Saturday Photo: California
Wildfire haze — 19 August 2020 — Mammoth Lakes
5 People I Never Would Have Met If I Hadn’t Moved into a Van
BECOMING A VAN DWELLER more than seven years ago changed me in ways I couldn’t have imagined back then, and gave me opportunities I’d never have believed. Here are five people who changed my life:BOB WELLS In the fall of 2013, I drove my 2001 GMC Safari van to...
Facing the fear of change
VERY FEW PEOPLE CAN MAKE THE LEAP INTO FULL-TIME VEHICLE LIVING without experiencing some degree of anxiety. Most of us have never done anything like it before. There’s so much that’s unknown and unpredictable. There’s so much uncertainty. Humans tend to avoid...
Build-out Idea: Repurposed Antiques in a Short Bus
MARY HAD AN ANTIQUE STORE. When she decided to live in a short bus she said, “If I can’t have antiques I’m not going.” She was true to her word.There’s a 200 year old table, an old dresser with a sink added, a cupboard from a sailboat, fruit crates turned into...
Driving to the Arctic Ocean on the Dempster Highway: Part 2, the Trek
WE DIDN'T GO TO THE YUKON with the plan of traveling up the Dempster. In fact, we had driven by the intersection on the way to Dawson City without the slightest idea of what it was or that we would be back the next day. Pamela and I aren't town people, but Dawson City...
Weekend Photo: Wyoming
Trying their luck — 23 July 2020 — The Pinnacles
Driving to the Arctic Ocean on the Dempster Highway: Part 1, Preparations
EVEN THOUGH IT WAS ALMOST THREE YEARS AGO, I remember that day, that moment, as though it were this morning. For what seemed like forever, but was hardly more than a heartbeat, I paused and looked at the road ahead of me. We were at the intersection of the Klondike...
Changes at Alabama Hills
ALABAMA HILLS, at the base of the highest peak in the Lower 48, is one of the most popular boondocking spots along the Eastern Sierras. A lot of cowboy movies were filmed there. Nearby Lone Pine is a restocking point along the Pacific Crest Trail and a base camp for...
How strong is a solar panel?
Glass, brittle photovoltaic wafers, thin plastic backing, and an aluminum frame. It all seems so… fragile. I mean, it’s a far cry from steel and stone, so it’s no wonder people are concerned about the durability of their solar panels.Well, let’s get the most common...
Build-out Idea of the Week: A Door on a Door
Kevin from Georgia has a background in industrial maintenance, so he has a knack for construction and electrical systems. He started vandwelling part time in 2016 after discovering Cheap RV Living. “I started small,” he explains. “I started with a cot and some totes,...
Weekend Photo: Navajo Nation
Star dance — 12 September 2018 — Monument Valley
Solo boondocker safety from different points of view
Sometimes a delightful symbiosis lands in your lap. Or in your email. I had asked Sarah Jane “Wonderhussy” Woodall to write about safety while boondocking solo. Shortly after receiving that article I got an unsolicited submission from Susan Hare, who has written for...