Here we are at our home base in New Mexico. We weren’t sure the journal would continue while we weren’t journeying, but I have a few thoughts to share about being at home base.

The comforts of home

While we absolutely love to travel and be on the road, I’ll admit there are a few things I miss.

For one thing, I don’t always remember, or decide, to take my second monitor on the road. So, having the option of two screens is a bonus. Now, I could take this monitor with me. It’s more set-up, and pack-up but it is doable. I just don’t always choose to do it.

Tony feels the same. His second monitor is huge, so taking it on the road is a little less feasible. On the other hand, he can use the iPad as a second monitor. But he does miss that giant screen.

I like having the space of an entire desk. However, I also tend to pile up mail and other stuff that shouldn’t pile up, so is a big desk really a good thing?

Water Use

We often say that, with our Mini Lite’s solar and lithium Power Package designed by ABC Upfitters, power is no longer a limiting factor to how long we can stay off-grid. We also have the Wolverine Tuff Bags, so bringing water to the camper is easy. The real limit is the gray water tank. After four days of military showers, we usually needed to dump our gray tank. Since we got the Geyser System, we can last a good week. Still, though, that limits our stays.

We have probably mentioned that we haul water to our home property. There is no city water service. So, like when we are in the RV, we are pretty conservative in our water use. Maybe not “military-shower” conservative, but we try not to be wasteful. We also have a septic system that we don’t want to over-tax.

Right after we bought the house (well, technically while we were still in escrow) we ordered a home spa, or jetted hot tub, or whatever you want to call it. Some say Jacuzzi; but like Kleenex, that’s a brand name and not the brand we purchased.

All that is to say, I miss our hot tub when we are traveling. Sometimes I find an RV resort, especially after a few days of “roughing it” off the grid, and we take advantage of a clean laundry room and hot tubs. One of our favorite campgrounds for soaking is the Joshua Tree KOA, where they have a heated pool as well as three temperatures of jetted mineral tubs. Heaven!

It’s the humidity - or lack thereof

While we were in Louisiana, I developed a hacking cough that lasted more than a week, and had me seeking urgent care for the second time on that last road trip. One of the possible culprits was the humidity - and the pollen and other airborne stuff that comes with a humid environment.

In New Mexico, we never worry about too much humidity. In fact, we run two humidifiers in the house. We run one in the living room and one in the bedroom. I didn’t think to fill and start those the day we arrived, and lo and behold I started coughing and feeling stuffy and lethargic again. It was hard to breath, and hard to sleep.

Added to, or perhaps the cause of, the dry air is the wind that seems to be a constant we will have to learn to live with here in New Mexico. While it dries the air, it also adds a lot of dust to everything.

The next day I filled the humidifiers, and also made sure I drank extra water to alleviate the dryness. I think we use as much water in those humidifiers than any other use in the house! I also tried to catch up on dusting and vacuuming to clean up the indoor air a bit.

I also go through a lot more lip balm when I’m super dry. I noticed that lip balm is kind of like hair ties - I always have one in every pocket, until the time comes that I need one and can’t find one anywhere!

Hosting Boondockers

We have also mentioned that we are a host site with Boondockers Welcome, which is part of Harvest Hosts, where you can get a membership discount! We had a couple arrive the same day we arrived at home. We love hosting and meeting people. Sometimes they move on after one night. Sometimes we invite them in for a beer. Sometimes we even interview them for a podcast episode!

Hot air balloons

The first morning after our arrival, we and our boon docking guests were in for a special treat - a hot air balloon landed on the road right next door to our property. While we would like to take credit for planning that, we know that the balloons are pretty much going to go where the wind carries them. We sure do find it thrilling when we get to watch, or even help, with a landing though! Tony befriended a crew one time when I was traveling with my family, and occasionally we get up early and go help crew with that group when they fly. I am not a morning person by any means, but I’ll get up and get ready to crew on occasion.

Coffee

We love good coffee. Like, really love it. If it’s good, anyway. It’s important to use good beans, and to grind them only when ready to use them.

When we are on the road we make wonderful coffee with AeroPress. We travel with two, so nobody has to wait. We heat enough water for both, and grind the beans while the water is heating.

On the road, we usually limit ourselves to one 16-ounce cup in the morning, and then in the afternoon we make another AeroPress coffee, or have a cold brew, or if we are on the road we might fill our travel mugs during a gas stop.

At home, we brew a pot of coffee with our MoccaMaster coffee maker each morning. This allows for a few coups in the morning, and one cup each in the afternoon. So, we drink more coffee, we put in a bit less effort (though the effort is totally worth it, don’t get me wrong!), and we drink out of ceramic mugs instead of our stainless travel mugs. All of these factors make us very happy.

Shopping

Here’s where the story diverges greatly. If Tony was writing this, shopping would be on the “yay” list about being home. I don’t like shopping, so for me it’s a chore rather than a bonus of being home.

When we are home for extended periods, Tony does 95% of the shopping. I might stop for a few things while I’m out anyway, but I really don’t like it and Tony really does.

This week we went shopping together. We needed to stock up on those things we stock up on, from Costco. Then we needed to go to the grocery store to get the foodstuffs we don’t need in bulk. By the time we got all that done and put away I was exhausted, and Tony was exhilarated!