Going Home

Two dudes detailing their vanlife exploits! Currently: Stationary while we work on getting the van ready to go.

[tree-velers]

7/12/18 - Heat

It’s so hot. Like, unbearably hot.

We spent yesterday at the Omaha zoo, since a friend paid for our tickets for us. We were there from open til close and we had a huge blast, but it was also very taxing on us physically, I think. I managed to get sunburned through my shirt (hooray, again) and I’m dealing with the way my skin gets oily and tight because of it.

We were smelling terrible and were exhausted so we decided to indulge in a shower but as soon as we got back to the van, we were coated in sweat again. I already wasn’t feeling good, suffering from some mild dehydration, so I was feeling pretty sour and wanted to just lay down for bed. This turned out to be a wasted effort.

We don’t have a roof vent right now and the way the bed is set up, we just have no way of getting any ventilation. So picture if you will two guys with mild heat exhaustion laying in bed with nothing but a small usb-powered fan to cool us. Tobi lets off.. a lot of heat; he just naturally runs hot. I run cold and don’t do well in the heat at all, so I’ve already been irritable and uncomfortable in the last week. So last night I woke up out of a dead sleep after only resting for 45 minutes and something was wrong. Y’know how you can just tell something’s wrong with your body? I woke up to that. 

I had to crawl over onto the ground and open the side door to let some semblance of a breeze move through so i could cool down, and not a lot else was helping. We can’t keep ice for more than a day and a half (even 20 pounds just disappears) and we’ve barely been able to spend any time in the van at all. which, honestly understandable given circumstance but its hard to feel like you’re at home when you can’t spend any time at home. Everything about our van is designed to withstand cold temperatures, not hot.

The first trial week we ran our water jugs froze over because it was so cold, so we figured it’d be more of a problem than it is. Guess we overestimated.

So with it being too hot to cook, we’re eating out a lot (as cheap as we can get), trying to find colder weather where we can, and spending a lot of time in public libraries, stores, etc to get some relief. It sorta figures that the summer we decide to move into the van is the summer that we experience one of the worst heatwaves in memory.

[tree-velers]

7/7/18 - Fireflies

Nebraska is humid as balls and i hate it. It’s awfully unpleasant and sleeping at night has become impossible. And unless we want to do laundry every single day, we’ve succumbed to smelling like van hippies. Which, I guess, isn’t the worst thing we could smell like.

We’ve been in Nebraska for half a week now, having left Wyoming just in time to end up on a hill that overlooked all of Sidney. Which, as it turns out, Sidney has a massive fireworks display on the 3rd of July, funded by the city and put on by its volunteer firefighters. Which meant that from where we were sitting, we were getting the view of an entire city’s worth of fireworks going off all at once. There were 6 or 7 different sites that were just lighting up the sky. It was honestly a magical and unique experience. We stayed at that Walmart another night and got plenty of work done that day, but we wanted to not overstay our welcome, since the Walmart employees had been kind enough to not ask us to leave when we’d been parked there over a day and a half. We left in the morning as soon as we could.

I also saw fireflies for the very first time two nights ago (Tobi calls em ‘lightningbugs’). I started to tear up immediately because the only time I had ever seen them was in cartoons or things like that, but I was watching this awfully large beetle fly by the open door of the van and while I was staring at him he just... lit up. Flashed this green-yellow light and then faded again. And I watched him twinkle in complete and utter awe for a few minutes. The more I looked, the more of them I saw and it was amazing. I hadn’t even considered fireflies as being a thing; we just don’t have them anywhere I’ve lived before. There were maybe 50 of them that night and i cried. I also scratched myself to high hell, because apparently fireflies are the warning bug. They come out, so do the mosquitos, and I have to run for cover because I swear I have never in my life realized how much of a mosquito magnet I am. I’ve got 3 big purple bruised bite marks right now, and that’s just from having the door open for a short while.

So far, this continues to be a very hard life. I maintain that I think I would enjoy it more if we were doing less dry camping; something more out in the boonies would suit me just fine but honestly we’re not getting a lot of that right now. We’re trying to get to the east coast in time for a friend’s big life event, and that means just straight-shotting it towards the east coast via the i80. Which means a lot of walmarts, since they’re the easiest and most accessible thing for us right now.

We’re getting better about getting out of our shell, I think. I’ve been more willing to chat with folks we meet in certain situations (folks at tourist centers, people we pass by, etc). It’s not like I’ll ever see them again, might as well chat it up. It’s been pretty nice, actually. Met a couple of girls today who told me some cool stuff about Colorado, had a nice Nebraska guide suggest some art museums, had another guide at a different station offer to let us fill our water tank and water bottles (which was so kind of her; she didn’t have to do that and we’re so grateful).

