4 Places You Must Visit When Traveling In Colorado

Halfway up a mountain in Crested Butte was a beautiful campsite with this view.

There were free roaming cows all over Gunnison National Forest right next to Crested Butte it was pretty cool to see them.

1. Crested Butte

Crested Butte is a beautiful town in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, no matter what season you visit there is something for you to enjoy. In the Winter it’s truly a Winter Wonderland with the most beautiful scenery that will leave your heart full of memories to share for a lifetime! You can be sure to enjoy skiing, snowboarding and whatever else your Winter heart desires! Local shops, art galleries, coffee hangouts are available for enjoyment all year long with exception to the off season, theys tend to close a little earlier than normal business hours. During all seasons you offer the unique opportunity to enjoy breathtaking scenic hikes guaranteed to blow up your Instagram Feed. In the Spring, the native wildflowers are in full bloom and gorgeous thanks to all that melted snow! I hope you find time to visit Crested Butte, it’s truly a sight to see!

Here are a few shops you must visit while in Crested Butte, Colorado.

1. “Coffee” – Rumors Coffee and Tea – A nice chill spot to hang out and use the WiFi the coffee is delicious and to make it even better there is a connected book store you can go to a purchase a good read while you relax.
2. “Food” – Pitas in Paradise Has great reviews, its a great place to hangout with friends and enjoy some delicious Mediterranean food after a long day of hiking, skiing, and or shopping.
3. “Art Gallery” – Raynor Czerwinski – We had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners the wife who was so kind to show us around she does all of the beautiful paintings and her husband takes all of the photos they truly are a amazingly talented duo.

I purchased this T-shirt from a Store that sells all types of graphic Tees I wish I remembered the name but I don’t. If you happen to stumble upon it you will probably find this shirt.

2. Ouray

AKA Little Switzerland is the cutest little town just under 2 hours away from Durango. It’s definitely worth visiting with its super cute shops and beautiful mountainous views all around you. Our family had the opportunity to visit Ouray and we had the best time. The shops there are very welcoming some of them will even allow you to bring your dog inside (not all of them)! One shop I will definitely recommend you check out will be Mouse’s Coffee & Chocolate , you will find delicious ice cream, decadent chocolates and coffee all in this one shop. Oh, and be sure to give their “scrap cookie” a try, the “scrap cookie” is exactly that – They take all of the scraps from making candies and turn them into a delicious cookie. I mean how amazing is that! There is so many unique shops in Ouray you will be sure to find something you will enjoy! One place to make sure you go and enjoy would be the Hot Springs Pool, It’s the perfect place for families to go and soak up the mineral rich water and walk out feeling like a new person! There is something for everyone to enjoy from soaking and relaxing, to adventure and play for children of all ages.

This beautiful river went along our campsite in Silverton the kids enjoyed striping rocks in it. Although I will strongly advise that you not let your little ones play too close to the river the current can take them off and do some serious damage. So always keep them near when camped next to a river.

Every morning we could expect to spot this moose hanging out in this marsh near our campsite headed towards town. It was a pretty cool site to see.

3. Silverton

In Silverton you will find the most beautiful campsites the scenery is just absolutely breathtaking views. When you go into the town you will experience cute little shops, restaurants and coffee spots, one of our favorite places to visit in Silverton would be the cute little library. They offer free WiFi and amazing old novels and books to enjoy! Another great way to enjoy Silverton without the camping would be to take a day to ride the train from Durango to Silverton its a 3-1/2 hour journey each way with a 2 hour stop in Silverton to explore and enjoy. The most popular tour would be the Skyway Tour. Tag us on Instagram (@thomasfamily_life) pictures of your adventures!

This picture doesn’t even scratch how beautiful the Top of La Plata Canyon is. But it’s pretty beautiful right! My gosh what a beautiful blessing in was for Mr. Jim to be so kind to drive us to the Top (read below all about it).

This was some type of furnace for a coal mine it was pretty massive in person. We spotted it about halfway to the top of the Canyon.

This was our campsite in San Juan National Forest (this is not our camper pictured) This is actually our neighbors camper we are parked in the next campsite over but we are hidden by the trees.

