Nomad

Profile

no·mad /ˈnōˌmad/ - a person who does not stay long in the same place; a wanderer.

I don't have a homestate.

See, you have to live somewhere for long enough to have a state you consider home. And I have not lived any one place long enough to be able to claim that state as my home state.

I was born in North Dakota, but only lived there a couple years, and I was a baby so remember nothing of it. Next I lived in Florida for about a year, and I remember nothing from that either. We moved to Minnesota next, and this is where I start remembering my life and surroundings. I only attended Kindergarten in Minnesota, however, as I then moved to Wyoming where I lived for another two years before moving back to Minnesota.

For 7 years I lived in Minnesota before moving to Idaho. I graduated highschool in the potato state, but two years later moved to England. England was a much different experience than America, but I was glad to speak the same language as the locals at least. I lived in England for 4 years before moving to Missouri. From Missouri I moved to Texas, and then Kansas, and then I decided to get an RV and live in that traveling around the United States, doing random odd jobs here and there to make my way.

First I wanted to get some traveling out of the way. I went to every state west of the Mississippi, boondocking along the way. For those not familiar with boondocking, it's when you camp in remote wilderness locations for free. You can stay in one spot for up to two weeks before you are no longer allowed to camp anywhere within 50 miles of that spot. So I would find a spot in the wilds, park my RV and stay there for two weeks before driving into town so I could dump my waste tank, and refill fresh water, as well as go grocery shopping for any supplies I might need over the next two weeks. And then I would travel at least 50 miles or more and find another free spot to boondock in.

In a matter of 6 months I had 'lived in' Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, and New Mexico. There, during the winter, I worked to help set up a Tiny Home Community near Albuquerque. I stayed there for 4 months before hitting the road again. This time in the matter of a month, I lived in Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and then South Dakota. In South Dakota I worked as a saloon girl at a tourist attraction called 1880 Town for 6 months. But with winter approaching I wanted to head south to warmer climates.

I traveled through Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and down into Florida where I worked on a Bison Ranch and greenery farm. I absolutely loved working in the outdoors and would have loved to have stayed longer. But I had to go back north for the summer. I traveled through Alabama, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and back up to Minnesota where I lived for about 4 months before moving to South Dakota.

I've been in South Dakota for about 2 years now, and have survived two harsh winters in my RV that I wasn't even sure I'd get through. Who knows how much longer I'll be staying here, or where I will go next.

Travel Tips

• Organize your travel around passions instead of destinations.An itinerary based on obscure cheeses, or naval history, or dinosaur digs, or jazz joints will lead to far more adventures, and memorable times than a grand tour of famous places. It doesn’t even have to be your passions; it could be a friend’s, family member’s, or even one you’ve read about. The point is to get away from the expected into the unexpected.

• Google maps will give you very detailed and reliable directions for taking public transit, including where to make transfers in most cities.

• The most significant criteria to use when selecting travel companions is: do they complain or not, even when complaints are justified? No complaining! Complaints are for the debriefing afterwards when travel is over.

• Go to a cemetery. Look for sacred places. People live authentically there. Don’t just visit the markets, but also go to small workshops, hardware stores and pharmacies – places with easy access to local practices. See how it’s different and the same all at once.

• Sketchy travel plans and travel to sketchy places are ok. Take a chance. If things fall apart, your vacation has just turned into an adventure. Perfection is for watches. Trips should be imperfect. There are no stories if nothing goes amiss.

• Getting an inside tour is the ultimate travel treat. How about a factory tour, a visit to an Amish home, or backstage at an opera? When I travel for business I will sometimes ask for inside access to an uncommon place in lieu of a speaking fee. You are aiming for experiences that simple money can’t buy. Good ones will take planning ahead.

• It is always colder at night than you think it should be, especially in the tropics. Pack a layer no matter what.

• Focus on value over deals. It doesn’t make sense to book a $12 bed/person at a hostel in Europe if you’re traveling with a companion and can get an entire Airbnb for $30. For a few more dollars more, you have an entire apartment with an area to cook, guaranteed good night's sleep, and a secure location for your belongings.

• Err on the side of kindness. When you leave your home turf, rules governing how to interact with strangers, personal space, and even how to form a line change drastically. Somewhere along the line you are going to deal with a rude person or two. Breathe deep, show some patience, and most importantly, don’t let one or two people affect your perspective of those people or that place.

• Planning your itinerary: You want to see it all and you are likely to never return, so the temptation is to pile it on, maximize your visit. Since we are in X, and Y and Z are so close, we might as well see Y and Z….. Paradoxically when you are traveling you should minimize the amount of time you spend in transit—once you arrive. The hard-to-accept truth is that it is far better to spend more time in a few places than a little time in a bunch of places.

• The best way to never leave anything behind in a hotel is to keep all your sundries together in one visible place. If you must put something away in a drawer or closet, put lots of things there. If you must put a charger somewhere hidden, put several other items next to it, because you will more likely remember to pack up multiple items rather than one. Best of all, keep them visible and keep them together.

• The rate you go is not determined by how fast you walk, bike or drive, but by how long your breaks are. Slow down. Take lots of breaks. The most memorable moments—conversations with amazing strangers, an invite inside, a hidden artwork—will usually happen when you are not moving.

• The best souvenirs from a trip are your memories of the trip so find a way to memorialize them; keep a journal, send updates to a friend, take a sketchbook, post some observations, make a photo book.

• When asking someone for a restaurant recommendation, don’t ask them where is a good place you should eat; ask them where they eat. Where did they eat the last time they ate out?