NuRVers Gathering 2010: Day 3

Day three of the rally started off bright and early with a pancake breakfast. There is nothing better than the smell of pancakes and coffee OUTSIDE in the morning. Love it. It probably stems back to the days of when my dad would make “bacon grease pancakes” when we camped out as a family...along with coffee in the percolator.

As nostalgic as those grease pancakes may be...sorry Dad. None for me anymore! These days, I make a much healthier version. I tried out a new recipe today from Tara…oat pancakes. Super healthy…like eating a bowl of oatmeal. Check out the recipe here!

After breakfast, we scattered and then reconvened for the afternoon workshops. Michelle taught a wildly popular jewelry making class. I had a BLAST learning how to make my very own earrings. I’ve always wanted to know how…and now I do. Yippee! I made 4 pairs (yes, it was that fun). Michelle also fixed some necklaces of mine that had broken clasps. I’m pretty much in love with her.

Michelle has been working full time creating eco-friendly, earth sensitive and sustainable jewelry for over 10 years and she is AMAZING at it. I loved hearing her tell us about the origins of all the stones and beads. So fascinating! You can see Michelle's work at her Etsy store, Mad Earth.

Next up was Matt’s veggie oil system demonstration. There was a great question and answer session and everyone came away knowing A LOT more about using veggie oil as fuel.

I also hosted a small green smoothie demo at our house…and we had a great time talking about all things green and healthy.

The costumed happy hour started in the late afternoon and there were some very creative costumes! We may not have big closets, but apparently we have enough room for elaborate outfits! Cherie even had on a CUSTOM fitted corset. Wow. It was so great seeing what everyone came up with.

Next up: "Asian fusion" themed supper. Oh. My. Yumminess. There were tons of curries and stir fries and rice and seafood…it just keeps getter better each night! One of my favorites was a cilantro peanut chutney. I wanted to jump right in the bowl and swim around.

And the best part? It’s not over yet. We still have an entire fun-filled day yet tomorrow. We kick off the day at 11:00 a.m. with the RV "Garage Sale" where we trade, sell, and barter our stuff and services. Can’t wait!!

Lastly, we were excited to welcome TWO new families to the rally today. Gillian, Kwamena, and Efua rolled in right after breakfast this morning. And Skipper, Selena, and Levi arrived just before supper. They have meshed with our little community perfectly and we're thrilled they are here! Tomorrow we will meet the Tacky Texans, Brice and Rose!

I have now edited all the photos up to this point...so go check out our adventures in more detail HERE.

Follow along:
Twitter: #NURV
NüRVers Flickr group
Our photo gallery is here and our Flickr set is here.



NüRVers Gathering 2010: Day 1

Hill Shade has been steadily filling up to capacity with NuRVers, and today was the "official" kick-off of the 2nd annual rally! It's been SO MUCH FUN living in this temporary nomadic community...side by side with other "young" full-time travelers. There is much information to glean and endless inspiration to share.

One of our favorite aspects of a gathering like this is the diverse mix of people. There is a lot of "geekiness" here, as you might expect, because most of us use computers in some way to make a living. And there is a lot of "granola"...as many of us are vegetarian and are into sustainability. There are also many motorcycle-drivers, margarita-drinkers, photography buffs, animal-lovers, and Vibram FiveFinger wearers. Be sure to watch the video above to "meet" everyone here!

We kicked off the day at 4:30 p.m. with happy hour and announcements...and then rolled into a "crowd-sourced" Tex-Mex themed meal at 6:30 p.m. The food...oh the FOOD! It was amazing. After that, there was lot of stimulating conversation, campfire & marshmallows, more margaritas, and flaming poi spinning by Cherie!

We're looking forward to an amazing weekend...there is a lot of cool stuff planned! I have taken lots of photos already and I will work on getting them posted soon...along with a daily update. And if you've been reading our blog for any time at all, you will know that it's a BIG DEAL for me to post something the within the same day. Or the same week for that matter. So you KNOW I must really be having fun!

If you have a Twitter account and want to follow along, search for #NURV and you'll be able to see everyone's tweets! If you don't have a Twitter acccount, what are you waiting for?!

There is also a new NüRVers Flickr group that will have photos of all NüRVer events.

Our photo gallery is here and the Flickr set is here.

Ticknor Tribe

One common "objection" we hear as to why a family just cannot travel full time is that they have too many kids to be on the road. Well, to that we say..."Nonsense!". And to prove our point, we introduce to you, The Ticknor Tribe.

Vaughn and Dana Ticknor are traveling the country with their 11 children this year...in a 40 foot fifth wheel pulled by an extended cab truck and followed by a 15 passenger van. Be sure to watch the video above to hear about their travels and get a tour of their rig.

When Christine came by the RV and said "there is a family rolling in with 11 kids!"...we said "SWEEEEEET!". Apparently that's not the normal reaction the Ticknors get from campgrounds :) Sometimes they won't even let them camp there. Which is crazy when you realize how fun and inviting this family is! They fit right in with the 11 other kids that were already at Hill Shade! Their arrival was quite the event...check it out:

Bella had so much fun playing in the field with everyone...


Matt shared the veggie oil love with Vaughn...

And here are a few photos of their rig:



Aren't these skylights great!?

You can see more photos of their home here...they also explain in more detail how they made this rig work for their family.

The Ticknors are from Montana...so we hope to catch up with them again someday! Be sure to check out their travels at their blog, The Ticknor Tribe.