A 1 Year Anniversary and Another Trip To The ER

April 19 was the anniversary of our first year of full time camping.  The time goes so fast and the experiences are many. Starting from Idaho Falls we traveled through the following states, in order; Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, California and Arizona.  We pulled the camper 5654 miles and drove an additional 9691 miles on side trips.   We have camped in 9 State Parks/State Recreation Areas, 6 County Parks, 1 City Park and 15 private campgrounds.  We have spent 19 nights boondocking, all the other stops have had electric hookups at a minimum.  Our longest stay in a single place was 72 days in Yuma, AZ.

Full time RV Lifestyle expenses included:

Camping Fees – $6,787

RV Upgrades and Service – $4,582

Truck Service – $664

Truck Fuel When Pulling – $1,972

Truck Insurance – $970

RV Insurance – $436

Satellite TV and Radio – $1,248

Total Expenses = $16,659

That is an overall monthly average of $1,388 a month for full time RV living expenses.  Our monthly expenses on our stick house including mortgage, taxes, utilities and insurance was about $1,600 a month.  So between the choice of $1,600 a month costs for sitting in a recliner watching TV and $1,388 a month for traveling all around the western US, seeing many beautiful areas and meeting many wonderful people, we think we made the right choice.  I don’t include food, clothing and entertainment in these numbers because those costs would be close to the same in either lifestyle.

Overall it has been a good year.  We have visited many family and friends we haven’t seen for year.  We enjoyed the Oregon Coast (until the rain drove us southward), spent the holidays in So. Cal. with our kids and grandkids and made a lot of new friends from the US and Canada during our time in Yuma.

The downside of the last year all centers around medical issues.  Rosie spent time in the ER and the hospital in Idaho Falls in September after falling of the steps of a friends RV and breaking 6 ribs and cracking 2 vertebrae.  I spent time in the ER and the hospital in Yuma after suffering Atrial Fibrillation.  I spent most of yesterday in the ER in Winslow, AZ when my A-Fib flared up.  A small Pulmonary Edema and a Magnesium shortage were also found.  My heart meds have been adjusted and new prescriptions have been added for the Pulmonary issue.  Rosie says “getting old is not for sissies”.  There is something to that  

I do have to give out a big hip, hip, hurrah to Medicare.  Our health insurance costs including the Medicare deduction from Social Security and our supplemental plans with AARP (United Health Care) is $660 a month.  We have not been billed for a single dime for any of our medical emergency expenses or any of our follow up care.  They did send me a copy of my hospital bill.  It was over $17,000.  It is quite probable that our total medical expense in the last 12 months have exceeded $50,000.  If we did not have Medicare,and the supplemental coverage, we would be financially destitute just from medical expenses over the last 12 months.

We are currently in Holbrook, AZ headed for Albuquerque, NM next week where we will spend a month.  I have a lot of work assignments there and we have appointments with a Cardiologist and an Endocrinologist on the 29th.  After that month is over, we are headed for a month in Denver.

Thanks for stopping by.