What's New 2005

NOVEMBER 17, 2005

An Evolution 

With no updates lately, I expect many of our faithful readers have gone elsewhere. We are truly sorry our web pages have not been maintained better in the previous six months. It is our intent at this point to do a quarterly update.  

Allow me to philosophize here for a moment. As events have evolved recently, we are likewise evolving in what we will be doing in the next several years as it relates to RVing. Our dreams of living a carefree lifestyle of moving down America’s highways at whim, working our way along, didn’t work out quite as we had envisioned. With a daughter in college to support, the cost of fuel rising sky high, no health insurance because it was too costly to maintain on our own, and watching our savings account dwindle rapidly because working minimum wage jobs doesn’t allow one to save money, we made the decision to re-enter the workforce at our career type jobs. We will likely continue in this mode for the foreseeable future.  

We really don’t know what that will bode for our fulltiming future. We have the joy of living in the RV, but the frustration of being pinned to one spot for a year at a time. We’ve missed the easy and frequent access we previously had to the Oregon coast so have made the determination that we want to look soon for a retirement piece of property upon which to build sometime in the future. We can picture ourselves eventually trading spaces winter to summer between Arizona and the Pacific Northwest. 

Our desire to own things has grown beyond what the fulltime lifestyle will allow. We feel it’s important to have a house when we’re old and can no longer comfortably drive the rig. Along with the house, Marc wants a shop, for his tools. We both want to live by the sea and enjoy its bounty, its beauty, and its relaxation. Another new priority is to buy a cruiser type boat large enough that we can live aboard it for a week or two at a time as we island hop the Pacific Northwest, crabbing, shrimping, and fishing as we go. Those are some of our favorite activities and we’re beginning to wonder why should we miss out on them?

We’re in no hurry for another house right now, but feel it is a goal we are starting to work towards as we stay employed with good income. We’re still fulltimers at the moment, but I see us working towards becoming part timers, which will give us the flexibility to do both or all--be land based, be sea based, or be RV based. You’ll just have to stay tuned for the outcome.

June 22, 2005 

January 16, 2005—An Explanation for the Interruption of Our Lifestyle 

We have had many other RVers and those who follow our travels comment that we seem to be settling down and ending our fulltime travels so I thought an explanation of where we are in our lives at this point might be in order.

Don’t give up heart! The Duskes never intend to give up fulltime RV living; we’re just taking a hiatus for awhile. Initially we thought we would stay put in Yuma long enough to develop this lot and build our small casita. Since our arrival however, several things have interfered with our original plans. 

Number one has been the pressing priority to return to work at jobs that make more than just minimum wage. We still have a daughter in college and we also plan to do everything with our building process in cash so when it’s finally done, we’re the owners, not the bank.  

Since the Yuma area generally is a low wage area, I made the decision after studying the incredible real estate market here to return to real estate. I studied for and obtained an Arizona license and was very fortunate to be hired by one of the busiest offices in the area, GMAC Karen Spencer & Associates. In addition to serving resale clientele, I also am one of a four agent team which works two new home subdivisions. In Yuma, this is a big deal since subdivisions here are not cooperative in multiple listing service. Having access to some of the finest new homes in the community for my clientele will be very important. 

I’ll digress just a moment to say that Yuma is experiencing a building boom the likes of which it has never seen. This sleepy little community has been discovered and prices are rapidly escalating, creating an investor feeding frenzy that is hard to keep up with. It is a strong seller’s market with very little now available for the hordes of buyers who are descending hoping to own their piece of the desert. Given all that, it is an exceptional place to do good real estate business. Our plans have now stretched our stay to include riding this wave of good fortune. A few years of good, solid income never hurt anybody, right? 

We will continue to recite our progress with our lot in these pages and maybe even occasional local trips if we get the chance to explore a little more of this state. I suppose we should feel sad that our wheels have stopped turning during this time, but to be truthful we are having such fun here that we haven’t really noticed. At some point in the not too distant future, we will get antsy for the road ahead and it will be time once again to head out. Please don’t give up interest in our web site in the meantime because we are still fulltime RVers—we’re just not going anywhere for awhile. Our Travel Supreme is still home—it just now also comes with its own yard.  

I

We have made such progress on the lot lately, we decided to take a break and have a party. See our progress?

Just kidding of course! One of the best things about the location of our lot is all the nice neighbors we are blessed with. Ron and Jan, across the street from us, decided to hold a New Year’s Eve party which was attended by about 16 RVers. The casita under construction belongs to them. That was the site for the gathering under the cool, cloudy skies and after drinks and snacks and dinner we eventually all gathered for karaoke around their outdoor fireplace. The lifestyle here simply can’t be beat!

We wish all our readers a very healthy and prosperous new year and may you find happiness on whatever road you are traveling. Here we sit in the glorious glow of evening sun on our own little piece of this beautiful desert.