Mar 21
Some of the insane chambers of Carlsbad Caverns, courtesy of the guided tour
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Some of the insane chambers of Carlsbad Caverns, courtesy of the guided tour
Link Lake — not a bad sight to wake up to
After last week's test trip out to Tahoe and El Dorado (and a brief stop back home to make some last-minute tweaks to the van), we are finally back on the road in earnest, sauntering vaguely north.
The ultimate goal is Seattle and Vancouver, but it'd be nice to be able to continue on to Alaska, gas prices willing.
We're taking Highway 1 for now, as we're both suckers for beaches—especially moody, broody ones like today's visit to Blind Beach (though yesterday's sunny stop at Dillon Beach was also much enjoyed).
Not sure how long we're gonna spend getting to WA & BC. I don't really have a deadline, so I'm trying to just take my time and not rush things (which I normally do). Only spent about an hour and a half on the road yesterday. Aiming for about the same today. Just gonna leapfrog our way up the coast, one boondock at a time.
The Road So Far
Rosie's bum cylinder made her unregisterable in California, so back in December I bought a new van, a 1996 Ford Econoline E-150. Your basic "classic van." I loved it.
I proceeded to fully gut her of the mediocre build the previous owner had been living with. I could've kept the walls, but there was so much wasted space in there I knew it all had to go. I spent about a month fixing up her mechanicals (new brake system, thorough coolant system cleaning, gutted much of the wiring, the works) and then spent about six months building her out.
It was a long, laborious process, made even moreso by the fact that I was doing it solo. Certain tasks that would've taken barely an hour with a second set of hands wound up taking me entire days to get done. It also took a lot longer than it might've otherwise because I was determined to make the most of every square inch of space. So, for example, where most van builds would just put in flat walls to save time, I painstakingly fit the interior to the contours, saving space but costing time.
But I got it done in the end, and while it took a good four months longer than I had expected, the end result was something I'm incredibly happy with.
Spiro and I set out last Sunday (a week ago tomorrow) and slowly made our way down to SoCal, where we are currently. I'll have a bit more detail on our trip thus far (and more recent shots of the van) in future posts, but for now that's the basic summary of everything so far.
I'm a little behind on updates. Apologies to my reader.
Currently in the general Chilliwack area in British Columbia. Very much enjoying the Matt Foley Special, so I may stay in this roadside spot another night or two before moseying on.
Berry Creek, just a random stream seen from a random roadside pullout in North Cascades NP. Wild.
This is my photo of Multnomah Falls. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Made it to Oregon, where the county parks charge six dollars but the public lands are still free.