Xscapers Profiles – Marni and Julie

Xscapers Profile Header- Marni and Julie-01

Who is traveling with you?

We are Marni & Julie and we are owned by the dynamic canine duo, Friday and Bungee.

How long have you been on the road?

Julie made her first attempt at RVing October 2006, long before she met me (Marni), in a 26’ Class C motorhome. 

She didn’t get far due to repeated weekly blizzards in Denver that winter. I think the universe was telling her it wasn’t time yet. 

Fast forward to 2017…we had been together for 5 years and had been local Denver nomads (moving a ridiculous amount of times between houses) before realizing our wanderlust would be better suited on wheels. 

Not sure what took us so long. We had a trial run early that year in our 16’ Scamp and were immediately addicted to RVing. We upgraded to a 19’ Scamp, rented the house out and headed out of Denver that November.

Xscapers Profiles - Marni and Julie 1

Are you full or part-time?

We are now full time after what we called ourselves “trial timers” in the Scamp for 5 months.

What kind of RV do you have?

Depends on the month. Haha! 

We’ve gone through several as we quickly learn what works for us and the dogs. We are currently in a 26’ Keystone Cougar 2012 travel trailer (but give us a week, we might be in something else) towed by a 2010 Ford F-150.

Xscapers Profiles - Marni and Julie 2

What got you interested in living the RV life?

Xscapers Profiles - Marni and Julie 3

This is a simple yet layered reply….We love exploring. We love the thrill of new places and people. We love the challenge of living and maintaining a minimalist space, forcing us to be present with how many basic resources we use and simplify our lives. 

There’s no routine such as you’d have in a sticks and bricks (traditional home), so you’re forced to expand, be creative and aware. It’s quietly and consistently exhilarating. We love a different view out our windows anytime we want one.

Julie became interested in RVing with the purchase of her class C and wanted to spend the winter traveling through the warmer southern US. 

Marni had no RV experience prior to 2017 but has traveled regularly both nationally and internationally. Both of us have always had the wanderlust bug so starting an RV life felt natural to try as a couple.

How do you fund you travels?

Currently, our income comes from managing our rental properties in Denver. We are presently looking for remote work and exploring the different professional options that this lifestyle offers.

What is your camping style?

Our favorite camping style, by far, is off-grid camping. 

We love the beauty and space that boondocking offers. The dogs love the freedom as well. 

We do seek hookups once in a while to take a break from dry camping, but prefer state parks or Army Corps of Engineers to RV parks. We both find RV parks to be our last choice for camping. 

As far as our travel pace, we usually get antsy for a new destination within a week or 2 at most. In fact, I don’t think we’ve stayed in one place for 14 days since we started RVing!

What do you seek out when traveling?

We usually seek out breathtaking views and proximity to friends. If both are close enough to a town that has a brewery, Julie is about as happy as she can be. We also follow the warmer and sunnier temperatures (chasing 70 degrees) and areas that the dogs can run free to their furry hearts content.

What has been your favorite experience so far?

In our new(ish) full time experience, I’d have to say finding community in the Xscapers group. 

The discovery of a whole nomadic group has enriched our RV life beyond imagination and cemented friendships for life. This has made our travels so much more fulfilling and fun. It’s not just seeing new places, it’s now experiencing them with friends who completely “get it” and love it as we do. 

Finding our nomadic tribe is probably the reason we continue RVing.

Marni and Julie with Xscapers friends

What has been the hardest aspect for you while traveling?

Ironically, as much as our Xscaper friends mean to us, we still miss our Denver friends. Leaving them has been the most challenging aspect for us. Life goes on for our stationary friends and we miss out on the daily news and gatherings we regularly enjoyed with them.

Also, dog hair in the RV 🙂

How many Xscapers convergences have you attended?

So far we have attended 5 convergences (we’d attend all of them if they weren’t so spread out!) and we plan to attend 4 more within the next several months.

Don't Miss out on the fun!

Not knowing about a Convergence shouldn’t be the reason you don’t attend one. Be the first to learn about new Xscapers updates  and Convergences.

Are you an introvert or extrovert?

Always a fun question to answer! Julie would say she’s an extroverted introvert. She definitely needs her alone time to recharge and enjoys smaller social gatherings. She really values a core group of friends and spending quality time with them. Especially when getting together for a beer!

 I (Marni) am mostly an extrovert. I love the energy and personalities of others and enjoy the ebb and flow of both large and small groups. I recharge by connecting with others (I guess that’s why I’m a mental health therapist) and love getting to know people. Not to say I don’t value solo time, but I need it differently than Julie does.

We compliment each other well. 

Tell us something weird or fun about yourself.

Julie’s weird/funny quirk is a “Rain Man” tendency of counting things…stairs, steps, dates, letters in a name, etc which amuses me (Marni) to no end.

Marni’s fun quirk is being the “Air Hockey Champ” of everyone she plays. Challenge always accepted, bring your quarters and a white surrender flag. 

Xscapers Profiles - Marni and Julie 4

Would you rather deal with a leaky sewer hose or a flat tire on the RV?

If we have an endless supply of gloves, we’d take the sewer hose. If not, the flat tire! 

Do you have any advice for others and what is the best piece of advice you've received?

Advice to you: always reach out to others, ask questions and rely on our nomadic community.

RVers are some of the most helpful, generous individuals you’ll meet and we’ve learned so much in a short amount of time from them.

The best advice we’ve received is; go with the flow when the flow doesn’t go with you.

That’s part of the RV adventure!

Where can people find you online if they want to follow your travels?

We are both on Instagram @lust_for_roaming where we post our photos and occasional travel stories.

Friday and Bungee

If you found your way here through a web search and you are wondering, “What the heck is an Xscaper?” Check out this post.

We hope to see you at a convergence soon! 

2 Responses to “Xscapers Profiles – Marni and Julie

  • Enjoyed hearing your story and how you’re living the RV lifestyle. My husband and I are in the process of downsizing from a large house to a 2 bedroom-2 bathroom home, which will give us more opportunity to live half the year in our motorhome.

    Hope to meet you on the road or a future convergence.

  • Maybe you could do hold “virtual” mental health therapy sessions? Not sure if licensing is a problem in each state. I’d sign up for a session or two, though!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Be an insider with Xscapers News!

Want to stay informed of the latest Xscapers news, blog posts, convergences, and more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter below and you'll be the first to know!