging into campsites that don't have hook-ups.  I had to reserve a different campsite each night to get 4 nights in the Tetons.  Three have no hook-ups.  As long as we can add fresh water and dump our holding tanks, we can stay out indefinitely.  I looked for Forest Service sites - available, but not reserveable.  Boondocking on Forest Service land that is "dispersed camping" (not an actual campsite).  And, having our "Geezer Card" gets us half price on camping sites in government facilities.

We can do this.  Booked.  No reservations to or from - we'll wing it.  Checking weather next week to see where we can overnight that it won't be hot.  Yep, we can make that work, too.  Should be pretty scenery along the way.

 

These itchy feet may get some relief.  Short term, loose planning.  I'm ready!

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Steph had asked me what I wanted or wanted to do for Father's Day.  I am happy just to have time with my girl.  Today, she took me out for lunch.  She drove, she bought - but the best part was getting the one-on-one time with her.  But, the food (Italian) was good, too!  ;-)