Healthcare on The Road
I have mentioned Healthcare and Insurance for Full Timers on the road several times. At best it’s a balancing act of unknowns. It mostly depends on where you are when you find the need for a doctor and if you have the right insurance to cover the expense. COVID-19 is complicating that even further.
My First Concern Regarding COVID-19
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be confined to the Coach from a virus called COVID-19 while traveling on the road or anytime for that matter, but that’s what I have been experiencing the last few weeks, and maybe for the foreseeable future.
Stay at Home When Your Home Moves?
Mid-March Jagger and I moved to Mesa and continued to stay close to our Coach as impending decisions were being made by our government. I thought to myself wait a minute, I can’t follow these rules? I have reservations for months in advance. It soon became clear that I would have to cancel my many reservations and plan for a fast trip back to Montana.
As events evolved further I again had to rethink my plans. It’s still snowing in Montana, I guess I’ll ride out the “stay at home” order while staying in Arizona through April. Many RV Parks, State Parks, etc were closing down also which limited the places I could camp. This is indeed uncomfortable.
Plan Moving Forward
I ended up moving the Coach to a county park in the outskirts of Tucson in order to meet my seven days out of the Thousand Trails system. This was a view looking out the window from my dining table at the Gilbert Campground.
After staying there for seven days, I traveled back to Monte Vista RV Resort in Mesa. When I arrived back at the gate I was told I just barely made it! They were closing down in two days. Not only are they closing, but all Thousand Trails and Encore Parks were closing reservations and canceling those in their system. I was told since I was booked it I had an option to stay here for my two weeks and then purchase more time to stay on if I was interested. Great opportunity? I can’t afford to shell out $1,600 for a month here or even more if I had to stay longer. I also thought it was a little unusual to charge full price when all of the amenities were closed.
My plan is now firmed up. After canceling all my reservations through May, I’ll finish my two weeks here and then move to an Arizona State Park, they are still open so far thank goodness. This will buy me a few more weeks. I can head north at the time using BLM, overnight camps and refueling at truck stops outside any major cities as I fast track through Utah and Idaho to Montana. Once arriving I’ll have a place to self-isolate for another fourteen days. I’m not sure what I’m isolating from as I haven’t been very close to anyone in a month already, but I will.
Safe Travels…Gary and Jagger
- Dates: March 5th-April 17th 2020
- In The Saddle: 399 Miles, 8 hrs 30 min (total)
- More Photos: Monte Vista RV Resort, Gilbert Ray Campground
- Camp: Monte Vista RV Resort, Gilbert Ray Campground
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