4. La Plata Canyon

La Plata Canyon is just west of Durango in the San Juan National Forest. You can take a Jeep Tour up the Canyon all the way to the top. If you prefer to drive yourself it’s suggested that you have a 4 wheel drive with high clearance vehicle. The terrain is definitely bumpy and rough! However it’s a scenic ride the whole ride up. When you get to the top it will be sure to take your breath away! Our family was blessed to spend two weeks in San Juan National Forest where we camped for free and enjoyed a nice relaxing stay along the side the rushing river pictured. We don’t own a 4 wheel drive truck but our sweet camp neighbor Mr. Jim picked us up in his truck and was so kind to drive us to the top and it was amazing! We were shocked to see that there was still snow on the ground up there.

4 STEPS TO A DIGITAL NOMAD LIFE

Realize There Are Multiple Ways To Develop Location Free Income

First things first, open your mind to the possibilities of doing things differently from what you’ve done in the past. You are reading this so you check seriously check off the first box. You are on your way to location free income. At the heart of this is finding the Entrepreneur in you! We truly believer God has endowed each of us with greatness! Why, because He is a good Father who has good gifts in store for the children He loves. So here is the tip of the iceberg of location free opportunities to take advantage of!

• Amazon – Private Label, Retail and Online Arbitrage and Wholesale – There are several business models for providing products to Amazon’s Marketplace
• Social Media Marketing Agency – Create a digital marketing agency!
• Shopify – Create eCommerce websites
• Digital Courses – Teach what you are good at!
• Freelance Work – Photography, Videography, IT and more…
• Location Independent Jobs – Some jobs need people to travel and some jobs do not need you come in an office everyday
• Write a Book – All you need is your mind…

The key is to start thinking about skills you have that can used in the marketplace that will not require you to physically be there all the time! Let us know what you come up with!

Research and Find What Best Fits You

There are plenty of courses available to teach you how to create a business out of your passion. If you plan correctly and take a risk you will be able to accomplish it.

There are organizations, FB Groups, books and many more avenues to learn how a build a business that works for you. You can create a business that continues to demand your time or create a passive/ongoing type of income. Either way you can generate more income than what you have now to give yourself options.

The key is to adjust your mindset to an Entrepreneurial mind. It is mission critical you do so! The ups and downs of business is what causes businesses to fail the in the first 5 years of business. Get your mind right!

Get Over Your Fear Of Failure

“You probably will fail, it’s ok, keep trying till you win” – Thomas Family Life

Remember when you started the job you are at now and the fear of the unknown you had? Or do you remember the first day of High School – how terrified you were? Then shortly after a few days, you felt like you had been there all your life! By the of your High School Career you became Mr/Mrs Popularity! Now you have tons of Facebook friends, Instagram Followers and memories from those years! Building your business is the same way! The unknown is terrifying however the blessing relies on the unknown to GROW YOU!

John Maxwell, wrote a book titled, “Sometimes You Win, Sometimes Your Learn” Let that sink in for a moment.

This book absolutely changed our mindset towards chasing our dreams…Keep Reading!!

Your Dreams Are Too Important To Quit

“You have a dream deep inside that will benefit the world if you allow God to walk you through the process of bringing it to Life” – Thomas Family Life

The beautiful thing about the Marketplace that has been created in America, is its ability to provide it services and products that serve the community. Which means you are solving a need or problem in someone’s life. Whether that are looking artwork on their wall to create a beautiful home environment in their new home. Then that home will turn around create a safe zone for a family to grow up in. Have every lasting impact on what a family and supportive home looks like. Your painting was a part of that!

Start looking at what you provide as serve to help someone else – grow their business, overcome a problem or addiction, help a child learn or just help that individual relax after a hard day of work by reading or listening to your novel! You have something creative deep inside you that needs to be in the marketplace. DO NOT GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS!

