Jump on Craigslist and go rescue a used MTB from somewhere. Say a Specialized Hardrock Sport. Good tough roomy aluminum frame poorly appointed. Should be about $75, or so. No quill stem bikes need apply.

Then do some upgrades as time an money permit. Maybe add a nice used air fork ... Maybe some + sized white walled Schwalbe Marathon tires ( ) for higher visibility when you come out of the dirt side road ...

Point being that every time you do an upgrade, you will want to ride it to try it out. And you'll try all sorts of venues to put it through its paces. Does not matter if you are hippo or not. No one can resist trying out an incremental upgrade

When you are satisfied, you now have your rough gravel bike and even swap trail bike