To stay away from the cold we spent the winter in Florida. At some point we went to visit some friends who told us about the small town of Helen, a small German-themed town in Georgia at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. We were told to definitely go and visit. On our way traveling to the North-East we stopped at an RV-park in South Carolina on the border to Georgia, so we decided to make a day-trip to Helen.
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Helen is a small town in a beautiful part of Northern Georgia at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains adjacent to the Chattahoochie National Forest and Unicoi State Park. It started as a mining town and the forest of the mountains provided lots of timber for a sawmill. After the mines were closed in the 1920’s and the over-harvesting in the wood jobs went away and the town started to decline. In 1968 a group of local business men decided to give the town a Bavarian make over. Soon tourism picked up and visitors came in floods. Oktoberfest is a big occasion but German beer and food are available year round.
We stopped at Roper’s Clothing where the 88 year old Mrs. Roper spent a lot of time with us and told us about the history of the town. That alone was worth going into the shop but they also have high quality western wear and boots and other clothing.
We decided to go on a small hike first, while in the area and Anna Ruby Falls was very close to town. The road goes up the hills high along Unicoi Lake. The entrance fee was $5 per person above 16 years old. After a few miles we reached the parking lot and had a small picnic. With our stomach filled we set off on the half mile hike up to the waterfalls.
The short hike was beautiful. Although the scenery was constantly changing the view always was stunning. It was one of the prettiest hikes we have been on. The paved path along the beautiful mountain creek was pretty steep with lots of rocks and trees to climb for our children. They needed to burn some energy after a good hour in the car. There were plenty little lookouts along the winding river and lots of opportunities for a photo shoot.
Once you get closer to the falls you can already hear the gushing water and see them through the trees. They were magnificent and if you had not already taken a million pictures you sure would now. There are two falls of two creeks coming together.
One of the falls is is 5 feet high and the other cascades over 150 feet into the bolder filled basin at the bottom. The two creeks become Smith Creek which flows into the Chattahoochie River which flows through Atlanta.
After our hike we went to visit Helen. In Washington state we went to visit Leavenworth, another Bavarian town in the Cascade Mountains. There you have the impressive mountain back-drop while those hills in Helen are not as magnificent the river with several restaurants either side is a beautiful highlight. We spent a couple of hours walking through the small town and finally looked for some liquid nourishment and a snack.
We picked a restaurant by the river and had beer, cider and sausages. Normally I do not look for German beer in the US but the Dunkel was on tap, refreshing, delicious and hit the spot. Once refreshed and a couple beers later we headed back to the car for our one hour drive.
We had a great day in Helen and the hour drive was well worth it. The architecture looks authentic and could be out of Germany. But at the end of the day German people make a German town. If I was in the area I would definitely go back for the hikes, the country side and the brew. A lot of people come here from Atlanta and I can see why.
Mount Shasta from the road as we entered California
At the beginning of October we headed into California. We had to rush through to go to a conference in Phoenix and did not have enough time to see everything we wanted to see. But we still stopped at a few fun places like Yosemite, Joshua Tree National Park, Ladder Canyon, stayed near LA, Palm Springs and San Diego. On a hike in Yosemite I hurt my knee so we did not stop at Kings Canyon and Lake Tahoe, both areas we really would have liked to see.
Max and Josephine at a road side stop overlooking Yosemite Valley
One of our first stops was Yosemite National park. The closer we came on our drive there the more beautiful it became. Once we drove up to the park, and I mean uphill, the road became very curvy and it dropped of quite steep on one side. I was not very comfortable and the van was struggling with the incline. But we made it safely to the top and from there it was only a short ride to Yosemite Lakes Thousand Trails RV Park where we stayed for four nights.
We stopped for a photo on our way to the valley
We arrived as the sun was setting, during California’s golden hour and barely made check in. It was dark when we pulled into our site. The park was nice with lots of green and a creek running along one side. This is a Thousand trails park without a swimming pool but we did not miss it as we wanted to discover Yosemite. Cell phone reception was terrible, so the only internet was the free wi-fi from Thousand Trails at the laundry room unless you have Starlink. At the playground our children made friends very quickly, some of which we met elsewhere in California again. Volleyball, basketball, fishing, a lodge with TV and game room were also available but we wanted to discover Yosemite of course.
