Welcome to

Tims Traveling Circus

I’m a retired Deputy Sheriff and professional (a long time ago) photographer. I travel all over North America on my motorbikes and in my Mercedes Sprinter van I converted into a nice camper. Home is wherever I park for the night, week, or month! Join me as I wander and enjoy.

BTW…I skip around a lot and this blog is not fancy…that’s the way my brain works 🙂

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The higher page number is the latest post, enjoy.

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Questions or comments….timtew@icloud.com…or click the link at the bottom of each page to leave a public comment, thanks!

How Did I Get Here

When I retired in 2014 I had all kinds of things…two homes…properties in Florida and North Carolina…and all the trappings many of us have. All accumulated over 62 years of working, saving, and building. One day in 2018 I was sitting on the porch at my home in NC and realized I really wasn’t that happy. I was spending tons of money supporting everyone but myself…the insurance people, yard people, tax people, roofing people, people and people and people. All so I could maintain and keep all the stuff working. That’s when I decided to cash it all in and start supporting myself. I had Social Security income, a nice pension from my time in Law Enforcement, savings, and investments (I’m an Apple stockholder among others). And…most importantly I was completely out of debt. Everything that didn’t make me happy was sold, given away, or thrown away. When I was all done it felt wonderful. I only kept the condo in Fl as my Legal Domicile as the taxes there are a well under control. I bought a brand new van and hit the road…life is good.

Travel Videos and Stories

My Youtube Channel (lots of videos and more on the way)
2019 Travels
2018 Travels (Alaska again)
Coffee and New Friends
2017 Alaska
Tiny Bike to Alaska 2016
The Mercedes Sprinter Adventure Van Build

Valley of the Gods Utah. Here’s the story https://advrider.com/f/threads/coffee-and-new-friends-one-250cc-explosion-at-a-time.1074235/

Great night boondocking at the Pecos River Overlook. I’m the only one here and it’s really nice. This is on TX HWY 90 west of Del Rio.

Deadhorse Alaska, on the Arctic Ocean, 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle. I rode my trusty Yamaha WR20R I called Tess. Click the link if you’e like to read about the ride.https://advrider.com/f/threads/tiny-bike-to-alaska-2016.1143158/

The bridge over the Pecos River. Beautiful morning and oatmeal is cooking in the pot. Heading up to Langtry TX to visit the Judge Roy Bean Museum.

The judges original saloon and courtroom. Click the photo for a link.

This is the 107 inch telescope at the McDonald Observatory in west Texas. The facility is fascinating! Here is a link to them….click the photo for a link to them.

Stopped by to see my friends Len and Chris in Silver City New Mexico…stayed a couple of nights…good times and good conversations. A bit of snow the second might but all was good…my Espar Airtronic 2 diesel furnace I installed in the van kept me nice and toasty!

The van from above….you can see the Maxair vent, round over-the-air TV antenna, cell booster antenna, solar panels, A/C unit, CB antenna, and the Fiamma awning.

Arrived at my boondocking spot on Plomosa road just north of Quartzsite Arizona. I’m here for the big RV show and just to relax. My van is right in the middle of the picture. Shot the photo with my Mavic Pro drone. Not may folks here at the moment but this place will fill up in the next week. This is BLM land and I can camp here for 14 days for free.

My beautiful 5 year old niece Alyx (I call her “Trouble”) gave me a travel mug for Christmas. It works really good. I’m going to take photos of it in the places I travel to…I call it “Trouble’s Traveling Mug”.

Nights here in southern Arizona are usually clear, dry, calm, and beautiful….perfect for Vanlife. Temps this week are supposed to be 40’s at night and upper 60’s during the day….nice. And yes I’m a UFO enthusiast….how can you tell?

A bit about the van. I bought the thing as a basic cargo van and spent 4 months doing the conversion myself. I learned as I went and had tons of help from good knowledgeable folks. It has most of the features you’d find in a home…bedroom, kitchen, toilet, living room, and entertainment center. There is no proper shower installed (takes up too much room) but I do have a hot water heater with a separate pump and shower head I can hang off the rear doors to shower out in the boonies. Here is a link to the complete van build….Tewster’s Adventure Van Build

I’m not a very good cook…mostly warm stuff up…today was Taco Sunday…a bit of ground beef, cheese, diced tomatoes with salsa, green peppers, and 17 small soft taco tortia things.

This was last summer in Utah. My buddy Anthony drove his beautiful Class C camper out to 3 Step Hideaway (link). We had a great time riding the bikes and driving my new Honda Talon 1000X SXS sport buggy in the mountains.

https://3stephideaway.com

I can’t believe how handsome I am…Ladies call this number…1-800-I’mTheManForYou 🙂

A Few of The Bikes (I’ve owned tons but these are some of my favs)

Morning Coffee

Several hundred thousand of you folks have asked about my morning coffee routine. I HATE pouring hot coffee into a cold mug so….here’s what I do.

fill mug with water to measure the amount of water
pour water into Jet Boil Zip…heat
pour hot water back into mug to warm it up
while mug is warming put coffee in filter and drip thing
pour water back into Jet Boil…mug is now hot
pour 2.794 oz of milk into hot mug
re-heat water then pour into drip thing and let sit for 3.78 minutes
while coffee is brewing put small spoon in pocket to warm it up so when I stir the coffee to mix the milk it doesn’t cool off
enjoy the coffee….easy
No…the mug and dripper are not being heated by the stove 🙂

It’s another beautiful morning here in the high desert of Arizona. I’m going into town today to get a few things from the grocery store, grab a shower, and walk around the town of Quartzsite. Many RV’ers are arriving with all kinds of rigs…some are monsters…those folks have never left home :)…they just drag it along behind them.

Keeping Clean On The Road

It’s really easy to keep clean on the road. I do have a shower system installed in the back of the van I can use when needed…but…showers are everywhere!

Truck stops like Fying J, Pilot, and Loves have wonderful showers and do cater to the traveler. The showers are cleaned between each user and include fresh towels. All you do is go to the fuel desk, ask for a shower, give them $12, and they will give you a number. When your number is called, go to the shower with your number, enter the code on the door, and proceed to get clean and pretty…easy. No time limit and plenty of hot water!

Many State, County, and City Parks have showers. If you’re staying there you’re set. If you’re just traveling though you can stop by and ask if you can use the shower facilities. Most of the time the attendant will say sure go ahead…sometimes they may charge $5 or so to help keep the things clean.

Other places:

Recreation Centers

YMCA’s are everywhere, get a membership for $50 a year

Planet Fitness, $10 month,use the showers and park overnight for free at most locations

Friends places…don’t abuse their hospitality

When you’re traveling in the desert it’s usually cool and dry in the winter. You don’t sweat a lot. Using Wet Wipes between showers is an easy way to stay clean. It’s called taking a “whore’s bath”…again easy. Sometimes I may go several months between showers 🙂

Questions or comments….timstravelingcircus@gmail.com

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