Outland Adventures

  Tiny Town Holiday Magic: Exploring a Festive Main Street in a One-Stoplight Town ✨🏘️🎄 There’s something undeniably charming about December in a tiny town—the kind of place with just one stoplight 🚦, a single diner 🍔, and a Main Street that seems frozen in time. During the holidays, that charm stretches even further, wrapping every storefront, lamppost, and tree in twinkling lights ✨ and small-town spirit ❤️. On our latest Outland Adventures journey, we found ourselves wandering down a festive Main Street that proves you don’t need a big city spectacle to feel the magic of the season. Sometimes, all it takes is a mug of cocoa ☕, a string of vintage bulbs 💡, and a town that shows up just because it’s December. A Main Street That Glows 🌟 Even from the edge of town, the warm glow of lights drew us in like a magnet 🧲. The lone stoplight, the town’s proud sentinel, had been dressed in a massive wreath 🎀 adorned with tiny red bows and a scattering of ornaments 🎄. Cross...

  🦃 RV Life & Gratitude: The Things We’re Thankful For This Year November always makes us a little nostalgic. Maybe it’s the scent of woodsmoke clinging to our jackets, or the quiet moments around a campfire when the night air turns crisp and our mugs steam with hot cocoa. Whatever it is, this season has a way of reminding us just how much we have to be grateful for — both the big moments and the small ones that slip by if we’re not paying attention. Life on the road isn’t always picture-perfect (we’re looking at you, mystery leaks and stubborn GPS signals), but when we pause to look back on the past year, there’s so much that makes our hearts full. Here’s what tops our gratitude list this year: 🚐 Our Home on Wheels Wildebeest may not be fancy, but she’s ours — creaks, quirks, and all. She’s carried us down mountain roads, across dusty plains, and into small towns we never would’ve found otherwise. Every dent tells a story. Every upgrade is a labor of love. 🌅 The View...

  ✨ Outland Adventures — December Blog Schedule ✨ Tuesday, Dec 9 “ Tiny Town Holiday Magic : Exploring a Festive Main Street in a One-Stoplight Town ” A cozy walkthrough of a small town all decked out for Christmas. Thursday, Dec 11 “Hidden Gem: The Snowman Museum in the Middle of Nowhere” A delightfully odd roadside stop featuring year-round snowman displays. Tuesday, Dec 16 “ RV Winter Survival Without Hookups: How Wildebeest Stays Warm & Functional” A practical, fun look at wintering in your EMS-converted shuttle bus . Thursday, Dec 18 “ Small-Town Eats : The Best Mom-and-Pop Diners We Found This Season” Highlight memorable meals, quirky dishes, and charming locals. Tuesday, Dec 23 “ Christmas Eve Eve in the RV: Cozy Holiday Moments on the Road” A warm, atmospheric post about your nomadic holiday traditions. Thursday, Dec 25 “Exploring a Ghost-Quiet Tourist Town on Christmas Day ” A peaceful, eerie, and beautifully empty small-town experience. Tue...

  🍂 Small Town America Spotlight: Fall Festivals & Local Finds There’s just something magical about small-town fall festivals — the mix of crisp air, cinnamon sugar, and a little hometown pride you can’t fake. From Tennessee hillsides to Ohio cornfields , we’ve spent the last two autumns chasing that feeling — the one that smells like kettle corn and sounds like a fiddle tuning up on the courthouse lawn. 🪕 Rogersville Heritage Days – Rogersville, Tennessee Last fall, we found ourselves right in the middle of Rogersville’s Heritage Days — a weekend filled with history, bluegrass , and the best apple dumplings we’ve ever tasted. (No exaggeration.) The main street looked like a Norman Rockwell painting come to life, and every booth had a story. Amanda stocked up on local honey and handmade soaps, while Chris got caught in a debate over barbecue styles with a vendor who swore “the sauce is the soul.” 🏡 Carolina Corners – Small-Town Stops Along I-26 We meandered throug...

  ❄️ Cold-Weather Camping: Cozy Tips & Gear We Love There’s something magical about cold-weather camping — the crunch of frost under your boots, the smell of woodsmoke drifting through crisp air, and the way coffee somehow tastes better when you can see your breath. We’ve camped through snow flurries, icy rain, and those sneaky “it’s 60° at noon but 25° by sundown” kind of nights. So trust us when we say: being cozy is an art form. Here’s how we stay toasty, cheerful, and (mostly) frostbite-free when temps drop: 1. Layer Like a Pro Forget fashion — think survival-chic. Merino wool base layers , flannel shirts , and a puffy jacket are our holy trinity. Amanda swears by fleece-lined leggings , while Chris has an ongoing love affair with thermal shirts that make him look like a mountain hermit. 2. Hot Drinks, Always Cocoa, coffee, cider — if it’s warm and steamy, we’re drinking it. Our secret weapon? A heavy-duty thermos that keeps drinks hot long enough to survive an...

  🍂 Campground Kitchens: Cooking Thanksgiving in Small Spaces Last year’s Thanksgiving looked a little different—but in the best way. We were settled in at Outside Inn Campground in South Carolina , surrounded by golden fields and friendly faces (and yes, Fred the Highland cow totally stole our hearts). The campground was the perfect mix of agriculture and tourism charm—part farm, part getaway—and it made for one unforgettable holiday. Our “kitchen” that week? A picnic table and our trusty folding table, both not quite level. Chris handled the turkey tenderloins on the camp stove while Amanda worked on mashed potatoes, green beans, and stuffing—all the classic fixings, just miniaturized for our tiny space. It turns out, you don’t need a full kitchen to make a feast—just a little creativity, teamwork, and the promise of pie at the end. Once everything was prepped and the last of the gravy whisked smooth, we set out on a post-dinner hike through the woods. The air was crisp, ...