I think there’s some very stressful days for me. I panic a lot about my work, because in order to do it I need to be able to sit down and focus a lot, for hours at a time. Right this second, I just do not have a place to comfortably work in the van; I can come close with some finagling right now, but it’s unpleasant. I think as soon as we’re able, I want to tear that bed apart and build us a new one that allows for us to both sit and work, and maybe if I can get away with it install a roof vent as well (although that would require just a bit more than we can do right now; we’d have to hook it up somehow and I am not an electrician). The summer is just... sweltering, in the van. Trying to sleep just leaves us sticky and miserable.

We’ve been talking about it and quite frankly, we think that we’d both be much happier with a class b. I recently checked my credit for the first time and it turns out that it’s excellent (700+) so getting a loan would be no problem whatsoever. We’d just be needing a small income boost in order to handle it, so I think I’ll double down on the work for myself and see about putting some savings away. It’d be an excellent goal for next year, or the year after.

So far it’s absolutely gorgeous seeing the different landscapes and everything but the further east we go, the more I’m missing the PNW. At least this is giving me a newfound appreciation for it.

[tree-velers]

7/1/2018 - Vanniversary

It’s officially 1 month since we moved into Big Boi! I’ve got a lot of thoughts on it so far.

We’re in Wyoming right now, which is honestly great. Traveling through what little of Utah we did was awful; I’d never encountered a place so hostile in my life. The energy very clearly Did Not Want Us There. Which is fine, because we left as soon as we came, and Wyoming has been a lot better to us since. The weather is mild, the air is clean and the scenery is beautiful, everywhere you look. It’s not the PNW that I’m used to, but having never been off the west coast, this is an interesting and welcome change of scenery. I haven’t seen any wild rams though, so still not gonna give it 5 stars.

We stayed at Bear River State Park for a few days and on the last day I had an interesting conversation. I was charging my laptop at the north pavilion and a woman approached me. She seemed like she was talking to herself the entire time, but the closer she got I realized she was talking specifically to me. Normally I keep my head down when stuff like that happens but I sort of couldn’t when she was walking straight up to me. She came to stop in front of me and said “Sir?” “Yes?” “I-oh wow, you’re beautiful. Do you know that? Sir, I was wondering about this pavilion, it says reserved on it, does that mean we can’t stay around?” I told her I wasn’t the one that had reserved it, I was just stealing the outlets for my laptop so I could get a little work done, and she nodded and we talked for a little while. She jumped topics a lot, but I learned quite a bit about her because of it. She was traveling with a bloke she’d met on the road, coming from Oregon (Eugene, too, can you believe that?) and she was on the way to a wedding for some gay folks. She mentioned that she wasn’t terribly fond of the guy she was with but he hadn’t hurt her yet and that was good, she was excited for the wedding. She also pegged me as having family from Germany, and was happy to hear that we were from the same city. She asked if I had a vehicle and I mentioned yes, and she seemed like she was interested in bumming a ride, but she got off that train of thought quickly I think. 

That was the first time I’d actually spoken to a stranger at length since we had gotten into the van, and it was... while it was very odd for me, it was a wholly positive experience. And that never would’ve happened had I not taken this risk and gone out into the world like this.

We’ve seen tons of geese and deer and cows, and yesterday I saw a pronghorn antelope which was frickin’ amazing. We also saw the farm bison that were at the state park and picked up a couple of stickers. I’ve noticed in general that my attitude (at least in the van) is far more relaxed. I’m more willing to take my pants off and crawl into bed instead of staying fully dressed “in case something happens.” We’ve been having good luck with finding fresh water and bathrooms and wifi have both been rather plentiful. I still think I spend just a bit too much time killing time on social media, but I also notice I’m just as likely to pick up a book and read as I am my phone, since everything is so easily on-hand. My biggest struggle has been trying to find/make time to sit down and work and I like to think I”m finally getting into the right pace for that at least.

I know I keep waiting for this big shift in mentality when it comes to vanlife and so far and it hasn’t quite happened yet, but I do feel a little more relaxed. Things seem a teensy bit easier and I’m learning through this experience already, I know it. Things are getting better, just slowly.

[tree-velers]

6/25/18 - Idaho

Finally made it to the Idaho-Oregon border and it’s been... quite the experience. About 3-4 days ago I think I finally felt the groove of what we’re supposed to be experiencing? Tobi and I were grabbing a shower in some free public facilities at a place that’s apparently really popular with wind surfers (the place was flooded with ‘em for the 3 days we were there) and there were bugs and the shower curtain was moldy but... I realized that I was having fun regardless.

