Unconventional lifestyle leads couple to Worland – Northern Wyoming News
Unconventional lifestyle leads couple to Worland
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After retiring and selling everything, Marie and Dave Edgar pose outside their new home on wheels
You know you’ve made an unconventional lifestyle choice when your family has a bet on how long they think it will last, and David and Marie Edgar’s family were quick to cast their votes
“I think pretty much everybody thought we were nuts,” recalled Marie. “My nephew figured within six months, one of us would be under the ground, and the other one would be in jail.”
To be fair, the plan was ambitious. In 2021 the Edgars retired (Marie was so excited she gave her notice the day she turned 59-and-a-half), sold everything and moved into their fifth-wheel travel trailer. With the world as their oyster, the Edgars had their sights set on the continental USA
The Facebook post from their shared page commemorating the occasion showed a picture of them smiling outside their new home on wheels with the caption
“Last week we both gave notice at work!! We’ll be leaving Colorado (for now, we’ll be back here and there). My last day is the 23rd and David’s is the 30th. Then we’re on to a new adventure, traveling, spending time with family & friends and enjoying life!!”
The idea of becoming nomads was David’s idea. When he first shared it with Marie, her answer was “no, absolutely not.” However, when grandbabies started being born many states away, Marie softened her stance. Being retired, it was much easier for them to visit their kids than the other way around, and this way they could enrich their lives by traveling, meeting people and experiencing new things. However, she had a few non-negotiables: Marie loves to cook and wanted a nice kitchen with a full-sized range and fridge, as well as a washer and dryer. They found a 42-foot Grand Design that accommodated all those needs and set about turning it into a home.
When the Edgars first came to Worland, they had been living and traveling in their fifth-wheel for two years. They had already collected a fair number of colorful state shaped stickers which were proudly displayed on a USA decal map adhered to the outside of their rig, showcasing where they’d been
They learned about Worland when sitting outside one day, thinking they needed to find some sort of part-time activity. They began researching work camping – temporary seasonal jobs – perfect for people living nomadically as the opportunity often includes a free place to park and some extra spending money
The Edgars saw an ad looking for work campers at the Worland RV Park and Campground. They applied and were hired a day later
The gig involves working a few days a week for a few hours a day, welcoming road weary guests and maintaining the grounds. David and Marie are notorious for going above and beyond and often invite travelers over to their spot under towering cottonwood trees for a meal and chat around the propane fire
The two fell in love with Worland, mainly because of the people. At the end of May, their third year working in Worland, David and Marie celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary at the Ten Sleep Brewery surrounded by friends, eating pizza and sipping pints in the warm afternoon sun
David said, “We find we’re allergic to cold and snow, so other than the two-year break, we’ve been work camping between Wyoming and Arizona.” Recently, they added a new experience to their resume and got to work as tour guides at the Umpqua River Lighthouse in Oregon. David said, “The thing I really liked about it is as tour guides, you are meeting new people every hour of your shift. And it was always just kind of neat to meet these people from all over and give them a tour of a Coast Guard station and an active lighthouse.” In total, the Edgars spend around eight or nine months out of the year work camping.
David said, “The nice thing about work camping is if we decide not to do it, we just don’t apply. And we take off to do whatever we feel we want to do. It gives us time to see our son and daughter-in-law in Kansas City and gives us time to see our daughter and son-in-law and grandbabies in Colorado.”
The Edgars have been to 36 states and say they haven’t found a state that doesn’t offer something beautiful. David said, “We’ve never been to a state that we wouldn’t go back to. We’ve been in campgrounds or towns in those states that we would never go back to, but the state itself always had something cool.”
David says they will go out of their way to stay in towns with offbeat names such as Pahrump, Nevada. They also seek out places whose names mean something to them, like a campground named Absaroka Bay in honor of their favorite series, “Longmire.”
“People always ask us, what’s your favorite state? We don’t have a favorite,” said David. Marie interjects and says if pressed to choose, she’d pick Colorado because of the Rockies, and Wyoming is a close second
For them, the hardest part about making the change from stationary living to mobile life was downsizing from a 2,600 square foot home with a 30-foot by 50-foot shop, to something a fraction of that size
Another adjustment is fixing little things that break, which happens often. David said, “You take the fifth-wheel down the road, and basically you are taking it through an earthquake every time you travel. You’ve got to expect things to come loose and to fall off.”
While traveling, the Edgars use a trucker app to navigate. This helps ensure they fit wherever they go, and they will often go out of their way to bypass major cities
People interested in nomadic life often ask the Edgars what kind of setup they should buy. David said, “I can’t tell you what kind of RV to get because what works for you doesn’t work for me. But I will always tell people, get a bigger truck. Bigger is always better. If you are going to get a fifth-wheel, get a one ton. And my personal truck is a dually. A lot of people don’t like them, but get a couple crosswinds and you’ll appreciate the duals on a truck. But other than that, I won’t ever tell a person what make model or brand to get.”
When asked if their relationship changed at all when they hit the road David joked, “She beats me more,” and Marie looked at him, grinned, and quipped back, “Some days I can’t say that I don’t want to,” but added that would be true if they lived in a house, too
With all the changes they’ve made, the Edgars have no regrets. David spent his career in law enforcement and Marie in finance, and David said, “If we would have stayed in the house, we would have probably continued working longer than what we had planned because we had a house. We would never have had half the experiences we’ve had or had the chance to chase our grandbabies around.”
Aside from more time with family, the highlight of the lifestyle is the friends they meet along the way. When they started their travels, they made 500 business cards with their contact information and recently had to order another box because they gave all the cards away
David said a couple recently arrived at the RV park and the man said, “I remember you… I still have your business card sitting right there on my desk.”
Marie said, “That’s one of the reasons we retired early, because we’ve known people that retired because they got cancer; and they lived for six months doing cancer treatment, not having any fun or going and seeing family – they didn’t get that experience. We’re getting to travel the country and see all of God’s creation.”
The Edgars plan to stay on the road for at least five or six more years
David said, “We would have had a handful of friends if we would have stayed where we were. Now we’ve got an abundance. You know, money isn’t everything. My brother made money; he got into computers at the right time. And I was just a public servant. But I think, out of everybody, in our opinion? We have more fun.”
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July 9 2026
Unconventional lifestyle leads couple to Worland
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