RV Real Talk with the Rabkes

It felt so weird to wake up the past two mornings and not be on the RV. While I certainly loved spreading out in a king size bed and found some much needed alone time, a piece of me misses RV life.

Going from being out in nature for thirty-five days to coming back to reality filled with so much noise and distractions is hard. My head has already started making my to-do lists when I return home and I don’t like it.

I knew I wanted to interview the crew at the end of our trip to give you a true reflection of our journey. I was thinking of a video interview, but then I didn’t want everyone listening to each other’s response in case it skewed their own. And I wanted to have it all written down on the blog for us to always remember.

I asked each member of our crew, (minus Pawley as his answers were always the same one word) the same questions. Here are the unedited versions of real talk about life on a RV for thirty-five days! I also wanted to note here how I ask Anna Cate questions. When I ask her a question, I hold each hand up one at a time and each hand represents an answer. I ask each question twice, changing the hand of each response to make sure her answer is accurate. If a question has many possible answers, I do this until there are no more answers left. I could have put all the questions on her iPad, but found on the RV and with lack of cell coverage this was the best and most accurate representation.

The number one question everyone has asked us is, Would you do it all again?

WILL- absolutely, in a second!

ANNA CATE- yes!

ELI- Yes, but 14 days tops!

BETSIE- Yes, but no more than three weeks!

EMILIE- without a doubt! Three weeks at a time would be perfect allowing for one or two days for getting to the final destinations or returning home.

What is your favorite(s) part about the RV?
WILL- having control of where you are staying every night; no unpacking and packing. The flexibility of the basic things in life (ie restroom breaks, etc)

ANNA CATE- the bathroom

ELI- bunk bed and bathroom

BETSIE- personal bunk

EMILIE- being able to prep dinner and use the bathroom traveling down the road, as well as, no packing or unpacking when we arrived to our destination.

What was your favorite part(s) of the trip?
WILL- experiencing so many things for the first time as a family (meaning it was a first time for all of us).

ANNA CATE- UTV in the Black Hills

ELI- spending time with family, exploring out west

BETSIE- exploring the parks with the whole family and going to lots of states in a short time

EMILIE- living in the moment daily as we experienced so much together as a family unit for the first time. Realizing less is so much more

What was your least favorite part of the trip?
WILL- listening to my teenage children complain about being away from their friends

ANNA CATE- not staying longer at some locations

ELI- the length of the trip

BETSIE- the drives ( apparently she wants to be teleported!)

EMILIE- the constant on the go, versus staying for lengths of time at a few locations. And the complaining towards the end by one and a half of our children

What would you change the next time? WILL- see less and stay longer in places visited and probably a pull a car behind the RV

ELI- the length of the trip

BETSIE- shorter time, bring less stuff

ANNA CATE- stay longer at each campsite

EMILIE- bring way less clothes, pick three places tops to stay for a length of time (this does not include travel time getting to and from), tow a car and plan out any activities at your destinations well in advance (this was difficult for us due to covid)

What were your top three favorite places you visited (in order)? WILL- Moab, Jackson, Hill City

ANNA CATE- Great Sand Dunes, Moab, Palm Springs

ELI- Jackson, Grand Canyon, Carlsbad (New Mexico in general)

BETSIE- Moab, Palm Springs, Jackson

EMILIE- All of Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota

What was your least favorite(s) National Park? WILL- Joshua Tree

ANNA CATE- Mesa Verde

ELI- Joshua Tree

BETSIE- Joshua Tree

EMILIE- Joshua Tree and Mesa Verde

What was your favorite(s) experience of the trip? WILL- UTVing through the Black Hills in South Dakota; Carlsbad Caverns with the kids; sunset at Canyonlands

ANNA CATE- UTV in the Black Hills

ELI- UTV in South Dakota

BETSIE- UTV, Great Sand Dunes, going in the water at Zion and getting to see a friend.

EMILIE- Visiting the church, Santuario de Chimayo in Chimayo, NM where we brought home the Holy Dirt, UTVing through the Black Hills in SD and watching Anna Cate and Will climb up to The Windows in Moab and my sunrise hike to Delicate Arch with Betsie and Eli and the wildlife tour

What is one or two pieces of advice/tip for anyone who is going to take an RV trip? WILL- do a ton of research on your RV parks before you go. The nice RV parks are really nice and a bad RV park could be really bad and it could ruin an experience. Under pack!

ELI- if you are over 5’7 the bunk will be a little tight

ANNA CATE- claim your spot for the drives

BETSIE- spend as much time with your friends before going and if you are about to lose your mind go lay in your bed

EMILIE- plan out your RV stays and really research them and ask others who have gone before for any tips. Also seeing an RV in person really helped us visualize space before we decided on a rental.

Favorite meal by mom? ELI- Tacos, fruit salad

ANNA CATE- Turkey burgers

BETSIE- Campfire Nachos

WILL- Salmon in foil with mango salsa

Favorite meal you ate at a restaurant? ELI- Brisket Nachos in Madrid, NM

ANNA CATE- Country Fried Chicken and Mashed Potatoes in Hill City, SD

BETSIE- Burger from In-n-out

WILL- Bison, Beef And Chorizo Meatloaf in Moab

EMILIE- Fish Tacos in Madrid, NM

What is something the RV trip made you realize you took for granted? BETSIE- a large sink, dishwasher and space

WILL- personal space

EMILIE- alone time, washer and dryer

ELI- a big bed, a dishwasher, own room

ANNA CATE- she literally said she doesn’t take anything for granted…and don’t I believe her!

What is one way of living we had on the RV trip you want to continue? ELI- good food

BETSIE- good food *apparently they enjoyed my RV cooking better than at home!

WILL- that we don’t get back into the crazy runaround of the things not important

ANNA CATE- naps and family time

EMILIE- overall laidback lifestyle

The Rabke’s thoroughly enjoyed our time and highly recommend an RV trip to anyone who is thinking of taking one. We are already planning our next RV trip and realized over the last four and a half weeks how incredible our own country is and how much is still left to explore. RV travel has been a game changer for our family especially traveling with a child with unique differences. Who knew in such a tight space the kids would still sleep in as late as they did too! I also realized how much I missed blogging! While this epic summer trip has come to an end, there will be more RV adventures for the Rollin’ Rabkes as we simply loved the experience! Thank you for following us, for the incredible messages of support and for cheering us on all along the way!