Back in 2006 while roaming the country there was never a dull moment. First off, I was sick, which added to the challenge of travel. Secondly, everywhere I went was new to me. Every day was an adventure, even if under the weather. And interestingly enough the end of each day was usually the most interesting.
For every stop along my travels I met people who were out enjoying vacations, living on the road full time, or getting from point A to point B. So every night I got to meet new neighbors, and those neighbors shared amazing stories, fun information, and a little bit of who they are with me.
I have to say, meeting new people every day was one of the big pluses to my travels.
Oftentimes when you pull into a campground, RV Park, or RV resort you see something that I find a little sad. You see big rigs pull in, set up, put up their Satellite Dish, and then the people disappear. While I traveled I never did that. I think enjoying where you are, especially if it’s a new place, is a big part of the adventure.
Three Brothers in Victor Idaho
Here, I’ll give you an example. In July of 2006 I pulled into Victor, Idaho. A scary ride over Teton Pass left me pretty shaken, but arriving in Victor I felt at home in a “one stop light” town. Behind my space was another with a huge fifth wheel and several older gentlemen sitting outside under their awning. Eventually we got to talking.
Turns out they were all brothers. The each lived in different parts of the country. And every year they would meet up for a week or two with their RVs for their own little family reunion. And in the evenings you know what they did? Don’t be a wise apple and say go inside to watch on the dish……
They sat outside with recording gear and they jammed some great music together! For guys in their 70’s and 80’s they sure had their music wired!
The first night I sat out with them I brought my little Digital Elph camera and recorded them for a podcast. The next morning I stopped in and gave them my web address. They watched the video of themselves……and then they called their whole family all over the country to watch. One of my highest web traffic days ever.
Well, they enjoyed going “national” so much that we did it again. Only this time they got all “professional” about it instead of the casual playing. After all, they had a huge audience they didn’t know about the first go round.
It was a lot of fun. And even though I was feeling really ill at the time it’s one of my favorite memories from my travels. If I did portrait work then the way I do it now I would certainly have photographed each of these amazing guys.
Maybe on my next trip I’ll get to do that! And if I do, I’ll be sure to blog it all and share the images along the way…….