The couple has always loved traveling together, and frequently talk about retiring someday to spend at least half the year in Costa Rica.
But with a pandemic raging and international travel a harrowing prospect they, like many Americans, looked to domestic travel. So they purchased a recreational vehicle and hit the open road, but not in a conventional way.
“We did not want to stay at RV parks or crowded campgrounds. Anywhere where there’s a bunch of people,” Dave said. “That led us to exploring different styles of off-road RVs designed to go anywhere your truck can go.”
They had been doing their research for months, even years, before the COVID-19 pandemic and knew what they wanted. They found that Australian companies make the best off-road travel trailers, Dave said, but the waiting lists are long for one of those brand new. They were looking at a six-month wait for a new trailer, at least.
So when Val came across a gently-used Black Series HQ15 Caravan trailer for sale in Illinois, they jumped at the opportunity.
A retired Illinois state trooper put the 15-foot camp trailer for sale because he and his wife decided it was too small for them and their grandkids. They had only used it three times, Val said. So they put down a deposit and prepared to hit the road.
The Black Series HQ15 is a 15- foot rugged yet luxurious travel trailer with custom designed and engineered trailing arms underneath that allows each wheel to move independently. Coupled with the custom suspension and high clearance, it can cope with some pretty rough off-road terrain.
It has both an interior and exterior kitchen, a queen-sized bed as well as a convertible dining table bed, and a full-sized dry bathroom. Full-sized bathrooms in travel trailers are hard to come by.
“It’s like the coolest thing we’ve ever owned in our life,” Dave said.
The whole trip took 33 days, starting on Oct. 12, but they made it from Cashmere to Pocahontas, Illinois, in just four. The route back home would be more circuitous, however.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
Nita Paine
‘I love that we provide an outlet to people to express themselves, to find out who they are’
Looking at life from a different angle now
Bout with cancer, plus pandemic made couple wonder: Why wait to really live?
Keeping family ties strong
Twelve months of COVID makes for a long year away from kids and grandkids
It's a kick to be a zebra — or a canary
When making the call is your calling
Saved family letters tell of war horrors, peacetime hopes and dreams
Loving letters from long ago
Varied Thrush: Making a bold statement
Globally, the thrush family contains 169 viable species; three other thrush species are now extinct.
Clean shots
For real estate photographer, the art is in the uncluttered details
Visiting the glory years of our parents
Obituaries – They’re really NOT for the dead
Going deep with Dan Feil
Warm crystal clear water, incredible fish, spectacular scenery, why not jump off a boat in the tropics?
Bringing a glow to the night
Who says outside lights are just for Christmas time? Drivers on Maple Street in Wenatchee will now see lights year-round.
Valeriese DIVORCE FROM HELL!
SHE WAS BLINDSIDED!
From the HEART with Candace Cameron Bure
In my column as your Chief Spiritual Officer, I share a meaningful verse that lifts my spirits and guides me in the right direction. I hope it does the same for you!
Refineries Are the Real Problem
Biden is facing two dilemmas: A world short on oil and a nation short on refineries
LIGHT YOUR PATH
BUILD BOLLARD LIGHTS TO CREATE A STYLISH GLOW
PATRICK GIBBONS GUESTS ON GH
Patrick Gibbons, who played Sam Manning on ONE LIFE TO LIVE from 2010-12 and again on the show’s 2013 Internet reboot, is back on the GH scene this week as Wyatt, the scout extraordinaire who previously popped up in story in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
NETFLIX TO ITS TECHIES: SHUT UP
Tech workers at Netflix thought the company would always value their feedback. How naïve.
GH: VICTOR CONFRONTS ANNA
Victor's scheme to force Valentin to do his bidding hits a couple of snags - one in the form of Anna, the other from Valentin himself.
VALERIE BERTINELLI STARTING OVER at 62
THE NEWLY DIVORCED STAR OF VALERIE'S HOME COOKING HAS NO REGRETS ABOUT CHANGING UP HER LIFE
WILL SMITH: 'MY WHOLE LIFE IS GETTING DESTROYED'
A NEWLY RELEASED INTERVIEW REVEALS WILL SMITH IMAGINED HIS LIFE GOING SOUTH BEFORE IT DID!
JOSH KELLY ON JOINING GH
late-breaking news