There are a lot of people who can’t imagine traveling for extended periods of time (or full time!) because they can’t imagine being away from friends and family.
This was not especially a concern for us, and I’m happy to find that the opposite is rather true.
Now we have more time to visit with family – even if it’s by phone. And by traveling we are able to connect with people we know who live out of state.
My brother recently moved from California to Arkansas, so of course we plan on making a trip to that state.
And my step sister, Sue, and her husband, Larry, recently re-located to Idaho. Tom and Larry are Facebook friends, so when Tom found out our path could take us by their new place, he suggested we stop by.
Well the suggestion was met with enthusiasm and welcoming, and before we knew it, they were taking time out of their (still unfinished) move to put in 50 amp service for us! Now that’s hospitality.
Sue and I have known each other since our parents married over thirty years ago. But we never spent any one-on-one time together and were only acquainted through annual family gatherings.
By spending the weekend with them, we were able to really get to know them both and it was really wonderful. And likely would never had happened if we were not full-timing. Now we know what great people they are.
The night we got there, they planned on taking us to a Hot Air Balloon event in Boise,
where they put on a light show in the balloons. (We did not opt to go back in the early morning to see them lift off.) It was a really neat….old-fashioned family style event.
The next day we spent on their lovely porch just visiting and watching the hijinks of the squirrels. They took us on a drive around their town and then treated us to a lovely bar-b-q including home made ice-cream!
On Sunday while they rested up for more moving, Tom and I took a sojourn into Silver City, about two hours away. Not that far, but half was ten to twenty miles an hour up a rugged dirt road.
It was listed in our Reader’s Digest book of places “Off The Beaten Path” as well, but Tom found out about it online. It’s noted as the only mining town from the 1800’s that never burned down. So that intrigued me.
It was nothing like other ex-mining towns we’ve been in like Jerome, Arizona, or Calico, California, or Virginia City, Nevada. There weren’t any museums, or abandoned mines to tour in. This town is lived in, and I believe there are still those working mines in the area.
It seems to be a popular destination for ATV riding, and there were all kinds of quads crawling the hills. Some of the homes had signs posted out front about the history of the building, but they were posted next to “Private Residence” keep out signs.
A couple of people lived in homes where the front of them were turned into gift shops. There is a three to four story operating hotel there, and we had a nice lunch there. The locals go there for their delicious pies, and of course they serve three meals a day to their guests because – where else can they go? We are talking out in the middle of nowhere.
We bought a bumper sticker that sums up the drive there:
We finished our drive through lower Idaho on our way to Oregon rather quickly. I definately want to go back and hang out at Twin Falls sometime – when it’s cooler. But we were lucky to spend the Labor Day Weekend with family/friends, not in some crazy busy touristy spot.
Happy Travels.
Peace & Love, Joy
Always fun to see posts from our home area. We went to Silver City this summer too. I agree totally with your sentiment that you may not spend as much time with your local family but getting to know the extended family better is nice.
We have truly been enjoying meeting new people (in addition to family).
What fun! Thanks for writing about that adventure.