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.
What to Expect If You Throw Your Keys Away in a National Park
And what the hey, if I was going to be stuck in the parking lot until Monday, apparently hallucinating trail information, and things literally falling apart around me, I figured I would just pop open a cold one and watch Disney movies.
Crunch Time
I’m absolutely excited. Practically vibrating with joy and determination and general bubblegummy-ness. I’m also terrified.
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 Final Days Before The Pacific Northwest
Everything that I’ve been thinking about just to keep myself going for the last year and a half. The life I’ve been dreaming about is eight hours away.
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.
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.
Progress Easing into Summer
Despite the distractions, I’m trying to stay on top of the build and figuring out how to work with some of the delays.
Construction 101: My Journey From Clueless to Clued-In
I don’t think I’d ever so much as touched a saw of any kind, I had no idea that 2x4 really meant 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches, and the descriptions of some of these screws sounded like gibberish to me (how can a screw be both a Phillip’s and flat? Why is it a #8 but it’s 2 inches long?).
Every Time I Think I'm Done...
I can’t help but think about what I would do differently if I were to do another build. There is one big thing that I wouldn’t do the same way over again if you dared me to.
Dialing Up the Excitement
Here I am, sitting in half an inch of insulation foam sawdust, looking around at the walls of my van, which are slowly disappearing behind these big shiny panels, and one day soon it’s going to be my home. Completely surreal.
A New Plan, and Reflections So Far
I wanted this experience to change the way I live my life, to help me become the kind of person I want to be. Maybe it’s working.
