This is the ninth time I’ve sat down and taken a look back at the year I’ve had as a vagabond. It’s a bittersweet report, this one, as it’s the last one I’m doing as an Alto owner. Still, tradition must be observed, so here goes…
This was the shortest year as far as actual camping went. I spent the first two months in a condo on the beach in South Carolina, and did the same the last two months of the year. And then there was that six-week trip to the UK and Spain. Add in the four weeks I spent in people’s guest rooms and I spent more time out of the Alto (6.5 months) than in it (5.5 months) this year, which foreshadowed the decision I’d make in November to stop being a trailer-based vagabond and sell my Alto to an old friend, who’s excited to be an owner and start her own Alto adventures.
By the Numbers
I had to do a bit more math than usual to eke out the miles, gas, and lodging costs for this year because I spent all that time out of the Alto. Gas averaged $260 per month, and lodging about $1200 per month, so let’s just round up a bit and say it cost about $1500/month to be a vagabond this year. That’s getting into “cheap apartment rental” territory, mostly due to the rising costs of campgrounds. I’m not much of a boondocker, staying instead at state parks and US Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds, which are nice facilities. Budget constraints on their end have meant rising prices on mine, and that’s reflected in this year’s lodging costs.

Numbers 2016-2024
Here’s a look at the numbers over the years I spent on the road.
One number that deserves its own paragraph: 2375 nights camping in my Alto, from May 2016 through October 2024. Worried that your Alto might not last? Don’t! It’s a rock-solid trailer, built by a company that stands behind their products.
Someone asked me if the cost of full-timing has gone up over the last 8-9 years I’ve been doing this. Hard to say, really, because some states have jacked up campground prices and the cost of gas has been literally all over the map. All I can say is that my lowest year of lodging + gas was about $9300, or just under $800/month.
My most expensive? The last two years, where my average monthly gas + lodging was $1180 in 2023 and $1400 in 2024. I did stay at private campgrounds more, mostly to be closer to friends and I stayed at the now ridiculously expensive Huntington Beach State Park (South Carolina) for two weeks. (When I did that in 2023, it was about $60 a night in April, in 2024; the same site in 2024 would have cost me $80/night, which is why I didn’t go there this year!)

Highlights
Seeing a full solar eclipse, and doing it with good friends. An amazing thing to see the sun disappear in the middle of the day. I highly recommend catching a solar eclipse if you can. (Kentucky)
Touring part of the cave system at Mammoth Cave National Park, seeing Paradise and the Green River that John Prine sang about, and visiting the town where my grandfather’s family came from, all in Kentucky.
Seeing a Nationals game in Washington DC. One more ballpark to add to my life list. (Thanks, Ben and Mary!)
Finally, FINALLY, seeing the Saturn V rocket in Huntsville, Alabama. Took me two visits, but I got it done.
Lowlights
Little things that went wrong, like the Truma not working the first few days back in the trailer, apparently because the battery voltage wasn’t “right” until it had been hooked up to shore power for four nights. Go figure. The sink trap started leaking and it took me a few days to figure out the sink itself had come a bit loose and so was shaking the trap just enough to loosen it and make it leak. Sometimes, it’s all about the detective work.
Technically, not a camping thing, but I put a big dent in the side of the Ridgeline in January and then had to drive around with a bashed-up pickup all Spring because the parts were on back-order. I winced every time I had to walk by that side of the truck.
Favorite Campgrounds: 2024 Edition
Malone State Park (KY): mostly because they had these amazingly large and fun troll sculptures.
Winslow campground (ME): no hookups but good solar and an amazing oceanfront site.
Little Pee Dee State Park (SC): waterfront on the lake, paddling every day, and gorgeous sunrises.
The Voice of Experience
What have I learned in all this time?
Don’t streess out about not being close to stores. You’re never *that* far from a Walmart. (Advice from my good friend and fellow Alto owner, Mary)
YouTube videos and Google Search are your friends. You can find almost everything you need to repair or replace most things that might break in your Alto.
The Altoistes and Alto Owners Facebook groups have been lifelines, both in meeting fellow campers who turned into good friends and for problem-solving issues on the fly. Thanks, Alissa, for starting that first Altoistes group ten years (or so) ago.
Family and friends have had my back. Here, I have to give a huge shout-out to my brother and nephew who have been tracking me via the Spot Trace daily emails and both of them have been ready to show up in an emergency (which thankfully never happened). As a solo traveler, I managed to stay pretty healthy overall, just one broken finger (2017) and one really bad sinus infection (2024) in 8.5 years. Oh, and two colonoscopies (thanks, Peg and Paris and Steve for support!) and one really annoying bout of food poisoning.
In Closing
The last 9 years, from dreaming and planning to ownership to deciding to close out this chapter has been one hell of an adventure. What I’ll remember most are the places I’ve seen, the people I’ve met, and the friends I’ve made or reconnected with over the years. It’s been one of the most amazing, hardest, and longest chapters in my life. Would I do it all over again, if I had the chance? Damn straight I would.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!
<3 <3 <3
Wow! You’ve had a great ride. I’m sorry I found you later in your journey. You have been inspiring for me. Enjoy your winter in SC. I’m hoping you pop up again somewhere, sometime.
YESSS! What a trip. #punintended
Even if you settle in one place, I hope you continue to connect with all of us in written form. Sunday Serenity was always thought-provoking and your photos sing. Thanks for taking me along for the ride. It’s been awesome. Here’s to tomorrow.
Great retrospective, Anne.
We’ll miss your prose and photos.
Best wishes for continuing to embrace adventure in whatever form comes next.
Shantih,
Paul
Don’t ask me why but your sojourn always brings to mind the lyrics and music of Simon and Garfunkel’s America. Still one of my favorite songs makes me think of one of my favorite people! Seems to me you accomplished all you intended to do and then some. Onward to the next chapter.
Wow, looks like you had another amazing year of travelling and seeing various sights! It makes me realise that the world is such a beautiful place worth exploring. I am in awe of the sheer size of the Saturn V rocket in Huntsville, Alabama and I would very much love to see it one day, especially given that it is one of three surviving examples of vehicles built during the late 1960s to launch Americans to the moon. Thanks for sharing, and inspiring 🙂 Aiva xx
As a former Alto owner I still am an Alto spotter. It sticks with you. What a tough decision you have made. Never stop traveling and exploring the world around us. Please keep your camera handy. Your photography is always inspiring. Your participation in 52Frames got me hooked, and now almost 4 years later, I will (probably) stop regularly posting at the end of the calendar year. There’s always something new. Enjoy those sunrises from you balcony.
Congratulations! You’ve had quite an amazing journey! So what’s next? Are you doing the condo thing in Myrtle Beach again? Where will you be settling?
Wow – such an adventure since your retirement Anne. I have great memories of your birthday bash that I got to experience. And thanks for stopping by to visit when your were in Newburyport and then New Hampshire close to the seacoast. Always good to have an excuse to go to Petey’s for seafood.
Mary in New Hampshire close to the Atlantic Ocean where the beaches are washing away.