Top 10 Ways To Camp For Free or Cheap

If you are like us and want to live a life of full time travel and stay at beautiful sights like the one pictured above. But don’t want to break the bank with expensive RV parks, or overnights at multiple State and National parks, where the bill can add up quick and leave you broke and out of options. Then this blog post is for you!
Before Roland and I got on the road For full time RVing we made sure to do just what you are doing……. research! We were determined to have as many tools in our tool box as we could fit before we decided to venture out into the great unknown. Our goal with this blog is to not only encourage others to go and live their dreams but to show you how we have done it. If you haven’t read my previous blog post on how to earn an income to travel full time then go over and give it a read, after you read this one of course.
In this post you will get every last way we have found to camp for free or dirt cheap to make living full time on the road possible and without breaking the bank so keep reading.
(Photo Credit; Passionate Media Group took this photo at our free campsite in Crested Butte Colorado)

1) Boondockers Welcome;

The details; Boondockers welcome Is not completely free because of the $50 yearly membership however when you use our link you get added savings! http://bit.ly/TFLBWReferral Boondockers Welcome is a great place to overnight camp for no additional cost on private property. Boondockers welcome is an app for RVers only and it’s a great way to meet fellow RVers. Usually the people who welcome you to stay on their property are generally RVers as well. Sometimes the owners will offer electric hook ups and/or water for a very small fee, we have seen it cost $2 to $5 a day depending on how long you stay and the size of your rig. But hey if you ask me it beats the cost of an RV park any day.
Our Experience; We have stayed with Boondockers welcome a hand full of times since we started this journey seven months ago. A few of our experiences are definitely worth talking about. Our very first stay was in the heat of summer just outside of El Paso, Tx. When we first arrived we were welcomed by the sweetest host an older Italian gentleman who is also a fellow RVer. We were invited to swim in our host pool and he was even so kind to invited us for some homemade authentic Italian pasta. To top it off he shared his recipe with me! When we were in Colorado We stayed with this cute older couple who were so kind and sweet. We had such a great time with them by the end of our stay it felt like we were family The wife would come out some mornings and we would have coffee and chat while the kids and the dogs would run around and play. She even gave us fresh vegetables from her garden. It was really a great experience. Even our dogs made best buds, it was so cute. Save when you use our link http://bit.ly/TFLBWReferral (Photo credit; Passionate media group at a boondockers welcome site)

2) Harvest Host;

The Details; Harvest host has a one time yearly membership of $79. You can stay at wineries, museums, farmlands, breweries, libraries, country clubs, and more. They do ask that you patronize the businesses you stay at. You do need to be a self contained RVer and also RSVP online before showing up.
Our Experience; We stayed at a small family owned winery on an off day and the owners who lived on the property opened up for Roland and I to have a private wine tasting!! We really enjoyed ourselves, and purchased two delicious bottles of wine for our relaxing hangout time near a warm campfire, after we put the kids to bed. Use our link and save 20%!!!! http://bit.ly/TFLHHReferral (Photo Credit; Passionate media group at a Harvest Host site)

3) I Overlander;

The Details; This is an app that is completely free no yearly fee required. It’s a social share app that anyone can use to camp off grid for free it doesn’t matter if you are in a tent, car, or RV everyone shares, and will tell you if there is access to water, electricity, restrooms, WiFi, nearby food, they may even have pictures so you can see how beautiful the place is before you go. You receive the location via gps coordinates that you can easily plug into google maps. This has to be our most used app because you can use it in a pinch with no reservation required. One thing to note is that the sights are first come first served. But there are usually more spots near by so you don’t have to worry that someone may beat you to the punch.
Our Experience; We have found some fantastic sights through this app. Some have been quiet and personal with no other campers around and others we have had neighbors. For us we loved it either way when we had neighbors we made friends and when we didn’t we enjoyed the quiet. The good thing about this app is you can totally choose. If quiet time is what you are seeking then you can totally move and camp with no one around. (Photo Credit; Passionate media group at our I Overlander campsite)

4) Campendium

The Details; Campendium is an awesome app you can use that is only for RVers we like this one because it RV specific you can narrow your search down to the size of your rig, it has this super cool feature where you can virtually tour over 21,000 different campgrounds throughout the lower 48 states and Alaska ! How cool is that!?!? And to top it off , although it is a social share app it’s pretty heavily monitored to insure that the information posted is true. So, that definitely gave us added comfort using the app.
Our Experience; We love Campendium so much! Not just because of its super cool feature of the virtual tour, I mean that’s just the coolest thing! But we got the pleasure of being neighbors with the sweet couple who created the app in Silverton Colorado. They have been full time RVers for over 10 years and even gave us some fantastic advice on being full time they even let us use their WiFi ,lol. Campendium blessed our life so much when we needed to find a place to camp at the Grand Canyon for free we used it at the North and South Rim of the canyon and both sights were just amazing, quiet,and beautiful. (Photo Credit; Passionate media group at our Campendium campsite)

