Merry Christmas! We hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the holiday season.

Wow, 2023 has been a year of change and new adventures.  As planned, we started our retirement and went full-time in the RV to explore the country.  Although my retirement transition was relatively mild, Julie's was dramatically different.  She transitioned from her HR leadership role to the full-time logistical coordinator of the Belcher Adventure. We did it!  As crazy as it sounds, sold the house and got rid of most of our possessions. All while never having RV'ed before; all our preparations have worked out very well.  Although we loved our house in The Woodlands, we have made the RV (Rocco) quite livable and it is home.  We're like turtles now; we take our home with us everywhere we go.  

Before the end of the year, we will have visited 20 states, 12 National Parks and numerous National Monuments, Seashores and Lakeshores. We have also taken advantage of some amazing State Parks across the country.  We have been fortunate to be able to see friends and family along the way.

It is hard to narrow it down to a favorite spot, as there has been such variety, but there are a few that stand out. Our list of favorites include the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado, followed by the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota. The Black Canyon was like a concentrated and compact Grand Canyon, except it was more steep than wide, providing more intimate views and experience of heights. The Black Hills and the Badlands were simply spectacular with loads of Bison, Mount Rushmore, and awe-inspiring views. The Great Lakes (I know, that is pretty broad area) also made an impact and after visiting there, we have a much greater appreciation of their beauty and breadth. Our favorite metropolitan area was Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota. 

As much fun as we were having, "normal" life events still happen.  We spent a total of 13 weeks in Albuquerque to get our truck's body damage repaired.  The parts were on order for so long in the spring, that we left after 7 weeks, to get back on the road. We returned in September for the final repairs.  The long lay over in the spring caused us to cut out Utah and Nevada for the 2023 schedule. They will have to be added to our tentative schedule for the Western states in 2025. The upside of the 2 extended layovers in Albuquerque meant we got to spend time with our friends, John & Elizabeth, crew a few days at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and see the annular eclipse (ring of fire).

Out of Albuquerque the first time, we headed north on the way to a 3 week stay in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, on the northern shore of Lake Michigan.  It was wonderful, with mild summer weather and lots to see.  But first we made our way to Indiana, where we had scheduled (a year in advance) to get the suspension upgraded on the trailer.  Let's say we had very mixed results.  The independent suspension raised the trailer, changing the way it leveled in both a good and not-so-good way.  Our stairs are a bit too short, but the ride is much smoother.  The complication came a bit later when I found out that they failed to tighten the bolts on the newly installed disc brakes.  We lost brakes on the way back to Albuquerque through Colorado.  What a surprise! Long, long story short; I wound up replacing all 4 disc brakes, calipers, and hubs, and 2 wheels and tires.  

In November, we headed back to Houston for a full week of medical checkups.  Knocked out all the medical appointments you can imagine that normally take place over the course of a year, and then some more.  What a week!  We followed up with a week of relaxation in Corpus Christi before heading to New Braunfels to visit friends and family for Thanksgiving, staying in Camp Huaco Springs (a childhood friend's campground on the Guadalupe River).  

We are currently on the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast heading toward Florida for the winter. We will go down the Gulf coast side to Key West, and back up the Atlantic coast toward St Augustine, with a stop at Disney World along the way. We have plans of visiting the 3 national parks in Florida during the two full months we will be there.

There's lots more to our adventure, too much for one sitting.  You can get more (if you are interested) by following Julie on facebook or hitting https://edbelcher.com.

We hope you all have a great holiday and a Happy New Year!

Ed and Julie