Our First Few Weeks of Living in the Camper
We got back from picking up our camper on September 3, 2026 and moved out of our rental in Anacortes and into our camper on September 6. Those few days were jam packed with going through things to see what we could get rid of (once more), moving out of our storage unit as well as the rental, and cleaning the rental. Whew, that was a lot of work! We’ve gotten pretty good at moving into smaller and smaller places though: house=1980 sq ft, townhouse=1200 sq ft, boat=400 sq ft, rental=300 sq ft, truck camper=160 sq ft. It’s forced us to get rid of a lot in the last few years!
Here we are, all ready to leave!
Off we go…
For our first night, we didn’t go too far - from the star to the blue dot. We are tracking the places we stay on a map (check it out here, or at the top of the main blog page). This site was a Hipcamp (website/app to locate places to camp on people’s property) location called Maple Grove Hideaway. It was a nice setting for our first night out!
We needed a place settle for a few days so we could install the solar panels on the top of the camper, so we went to the Cap Sante RV Park at the Anacortes Marina. We were there from September 7-9, 2026. This is the marina we were at for 3 months while we had the boat for sale. We really do like the town of Anacortes - many good restaurants, lots of shops, good walking, and friendly people.
The next stop was Wenatchee, WA for our niece’s wedding. It was held at the Warm Springs Inn & Winery - Congrats Sydney & Nate!
As you can see in one of the pictures, Greg was the officiant at their wedding. He did a great job!
We left Wenatchee on September 13, 2026, headed for Western Washington to visit friends and family. On the way, we spent the first night at a Harvest Host (camping at unique businesses like farms, wineries, golf courses, etc) at the Dru Bru Brewery in Cle Elum, WA. The Cle Elum Pizza Company is in the building and we had the Mad Wonka pizza in their Detroit Style. So yummy - it was one of the best pizzas we’ve ever had!
On September 14, 2026 we headed toward Western WA. Going over the pass, the fall colors were starting to show! So pretty.
While we were in the area, we took a drive through the main part of Gig Harbor (where we lived for 20 years), just for old times sake! It’s funny how trees and bushes look so much bigger when you’ve been away for a while.
On September 14, 2026 we enjoyed an evening visiting with Jeffrey (Greg’s brother) & Kristen, then made our way to our friend’s (Dan & Melissa Deprez) house to spend 2 nights. Our 2nd day was spent hanging out with them, playing games and having dinner in our camper. Thanks for letting us crash guys, we loved your company, as always.
On September 16, 2026 we stayed at a Boondockers Welcome (tied in with Harvest Host, but private homes, not businesses) site called Peninsula Paradise. It was a tight squeeze getting into the site - backing up 600 feet in their driveway! Greg did a great job getting us in there.
On September 17th we headed for Nana & Grandpa’s house (Greg’s parents) for the night. We had a great visit with them and we got to see & play with Cashew (our cat that now lives with them)! Thanks for hosting us Nana & Grandpa, we love spending time with you!
We stopped at a Fred Meyer and saw this guy! It roams around their isles and checks inventory. Pretty cool!
On September 18th we made our way to Debi (Cindie’s sister) & Scott’s house for the night. As normal, my mom and niece and family came over to visit as well. We loved seeing everyone, as always! Thanks for letting us cramp your driveway for the night D & Spock!
On September 19th we made our way north, stopping at IKEA for a small shopping visit. This was our view when we exited the store. Can you spot our camper way out in the back? We always have to park far out since we take up about 6 parking spots!
September 19-21, 2026 we spent the night moochdocking (camping on the private property or driveway of a friend or family member) at Heather (Greg’s sister) & Greg’s house (yes, his name is Greg too!). We spent a nice day & evening with them - thanks for having us guys, we always love spending time with you!
After visiting many friends & family we headed back to Anacortes to pick up our final packages that were delivered there. One primary item was a new mattress for our camper. The one that came with it was not very good for us, so we went with another option. We’re not waking up sore any longer! :-)
On the way we stopped at an official weigh station to see what our final weight is: truck=10,400 / truck & camper=18,000 / trailer=5,260. For a total of 23,260.
We also stopped to give the truck & camper their first wash!
We spent the night of September 21st at a Harvest Host site at Shawn O’Donnell’s Restaurant. Their Happy Hour burger is quite good!
On September 22nd we made a 500 mile long drive, most of the way to Boise. We spent the night at a Harvest Host at Vintage Drive In Kernel Company (they make popcorn!).
We got to spend a few hours with Aven on September 23rd. She was preparing for a backpacking trip with the Rec Center at Boise State. Greg has a ton of experience and was a big help to Aven.
On September 24, 2026 we made our way to Eldorado Campground, near Unity, Oregon.
On September 25th we went to Bates State Park for two nights. This is a very nice campground with some trails nearby as well. On the 26th we drove to Sumpter, Oregon and visited the Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Area. Very interesting to learn how they mined the area from 1913-1954.
I finally filled in my map of states that we visited. My rule is that we have to spend 1 night (in the camper) in the state to be able to fill it in.
We woke up to a pretty cold morning on September 27th. 33 outside and 41 inside. Time to turn the diesel furnace on! We saw some great views along the way as we made our way to Spool Cart Campground for one night. The site we had was nice and had great access to the Grande Ronde River. That night we got to use our tabletop campfire pit for the first time.
On September 28, 2026 we made our way to Bird Track Springs Campground. Across the street from the campground there was a nice walking path along the Grande Ronde River.
Around this time we started having an issue with our hot water. We would get 10-20 seconds of hot water, then it would be cold. For some crazy reason we both decided to try and take showers under these conditions! Worst shower ever! (haha!) After troubleshooting some on our own, we got ahold of Rugged Mountain and decided to head to their site so they could fix the issue. We stopped at Farewell Bend State Park on September 29th on our way to Emmett, Idaho.
On September 30th, we spent about 6 hours at Rugged Mountain. Jesse and staff were very attentive and tried a lot of things to resolve the issue. We went back the next day for more troubleshooting. Even after a call to the manufacturer, there still wasn’t a resolution. Finally, one thing they tried was swapped out the heat exchanger and all worked great! We were very satisfied with their attention to our issue.
On September 30, 2026 we spent the night a Harvest Host at Whiskey Ranch. They had a farm store with great bread and cinnamon rolls! We spent the evening with Aven and had dinner at Crave Kitchen & Bar.
On October 1, 2026 we spent the night at a Hipcamp in Boise called Wineries, Breweries, Greenbelt Lot.
At this point, our life of living in the camper really started to feel real - not just a vacation. It’s been good so far and we’re looking forward to more!
