When it comes to travel, I’m a planner. I spend months researching destinations and accommodations, secure reservations far in advance, and generally am most relaxed when sticking to an itinerary. In the immortal words of Colonel “Hannibal” Smith, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

So this trip has pushed me wayyyyy outside my comfort zone. It started on day one with the “check engine” light, which forced us to spend several hours in a Yuba City repair shop and arrive at our first campsite much later than planned. At Glacier, Going-to-the-Sun Road (which I’ve wanted to see since I was 10 years old and studying a map of national parks) was closed. Before we could get to Yellowstone, we spent some more quality time at an auto repair shop. And then the plan really came apart between Zora’s stomach problems and the crazy heat covering most of the Southwest.

But, in a strange way, all my planning before the trip actually prepared me quite well to handle the unplanned during the trip. Most of the RV bloggers I read (see here, here, and here) relish the ability to travel wherever the wind blows with very little advance planning. So tossing our itinerary out the window (metaphorically–we’d never litter!) has actually made me feel like a more authentic member of the tribe.

Sure, I’m bummed about not making it to Moab, Bryce Canyon, and the Extraterrestrial Highway. But those places will always be on the “next-time” list, and because we didn’t go there, we did make some great discoveries like the EBR-I Atomic Museum, Craters of the Moon, and the sweet KOA in Arco, ID, as well as the campsite we’re in right now: South Fork Recreation Area outside of Elko, NV.

Instead of spending $50/night at an RV park in 110+ degree heat at Bryce, we spent $14 for a gorgeous, lakeside campsite here. Instead of having to keep Zora on the paved roads in the national park, she’s been able to run free in the desert landscape behind our site. There were no electric hookups to run the air conditioner, but we didn’t need electricity because it was cool enough to sleep with the windows open.

So now what? We’re headed to a campground in Coleville, CA, for the last three nights of our trip. From there, we should be able to visit Yosemite, or Lake Tahoe, or the ghost town at Bodie… Or not. We can do whatever we want, including doing nothing at all, because that freedom is part of what makes traveling like this so special. I get that now.