(early-March to early-May, 2020) Wow! When we started our journey we never would have imagined RVing during a global pandemic. What a difference a few weeks, let alone a few months, can make.

As of the 1st of March we were still living our “normal” RV life – wrapping up another winter in Southern California, busy planning our upcoming travel season, making campground reservations, and scheduling the last of our annual maintenance tasks. We were aware of the spreading COVID-19 epidemic, but it still seemed distant and not of immediate concern. How quaintly naive that seems, now.

Several weeks later, all of that had changed and we were making very different plans. By April 4th, we were back in rural Iowa and sheltering in place for the long-haul. Enough changes to make our heads spin and ask, “What just happened?”.

Blossoming of a Pandemic

Sometime during the first few weeks in March, it became clear that containment of the Coronavirus COVID-19 had failed and that a full-blown global pandemic was underway. Europe was being hit hard and hot spots were blooming in the US. We were suddenly facing a whirlwind of change – social distancing, “shelter-in-place” orders, quarantines, travel restrictions, empty shelves in grocery stores, and shortages of toilet paper (What’s up with that?!?).

By following the Wheeling It (WheelingIt.us) blog by Nina and Paul, two RVers who recently moved to Europe, we felt we were getting a preview and early warning of what was in store for RVers in the United States. However, we were not prepared for the rapidity of change nor the implications for our chosen lifestyle.

Should We Stay or Should We Go Now?

By mid-March, the epidemic had crossed the threshold to global pandemic status. We were seeing a flurry of campground closures, both locally and around the nation. California was issuing shelter-in-place orders. Panic buying had set in and local grocery stores were sporting many empty shelves.

Our preferred winter season campground, Silent Valley Club, was still open, but there was much uncertainty as to whether this private RV park would remain open in the face of escalating county- and state-level campground closure orders. Some owner members were also advocating for the campground to close. Much to our immediate relief, County of Riverside recognized campgrounds as essential services for providing shelter and did not issue a blanket closure order.

We were, however, still facing a dilemma as to where to shelter for the duration. Looking ahead, I expected this crisis to take many months to resolve. Without purchasing an additional membership at Silent Valley, we would not have time to stay more than another two months. We were also obligated to leave the park for ten-days after each thirty-day stay. For the ten-days out we were right back to the dilemma of finding a local park which was still open and had a space for us – all while exposing us to new environments and chance of exposure.

We were also concerned over difficulties in getting basic supplies from over-shopped local stores – empty shelves, few or overwhelmed curb-side shopping options, and poor options for food delivery services to campgrounds. These issues forced more frequent trips or visits to multiple stores to find necessities – all while increasing risk of exposure.

These, and other concerns, prompted us to ask: Is moving away from such a major population area our best choice for the long-term?

Evaluating Options

By March 21 we had decided that staying in Southern California was increasingly untenable for us. Taking to heart the advice from Wheeling It, “Decide Where You Wanna Be, and Go There Now”, we decided we would be bugging out as quickly as possible. But where to go?

We considered and eliminated many choices, leaving two strong contenders: 1) go to Texas where we have our domicile and healthcare; or 2) go to rural Iowa to stay near family, at least through the summer.

Bugging Out – Looking for a Safe Landing

We spent about a week evaluating our choices, making last minute preparations for travel, and plotted a route as far as Tucumcari, New Mexico. Tucumcari was our roughly equidistant go/no-go decision point for heading to either destination in Iowa or Texas.

I increasingly felt we may have waited too long to leave the SoCal area. It seemed that various state-wide or even nation-wide travel restrictions were imminent. We felt that if worst came to worst and restrictions on non-essential travel descended while we were on the road, we should still be able to travel “home” to Texas.

We booked reservations ahead at KOA campgrounds. The KOAs seemed more likely to remain open and also seemed to be taking seriously the pandemic by taking steps to protect both staff and guests. (We found this to be the case – with one notable exception.)

We left SoCal on March 28th and set a grueling pace (at least for us) – one night stays at most campgrounds and two nights at Tucumcari. Along the way we took great care to social distance ourselves, use protective gloves, eye protection, and homemade masks in public – and lots of hand sanitizer!

Decision Made – Onward to Iowa

At Tucumcari we took a short breather, reevaluated our plans, and opted for going on to Iowa. The next segment of the trip also went well, but we ran into late season cold and hard freeze conditions throughout Kansas.

On April 4th we checked into a small rural campground near my family at New Virginia, Iowa, with plans to self-isolate for two weeks. On April 6th, the Iowa governor announced statewide closures of all public and private campgrounds, among many other businesses and venues. Yikes!

The Iowa campground closures were not an unexpected development, but dismaying nonetheless. (We did have contingency plans for moving to family-owned property.) Fortunately by evening the vaguely worded directive had been clarified – private campgrounds were deemed essential services that could remain open for long-term stays of self-contained rigs having existing reservations. The campground manager gave us the good news and welcomed us to stay as long as we required. (Thanks so much, Rob!) Whew! We had just found a safe harbor.

Sheltering at “Home” – Feeling Frozen in Place

Since landing in Iowa we have continued to shelter-in-place. Our period of two week self-isolation went well and we remain healthy. We even had a late season cold snap and snow storm just a few days after our arrival. Although the snow lasted less than a day, it certainly added to the feeling of being frozen in place!

We continue to limit local travel to (socially distanced) visits with family, essential supply runs, and occasional long drives on country roads or walks in local forests and parks. We wear protective gear and social distance whenever in public and utilize the curb-side pickup services offered by many local stores. (Excellent services!)

Hoping for the Best – Planning for a Long Haul

Now that we have settled at camp in Iowa, we are trying to stay positive and take developments one day at a time. We enjoy being able to visit and help out with my sister, brother-in-law, and mother at their place nearby in New Virginia. During downtime at camp we keep busy with reading and hobbies. I’m also staying busy by catching up on the blog, focusing on art work, and getting out into the Iowa countryside for some photography.

Looking ahead, we anticipate staying in Iowa until Fall – most likely early-October – at which point we will need to find a place to stay for the winter. Depending on developments, we may overwinter in California or Texas.

Looking much further down the road we are hoping for the best, but planning for a very long haul – possibly years – before things get back to “normal”. Given so much uncertainty about the future, we just plan on continuing day by day; staying safe, healthy, and informed; making sure we remain flexible and have contingency plans – including an exit strategy if we determine our RV lifestyle is no longer viable. We hope it does not come to that!

This Too Shall Pass…

That’s all for now – I’ll leave you with a few photos of Iowa in the springtime and some Coronavirus-related resources for RVers. Stay safe – stay healthy – stay positive – all of this will eventually pass.

COVID-19 Resources for RV-ers

Now is an especially critical time to stay well informed – to seek out credible fact-checked journalism; listen to the health care and medical experts, not the oft self-interested politicians; seek science- and evidence-based information and solutions; and avoid the misinformation and conspiracy theories so often circulated on social media.

For RV-related Coronavirus information I highly recommend the extensive resources available on the Escapees Club website:

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Escapees RV Club

Map

New Virginia, Iowa

Topeka / Capital City KOA Journey, Topeka, Kansas

Dodge City KOA, Dodge City, Kansas

Tucumcari KOA Journey, Tucumcari, New Mexico

Albuquerque KOA Journey, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Holbrook / Petrified Forest KOA Journey, Holbrook, Arizona

Kingman KOA Journey, Kingman, Arizona

Banning Stagecoach KOA, Banning, California