2025 In Review

We had big plans for 2025. We were going to go to Niagara Falls and then tour the Great Lakes, spending time in Minnesota and Colorado with friends and family on the way back to Arizona for the winter into 2026. But life had other plans for us.

One of the places we were looking forward to revisiting was Carlsbad, New Mexico, early in 2025. When we were in the area before, our previous motorhome blew over in strong winds just a short distance from Carlsbad. It was totaled, and we ended up heading back to Arizona to recover and move into our current motorhome. We missed going to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in 2023 so we were headed there in 2025.

The caverns were amazing! We spent an entire day wandering around underground on March 1st. Carlsbad is an "oil and gas town" so it's rough around the edges, but our short stay on the way to Niagara Falls looked like it would be uneventful. But Carlsbad never lets us get away with much. On March 21st, Margot was working on some things on our motorhome roof and on her way up there the last time the ladder slid sideways. She hung on for a bit but eventually had to let go and land on the ground on her feet. She broke both of her legs, and she spent the next couple of months in the hospital and in recovery.

That messed up our plans for 2025 a bit and meant Margot was in pain the entire year, but we made the best of it. Check out the map below to see the places we went, and click the small, gray, horizontal line below the map to scroll through the details of our journey. We started in Green Valley, Arizona, and finished in Tucson.

We're good at making the best of things. The year started off well in Arizona, at least. We stayed in Green Valley this time, just south of Tucson. Our friends Toni and Sue winter there, so we were able to see them a lot. It meant we were a bit farther from dad and Linda (and from the repair shops we needed to go to in Tucson, like always), but it was still a lovely stay.

Carlsbad was a long stay while Margot healed, of course, but we were able to leave on June 7th (thanks to dad and Allie for your visits and your support!). We planned on staying with mom in Iowa for a bit so she could rest a bit more. On the way, we spent some quality time in Oklahoma and finally made it to Kansas!

It's been a laugh for us for years, how we kept circling Kansas but never staying there. We've been living on the road since 2021 and we had stayed in all of the states surrounding it, but it was time to have a proper visit. It was lovely in and around Topeka, and we were bummed to have to leave.

Our stay at mom's house was as wonderful as always, but too short (as always). Instead of heading to Niagara Falls from there (we didn't have the time), we decided to catch up with our original schedule in Mackinaw City, Michigan. That meant a quick stay in South Haven, Michigan. We hadn't really spent much time on the Great Lakes, and now we're in love with them. They're like being on the ocean without the big waves and salt water. Our 4th of July fireworks event from a boat on Lake Michigan was truly special.

We can watch boats come and go from a marina all day

We made it up to Mackinaw City and we were back on our original schedule. It's a tourist town (the "fudge and ice cream experience," as we affectionally call these places) with touristy side trips to Mackinac Island, but we really enjoyed it up there. The Pictured Rocks were amazing, one of many boat tours we were able to do while we were at the Lakes.

Mom used to live in Illinois, and she always raves about Door County. We headed to Egg Harbor, Wisconsin next, and that was one of the highlights of our summer. We're both obsessed with cherries, and we were there when they were in season. We nearly cried when the season was over. This place was so beautiful.

Our site was massive and in big, beautiful trees

Monica works for a utility company with its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, so our stay there was a whirlwind. She went to the office a couple of times, and we spent lots of time with friends. Margot celebrated her birthday at the Mall of America where we had fun in a game show and did our first (and definitely not last) escape room. So fun!

We were winning until the last phase of the game, but we still had fun

After our quick stay in Minnesota, we headed west and through North Dakota to the western side of the state. It was our first time there, and we were able to spend a couple days in Theodore Roosevelt National Park before we headed south to Denver. We had a long drive to our final 2025 destination in Arizona, and we started it in early September.

A visit to Colorado means visits with the friends and family we have there -- we lived in Denver before we sold everything and headed out on the road in 2021. We had a party and saw so many people, which is always so special to us.

The time there always goes by so fast, and soon we were off to stay near Taos in Eagle Nest, New Mexico. This place has been on our bucket list for a while, and it lived up to our expectations. It's beautiful, and we loved getting away.

Another bucket-list item for us was the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, an event we couldn't believe we'd never been to (we lived so close to it in Denver). We upgraded our entry tickets and had an amazing time watching balloons float overhead for hours. This will always be a fond memory of an incredible time.

We had many things planned for our longer stay in Albuquerque, mostly visiting national parks. But the government was shut down and all national park visitor centers and some areas were closed. We found a few places that were open and we still had amazing time, even though it was so sad to recognize how many people were without jobs during that time. We wish them all the best as they recover.

When we sadly left Albuquerque we headed to another bucket-list place, Silver City, New Mexico. The government reopened in time for us to visit an open visitor center at our last national park in the state before we headed to Arizona. Margot was walking more so we were able to do a couple short hikes in New Mexico (though every step on her left foot was painful).

We were in Tucson, Arizona for Thanksgiving. That stay is covered in a 2026 post, and we're doing well. We have visited 149 national parks, now, and we have plans for many, many more in 2026 as we venture off to the west coast and into Canada.

2025 was rough, but we're making it through it all. Margot has an ankle replacement surgery in her future, and hopefully that alleviates the pain she's still in. We hope you all have a wonderful year, and thanks for coming along with us as we post about our adventures. Happy 2026!