What's in store for 2024

2023 is in the rearview mirror and what an action packed year it was! Traveling from California throughout the southwest to Texas, continuing east through the south to Florida for the Winter then on up the east coast to Virginia and over the Appalachian Mountains to Kentucky and Indiana for the Alliance RV Rally in June. Onward to a wedding in New England and Canada for the Summer then down to Maryland for our first RVICS project in September. With Fall around the corner we continued south through Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia and back to Florida where have been since the end of October. It was a great year seeing the country and spending some extended time with family and friends along the way.

With a new beginning ahead, Karen and I have a pretty good idea of where and what we want to see and do for the new year. January and most of February will be in Florida. We start another RVICS project on January 8 through January 26. We will be working again with Steve and Joyce Parlette as our team leaders and two other couples who are yet to arrive at the camp. Karen is scheduled for pre-op labs on January 2 in Keystone Heights nearby Melrose and on January 3 we travel to Jacksonville for her "joint replacement class". For those who missed it, Karen is having her right hip replaced on February 16 here in Jacksonville, Florida. Believe it or not, it is an out-patient surgery and I'll bring her home later the same day! According to her doctor, she should be on her feet the same day with a walker and three weeks later no walking aid will be required. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as we take on this new medical adventure together.

Before her surgery we will move the fifth wheel to Bushnell, Florida for 18 days at the Sumter Oaks RV Park and meet up with Sean and Kathy Earley to plan our next big adventure later in the summer. June 2024 through September 2024 we have scheduled an RV trip to Alaska via the Alaska/Canadian Highway (ALCAN). We met Sean and Kathy at the Alliance Rally last year and floated the idea back then. The enthusiasm is still high, so now it's time to do the work of travel routes, timing, reservation planning and miscellaneous other logistics. Foundational to this trip is "the Milepost".

The Milepost is the best-selling travel guide to Alaska and a "quintessential reference" for northern travelers. The Milepost includes mile-by-mile descriptions of more than 15,000 miles of road in Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Alberta. It's 700-plus pages detail accommodations, camping, fishing, fuel stops, restaurants, attractions and services found along the highways and byways of Alaska and western Canada. The guide's Travel Planning section answers frequently-asked questions about travel in the North, including what you need to know about crossing the international border, traveling with pets, the Alaska ferry system, driving conditions, railroads, tours and wildlife. Suggested itineraries are mapped out to help travelers plan their trips.

The 2023 edition of The Milepost® is the 75th edition of this classic annual travel guide, which was first published in 1949 as a 72-page guide to the recently opened Alaska ("Alcan") Highway. While the log of the Alaska Highway is still the foundation of this guide, it has been joined by dozens of connecting routes as well as newer roads, such as the Dalton Highway, the Dempster Highway and the recently opened road to Tuktoyaktuk. All highway logs, which are updated every year by field editors, include a look at the history of the route and often the natural history of the region. The Alaska Highway section includes a brief history of the Alaska Highway that is a poignant reminder of the scale of this project. The Alaska Highway was named an International Historical Engineering landmark in 1996.

Between February and June we have two additional RVICS camp projects scheduled in Alabama (February) and Nebraska (May), multiple family and friends visits along the way and a total solar eclipse in Texas to experience. On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse, known as the "Great North American Eclipse," will trace a narrow path of totality across 13 U.S. states. Heads up Texas relatives: we're giving you fair warning that the cousins are coming your way!

I'm sure it sounds like a very busy agenda for the year but in reality we have plenty of time to accomplish all the traveling and relax in the process. One thing we have learned this past year is how to adjust our plans. The real beauty of this lifestyle is the ability to stay as long or as short a time in any location we visit. We plan on using that method again as we continue our traveling throughout 2024. May God continue to guide us as we purpose to share His love with those we meet up with.

Stay tuned, the adventure continues...