Sometimes you learn lessons that stick with you long afterwards at the strangest times. Such was the case when I had a short discussion with a sharp 84 year old many years ago. This article tells that story.
Our Camping Story
It seems like either you are a camper, or you are not and you think people that sleep in a tent are nuts. Chances are that if your parents took you camping as kids then you go camping when you grow up. My wife and I have camped our entire married lives, although I admit as we get older we sometimes trade the tent for a cabin. We haven’t taken the RV route yet, but who knows.
The Bear Tooth Highway
Years ago we had spent a week in Yellowstone National Park. We had heard of the Bear Tooth Highway and its description as “the most beautiful drive in America.” The highway goes from the northeast entrance at Yellowstone from Wyoming into Montana and consists of miles of switchbacks, zig zags and high mountain driving. It eventually goes over the 10,947 foot Beartooth pass. It is breathtakingly beautiful and I recommend it highly. We drove it in a conversion van and believe me when I say it was a white knuckle experience, with limited guard rails and thousand foot drops off the edge of the road!
His Camping Story
After the ride we ended up camping at a KOA in Wyoming. That evening outside the shower house I ended up having a nice conversation with an 84 year old guy. He proceeded to tell me he also had just came over the Beartooth Pass, except he was driving a huge RV towing a car! I felt rather like a big chicken being so nervous in a more conventional vehicle.
He told me he had been forced to retire at the age of 65 and started out his retirement miserable. It was obvious his personal value was all tied up in his career. He had nothing to do and mostly just sat around watching TV.
At 67 his neighbor somehow talked him into buying his used pickup and travel trailer. Neither he nor his wife had ever tried camping before but he was so bored he was willing to try anything. At this point he laughed a little when he said they left for their first camping trip when he was 67, but he never went home again! Eventually they sold their house and just kept trading into bigger RVs over the years. He said the past several years had been the happiest of his life. At 84 he had no intention of stopping and he certainly seemed mentally and physically sharp as a tack!
Lessons to be learned
So what lessons did I learn that have stuck with me for many years? Here are a few:
- Try new things
- Try new things even if you don’t want to
- You are never too old
- Plan for retirement beyond just money
What are your plans?
Probably the biggest lesson here is that retirement planning is much more than financial planning. I got the impression that money was not a major concern to my 84 Year Old RV Driver, but yet he was miserable when he first retired. Why not make some plans ahead of time so you don’t waste any precious time!