A view of Yosemite Valley
Once we had breakfast and set up properly we headed to Yosemite valley. The national parks pass ‘America the Beautiful’ granted us quick entry and the drive to the valley was very pretty with plenty of pullovers for photo opportunities and look out points. Once we had arrived at the valley we drove past some the well known sights like El Capitan, Bridal Veil falls, Three Brothers and others. There are plenty of campgrounds and hotels in the area. The river running through was very low as it is fed by the melting ice and snow. All of the water features were pretty dry, the best time to visit for those is in spring. We stopped a couple of times so the children could run around and climb some of the rocks.
The granite wall of El Capitan is one of the most famous destinations for rock climbers
The next day we started a little earlier and headed for Mariposa Grove. It is the best place at Yosemite to see the giant sequoia trees. You have to leave your car at a parking lot and take a shuttle to the grove. It is a relatively long drive but there are plenty of scenic view points along the way.
We stopped on our way to Mariposa Grove
The grove has several hiking trails to pick from. As some of our little ones were not ready to walk a whole lot and we had to carry them we took a shorter hike that took us to some of the bigger trees like California Tunnel tree and Old Grizzly.
California Tunnel TreeOne of the giant sequoia trees
The trees are massive and one just stands in awe next to those giants. The hike was just long enough for us and we were happy to get back home.
On day three everyone was tired and nobody wanted to go out. Basti and I decided to hike up to Yosmite Falls, a trail that is about 3.5 miles one way and rises 2425 feet. It was pretty strenuous but the views are magnificent. On the first part of the hike we walked along switchbacks through the woods and could not see much. After about a mile we reached Columbia Rock and had the first great view of the valley.
A quick selfie at Columbia Rock
It was stunning. Halfdome was visible from there as well. We took in the view and had a small rest before we carried on. From here it was more rocky and almost like walking up stairs. Views of Halfdome kept popping up along the way over and over again. At some point we got to see our final destination, Upper Yosemit falls but there was only a trickle coming down. Yosemite Creek is fed by the melting snow and ice so must be a majestic sight in the spring. In October however the water did not make it to the bottom of the fall. The granite wall that makes the valley is huge though and we knew we still had to climb quite a bit.
We made it to the top of Yosemite Falls
Once we reached the top, we went to a couple of spots to look down into the valley. There was no barrier so one can walk right up to the edge. The creek was not moving very fast, the water was cold and very clear. The sun was very low so we had to hurry to make it down before it got dark.e
By the time i had reached the top my knee was hurting and I had to walk downhill pounding my knee with every step. I tried to compensate but that did not really work. In the next few days I was handicapped and we sadly abandoned plans to visit Kings Canyon. We knew through research that the hike was going to be a challenge which we gladly accepted.
The next day we headed South, fortunately on a different route than the one we came on. I don’t think we spent enough time in the area and could have easily spent another week. For me it was one of the best stops we have made and it is definitely a place I would like to revisit one day.
At the end of July we arrived in Washington state so we made the trip from Florida to the opposite side of the country. It felt like a little achievement. (Un)fortunately we had spent way more time in Idaho than we had planned so that we had to rush down the West coast faster than we would have liked or than this part of the United states deserved. In Washington State we visited, among other things, the little German town of Leavenworth and Mt Rainier (check out our video) but missed the Puget Sound- Whidbey Island, San Juan Island, the Olympic Peninsula etc. In Oregon we went to see Mt Rainier, Mt Hood, the Oregon Coastline, went mushroom foraging and more. The last sight we went to see in Oregon was Crater Lake.
We parked our house on wheels on a forest road off of route 138 and stayed 3 nights. After driving a couple hundred miles and setting up we took it easy, discovered the area a bit and had dinner. With our T-mobile mobile internet we had a decent signal and were able to work online.
The next morning we set of to go to the lake. With our National Parks Pass – America the Beautiful – we had quick access but there was not a long line at the gate anyway. The road to get to the lake is quite long but when you drive up to the rim you are in awe with what you see.
The view is spectacular, there is a steep drop and slopes to the lake, the water is very clear and the sky is perfectly mirrored in the lake as there is not a lot of wind at the surface of the lake. Wizard Island is the center of attention. There are plenty of view points where you can park your car and take photographs.
Crater Lake was formed through an eruption and collapse of a volcano (Mt Mazama) and is the deepest lake in the United States at 1949 ft. The lake is 5 by 6 miles across and the rim is 7000 to 8000 feet high.
We wanted to hike the Garfield Peak Trail so we drove to one of the lodges and started our hike. It started of through trees and then got moderately steep and there were a few switch backs. We walked for about 50 minutes but two of our girls started slipping on the gravel and I was uncomfortable taking them further up. Along one side of the trail was a steep drop-off. So we turned around and drove a little more along the rim.
