I have been writing for a while now about some various things, and a lot about the work I have been doing around the house. It has been a lot of work but it will pay off. It is so nice that the biggest things I needed to do are pretty much done. I need to finish getting the basement cleaned out and put a few things into storage to finish emptying the house out.

A “For Sale” sign has gone up in the yard; I am selling the house.

I guess that I was so excited about the pending changes but did not want to say anything about why I was writing about all the work being done. I guess it was partially me working through it and all of the excitement of knowing I was finally going to be free from being stuck someplace I really didn’t want to be. Part of it was “Is this really happening?”.

I do not know where I will end up but it will definitely be someplace out west – it is, after all, where the mountains are and where I, and my heart, belong. I am sure I will be much more mobile than I have been the last 3-4 years.

This has been a huge mental boost to finally to be able leave in the first place. In life sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Remember that quote I posted a few posts back?It really goes back to that quote – “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” – Norman Cousins. I felt that greatest loss the whole time I have been here.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine coming back to live in the Midwest for any length of time and I will never do it again. It has never been “home” to me and I never fit in. There was never anything about it that I liked. It really became obvious to me when I left and went to Colorado. Then, going to Washington state made it even more apparent the Midwest would never ever feel “home” for me. I do miss both of those places quite a bit; I have never missed the Midwest.

This whole process has been painfully slow and I honestly didn’t know if it would happen this soon…if ever. It all started back in March of this year when Meghan decided to go back “home” to Montana and said “sell it!”. Not necessary to tell me twice!

I was unfortunately not able to immediately start doing the things that needed to be done to the house for various reasons that I will not get into. I did do a few basic things, but did not do much more than what was necessary to stop further issues with the house.

After some major changes in circumstances happened, I was able to seriously get after it and bust my ass to get everything else out of the way. And it was a lot both physically and mentally.

Those trips to South Dakota I made were really to put things in storage for this move back West but I did not want to mention it quite yet. I was really getting fired up by not only the thought of moving, but also getting back out traveling even if it were just hauling a moving trailer on those two trips. I looked at it as a chance to travel plus I got to do some hiking and that really helped me.

I posted before about how weird (and even uncomfortable) it is going through the personal effects of someone close after they die. After that someone close is gone most of those possessions just do not really matter to other people anymore; it is just some stuff someone used to own. Some things do matter, like pictures, little personal trinkets and such, but most of it is so impersonal it is like the things at a yard sale. Every time I dropped off a load of donations I thought to myself how “my parents belongings are becoming just another faceless discount item at a thrift store.”. That “impersonal” part really struck me hard and it really made me ponder the importance of the relatively few things that I have.

All of the memories to sift through, all of the stuff to toss that is junk or is of no interest to anyone these days, and determining which things I want to keep – it was taxing at times. I have gotten rid of a lot mostly through donations to charities, finding people who wanted stuff (which has been much harder than I ever imagined), and the rest to the landfill.

People have asked me “What’s next?”. I don’t really have any idea other than heading west someplace. There are no firm plans and I am fine with that for now. I do know that I will need to make some decisions about some more permanent things at some point but that can happen as I get some road miles under my wheels and get a chance to think about those things.

I really had not planned on any of this happening this late in the year but it is just how it has turned out. There will definitely be some weather challenges crossing my path this time of year so I will have to adapt.

This means that being back on the road I will be posting more often about more adventures and travel. That is exciting to me after being stuck not being able to live my life as I saw fit for so long. Again, I do not know where the road will take me but I plan to see some things and places I have not seen before. It will all be good and I am so glad to have the opportunity to be back out!

It is not without its challenges. Admittedly, after being stationary for the last four years it is a bit strange (and even a little daunting) to think about hitting the road and living like a nomad again. There are financial considerations like fuel and campsite fees but there are plenty of places to stay cheap or free. I don’t eat out as a rule so grocery bills will not be too different.

One big difference is I now have a nice, new trailer that is pretty comfortable to do it in and easy to use off-grid. My dogs love to travel & hike as much as I do. I do not need to drive somewhere every day so that saves fuel. With the weather being cooler I do not need to worry about having electricity to run the air conditioner and the solar keeps my battery charged up.

Speaking of solar, I will be adding a second battery to help with the power reserves. I might add a 3rd solar panel but not 100% sure about that yet. I have been considering another idea. My truck has 300,00 miles on it now and I have been debating getting rid of my truck & trailer and getting a van. I am still not sure of that yet and am weighing my options.

In closing, I have some HUGE changes coming in the very near future. It is so good to see a light ant the end of this long, dark tunnel.

See you next time.

Shawn