Getting to Know Me – Becoming the Rolling Rockhound

Dreams do come true.

I fell in love and am living happily ever after, on wheels. The end.

Okay, okay… I guess there’s a little more to it than that. Still, love was the magic sauce that made my dreams become reality, and living happily ever after is a real thing!

I have discovered that living this life is not impossible, in love or not. Like everything else in life, it all depends on how bad you want it. I hope to share resources for those that dream of a life of “freedom” on the road but believe they must wait until retirement. And for those who don’t even think they have retirement to look forward to. It is possible.

When you see the life we live, and how comfortable we seem, you may say, “Oh Yeah, Right, like YOU know the struggle.” I do.

It’s been a long rocky journey to get here. During most of my adult life, when I wasn’t working (I was a bit of a workaholic), I could be found playing in the Sierra Nevada, Siskiyou, on Mount Shasta, or taking my children on road trips to Canada and the Grand Canyon (both rims of course). I did a lot of hiking and backpacking, sometimes solo and other times dragging my poor children along with me. I distinctly remember my youngest carrying a backpack that could be seen peeking up over his head while the bottom just skimmed the ground at his heels, my daughter frightened because I was talking to a group of young hippy-like nomads, and my eldest complaining about how far we’d hiked (he is now my most avid hiker).

Wherever I went, my backpack, fishing creel, and pockets were always heavier upon my return than my departure. I didn’t care what kind of rock it was. If it was a unique shape, a pretty color, or had a unique pattern, I picked it up. I had bowls, jars, and boxes full of the stones, pebbles, and shells that spoke to me. I was one of those kids with a rock tumbler. I sure wish I had that rock tumbler now!

I always dreamed of a life on the road. I daydreamed about working odd jobs while making my way across the country and beyond, exploring the mountain ranges, the deserts, and beyond our borders, and picking up pretty rocks along the way, of course. I read books on how to live on the road on a shoestring, even how to eat from trash bins properly. Although I did the research and dreamed of jumping ship and living on the road (at whatever cost), I just kept running on the hamster wheel like most everyone else. I became too comfortable leaving it up on the dream shelf, gathering dust as time flew by. Once settled in a small beautiful mountain town, I remember telling my brother how happy I was and my nephew chiming in, “But I thought you wanted to be homeless, Aunt Kim.”

Before becoming The Rolling Rockhound, I managed a public services district in a small mountain town. That was a dream come true all on its own. However, when I thought things couldn’t get any better, MR. RR (to be) stepped into the picture. We fell in love, as simple as that. We discovered that we shared similar dreams and life goals, with vagabonding being a common underlying theme. He even adopted my pup children, Max and Lola.

With the enthusiastic support of an already retired Mr. RR and our pup children, I retired early to pursue our dreams together. This has allowed me to merge my passions for travel, the outdoors, and rocks into the life we lead on the road. With more time available, I’ve been able to increase my knowledge in the areas of geology, rockhounding, and the lapidary arts, not to mention everything Life on Wheels related.

The joy of researching a rockhounding site, locating the site, and finding something unique is such a rush! I just had to find a way to share. So here I am, sharing with you, the reader, what I have learned and continue to learn about rockhounding, geology, lapidary, vagabonding, and the many spectacular destinations we discover along the way.

I encourage discussion, input, and even constructive criticism. Please feel free to use this blog and its comment sections to share your knowledge as well.