I mean, here we are, in the middle of nowhere. We’ve been staying in our van for weeks now and we’ve gotta grab a shower somehow and hey, this place is free, right? The bugs are polite and the door has a lock and no one has bothered us and hell the sunsets are gorgeous here, and it all just culminated in me laughing because in that moment nothing really mattered except the fact that we were finally getting clean. And man did it feel good.

We’re still finding our stride, I think. I’ve been having trouble eating healthy while we’re mobile. We tend to eat a lot of prepackaged or easy-cook things, like bag rice or chicken. We don’t have a lot of room right now (although I’ve reorganized us 3 times and we get a little more wiggle room each time) and it’s hard to really find a way to go all out and cook meals when you don’t even have a fridge. But we cook, at least. Our go-to in the mornings is either oatmeal on the easy days or, if we have the time and facilities, hashbrowns and eggs. It’s pretty stellar, on those mornings. Like today, we were camped in the blue mountains, in La Grand Rond and the valley was just breathtaking. The way the sun illuminated every hill and valley made it look like the light was golden and it really took my breath away, everywhere I looked.

I’ve also taken a lot of little joy in the stuff I do to maintain the van. Like, we get eaten alive by mosquitoes at night but it’s waytoo hot to keep those side windows closed, so I figured out how to make us some really simple bug screens that fit snug into the windowframes. It’s not... pretty, but it works. I put them up last night just as the sun was going down and started laughing because one of the mosquitoes had landed on our screen and just couldn’t get in. Isn’t that amazing? I did that. I made that happen, with my own two hands and about $35 in materials.

In general I think my mood is going up a bit. Y’know? It’s hard as hell, and not for everyone, and I don’t have a clue how anyone would be doing this on their own; Tobi keeps me sane and helps me stay focused which is more than I can say for anything else right now. I don’t know what other people are thinking, attempting to trek out on their own; at least get a dog or something. It’s lonely out here! But y’know. In general, things are getting a little easier, or I’m adjusting just a bit better. Not sure, not gonna question it right now. Welcome to Idaho.

[tree-velers]

6/20/18

Today is another one of those 'I am being reminded of how difficult this all is' days.

We were able to stop at Meep's for a day so we could get some water and a shower and pick up some mail we'd hoped would be arriving. It was a pretty important package that unfortunately didn't actually make it to us. With a doctors appointment down in Portland the next day, we decided to call it a loss and have the mail sent to us elsewhere (to save on gas) since it wasn't time-sensitive, just important. We hope it arrives quickly but we wanted to be moving east soon; we have to be east coast by September and we wanted to be able to take our time doing it. So, we left this morning for the doctor, which now that we're here we're having a whole other host of issues including complications with insurance and frustrating delays due to things that weren't our fault to begin with.

While getting the oil changed two days ago, we were informed that Big Boi is still leaking oil (still only in a minor way). After the $650 i dropped to try and replace the oil lines to make sure this issue was resolved, I'm a little pissed. This means that he's likely not burning the oil internally, which is great, but he's still leaking and that's still a problem. And all this comes down to money which, quite frankly, we just don't have right now. Not until I can get on my feet with my job, anyway. This month has been so expensive but I'm really praying to the gods that everything will work out. I know that this is the spirit of adventure (and, admittedly, I can feel myself just barely getting ahead of the curve on this stuff) but it's stressful and really amazing how hard a minor issue can be exasperated. Baldr's blessings that we can find our footing soon.

Positivity so far: I've learned how breathtaking Washington's sunsets are and how much I love napping in the passenger seat. You also get to be very creative with simple things, like figuring out how to get the water out of your water storage without removing the jug and without a pump available.

[tree-velers]

06/16/2018

They say that the first month is the hardest. I’m not quite sure who “they” is, but they’re absolutely not wrong.

We’ve been mobile since June 1st, but a good portion of that time (9th-14th) was spent at a friend’s house for a visit. And while that visit was fantastic and we had a great time, I can’t help but be filled with apprehension now that we’re back on the road.

The first week or so, we were on a pretty tight schedule. We had to go south to california for an errand and then work our way back up to washington. Which, considering we were starting in oregon, it wasn’t that difficult, but it was very pressured. We had a goal in mind, we were consistently heading somewhere, we were working towards filling days until we could finally get to our friend and have fun at our visit. We were constantly pushing ourselves towards that goal and ended up arriving an evening early, simply put, for lack of anything better to do. We spent so much in gas and usually ate out, and it felt much more like a road trip than anything else.

