Quick Update - 128 Days In

I was reminded the other day that we haven't been posting as often anymore, so I thought I would give a quick update and help Jen out by stalling a bit. She is supposed to be writing the next blog, but has been busy with homeschooling and making some great meals! Even with an RV oven and fridge/freezer of this size.

Have I mentioned she has gotten pretty good at getting everything to fit in there too!

It has been 128 days since we left home.

We have driven 10,466 miles in the truck but only towed the trailer for 5,499 miles of that. During that time, we averaged 13 mpg at an average price of $3.13. Of course, California was the highest at $4.36/gal average, and Idaho was the lowest at $2.79/gal. Although, I think Texas will beat out Idaho very soon. I have seen it as low as $2.55/gal in Texas so far.

Those of you that know me, know that I am an avid budgeter, and, of course, I have kept track of everything we spent our money on. I had also forecasted out how much I thought we would spend each month. So far we have spent equal or less than what I thought we would on groceries, entertainment, camp fees, diesel, and eating out. I didn't realize how much we would spend on truck and trailer maintenance, but we did have an emergency fund to back that up, thankfully. Also, I think/hope all the large maintenance items are done. As long as we continue on this path, we should make it until August with no issues.

Some unexpected maintenance included me hitting the curb with the front tire while doing a U-turn at faster than needed speeds (Doh!, new tire cost $250+). Also, we noticed while looking at the maintenance schedule that the front and rear differential and transfer fluids were supposed to be replaced 30,000 miles ago (Another doh!). Lastly, all the "what is this going to cost me" stuff on the trailer, plus tools, parts, and supplies to re-pack the trailer wheel bearings.

If you wonder how we are doing this trip, look no further. We started using a finance software program back in 2010 before they even had an app, and you still "installed" it on your computer. It is called "You Need A Budget" or YNAB for short. Between YNAB and Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps, we learned to live well below our means for a long time.

FYI, if you are interested in the budgeting app/software we use, here is the link to use. If you sign up with this link, we both get a month free. 

We have spent a bit of time hiking too but not many long ones yet... We have hiked 50 times for a total of 165.5 miles and averaged 3.31 miles per hike. Tomorrow, we are going on our longest and largest elevation change hike of the trip so far, and it was all Lila's idea. I will tell you about that after we accomplish it.

We have gone to and earned badges at:

13 National Parks and are working on 2 more right now

8 National Monuments

3 National Historic Parks

1 National Historic Trail

1 National Preserve

1 National Recreation Area

1 Bureau of Land Management Area

4 State Parks

For a total of 32 badges with 2 in the works.

Lastly, one mouse in and out of the trailer.

I can't think of any other interesting facts about our trip, but if you are wondering about anything else, let me know, and I will look it up and report back.

Oh, one more thing, Bob has not gotten any better, and I got tired of mentioning it. We have tried many different options, but no luck. 😞