🌍 Traveler Spotlight #7: Kent Johnson
A chat with my friend who's mastered the art of RV travel. We talk about RV culture and leaving his comfort zone to meet his granddaughter in France
Hey friend, welcome back to another edition of Itchy Feet. 🌍
This is a weekly newsletter of all things travel and culture!
This week, let’s switch things up.
Rather than the typical post, it’s a brand new Traveler Spotlight.
The goal of the Traveler Spotlight series is to interview fellow travelers to learn about how they travel, get their expert insight on different topics, and have a fun conversation.
Last Traveler Spotlight:
Everyone has something to teach us, so I hope you enjoy this post!
This edition: A talk with my friend and neighbor, Kent Johnson. My family has a cabin up in Trout Creek, Montana and Kent’s been our neighbor for many years. Kent’s lifestyle is unique because he lives in a huge motorhome. I’ve always found this interesting, so her was a perfect candidate for this post.
Here’s the chat! 👇
Reading time: 10 minutes
Can you share a little about yourself?
I retired out of Helena, Montana. I owned two tire stores. Before that, I had a truck stop. I quit too early in my life, at 50 years old.
My wife Leann was still teaching for about two or three years before retiring.
Then, we went full-time in our RV (recreational vehicle).
Her folks bought the place up next to years in 1960, about the same time as your granddad.
And I think your granddad might have sold him his property. We poured an RV pad here (in Trout Creek) and have spent about 25 summers up here.
How long were you and Leann married?
We were married for about 30 years. She passed away seven years in October.
The RV is your main residence?
Yeah, I've lived in this full-time for 22 years. This is my fourth motor home and probably my sixth RV.
What interested you in RVs?
I like the idea that you can escape and travel. Escape doesn't work very well because you can't hide! (laughs)
What is your favorite aspect of living in a motorhome?
If you don't like your neighbors, you can move. I love taking my stuff with me. I love having my bed, and my things with me in my own house no matter where I go.
Have you clocked how many miles you typically drive in a year?
I don't do too many miles nowadays, but we used to do an awful lot of traveling. Since Leann passed, I really don't travel as much. It's not nearly as enjoyable for me to travel by myself.
I'm starting to do more. I'm getting a little more comfortable being by myself and I'm starting to do more, just to push myself to get out because I enjoy it.
Where have you traveled to in an RV?
We've been to almost every state in the union except Alaska. One year, we decided we wanted to go to Maine and have lobster. We left Trout Creek and headed off cross country. We got up to upper New York State. It started snowing, so we turned right. I ended up not making it to Maine. I still want to do that sometime.
Have you met some interesting characters at different campsites during your trips?
Oh, yeah (laughs). You meet all kinds of people. People with more money than they know what to do with. Then, you meet people who have nothing and who are living day to day. Some people aren't mentally prepared for anything.
It's really interesting because you have something in common with people, so you're not afraid to talk to somebody.
Is it a mutual passion for that freedom?
Right, and nobody knows anybody. And everybody wants to meet you. It’s just a pretty good community, overall. There's always that one asshole…
Do you have any go-to campsites?
I much prefer going to different places. In the last few years, I just go to Arizona and back up here (to Trout Creek).
When Leann and I traveled quite a bit, we enjoyed going around to different places.
A couple years ago, I went on a good trip and followed the Mississippi River down quite a ways. I followed the River Road that runs alongside the Mississippi.
I went through all the state parks. I enjoyed that.
Where do you typically camp?
I much prefer to stay at federal or state campgrounds. In big cities, you end up staying at many private campgrounds. They're getting pretty expensive.
If I'm traveling through just one night, I just boondock and park wherever I can find a place like Walmart. I'm good at finding places to park. I’ve spent a lot of time at Camp Walmart!
Are there other places that are ideal for boondocking?
Yeah, a lot of the smaller cities and towns have campgrounds or parks. They’ll let you park for a small fee. A lot of Elk Clubs have parking lots and campgrounds. That’s why I joined the Elks.
Are there any unwritten rules for how to behave when you're at a campsite?
Most of it's just common sense. But there are always idiots around. One of the RV clubs that I'm a member of made some etiquette rules. Like, don’t walk through other people's campsites, don't leave trash around, always ask permission if you're just spending the night in the parking lot. Things like that. Be respectful. Don’t run your generator at two o'clock in the morning.
Have you noticed a change in RV culture?
Since COVID, I’m seeing a lot of younger families with kids that have moved into RVs.
The price of housing has gotten so high. A lot of kids running around brings a new perspective to it. I enjoy them, but a lot of people don't.
Especially the older we get. Each campsite is different.
Some private campgrounds cost two or three thousand dollars a month just for a piece of concrete. These are nice: Have golf courses, restaurants, etc.
Then you have the “Now-and-forever” places wit old trailers and people who’ve been there for 40 years.
They’re cheap and you don’t want to spend much time there.