The next day we came back and drove in the opposite direction. We arrived at the trailhead of Cleetwood Cove Trail and parked the car so the kids could run around and have a look. I walked down part of the trail. It was steep and had switch backs pretty much all the way down to the cove. The trail is 2.1 miles long with an elevation change of 610 feet.
There is a boat that will take you to Wizards Island or just around the lake. The lake was stocked with fish until 1941 but fishing is allowed and welcome. Two species remained, Kokanee salmon and rainbow trout.
After that we carried on a little further but it started getting dark so we went back to the camper for dinner.
Crater lake is definitely worth the visit even if you just drive around the rim. I would love to go back one day to hike and maybe swim in the lake. But for now we are headed to California to see more of this beautiful country.
In the ever increasing and expanding, non-sensical and tyrannical government overreaches, we now have 87,000 new IRS agents who will “use deadly force if necessary” to harass citizens of their hard-earned money. Now is as good a time as any to remind the general public that taxation is theft. Ironically, H.R.5376 – Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 as Fox News reported, allots 124 billion taxpayers’ dollars to pay for this next level infringement.
The IRS job description for their law enforcement division was quickly deleted, but not before it was screen captured and shared all across social media.
We are freedom motivated and always searching for loopholes around the systems and we share what has worked for us! Something that we learned is there are 2 tax systems; the W2 Form, which is designed to steal wealth, and the business tax system, which is designed to create wealth. When our tax codes were written based the logic that what’s good for businesses is good for the economy and so they favor businesses. There is a reason why billionaires like Donald J. Trump and Jeff Bezos don’t pay taxes. They are not criminals; they are very smart. Fortunately, it is possible for anyone to cross over into the
Courtney Epps, a tax code expert and CEO of OTB tax, says that the average household can save between $4,000 to $8,000 a year on taxes just by having a home-based business. She also says ; “If every household in America had a homebased business it would cost the government $508 billion in tax dollars. No wonder our government wants everyone to believe [network marketing] is a scam.” One of the easiest transitions into the business owners’ tax bracket is to join a network marketing business. If you are already purchasing a product you love, joining the business is a no brainer! Even if you run your business very casually, you have made most of your household expenses a tax deduction.
Network marketing is set up like a real estate brokerage, mortgage brokerage, insurance brokerage or franchise. The difference is that you don’t have to spend hundreds of thousands to get started, the overhead is low, you don’t need to hire employees, you can start part-time until you make full-time income. In fact, most people don’t take the business seriously precisely because of the low cost of entry. I learned recently that this business model is not allowed in communist China for the very reason that it is a path for an average person to create financial wealth if they have the burning desire.
Our first introduction to the world of business was Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It was a paradigm shift for both Andre, coming from former East Berlin, and myself, who thought the was to become financially free was to have a really good job, like a doctor or lawyer. We almost opened a restaurant in 2016, bought and flipped a house and tried to get on the housing market, but it was difficult with cash buyers winning the bids for the foreclosures we were trying to buy. I started a virtual assistant business and I also invested in a course to learn how to be the go between for finding great deals on homes and connecting them to buyers for a nominal fee. We tried so much. A mentor, that God sent into our lives, introduced us to another book of Robert Kiyosaki; The Business of the 21st Century, which talks about the network marketing industry. 2 months later, after interviewing many companies…. we found our forever company and are forever grateful.
A couple years later, I attended a convention where Kim Kiyosaki told the story of when Rich Dad Poor Dad was first written, and they were struggling to sell the 1,000 books they had printed. They had copies for sale at a friend’s car wash business. One day a customer came and bought them all. That mystery customer tracked down Robert and Kim Kiyosaki to ask if they had any more copies in print. She told him they had 1,000 minus what he had already bought. What fascinated Robert Kiyosaki was that this man had a complete understanding of all the principles outlined in his book and did so because he was a network marketer for Amway and had created a massive organization. He bought the book as a gift to his downline and cross line leaders. This was Robert Kiyosaki’s introduction to network marketing and he went on to write a book about this industry and that is The Business of 21st Century. If you haven’t read it, grab a copy!
“Being a part of a network marketing company not only helped me build my practice but also allowed me the personal development I would never have gotten without it.” -Courtney Epps, OTB Tax
Whether you choose to start a multi-level marketing business to switch your tax system or to create residual income, you’ll have made a winning decision.
There are many other ways to build a home-based business like starting a podcast or YouTube channel, a farm, or an Etsy shop. Get creative!!
