The Open Road is an iconic image.
Watery waves of heat rising off the blacktop, wheels purring as they rush over asphalt. The ever-changing picture show rolling by outside: the motley greens of a forest, the pastel brushstrokes of a desert, the sharp lines of a mountain, the open blue sky over a canyon. The windows rolled down, the radio turned up, and all the world before you, accessible from the endless miles of connecting roadways that weave and curve and loop their way across the land.
The road has always called to me. After graduating college, I decided to answer it. I packed up, built a tiny home into the back of a cargo van, and took off. Every step of the way was an adventure, from buying the van to saying goodbye to it.
You can read about it all here, starting with buying the van and converting it into a tiny home, a process which took 2 years. I took two major trips in the van: the first through Canada and around Alaska, and the second in a loop around the United States. Ultimately, Danica and I visited 25 American states and 4 Canadian states together, including national parks, capital cities, historic sites, and more.
Unfortunately, I realized that as great an experience traveling with Danica was, van life wasn’t really for me. In 2020 I decided to sell Danica and use the money to embark on new adventures, which you can read about on Pushpins and Passports.
From the Darkest Skies to City Lights: Salt Lake City
Follow your instincts, be spontaneous, discover things you never knew were there to be discovered.
And that’s how I discovered vanlife.
The World From 13,000 Feet
It’s hard not to feel invincible standing at the end of the crest, the mountain dropping straight down on nearly every side, the world unfolding before you like a butterfly spreading its wings.
Everything's Turning Up Roses
Arriving at Dave and Nancy’s house presented a slightly-terrifying challenge. And by “slightly-terrifying,” I mean I was fairly sure it was going to put a swift end to the trip.
The Problem with Jumping in the Deep End
I’m not writing this post to complain. I realized that this — everything being a total mess — is part of the whole experience.
I’m not failing at it, I’m doing it.
The First Day: Lassen Volcanic National Park
Zach looked back and said that everything looked ok, except there seemed to be something shiny — something that looked like water — on the floor.
I've Named the Van, and I'm Nearly Set to Go
The last week before I left was just as insane, because all of that was still going on, but I also had a lot of goodbyes to get through.
A Few Thoughts on Americanism
Forth of July was the one day every year that I always felt unstoppable. It made me feel empowered, one person supported and held up by millions of people, like every dream I’d every dared to entertain was as close as those fireworks, falling down upon me from the stars.
I Destroyed Part of My Build
I was dead set on pretending I had no van, and that I’d never been crazy enough to start this insane project, for the rest of the day.
The Emotional Highs and Lows of a Van Build
I’ve got this general sense of being totally overwhelmed sitting in the back of my mind, and these moments when I’m so uncomfortable and can’t seem to get something to work right just hit me really hard.