Now that the visit is over (which, btw, thank you for hosting us meep it was a phenomenal visit and an experience I’d love to repeat sometime) we’re back on the road but I feel more anxiety and paranoia than I did before. We had to spend most of yesterday in portland for a doctors visit and, because of a mixup with the pharmacy and waiting on my medication, ended up having to stay for a bit longer than we’d wanted to. But I’m horribly uncomfortable in big cities; I lock eyes with someone and feel terrified, like a target. I’ve heard horror stories. I’m sure most of them aren’t true, but having lived in more agricultural cities while completely avoiding downtown districts, I’ve got no experience with them. Which just means I want to get out as fast as possible.

I know the whole point of vanlife is to get out there and have new experiences, to spend some time with the world around you and to connect with other people. But I can’t help that, somehow, I’m doing it... wrong. I mean, we’ve only been back on the road for a day and yesterday was a very bad day for me in general (I am a difficult draw for blood tests), and after about a week of nightly flareups for my GERD I’m probably just in a sour mood and letting that affect everything else. But I’d expected something a bit more... glamorous, I guess. We’ve done very little boondocking, we’ve been struggling with balancing our budget and our needs (gotta love not being prepared despite a year of prep amirite) and my mental illnesses are trying their best to get the better of me.

I dunno. I really hope that this is just the adjustment period. I want to have a lot of new experiences, and to meet new people or to make new friends, but quite frankly I’m scared of the world around me. We’ve taken away our own safety net and we’re just a coupla dudes in a van. It’s weird and scary and I don’t know how to react just yet, I guess. Other folks make it look so easy.

But to be completely fair, we’ve only really been on the road for about a week, and then we went right back to staying in a house. I suppose that’s not very long at all, in the grand scheme of things. I think we’ll see.

I will say that my favorite part of everything is the driving. I love the feeling of moving and going to a new destination. I was always so afraid of driving, or so nervous, but with Big Boi I’m so comfortable. It’s a nice feeling. Also our bed is comfortable and I love being able to nest up in it at night. But once the blinders go on and we settle in for the evening, I get hit with the feeling of “I should be doing something.” Playing through my stock of games or working on my job or.... something. Hell, most of yesterday was spent with me catching up on sleep or just staring out the window at our camp (the washington sunset was gorgeous, I was enthralled). I just feel like there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it and right now we’re doing it wrong. That probably sounds ridiculous but that’s how I feel I guess.

Here’s hoping this is just a rocky patch before the fun stuff shows up!

[tree-velers]

this is not what breadknives were intended for, but vanlifers make due

[tree-velers]

hello! we haven’t posted much since we’ve been having a little trouble financially and we’re entering that scramble as The Day approaches. as of today we’re 12 weeks away from our leave date and there’s still so much to do. we’ll post a bit more once we have something to share.

[vanlifers]

“What’s better than being able to spend all day in the mountains, come back to a cosy warm home, cook a healthy meal, read a book by the fire, have a restful sleep, and then repeat again in a brand new location? Being able to do all of that whilst knowing you made it happen with your own hard work, dedication and commitment. That’s what 😃 I love looking at this space knowing that I built it with these two hands 🙌🏻” Thanks to @thevanwithoutaplan #vanlifers #handmade #vanlife #vanlifediaries #roadtrip #campervan #vanlifeideas #homeiswhereyouparkit #tinyhouse #vanlifeexplorers #vanlifemovement #tinyliving #reformlife #adventure #diy #wanderlust #traveling #motivation #outdoors #nature #mountains #wilderness #wildernessculture #map #cabin #campvibes #woodworking #vancrush #gopro

[blue-bell-the-van]

[surferboianddollbaby]

[fromrusttoroadtrip]

Today was one of those rare days when we didn’t have wet clothes hanging up everywhere, there weren’t muddy shoes drying out on the step, there wasn’t a collection of detritus on the bed as we drove, and there wasn’t a huge three day soup balancing precariously in the washing up bowl.

We took a photo so we could remember the rare times our van is ever this tidy on the road.

#Follow the hashtag #Fromrusttoroadtrip to follow our van conversion project and our travels around Europe! 🌍

[quiet-nymph]

Photography by Martina Gebarovska 🇨🇿

[the-penthouse-on-wheels]

[vanlifers]

Free camp spots are the best camp spots. @alexandino24 shared this awesome spot he found on his way to Big Sur. Via @van_craft to @vanlifers #vanlifers #vanlife #bigsur (em Big Sur, California)

[fromrusttoroadtrip]

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”

- Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Follow the hashtag #Fromrusttoroadtrip to follow our van conversion project and our travels around Europe! 🌍

[greggontheroad-deactivated20190]

“BUS BBQ BILL’s” epic rig and mobile cookout bar & Kitchen complete with rooftop deck and dining … Doesnt get much better than that!