Hello Friends. It has been a while since our last post. We hope that you are well and surviving these uncertain times. The first half of 2020 has packed quite a punch with its pandemic, political ridiculousness, economic turmoil, protests, riots, and natural disasters (record heat in the Arctic, historic Saharan dust cloud, and murder hornets, oh my!) Hmm…makes me wonder what the second half of the year will bring. We’ve experience quite a bit of personal loss this year (three family members as of July 3rd), but we are otherwise well and have much to be grateful for. It has certainly been an uncertain feeling time though. Washington State restrictions had us sheltering in place for much of the spring, but we had plenty to keep us busy at home.
Safe and Busy at Home
When we returned home last winter, we had no idea exactly how glad we’d be for the safety and security of our sticks and bricks home after four months of freedom and adventure on the road. Over the spring months, our rural area fared significantly better than most in regards to number of COVID cases and supply shortages. We had the cupboard, refrigerator, and freezer space to stock up on critical items and we had a big house to stretch out and each have our own space.
Washington State was one of the first in the nation to impose COVID-related restrictions. Schools, non-essential businesses, non-essential travel, state lands, fishing, hunting—one by one they shut down and in many ways it felt like the world came to a standstill. Despite the restrictions, little changed for us. We had too much on our “To Do List” to feel impacted. I volunteered for a temporary project at work and spent the spring earning extra money to pay for our RV’s massive power system upgrade, a project that has consumed Jason’s time for three months. We’ve also been busy packing our belongings in preparation of moving out of our sticks and bricks home later this summer—the final step in our transition to full time RVers.
Selway River Backpack
In early April, before the tightest restrictions hit, we took a quick overnight backpack up the Selway River in North Central Idaho’s Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. We found ideal social distancing conditions. Over two days, we only saw a handful of other hikers and we had a huge beach all to ourselves. Nighttime temperatures dropped into the 30s, but the days were ideal with sunny skies and 70 degrees. Sitting on our beach listening to the peaceful sounds of the river and watching osprey and mergansers, it was hard to believe what chaos our world was in.
For more details on this scenic wilderness trail, check out or posts from 2016 and 2019.
Local Wanderings
With our local state and federal lands largely closed to visitation due to COVID restrictions, we had to get creative with fitness. We’re fortunate to have a well-developed network of paved trails along our local rivers and we were able to put boots to the dirt at Hells Gate State Park and Chief Timothy Wildlife Refuge. Still, we were thrilled when state lands opened back up and we were able to wander up nearby Asotin, Lick, and Charley creeks, some of our favorite local spring destinations.
Goodbye to Our Beloved Jake
In May we had to say goodbye to our beloved ragdoll cat, Jake. Jake had been aging faster than his brother for the past few years and had recently lost a lot of weight. We ruled out all causes that could be reasonably controlled through diet and/or medication. By March, I knew his time was short and we just enjoyed the time we had left with him. His loss has left a hole in our hearts, but we are also left with many wonderful memories. Miss you buddy.
Makeover
I recently spent some time giving our Amazon store a makeover. Did you know that by accessing Amazon through the links on our website, you get Amazon’s everyday low pricing and they share a little with us? You don’t even need to purchase one of the linked items—all purchases apply! This helps offset the costs associated with maintaining Evans Outdoor Adventures and is much appreciated!
Our store is now divided into an RV Store (RV and travel related gear) and an Adventure Store (trail related gear) for easier shopping. From our home page, just click on the store links and shop away! All featured items are things we use and recommend to our family and friends.
Condolences on your losses?? I can’t wait to hear how you are liking your new RV? I’m seriously looking at the Northwood Nash 18FM with the OTG package? It will not come out until the 2021 model and is pricey!!! I’ll keep working for awhile!!! I need to go tow a 23 foot trailer and see if it’s manageable with our SUV and skill level.
You two take care and sorry for your losses. I’m not a big shopper sorry or I would order something. Plus our son has amazon prime so if I do order from his account it saves a little bit!!
Patty
Hi Patty- Great to hear from you and thank you for the condolences. I’m glad to hear you are still doing your research and planning for a RV 🙂 I think a smaller Nash like the 18FM would be a great option for your plans. Just a word of caution from our experiences, keep in mind that Northwood and ORV build good solid units and they are not light. Depending on your SUV, that might be too much weight when the unit is fully loaded (add the dry weight and the full CCC weight to know what you’ll really be towing). The dealers will tell you that you can tow it no problem, but they get a lot of people into trouble. And a big question that many people never consider “can I STOP the RV with my tow vehicle”. That is usually the bigger, and unspoken, concern that the dealers will never talk about. We finally take the ORV out for her first big shake down trip next week. Jason finished his massive power system upgrade including full house smart inverter, 3 solar panels on the roof (600W), and 2 lithium batteries. It is impressive and we can’t wait to try it out. We plan on hitting the road in about a month . Par for the course this year, we’ve had more big changes in our lives that will affect how we travel. The changes are good, but they do change the picture a bit. We’re ironing out the details now and then I’ll talk about it in an upcoming post.
Happy Trails!
Lusha
I’m so sorry to hear about Jake. I wondered how your two had been doing.
Please give Indy an ear scritch from me.
Thank you so much Maggie. It is hard to believe Jake has been gone for two years now. Indy will gladly take your scritches. He adjusted to life without Jake very quickly and LOVES being an only child. He is more spoiled than ever and doing quite well for a 15.5 year old cat. I rarely get onto Flickr these days- how is your crew, especially that handsome Winston? I hope you have been well.
Lusha