Welcome back folks!
We're finally caught up on posting these articles with the month we're finishing up - woohoo! Month seven in the books! We're really having a grand time traveling around and working remotely and this month we've discussed a few times that we're fortunate enough to be able to have these experiences while we're young and able.
In January, most of our time was spent in Texas, and a lot of that time was spent visiting with old friends (Colton used to live in Dallas for 6+ years)... plus eating at a few REAL brisket places! Outside of visiting with friends in Texas, we also branched out and went to quite a few places that were recommended to us and/or had been on our list to check out for some time and we just hadn't gotten around to it (Alamo, Riverwalk, some places in Austin). In addition to the classics, we drove quite a few hours to Big Bend National Park... funny story, when I (Colton) lived in Dallas I had numerous friends mention they were going to Big Bend and never took them up on going with because I didn't know Texas had a National Park named that... and figured they were talking about Bend, OR, in which he'd respond to his friends saying "Oh nice, love that area - some really great breweries there!"... Things all make sense now 🤣. There are zero breweries at Big Bend.
After hiking around 26 miles in one weekend, we took the scenic drive along the Rio Grande from Lajitas to Presidio (worth the drive) and stopped off for some nachos and beer in Marfa - which ended up turning into an experience itself. While sitting down in this really Texas, but vibey, bar... we sit down next to what seemed like an old, drunk rancher with a jealously-causing-mustache, a bum eye, a cigarette in hand, and a Lone Star beer in the other hand. Colton went to the restroom and the old man made himself known to Olivia: 'How's it going darlin'?'. Colton gets back from the restroom and sits back down, and per usual he starts up a conversation with the old man (Ty) which ends up turning into an hour-long conversation over some nachos, beers, and sotol. Much of the discussion was around technology and AI and the impact on ranchers and soil. After some time, we had to leave and said our thanks and goodbyes and soon after on the road we looked him up because he just had that stature about him that was different. We quickly learned that he is one of the stars in the movie Killers of the Flower Moon (we ended up watching it for the first time that night). He acted alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and some other big name movie stars. Crazy, he was so normal (for a Texan Rancher)!
Now... off that rant, we drove up to Guadelupe Mountains National Park and checked out the scenic drive before getting in a quick 2-hour lunch exploration in the Carlsbad Caverns. Highly recommend, it was gorgeous inside (and out)! Next, we debated if we wanted to head to El Paso, TX before going to White Sands National Park, or if we continue north and go to White Sands National Park straightaway. We ended up deciding to go to El Paso, we wanted some food, and this was a great opportunity to get some authentic grub.
All in all, on our route we ended up driving 3,219.6 miles (van only) in a span of 31 nights! We hit up a total of 4 states (4 of which we spent a night in) and 20 different cities. This was a cheap month in terms of stay costs as we spent $47 - it's crazy to think that a public parking lot in Fort Worth, TX is just as expensive as a night in a campground in a national park. We'll keep providing insights into the places we ended up sleeping, as well as any out-of-pocket expenses for overnight stays.
We mentioned that we've been recording our places we've slept, and we've continued to do so. Here is the breakdown of the nights that we've stayed into categories:
Public parking lots - think parking lots by piers, rest stops, or $ per hour lots
Campgrounds
Business parking lots - Walmart, Cabela's, Cracker Barrel, etc.
Family and friends driveways
Harvest Hosts - a program that offers overnight stays at over 4600+ locations (including farms, wineries, museums, and more)
Street parking - city street parking, or side streets in some areas
Hotel
In the below graph, you can see a full breakdown of overnight stays in the month of January; the first number is the total number of nights stayed for that category, followed by the category percentage based on the total nights in for this month. As you can see, 69% (12 out of 31) of our nights were spent in Business Parking Lots. Not the most glamorous places to stay, but it they worked well to get us to the places we needed to get to, especially while we were visiting family and national parks!
Overnight Categories
Curious on the specifics of where we have stayed?
The below table provides a dated view into this month of including where we stayed, as well as any expenses.
Night #: Date ($ cost) | Location (linked address) | Overnight Category |
|---|---|---|
🌙 176: Jan. 1st - $0 | 🏢 Cracker Barrel | |
🌙 177: Jan. 2nd - $0 | 🏢 Cracker Barrel | |
🌙 178: Jan. 3rd - $0 | 🏙️ Street Parking | |
🌙 179: Jan. 4th - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 180: Jan. 5th - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 181: Jan. 6th - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 182: Jan. 7th - $0 | 🏙️ Street Parking | |
🌙 183: Jan. 8th - $0 | 🏢 Lowes | |
🌙 184: Jan. 9th - $0 | 🏢 Lowes | |
🌙 185: Jan. 10th - $0 | 🏙️ Street Parking | |
🌙 186: Jan. 11th - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 187: Jan. 12th - $15 | 🅿️ Public parking lot | |
🌙 188: Jan. 13th - $0 | 🏢 Cracker Barrel | |
🌙 189: Jan. 14th - $0 | 🏢 Marriott | |
🌙 190: Jan. 15th - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 191: Jan. 16th - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 192: Jan. 17th - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 193: Jan. 18th - $0 | 🏙️ Street Parking | |
🌙 194: Jan. 19th - $0 | 🏠 Family | |
🌙 195: Jan. 20th - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 196: Jan. 21st - $0 | 🏢 Bass Pro Shops | |
🌙 197: Jan. 22nd - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 198: Jan. 23rd - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 199: Jan. 24th - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 200: Jan. 25th - $0 | 🏙️ Street Parking | |
🌙 201: Jan. 26th - $16 | 🏕️ Campground | |
🌙 202: Jan. 27th - $16 | 🏕️ Campground | |
🌙 203: Jan. 28th - $0 | 🅿️ Public parking lot | |
🌙 204: Jan. 29th - $0 | 🏢 Walmart | |
🌙 205: Jan. 30th - $0 | 🏢 Albertsons | |
🌙 206: Jan. 31st - $0 | 🏢 Walmart |
If you've made it this far into the post, love you 🫶🫶. For now, we're logging off - time for another little adventure!
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