Year three as a camper family was so incredible. It was a year of big adventure, great memories and so much time spent together in such a fun and special way. We learn so much every year and I feel like this year was no exception. While I think we’ll learn something new every single year, I feel like this year was something special when it comes to figuring a lot out.

Our Year Camping at a Glance

DAYS SPENT CAMPING: 54 days – each year it’s gone up, I’m happy to report. It’s safe to say we love our camper life. That’s 15% of the year spent in the camper. I would move in tomorrow – haha.
WHICH CAMPGROUNDS DID WE STAY AT? Buffalo Outdoor Center in Arkansas, Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas, a random campground that I can’t remember in route to South Dakota, Badlands/White River KOA in South Dakota,Ouray Riverside Resort in Colorado Sun Outdoors – Gateway to Arches in Utah, Jellystone Park – Estes Park in Colorado, Journey KOA in Kansas, Echo Bluff State Park in Missouri, and Hog Valley RV Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas
STATES CAMPED IN: Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, and Missouri.

See how this compares to year one and year two.

A Bit About Year Three as a Camper Family

Year three as a camper family just might be my favorite year thus far. The kids were easier, we took longer trips and just really enjoyed different aspects of camping differently this year. We learned a lot, made some DIY upgrades and just fell even more in love with this style of travel.

We Did Fewer Weekend Trips to Free Up Money to Do Longer Trips

We ended up doing far fewer weekend trips this year realizing that the money we spent on essentially only one full day, but paying for two nights away could be far better spent on a longer trip elsewhere. So, in lieu of almost every weekend out of town, we still did a few of those, but we did a South Dakota Trip and a longer Colorado and Utah Trip – an extended summer trip that we’re now annually calling Nomad Summer. We learned that getting to a destination for at least a week meant that we could dig in so much deeper to a region and we had richer, more unique experiences a little further away instead of repeating a lot of our same day trips.

Speaking of Longer Trips, We Did Our Longest Trip to Date…

This summer we started what Matt endearingly named, Nomad Summer. This June, we spent 24 days in Colorado and Utah. We hiked, explored, learned, laughed, and enjoyed some very close family time in approximately 450 square feet. All-in-all, it went extremely well! We saw so many amazing and new things and got some organizational accomplished that we learned needed to do. We loved having little basecamps for a week+ at a time and exploring from there.

Matt Did His First Week of Working Remotely From the Camper

During Nomad Summer Matt did his first week working remotely from the camper, and it went surprisingly well! We opted for Moab as the destination for remote work because I’m so comfortable there. I knew I could have the kids out of the camper a fair amount with confidence and Matt wouldn’t feel like he was missing out on too much. Matt got our camper setup with our Starlink satellite and we had incredible Wifi! I feel so inspired and excited that we will be able to do this even more!

Matt Built Us a Badass Shoe Rack / Storage Shelf

We had been talking about how we were tired of having a pile of shoes in front of our door, but we weren’t finding what we wanted, so Matt built us a a shoe rack and while we were measuring it out inside, I came up with the idea of having an enclosed edge up top so we could store stuff on top of it that wouldn’t slide off while traveling. Matt got it painted and installed literally right before our trip and it’s absolutely been a game-changer.

We Found So Many Ways to Organize Our Lives on the Road

Living life on the road for over three weeks straight in 450 square feet meant that we needed to figure out things to make our lives run as smoothly as possible. One thing was that shoe rack I mentioned above. Also, we learned that fewer, more intentional toys and crafting things made the kids have more focused play and fewer fights. We brought a lot of books, but have zero regrets about that.

I made a space in my closet for my hobbies(books, journaling stuff and crochet stuff), we cleaned up every single night before Matt and I went to bed and tried to clean up immediately after meals. We figured out how to do laundry more efficiently and learned what we packed too much of and too little of. It was just a really great year of learning for longer-term travel.

We Learned to Enjoy Relaxing Camping Trips

This summer, our last two camping trips were simple, easy camping trips that we didn’t pack with things to do. The first was in Arkansas with my parents. We stayed at a KOA that had putt-putt, a pool, a lake view and a little pizza place right across the street. We just chilled, made campfires and spent time together as a family. It was absolutely lovely. The next weekend we had a similar, but slightly busier camping weekend in Fayetteville but still very, very relaxed. We learned to love the relaxation and getaway-ness of it all. While it’s not what I want to do incredibly often, I want to have at least one per year!

What’s Coming in Year Four of Camper Life?

We’re hoping for the longest trip to-date. We’re going to be in Colorado and Utah (yes, those two states again) for 38 days straight! I genuinely love our extended travel camper life. I love the closeness, and the time on the road. I love all the adventures and even the simpleness of daily living. It feels good to love something so much that we’re adding so much time with ease and confidence.

We have a couple other week-long trips in the books and we feel so lucky that we both have the opportunity and the desire to jump into this lifestyle as much as we do and to give this time and this lifestyle to our kids. We’ve seen and done so much already, and I cannot wait to see what year four as a camper family brings us and I hope you come along for the ride!

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