We have switched our tax bracket and said goodbye to the W2 in 2021. Even our cross-country adventure has many tax deductions because of our YouTube channel: FreeWayTribe . Please head over and check it out… and like and subscribe!
There has been so much going on since we got on the road in mid December, learning as we went along, starting our YouTube channel and social media, figuring out how to live in limited space, cooking in a tiny kitchen and outside, where and how to boondock between destinations, even homeschooling on the road….. I could go on and on. It has been a lot of fun and some chaos as you can imagine with seven children but we have all enjoyed it and grown as a family.
This is the reason why it took us so long to get going with this blog and why we are starting in the middle of our journey. After spending the Christmas and the winter in Florida we made our way to Texas in the beginning of March. We flew through Alabama but stopped in Mississippi and Louisiana but did not spend nearly enough time there.
Texas was very dry when we arrived and we really started enjoying it properly once we reached the Hill Country, San Antonio and the Northern part of the state.
We have bunch of videos on YouTube if you would like to follow us there.
In the middle of May we started heading further West to Arizona where we are staying in the Sedona/Verde Vally area.
Amarillo, Our First destination
Our first destination was Amarillo, but we left Bay Landing late and only traveled a couple of hours. We took 287 and stopped halfway at a rest area to spend the night. As we are storing the bicycles in the trailer when we travel we have limited space, but still enough for everyone to sleep comfortably. The generator provides enough power to run the A/C and the fridge as well. In the beginning it was a bit strange to sleep in a rest area but now we don’t mind at all.
By the way, our favorite rest area is on I75 near Tampa. We stayed there on several occasions while moving from on park to another.
After a quick breakfast, which could be bagels and egg or baguette and ham and some reading and math for the children, we got back on the road to go to Amarillo. We stopped at Cadillac Ranch and the children had fun spray-painting the 10 cars.
The Ranch, located west of Amarillo on the old Route 66, is an example of hippy art and was started by an art group from California that called themselves Ant Farm. It is supposed to be a tribute to the evolution of the Cadillac tail-fin. Ten successive models were buried halfway in the ground front facing down.
Today each car is covered at least an inch thick with graffiti. It was the first of a few stops on the mother road that is the old Route 66. after our visit at Cadillac Ranch we drove along a small part of 66 and then went to Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
By that time it was already late and we did not have enough time to see as much as we would have liked and as the canyon deserved. We would have stayed but did not have reservations nor could we as there is absolutely no cell phone signal.
We still had enough time to take in some of the rugged beauty and vastness of Palo Duro. As I am not very good with heights I was very nervous about the kids running along the edges of the cliffs. They don’t seem to have any fear. We spend a couple of hours before we left as the park was closing to the public. It is definitely a destination we recommend to anyone and will come back to visit.
Next Stop Santa Fe
After our visit in Amarillo it was time to carry on toward Arizona where we had reservations at the Thousand Trails RV park near Sedona. We headed down Route 40 and again stayed at a rest area near Albuquerque. After 2 months we had exited Texas. The next morning after some home schooling, we headed to Santa Fe to visit Loretto Chapel and saint Joseph’s stair case. Andrea and I fell in love with the city, it’s small houses built in the style typical to the area, like the houses of the puebloans painted in the reddish clay color, it’s small roads and the vegetation. Mountains are all around the city. The whole drive through New Mexico lead through a dry countryside with little vegetation so it was nice to see grass and trees. The city is small for being a state capital, very clean and there are lots of little colorful shops. At 7200 feet it is very high and it got cold at night. It was quite unusual as we had to dig deep to find clothes appropriate for the weather. It had been hot everywhere we stayed but because of the altitude it was colder.
We found a place to park at the rodeo through the app Campendium and got full hook-ups. So we took advantage and had showers and cleaned up.
The next morning we headed back to the city and visited a few churches. On our way to Loretto chapel we stumbled across another church, San Miguel Chapel, Americas oldest church. It was built in 1610 and is still an active church. Right next to it was one of Americas oldest houses. It is used as a museum and a gift shop.
From Mission San Miguel we had to walk a couple of blocks to get to the Loretto Chapel. It is now privately owned after it was handed over by the Sisters of Loretto to a private family to prevent it from being demolished.
