Book Description
This 288 page book criss-crosses North American from East to West and North to South and back again. The adventures of this silver gypsy take you through old Mexico, around the lower 48, and into Canada and Alaska. Traveling solo brings its own kind of adventure, both with mechanical situations and meeting people along the way. Maps at the beginning of each chapter show you where the Sprinter motorhome and its solo driver have gone. This isn't a travelogue as such but it will give you ideas of where to go and what to do. It will give you the straight scoop on what kind of life a full-time RVer lives. Minshall takes you to church on Sunday, ultra-light flying over the Quartzsite desert, and camping overnight on a WWII bunker in Hawaii. The book is written humorously and with surprises in every chapter.

From the Publisher
"Sharlene has driven...from Mexico to Alaska and from the east to the west coast. Her experiences are unparalleled and she writes in a warm, light-hearted style, sprinkled with a liberal dose of humor, that makes the reader want to follow her from one adventure to the next. The author has made friends throughout the continent and her love for people shines through her writing. ...changed her career to become a writer, photographer and public speaker. Yes, she is still single and this aptly titled book serves as an encouragement to others to shed their fears and hesitations and to set out in pursuit of their own dreams, whatever they might be. This book serves as an inspiration to all, not just the RVer, to 'live life to the fullest,' no matter what circumstances you find yourself in."

From the Author
As I wrote RVing North America, I experienced each day all over again and realized once again how very fortunate I am to have the freedom to travel at the "will of my whim." From the desert country of the southwest to the lighthouses of the northeast; from the mangrove swamps of the southeast to the far reaches of the northwest; the people I've met have been so interesting, and the adventures unparalleled. People often ask me if I get lonely. There is a big difference between being alone and being lonely. I am almost always alone but seldom lonely. Sharing my adventures and misadventures with readers gives me great satisfaction and joy. I hope you'll enjoy treading in my tiretracks across North America. God Bless.

From the Back Cover
"'Charlie,' widowed since 1982, has driven 150,000 miles pursuing her dream to see North America. RVing North America, Silver Single, and Solo will take the arm-chair explorer on an unparalleled adventure from the Floating Gardens at Xochimilco in old Mexico to the town of McCarthy, deep in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska to the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. From Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia to an RV barge trip on the Mississippi River to Big Bend National Park, you'll see North America through the eyes of this daring silver-haired gypsy. RVing North America, Silver Single, and Solo will give those thinking of a career change something to think about. Sharlene Minshall started a new career of writing, photography, and public speaking when she began full-time RVing at the age of forty-nine. RVing North America, Silver, Single, and Solo may encourage you to retire and follow in 'Charlie's' tire tracks. Maybe, just maybe you'll get ideas on where to go and how to do it. RVing North America, Silver, Single, and Solo may be an inspiration to get going again after a death or divorce. This book carries a positive message of living life to the fullest. This book begins in 1989, a continuation of In Pursuit of a Dream."

About the Author
Sharlene "Charlie" Minshall began her full-time RVing adventures in 1986, four years after the death of her best friend and husband. She sold ye olde homestead in Michigan and took to the road. Thirteen years later, she is still enjoying the adventures, meeting new people, and visiting new places as she RVs throughout North America. Sharlene travels solo except on rare occasions when she caravans for short periods of time with friends. At age 45, this former medical secretary completely changed gears and careers when she took to the road. Becoming a photographer as well as a writer, she now provides all the photographs for her books and columns. The author of five RVing books, Minshall also writes monthly or regular columns in seven RV regional magazines. She writes about the misadventures of RVing solo and trying new things like paragliding off 10,000' mountains. Minshall also touches on the nitty-gritty humor of single cooking habits, relying on public telephones, loss of memory, and the intricacies of life with a computer. She tells about spending quality time with two daughters and their families who have managed to put 3000 miles between their doorsteps. The author gives seminars at Life on Wheels Conferences at the University of Idaho and for various other groups. She tells positive, humorous, and very personal tales of the joys and woes of over 225,000 RVing miles of life on the road as a single, solo silver gypsy.

Excerpted from RVing North America : Silver, Single & Solo by Sharlene G. Minshall. Copyright © 1995. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
"The house sold nine days after fervent prayer and a desperate call to a realtor. I felt I was on the right track. The apartment was lovely but city life didn't suit this died-in-the-wool country girl. After weighing the pros and cons, a life of fulltime RVing, both financially and emotionally, seemed feasible. 'Our' dream was now 'my' dream and I would be living it alone. In mid-summer I quit my job and gave the offspring their choice of twenty-six years of 'Early Marriage' household goods and moved into a used mini-motorhome with the remains of my worldly possessions. On September 4, 1986, I left Michigan to explore whatever was in my path and wherever the wind blew me."