It all started with a $700 Pop-up camper

In 2014, I remember running downstairs to show Mike a 1970 pop-up camper I’d found on Craigslist for $700. We had been talking about buying a camper for years, but had never really pushed the button on anything. But this one felt different. And it was an inexpensive foot in the door.

So we bought it. And we used it so much that we literally had to duct tape it together in the end. And by the end, l mean we woke up one morning on a beach in Florida after a massive storm with our beds soaked and knew it was time for a little upgrade.

But that burnt orange Apache pop-up was the beginning of more than a decade of travel and adventure. At the time, we had no idea how much our lives were about to change.

A 19 foot travel trailer replaced the worn out pop-up. It had more room, didn’t leak, and it had a bathroom. A bathroom! We added solar, started camping in more remote places, and kept finding reasons to stay out a little longer.

At one point during the summers when we were working in Ohio, Mike had a small fleet of campers he was renting out to others that wanted to experience RV travel. He added a Sprinter van and a 27-foot Class C and grew it into it’s own little successful business.

Eventually, we decided we didn’t want travel to be something we squeezed into our lives. We wanted to build our lives around it. So we sold our house and almost everything we owned, sold our car (a moment of silence for my beloved FJ Cruiser), sold all the campers, and bought a 34-foot travel trailer along with a big diesel truck to pull it.

That trailer became our home on wheels. It had just enough room for an “office” for our photo and video business and it could still take us to some of the remote places we loved. It’s also where Wild Roots began.

The trailer had other plans, though. One major issue after another, including a gas leak – and a lemon-law lawsuit we’d rather not talk about – we ended up in a 38-foot fifth wheel. It was beautiful and it was more luxurious than we were used to (we’re talking heated seats and a fireplace). It was also so big that it changed where we could camp, and we missed the freedom we’d had with something smaller.

So now we have our perfect fit – a 31-foot toy hauler, and for over five years of extended adventures, it’s carried us from Maine to Oregon, Florida to California, and so many places in between.

Looking back, I can see how much our evolution of campers and Wild Roots have in common. Both started small, with an idea and a feeling that there might be more out there for us.

We risked it for the biscuit. We tried things. Some worked. Some absolutely did not. We learned what we needed, what we could live without, and when it was time to change direction.

None of it happened according to a perfect plan. It evolved, one camper, one mile, and one piece of jewelry at a time.

I’m so grateful for that little $700 pop-up – and for all of you who’ve come along for the ride.