The Buchanan's Rolling Down The Road

By The Buchanan’s Rolling Down The Road
December 2025

Every year seems to move faster than the last, but 2025 felt like it moved at highway speed. From desert mornings at Boyce Thompson Arboretum to lake days in Ontario, new states on the map, mechanical challenges, and finally settling into winter life on a quiet Mexican beach — this year reminded us why we chose this life.

Winter & Spring in the Arizona Desert

We started the year camped and volunteering once again at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. The desert welcomed us back with cactus blossoms, hummingbirds at the feeders, and the ever-present coati wandering through the grounds. Miss Laurie spent plenty of time rock hounding, while we both enjoyed the familiar rhythm of volunteer life.

January through March were filled with great company and simple adventures:

Kayaking the Lower Salt River with Ray & Karen, watching wild horses along the banks
Off-roading Box Canyon with Al & Carmen, followed by unforgettable Mexican food
Visits with friends in Show Low, Tucson, and Gilbert

Of course, no season is complete without a mechanical lesson. A leaking freshwater tank on Thunder turned into a full replacement, along with a new SeeLevel tank monitoring system.

Saying Goodbye & Heading East

April marked our final month at the Arboretum. A volunteer thank-you dinner, final walks among blooming cactus, and a special highlight — watching my grandson Andrew play baseball during a Phoenix tournament — made the goodbye meaningful and bittersweet.

On April 28, we turned Thunder east and began our spring migration back to Ontario.

The journey was a familiar patchwork of:

Walmart and Cracker Barrel overnights
Welcome centers and Harvest Hosts
Visits with friends and family along the way

We crossed back into Canada on May 8, settling into short stays until our summer site became available.

Summer at Sunni Bank RV Park

By mid-May, we arrived at Sunni Bank RV Park in Ontario, where summer truly began. Reconnecting with longtime friends Bob & Irena turned into a season full of laughter, food, and friendly competition.

Highlights included:

Kayaking the Grand River
Cornhole and washer board tournaments
Campfires and sunset conversations
An ongoing (very serious) search for the best Lake Erie perch

Spring rains left Thunder sunk deep enough to break patio stones, and our open site — great for solar and Starlink — came with the challenge of nearby roosters. Still, once settled, it felt like home.

Summer Curveballs & Small Victories

Summer also brought its share of challenges:

A leaking washer/dryer valve
A burned-out solar charge controller
Leveling system switch failures
Weak chassis batteries

Thanks to persistence, ingenuity, and Bob “knowing a guy,” everything was repaired. We also restored our Clam screen porch — a favorite spot for afternoon naps — and fully embraced cornhole as our new obsession.

Birthdays were celebrated, briskets were smoked, and long, slow summer days reminded us how important community is on the road.

Fall Travels & New States

October arrived quickly, and with it, packing up and climbing Thunder out of the spring ruts — literally. From there, we headed west on a new northern route, adding four new states to our travel map:

Nebraska • Wyoming • Colorado • Utah

Highlights included:

A charming $10/night city campground in Beaver Crossing, Nebraska
Climbing I-70 through the Rocky Mountains (with a bag of chips exploding from elevation)
Six nights boondocking near Goblin Valley State Park
Exploring Lake Powell and quiet desert mesas

Each mile reminded us why we still love long travel days.

Vegas, the Border & an Unexpected Breakdown

We paused in Las Vegas, splitting time between our time-share and keeping Thunder comfortable at the Elks Lodge — a perfect solution for us and Mister Sam.

Mid-November, we headed south toward Mexico. The border crossing at Mexicali was smooth… until one mile later, when a torque rod failed. With no good options, we strapped it up and carefully drove 185 kilometers south to San Felipe.

Sometimes the only option is forward.

Wintering in Mexico

We’re now settled at El Dorado Ranch Resort in San Felipe, Mexico, where life has slowed to a gentler pace.

Our days include:

Quiet mornings on an empty sand beach
Pool time, hot tubs, and water volleyball
Pickleball lessons for Miss Laurie
Cornhole games and fresh shrimp on the grill

While we’re still finding our social rhythm here, everyone has been welcoming and kind. Christmas was spent mostly on the beach — different, but just right for this season of life.

