Circular Migration??

[WheelEstate USA]

I've noticed, after meeting many vandwellers, that lots of them just travel in a certain pattern.
Winters in Q (and area) or Slab City, and summers in Flagstaff, Cottonwood area. Seems their routes go in the same (or nearly) with the seasons every year. (I'm sure there must be others in other states who do the same sort of thing).

This year, we've taken some roads I already knew for Margie's benefit. We also went some places I hadn't been before.
We went to Flagstaff in the spring and it was lots of fun, but we didn't wanna go back this fall. This winter, we'll show up for RTR, but aim to visit more than Q again down in that area.

For those who have never been to the eastern side of Az, there's some wonderful forest over there. Hwy 191 runs down thru the Navajo Nation and into the Apache Forest and on down to Cochise Stronghold, ending in Douglas at the border of Mexico. There's some wonderful camping along that route, as well as some friendly towns where parking wasn't an issue.

So....I guess my question is along the lines of, "Are some folks stuck in a loop of familiar places for some sort of security thing??".

 

[PastTense]

This sounds like the traditional snowbirding pattern where people summer in a northern state and winter in Florida.

 

[Van-Tramp]

When I plan a route, I do all that I can NOT to follow the same path I have done in the past. I'm running out of road-not-traveled in the West.

 

[Sameer]

Jay, I should have followed your route when we left Cortez...I visited Colorado for almost 3 months, and Colorado was new to me...I loved every minute of Colorado...Hahahaha! I am leaving Flag for Winslow in on Tuesday and then...? Hope to see you and Margie in the Great Desert soon.....we can explore new areas of interest...see new sites..

 

[LeeRevell]

Y'all come on down...... the entire Olde South beckons. Lots of roads, lots of historical sites and plenty of good ol' fashioned Southern Hospitality. We'll even take your 'Yankee' money.....

 

[Dragonfly]

Different people have different motivations.
We started the nomad life in 1979 and followed Swap Meets to sell my handmade items.
We wanted to see our country, so we drove from one end to the other.
We stopped and got settled down jobs when we had to (always good to have marketable skills) and never stayed more than a year. Later we spent summers mining gold so that was another direction and reason.
Some folks like caravanning and company. Some just want to have folks around but aren't highly social.
We did whatever felt good..went where the spirit led us, and sometimes where it didn't.
It seemed easier to boondock on the western side of the Mississipi, so that was what we did.
We took the small roads and sometimes regretted it and more often found places we loved. We broke down, we fixed things, we moved on.
Thanks for the information about E. Arizona. We seem to miss a lot of that part of Az.

Sometimes someone said..'Try the Eastern side of ***' and off we went..the glory of 4 wheels.

 

[akrvbob]

There is a simple one word answer to your question: MONEY.

If you are living on a tight budget the cheapest way to stay in a good temperature year-around is from Quartzsite to Flag and back.
Bob

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Money is surely a consideration in our travel plans...not to mention there are 2 of us living on what many singles have each month.
We do lots of penny pinching, yet have a lot of fun.

I have a hunger for seeing different things and places. Sometimes the route takes thru places already visited. Many of those are good to stop into for a short visit with friends, but we feel inclined to wander off quickly.

For me, re-visiting places I've been in the past is offset by being able to show new and interesting places to Margie.

 

[mconlonx]

Before current employment, I was planning a regular FL (winter) to ME (summer) route with stops along the way in the spring and fall for visiting friends, WOOFA work, whatever. Itinerant/migrant bicycle mechanic, following seasonal work. I anticipated regular gigs on both ends and establishing familiar waypoints in between in order to accommodate and facilitate some kind of regular work/work-stay routine.