Many people hope to travel after retirement, often dreaming about driving across the United States. And the Oslunds of Willits were just one local couple who shared that dream.
Shared, that is, because this year they made that vision a reality, hitching their 18-foot teardrop trailer to the back of their pickup truck in March and driving from Mendocino County to North Carolina, completing an epic trip of 10,833 miles, 14 National Parks and three presidential libraries in about 10 weeks.
“We wanted to see the country, but not sleep in a different bed every night,” said Karen Oslund, describing both herself and her husband Gordon as not only wanting to see new places, but also while they were still able to fully enjoy them. Which to the Oslunds, both 60, meant being able to bring their own bed and kitchen to wherever they wanted to stop.
“And the trailer makes it so comfortable and easy,” said Karen, noting that they bought the trailer from another local couple who stopped using it when the husband’s eyesight starting failing, another fact of life that definitely helped spur them to begin their adventures as soon as possible once Gordon retired in 2023 (as principal of Ukiah High School), a year after she retired.
“We wanted to do the trip while we still can,” said Karen, explaining that they not only wanted to be able to still tow a trailer to wherever they wanted to sleep, but also able to chop wood for that night’s fire, then spend the morning climbing that cool mountain nearby.
And hiking was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for Karen, who pointed to one tough-but-rewarding climb in Utah’s Arches National Park as one of her favorite experiences.
“And seeing a Road Runner in New Mexico!” she added, explaining that so much of the Southwest was a revelation, as she had never been to either New Mexico or Texas.
But perhaps her favorite moments of the trip were spent on, and getting to, Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which they couldn’t drive their trailer to, but they could take it onto a ferry for a “drive” on the Atlantic Ocean.
When asked what she would have done differently, Karen said she might not have insisted they drive to Kentucky so she could see the American Quilter’s Society Show in Paducah.
“I’m a quilter, so I really wanted to see that show, and to go to the Quilt Museum in Hamilton, Missouri,” she said, explaining that the stop in Kentucky required a lengthy detour that in hindsight might not have been the best choice, though that side quest did lead them to discover “the world’s biggest superman (statue) in Metropolis, Illinois,” located just across the Ohio River from Paducah.
Karen Oslund posing with "Superman" in Illinois. (Contributed)When asked what the couple learned about each other after more than two months on the road in a trailer together, Karen said, “Well, we’ve been married for 38 years now, so there isn’t much we didn’t already know about each other. But I will say that you need to be very compatible to share such a tight space!”
Though her sister-in-law joked “who will fly home first?!” before the Oslunds left, Karen said they ended up enjoying this last trip so much that they have already begun planning their next, which she said will be a return to New Mexico. Not only because of the places they saw and loved there, like White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns, but because of the places they didn’t get to see, since “the UFO Museum in Roswell was closed when we got there!”
And for those who are still just dreaming of making such a drive across the country, Karen shared some well-earned advice, starting with, “Take it slow, since you can’t drive 500 miles a day if you’re towing a trailer, so plan on more like 300 a day. Not only because you can’t drive as fast, definitely no more than 60 miles an hour, but because it is more tiring to tow a trailer than to just drive a vehicle.”
To keep both that vehicle and trailer operating safely on the road, Karen also recommends that at least one of you knows how all your equipment operates and is skilled in basic repairs, or at the very least is willing and able to learn on the fly.
And while you should definitely keep track of any storms or highway closures affecting your route, Karen pointed out there are some drawbacks to keeping too abreast of current events while trying to soak in a road trip. For example, learning that a Florida woman was killed by an alligator while canoeing with her husband just as your husband is trying to convince you to kayak with him in South Carolina.
“So I definitely decided not to go with him,” said Karen with a laugh, adding that Gordon ended up kayaking by himself in both the bald cypress swamp near Congaree National Park in South Carolina and in Bayou Segnette near New Orleans. And while he did see alligators, the possibility of encountering them was not going to keep him from doing an activity that he wanted to experience.
Which leads to perhaps the best piece of advice for any couple contemplating a drive across the country: You don’t have to do all the same things on your trip, but you do need to start driving, while you still can.
Read more about the Oslunds’ journey here: karenoslund.substack.com/
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