You can even stay at farms. Many companies do that.
Overall, it is getting more expensive compared to before.
How do you like to travel?
I don’t make reservations unless I have to. I just don't like being on any kind of written schedule. I'll sit down on a map and say, oh, there's like a nice place, or a state campground I want to go to. I'll probably call and make reservations there.
My daughter Shannon is different from me. She is a Type-A person, so things have to be written down with a daily schedule.
She and her husband Ron just built a house in Urey, Colorado. I've been down there a couple of times.
What’s something no one told you about motorhomes that you learned after buying one?
If you’re living full-time in one, you have to get rid of stuff.
When we started, we had two big storage sheds full of stuff. After a couple of years, of paying rent on them, and never opening the doors, we said, “Well, this is stupid.” (chuckles)
So now I'm down to like one storage shed.
It’s a challenge to decide what to keep. You can’t get too attached.
We made a rule for a long time, we couldn't buy another T-shirt unless we got rid of one.
You're just limited in space.
What would you say is like a hidden cost of having an RV that you didn't expect?
A guy told me once, “It's like taking your house and turning it upside down for eight hours a day and shaking your heck out of it.”
The maintenance is continual since everything moves.
You have to be resourceful with your maintenance.
The cost of gas for this old pig is about the same as what you’d spend at a hotel and eating out.
Do you see yourself ever living in a regular house again?
Yeah, I'm getting to the age that I’m starting to think about it. Not a lot of people spend 20 years in one of these things.
I'd say, full-timers probably average maybe six years or so. Eventually, they want to move where their grandkids are and stuff like that.
Now that I’ve got a granddaughter I think about that.
My son Eric and his wife Fabiola have little Esme, who’s 18 months old.
You traveled to France when your son got married. How was it going to France for the first time?
That was a culture shock. Other than being in Mexico, I'd never been out of the country.
I think Mark Twain said traveling is how you get rid of prejudices.
I went to France and I was really scared because I'd never been overseas that much.
I didn't speak the language. I had no problems, but it was intimidating. It still is for me, because I go by myself.
The older we get, the more we get settled down and not wanting to travel.
What things were you most concerned about?
The language, being able to communicate. With cell phones and translation apps, it’s not bad at all. You can take pictures of signs to read them.
You went back after they had a baby, what was that experience like?
I've been over to France two or three times since he got married.
When they put that little baby in my arms, I was like, “ Oh, I understand what this grandparent is all about now.”
It's different than having a child of your own. You can give them back when they need to be changed. (laughs)
Did you see any parallels between France and Montana?
There are a lot of parallels no matter where you go if you want to look for them.
There are also a lot of differences.
From where we are here in Montana to Helena is 250 miles. You can travel all of France in 250 miles. They don't have a clue what it is to go 750 across Montana. Eric laughs about it. They can't conceive that.
Did you try any typical food from the region you're in?
Oh, God, I love food in France. My son took me to my favorite restaurant in the whole world, Auberge de Layotte.
It’s a little farm on five acres. The restaurant only has a dozen seats.
Everything the owner serves is grown there. It’s a seven-course meal and you can’t choose what to eat. He makes his own bread, his own cheese, smokes their own meat, and he passes jugs of wine.
It’s just really good. It’s peasant-style food. It’s a three or four-hour lunch. We ate burgundy stew with beef cheeks.
What stood out to you about French culture?
They take their food really seriously. That was astounding to me. My son got me hooked on good cheese. Can't go to Safeway and buy the quality cheese.
Was anything hard to adapt to?
I noticed that a lot of people smoke. Also, every little town has a monument to World War 1.
I didn't understand any of this until this last trip. In the US, we’ve never had a war fought on our shores to stay alive. Maybe the Civil War.
But over in France, they'd fought two major wars on their own soil.
In this one little town, next to the World War I memorial that they have, there is a monument and a list of the people from this town that got killed in Auschwitz. Maybe a dozen names.
They’re revered.
The name of the street in front of Eric's little hotel is named a resistance fighter who died in World War II.
It struck me this past trip how much those wars have changed that country.
Any advice for people who want to travel abroad for the first time?
Forget that you're an American and learn in their culture. Don’t be the ugly American.
I love the French culture and love learning all about it. 🇫🇷
Ok my friend, this conversation was packed with travel wisdom. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it.
A huge thank you to Kent for taking time to chat with me!
We could’ve kept talking because he has a lot of interesting stories.
Thank you for reading and supporting Itchy Feet!
See you again soon. 🎸
Much love,
Daniel
🔵 P.S. What was the most interesting part of the conversation to you? Let me know in the comments!
I’m fascinated by RV-ing! Thanks for this interview!
That's a serious RV 😲
This is the kind of life I see myself leaving when I'm older and I still want to travel, but with my own bed and stuff. It's a good compromise between normal living with a stable home and travel life!
Thanks for sharing this story Daniel!