Looking Back at 2025

As the year comes to a close, we’re reminded that this lifestyle isn’t about perfect plans. It’s about adaptability, community, and finding joy in the in-between moments — even when something breaks, a route changes, or time moves faster than expected.

2025 gave us new states, old friends, challenges overcome, and a deeper appreciation for the road ahead.

And somehow, it still feels like we’re just getting started.

Day 3009

We’ve resisted Starlink for years — price, setup, and travel style all worked against it. After 15 months of real-world use across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., here’s our honest take.

Where do I start? We have resisted this satellite based system for a long time, price and travel restrictions, where major factors and the unit itself doesn’t fit the best with our travel style.

We have used a cellular based system for a number of reasons, and besides being less expensive it was the ability to provide internet while rolling down the road. Cellular was available along most major routes, it didn’t require any external equipment other than a SIM card and a hotspot. It drew minimal power and with enough research a company that allowed us to pause the service and cross the border it seemed a good choice. The downfall was limited service at times and no service in Mexico at all, and we experienced buffering when streaming.

So in the fall of 2024 the version 3 Starlink went on sale in Ontario for $199 Canadian instead of the normal $349 American and I ordered the equipment the monthly service fee was more that the cellular service but the reports of the quality of service was all most too good to be ignore.

The monthly service fee is $165 American, we are paying $189 Canadian for the unlimited plan. I first started the service on October the 15th just before we were set to start traveling, and when testing the download speeds they were as good or better than I had anticipated.

The version 3 relies on us setting up the equipment and aiming it at the North sky for the best results, where the version 2 sat on a stand then adjusted itself for peak performance, so it consisted of the receiver and a stand that had to be put out and then wait while it adjusted itself, while the version 3 has a fold out stand and relies on me to aim it properly and in the beginning I did that faithfully. I have since learned that as long as it is close it worked fine.

We have used the Starlink service for a number of months now and are averaging over 650 megabits of data every month, and have an average download speed of 200+ Mbps, the upload speeds seem slow at 20+ Mbps but are much faster than cellular.

Research has now taught me that the receiver only needs to be flat to operate, and facing the North sky is not necessary. As we travelled south this year I faithfully set up the receiver every stop and put it away every night before turning in, during lunch breaks often we would forego the use of the receiver and when not in use we either stored the receiver in the toad or inside the coach. So every stop we pulled the receiver out, unwound the cord, ran it through the window or door to get a connection.

I have just purchased a holder for the receiver that will mount on the roof of the coach, I have ran the feed wire through the roof and mounted the router in the coach. I expect from what I have read and reports from other users that we now should be able to have internet while traveling, and unless parked under trees should have constant connectivity, our trip home in the spring confirmed steady service while traveling.

Our Starlink is now mounted to the roof of the coach in a bracket that is secured with magnets. Now you may be wondering how do magnets work on a fiberglass roof and the quick answer would be they don’t, so over the winter I obtained a 24″ X 24″ piece of sheet metal and glued and screwed it to the fiberglass roof than placed the magnetic based bracket on the metal. And while we have only been on the road a few days now the Starlink has worked flawlessly. I have only received two obstruction notifications once passing through the tunnel on US-60 and while refueling under a canopy. I’m sure that trees will become an issue as we move east into tree country, but they are an issue for any Starlink user any time.

Well it has now been well over a year with time in Canada, Mexico and the States and it has worked flawlessly. In heavy populated areas I have noticed the speeds are slower, but I only know that because I was curious enough to check the speed. I can remember one outage that lasted more than a few moments during the summer.

Starlink Quick Verdict (After 15 Months)
✔ Works reliably across borders
✔ Excellent speeds, even while traveling
✖ Expensive
✖ Trees still matter
Would we do it again? Yes — reluctantly.

So my final thoughts are as much as I hate to say it Starlink is a winner, the service at this point is worth the price. And it does pain me to say that but after 15 months it is true!

Day 3006