the whole journal, in order

  1. 00Home
  2. 01Start Here
  3. 02The Real Budget
  4. 03Paperwork
  5. 04Routes
  6. 05Public Lands
  7. 06Community
  8. 07Solo After 60
  9. 08Meet the Nomads
  10. 09Merch
  11. ☰All deep dives
Deep dive 04 · Following 70 Degrees

Chase the weather. Let it lead.

A year-round route built on one simple rule: go where it's 70 degrees.

Houses stay put. Weather doesn't.

So a lot of nomads stopped fighting it and started following it.

The classic loop has a name: follow 70 degrees.

South for winter. North for summer. Color in between.

Why it matters

It isn't just comfort.

Winter freezes tanks. That's the main reason snowbirds head to the desert Southwest, Texas and Florida.

Follow the warm weather and the plumbing keeps working. So do you.

Winter

Desert light and Gulf breezes

  • Quartzsite and Yuma, Arizona
  • Anza-Borrego, California
  • Big Bend and the Rio Grande Valley, Texas
  • The Florida Keys and the Gulf Coast

Quartzsite in January is a small town that becomes a big gathering. The Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, a rock and gem show, a giant RV show and a ham radio convention all land there. [Link: Community page]

One nomad's winter:

Rob Wakeley of Travels With Dottie spends December through February in Quartzsite.

January in the desert. Short sleeves, long shadows.
January in the desert. Short sleeves, long shadows.

Spring

Red rock and green ridges

  • Utah's Mighty 5
  • Moab
  • The Natchez Trace
  • The Blue Ridge Parkway

One nomad's spring:

Rob heads to Artesia, New Mexico, in spring and again in fall.

Summer

Up north, where summer is kind

  • The Pacific Northwest
  • The Oregon coast
  • The Tetons and Yellowstone
  • Glacier
  • The Colorado Rockies
  • Alaska
  • Canada

One nomad's summer:

Rob spends it in Eagle Nest, New Mexico.

Fall

The color tour

  • New England foliage
  • The Maine coast
  • The Great Smokies
  • The aspens of the Eastern Sierra

For a taste of New England, Butterfly Tracks took three minivans to Vermont: "3 Senior Women, 3 Minivans, Vermont Paradise!"

“3 Senior Women, 3 Minivans, Vermont Paradise!”
The Blue Ridge in spring, at the speed of a slow afternoon.
The Blue Ridge in spring, at the speed of a slow afternoon.
Yes is where the fun is!Beverly Brown, Becoming Bev

How to read the map

The map is a starting point, not a schedule.

Stay longer where you like it. Skip what doesn't call to you.

Following 70 degrees is a direction, not a deadline.

The fine print

  • Public land rules differ by place. Check before you settle in.
  • Long drives cost money. See The Real Budget.
  • Weather is a guide, not a guarantee. Check the forecast, and the rules, where you land.