5) Walmart;

The Details; You can overnight camp and most Walmarts across the country it’s a good option for if you are driving and it’s getting late and you just need to get some rest. Walmart is a saving grace because you can literally find a Walmart in any and every city and town. I will however suggest that you give them a call ahead of time to see if it is allowed.
Our Experience;We haven’t experienced it much but in Colorado Springs we were told that the Walmarts there don’t allow Rv overnighting because the city owns the parking lot and the city doesn’t allow it. We have camped at Walmart several times since we started this journey seven months ago, and its come in handy knowing it’s available. I will advise that you use common sense and caution when camping there. Practice safety and be aware of your surroundings, Walmart can be known for its sketchy late night customers ( Photo courtesy of: http://bit.ly/34ixZc0 )

6) Bureau of Land Managemen

The Details; Bureau of Land Management (BLM Land) This is free land you can camp at for 14 days. Each sight may very but, you are required to move every 14 days 2 to 3 miles if you want to stay in that area. You can find BLM land all over the country. You can check for your area on this website. Our Experience; We have stayed on BLM Land in a pinch on several occasions because that was the free option. To be honest I haven’t been impressed with the sites because it’s mostly been in the dessert, very dusty, and unattractive but I do appreciate a free stay in the middle of nowhere when we have needed it. (Photo Credit; Passionate media group)

7) National Forest;

The Details; We have stayed at a lot of National Forest sites. The rules are very similar to BLM Land. I will be sure to leave a website link for you to look at. But you can camp in the National Forest for 14 days free, and every 14 days move 3.2 miles away.
Our Experience; We have honestly loved camping with the National Forest for the simple reason that its been absolutely beautiful! One campsite where we camped at had a beautiful rushing river right on our campsite. At another we had Lamas walk right through our campsite, it was extremely beautiful! (Photo Credit; Passionate media group)

8) Rest Stop

The Details; Here is a list of states that allow you to overnight camp at rest stops in the US. Any other state you will run the risk of getting a ticket if you are caught: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois (only on the Illinois toll road), Indiana (only on the Indiana toll road, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio (only on Ohio turnpike), Oklahoma, Oregon (14 hour limit), Texas, and Virginia.
Our Experience; Rest stops have a bad reputation for being sketchy. Although this hasn’t been our experience, and to be completely honest we have only overnighted once at a well lit rest area in Texas, and it was pretty well taken care of. I do know that all aren’t created equal and you should use caution and common sense when using any of the suggestions listed. (Photo courtesy of: http://bit.ly/2RIUfcF)

9) Bass Pro;

The Details; So Bass pro will allow you to overnight camp at their store. Different locations have different rules as to how many days you are allowed to camp and where you are allowed to park on the property and they love it when you go inside and shop around.
Our Experience; We found a Bass Pro location on a whim. We overnighted Bass Pro for about two weeks ,lol. We were told it was allowed a few days but no one ever said anything to us.There were a few other people staying for longer then we were. This may vary from location to location. I want to add we did have one experience that we talk about in the video below of a strange guy walking up on Roland while he was un hooking the RV at Bass Pro watch the video for more on that. (Photo courtesy of: http://bit.ly/2rxLhV1 )

10) Cracker Barrel

The Details; Cracker Barrel is another great tool to have and use in a pinch. Its a great place to camp for one night and what’s awesome is you can go in and eat dinner and/or breakfast, so its and awesome win win. And be sure to call ahead and talk with the manager to make sure that they allow overnighting at their location (laws vary in different states) but for the most part Cracker Barrel allows RVers to stay.
Our Experience; We have actually never overnighted at Cracker Barrel . The one time we almost stayed, the parking lot was so small and it was a pretty scary experience trying to get out. We talk all about it in the video posted below. However we do consider it to be a great option and given the right opportunity we will definitely stay overnight some day. I just want to warn you to either call ahead and ask about the parking lot size. (Photo Credit; Weretherussos.com)

How To Afford A Life Of Full Time Travel

To Afford A Life Of Full-Time Travel.