As the story goes after the church had been built there was no staircase to get to the choir loft. The sisters of Loretto prayed a novena to Saint Joseph the carpenter, the foster father of our Lord, to help with the building of a staircase. After the novena was finished a man showed up with a few simple tools. He built the staircase by himself without the use of glue or nails. What makes it so unique is that there is no central column to support the structure. Architects are still baffled to this day how the structure still stands to this day when it should have collapsed as soon as one put his foot on it. The man who built the staircase disappeared as soon as he was finished without being paid. The wood he used is not from the area. Many believe Saint Joseph built the stairs himself. Regardless, there is a lot of mystery surrounding the staircase, so much so that we had heard of it and decided to visit.
Another church we decided to visit was the shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was closed however so we went back home for dinner after which we headed back to Route 40 to make some headway get to Arizona.
The next day we wanted to visit El Morro National Monument, a place of natural beauty and site of the remains of pueblo culture. Because of the heat and drought and the danger of wild fire the park was closed however and we were not able to visit or hike as we had planned. On our way through the area we crossed the continental divide at 7800 feet high. I had not noticed that we were that high, I did not want to drive that high with our rig but in the end it was not a problem at all. I guess it depends on the road and there were no big descends.
After getting back on Route 40 we decided to follow the old 66 and stopped at Gallup. We were hoping to see some remnants of the historic road but were disappointed. There was not much left of it and what we saw was not very pretty. We left a little disappointed and headed towards Arizona. That night we decided to visit the Petrified Forest National Park the following day. We were not sure at first as we did not know what to expect but we were not disappointed. It was one of the most impressive stops we had made since we got on the road.
The Petrified Forest
After breakfast and and home schooling we left for the National park. We did not have to drive far as we got close the day before. We entered through the South gate and stopped at the museum and gift shop. The museum’s exit led to a trail with all kinds of logs and sections of petrified wood. The color spectrum is quite incredible and with some of the trunks it was hard to believe that the wood had been petrified. The views throughout the park are incredible but seemed to get better, the further we went along in the park.
After we had finished walking the trail we got back into the car and followed the road. We stopped on several occasions and saw more petrified wood, Jasper Forest, Blue Mesa, Petroglyphes, remnants of a pueblo village, a memorial to the old Route 66 with an old car, a plaque and even some of the poles that ran along the road, the most stunning views at a variety of pull overs, the Painted Desert Inn and walked a couple more hikes.
The night before we were seriously contemplating not going to the park but thankfully made the right decision. We spend probably 8 hours but on occasion rushed through and could have easily spend more time. The park closes at 7:30, so we got back on the road after exiting close to route 40. Our next destination was Flagstaff with a few stops along the way first. On our drive in the night we must have passed Winslow so we did not get to stand on the corner. But we took the exit to Winona and saw the Rocks Creek Bridge.
We also stopped at Two Guns, a ghost town established in the early nineteen hundreds. Way before then a massacre happened when apparently Navajo Indians killed some Apache Indians in a cave. Billy the Kid and his outlaw gang spent a winter in a ruin across Diablo Canyon near Two Guns
In the early nineteen hundreds a businessman purchased the land and built a shop near the cave where the massacre had happened. He sold some land to another business man who built the gas station, a shop and a restaurant.. again another businessman leased some land and built a Zoo. There are still ruins from that time and on one of the exhibits you can read Mountain Lions. It was quite a walk from the exit of route 40 but very interesting to look back into the past. the walk along the cliff where there had been some of the cages was very pretty, too.
The gas station close to the exit was sprayed with graffiti and the smell reminded me of Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo because of the spray paint. After about 45 minutes it wwas time to get back on the road. We stopped quickly at Two Arrows, a gas station that had two giant wooden arrows stuck into the ground in front of it (one of which was lying on the ground). The gas station was in ruins but the pumps were still standing and one could walk through the building which was again covered with graffiti.
Our plan was to also stop at Walnut Canyon National Monument but because of construction we missed the exit and as it was already later in the day we decided not to turn around. Instead we drove along the Old 66 in Flagstaff which was definitely one of the nicer and better kept parts of the old road and much nicer than what we had seen in Gallup. I would like to stop at Seligman which is supposed to be very a great memorial to 66.
While we were driving through Cottonwood and Clarkdale we saw some beautiful reminders of the historic 89A something I expected from Route 66 in a lot of locations.
Later that night we made it to our camp ground near Cottonwood. We had to descend from Flagstaff some 3000 feet with a descend of up to 6% for 16 miles.
After some white knuckle driving in the dark, at least I was not distracted by the breathtaking views along the way, we made it down the mountain and arrived a day earlier than planned.
Now we have 2 weeks in the area and can enjoy some of the nicer RV parks and sceneries of our journey.
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