Shannon, along with her husband Kenton and their three kids, spent nearly two years traveling across the country in their fifth-wheel RV. Even though they have returned to stationary living in Colorado, the Carew family still finds so much value in taking RV trips. Outside of RVing, some of Shannon’s passions include health, wellness and interior design
Featured RV: Highland Ridge Open Range Roamer
Back in 2019, our family made a really big decision—we decided to set out on a year-long RV trip with the hope of getting closer as a family. And while we had every intention of moving back to our house in Colorado, we found so much beauty and togetherness on the road that we decided to extend our travels for another year.
After two years of traveling across the United States long term, we have finally returned to stationary living. But I can confidently say that we cherish the time spent in our 360-square foot home on wheels and it transformed our family for the better. I got to watch my children grow right before my eyes. We got to experience firsthand what long-term RV life can do for a family. It connected us. It grew us. It changed us forever.
Even though we have now moved into the next phase of life, RVing—whether part-time or long-term—will always be a part of our lives. There was a point when we actually considered selling our RV, and when we brought this up to our kids, they were devastated. The thought of losing our special little home meant they might not travel or take camping trips anymore. Needless to say, we kept our RV and have no intention of selling it any time soon.
Despite not traveling long-term in the RV anymore, our children are thriving and loving stationary life. Between school, friends, sports, and social activities, we are keeping busy and building community. We have a lot of close friends and family in Colorado, but we also have a road family that we miss dearly. Plus, we miss being outdoors and doing all of the activities that we did while long-term RVing. It’s been really important that we figure out how to balance the two. We love having our house to return to, but taking weekend and summer RV trips regularly reminds us why we chose to RV in the first place.
We are looking forward to taking plenty of summer RV trips this year, and even have a reunion scheduled to meet up with some of our road family. One of the most important elements of life on the road and stationary life is the community of people you can share it with. We are so blessed to have both. RVing can be extremely uniting. Over the course of our journey, we’ve learned that you don’t have to travel long-term—or even travel far—to continually experience all of the many benefits that the RV lifestyle has to offer.
This camping trailer affectionately nicknamed a “Fiver” is a favorite of many, especially those taking extended trips or traveling long-term in their RV. The prominent overhang resting above the tow truck bed is frequently employed as a bedroom suite, or, more recently, a living room or even a kitchen.
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