The number one question we get all the time is, “How do you earn enough income to travel full-time?” So why not start my first blog post off by answering your biggest question? There are honestly countless ways to earn a living while traveling full-time. In this post you will learn about the ways we have successfully gained a steady income. Later, in a different post, I will give you other ideas we have come across to make money while traveling. Here’s the thing in order to accomplish this you have to believe you can. If you believe you can, then you can! Now, let’s get started.

The Decision

When we decided to do this a little over a year ago, I went full throttle into research because I knew my husband wouldn’t go along with it if we didn’t have a plan. Can you relate? Maybe its your spouse?Or maybe your kids? Sometimes we have so many different variables in our way and we get stuck in this place of doing nothing and that’s what I call a roadblock. Here’s the thing roadblocks: they can be moved and maneuvered; they can be worked with, it only takes a little thinking and creativity. Now I’m not saying he didn’t have a valid reason to question, because he absolutely did, but I’m saying I had to get creative and figure out a way to earn an income. I knew if I did that he would be all for it!

Getting Started With Retail Arbitrage

So I put my thinking cap on and started researching using Google, YouTube, and Pintrest I found a way to do Retail Arbitrage on Amazon. I decided to try it out with sale items at Walmart and with things at Goodwill. As soon as everything sold Roland was a hundred percent on board. Once we figured out how it worked we went after it, building it and within 3 months we had hit our first goal of having a $10,000 month in sales. For us that was a major win and gave us the push we needed to keep going and finally pursue our dream of full time travel. Here’s the thing you only need a vision and a tiny amount of faith and God will do the rest. You have to partner with God, pray and believe and He will make a way.

Getting Creative with YouTube

Another way to generate income to travel fulltime is YouTube!!! Start a YouTube channel. Tap into your creativity and grow your audience. Start with something that you know or are good at or maybe even start with your journey to independence. To be able to monetize your YouTube as of Dec 2019 you need to have at least 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours. We are currently working on achieving that goal. And our channel is growing so one day soon we will reach that milestone for sure. If you want to help click this link and go subscribe ( YouTube ). We are not intimidated by the mountain in front of us. We serve a God who is in the business of leveling mountains!

Photography and Videography

Photography and videography is at great way to earn an income while traveling full time. It’s something my husband Roland At Passionate Media Group has a ton of talent in this area and he has done some amazing work since we have been traveling. He’s had so much opportunity in this area. From filming a wedding, and taking family portraits, to headshots, landscapes, and engagement photos he has had great success in photography and videography. So if you have a good camera give it a go, try it out and see how it works for you.

Bridge The Gap with Door Dash

Door Dash can be helpful as a back up way to make cash. It’s something that is in most states so if we need some extra cash it’s available. Roland ran a few door dash deliveries in Utah just to try it out and he liked it, he made about $100 in 3 hours so it can definitely help you in a pinch for sure. You can totally do it full time if you want. And if you keep your expenses low it’s totally doable to live on full time, especially if you own your RV and don’t have to make payments.

Overcoming Fear and Jumping into Your Dream Life

Sometimes our dreams can seem so far away and sometimes we can feel intimidated by that distance. Let me give you a bit of advice DO NOT LET FEAR ROB YOU. Fear has no power unless you give it power. Fear is the biggest lier and the biggest crusher of dreams. The fear pit is where dreams go to die. Don’t give in to the feeling of fear. Keep going , keep pressing, keep believing.
In this video driving to the top of that mountain was absolutely terrifying, because the drive was literally off the side of a cliff. On the way up we couldn’t see the top we couldn’t see all of that beauty. All we could see was forest and the cliff drop of doom, lol. We would have missed this if we had decided to figure out how to turn around and get out of there. We would have missed all of that beauty and wonder waiting for us at the top if we had let fear win ( check out the video). Don’t give in and definitely don’t give up.

Living A Blissful Life Together

We made the jump even though everything wasn’t 100% perfect when we started. We had some money saved, some money coming in, and we decided to trust God with the rest. Now we are having a blast living our dream come true with our children. It’s been absolutely blissful and we are so blessed to share this life together.

Fill your life with adventures not things, have stories to share not things to show.


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