Hellos and Goodbyes

Ah, the new year. We had been enjoying the last few weeks of 2023 in and around San Diego and it felt like time to get back out into nature. What better place to head back to than one of our favorite dispersed camping spots: Chiriaco Summit just south of Joshua Tree National Park.

This place is great, which is why we keep coming back. There is a ton of federal land to camp on, there are plenty of other campers all around (but spread out enough that you can have lots of space to yourself- unless someone parks too close to you and runs their generator 24/7 ::ahem:: “Generator Judy”). This area is far enough away from a populated town but close enough that you can travel to one for groceries/gas if needed. Don’t forget that it’s literally down the road from Joshua Tree National Park. And the sunrises and sunsets are unreal.

What more can be said? We love it here. The days were spent working and enjoying nature.

And also getting overly excited one day when the Goodyear Blimp flew by.

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After having our heads buried in our computers for a few days, we decided that it was time to take a work break and treat ourselves with a day trip into Joshua Tree National Park. 

The last time we explored this park together was a little over 2 years ago, and Erin was able to bring her parents here in November when I left to attend a conference. It felt great to be back here together and climb some rocks!

We hiked two trails: Hidden Valley (one of our favorites from last time) and Split Rock (our first time on this one, and now might be our new favorite!) We hiked the entire Split Rock trail while pointing at different rocks and wondering if it was THE split rock. Turns out we hiked the trail backwards and found the split rock at the very end.

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The real fun, however, was about to begin. Our good friend, Heather, and her cute pup were coming to meet up with us outside Joshua Tree.

We were all getting ready to head to a vanlife meetup in a few days, so Erin prepared the dogs with their special rainbow ribbon collars.

Heather is an amazing photographer, and she’s always keeping her eye out for a great shot. You never know when she’ll sneek off during a campfire and return with some incredible shots! 🤩

(Important sidenote: The best photos in the next few photo collages are credited to Heather!)

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Vanlife Pride

Where do I even begin? What an incredible experience Vanlife Pride was this year. I’ll back up for a moment:

Two years ago, Vanlife Pride hosted its first-ever meetup in Quartzsite, AZ. We attended and had a great time meeting a bunch of fellow queer/ally travelers and exchanging stories, attending workshops, etc. Everyone parked in this large formation that created a boulevard of vans, buses, RVs, cars, etc. It was really cool to walk down the road and see the uniqueness and personality of each person’s rig. I don’t know the exact numbers, but I believe there were less than 100 vehicles at this first meetup.

Fast forward to this year. The word must have gotten out about this awesome event because this time around it felt like it had tripled in size! We decided to park towards the end of the road, away from “center camp” in order to have some space from all the activity and late night dance parties. (This year there were designated quiet hours, which was very much appreciated!) It was nice to have the option to walk to/through center camp when we felt like we were ready for socializing activities, and then stay back in our little corner when we needed some more chill quiet time. It was also better for Harvey, who is having more trouble seeing these days and alerts us of most people/dogs who walk by…

Some of the Vanlife Pride activities we participated in included:

• daily yoga
• queer scouts (we made mini fire starter kits and obviously ate snacks)
• a class on how not to get your rig stuck
• open mic night (holy cow, these people were incredibly talented!)
• nightly dance parties with a live DJ
• community campfires
• and just meeting and conversing with lots of wonderful people

As the weekend went on, more and more travelers continued to arrive. Space within the main “boulevard” was becoming limited and we gained more neighbors.

A van with two dogs hanging out the windows pulled up and then parked right across from us. First thought: “Oh no, they have dogs…”

They got out of their van and proceeded to attach a rainbow Canadian flag to the outside of it. Second thought: “They’re Canadians! We have to meet them!”

They ended up being the loveliest people, and are also musicians, so of course we all had to get our instruments out and have a desert jam session. (Photos credited to Heather!)

As a few more awesome and fascinating people joined our cohort on the outskirts of the larger meetup, we lovingly dubbed ourselves “introvert corner.”

For a couple of days, we all set up our chairs at dawn and just hung out and talked from the morning hours of the sunrise through the evening and into the starry nights around a campfire. The only reason to have our phones out at all was to take photos/videos. And I barely even did that. (One more credit to the amazing photographer, Heather.)

Conversations were silly and they were deep. There was bellyache laughter and there were tears. Heather described it like this, (I’m paraphrasing) “Introvert Corner: where you cry until you laugh and laugh until you cry.” I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced so much space held for each person to tell their story. Someone would ask a question to the group and the topic wouldn’t change until each person had a chance to answer. There was never pressure to share, but always support and validation. People related to each other on such a deep level having differing yet similar life experiences, and with shared innate experiences of being a queer person in this world.

Let’s just say that this weekend was one for the books. It was the definition of living in and enjoying the moment. In Erin’s words, “You had to be there.”

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Let’s not forget that when you’re in the beautiful desert, Heather will treat you to a photo shoot! You can follow more of her amazing work here: Heather Lemmon and Hello, Photo!

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The few weeks following Vanlife Pride felt like a blur. We did some extra traveling back and forth from Quartzsite to Phoenix to take care of some things (and make some major purchases- more on this later!)

These last weeks out west consisted of work engagements, celebrations, great visits with friends, and enjoying our last nights of desert boondocking with friends before hitting the road.

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It was time to make our way back to the midwest for some major family time. Along the way, we camped at Holloman Lake just outside White Sands National Park, Oasis State Park in New Mexico, a few Harvest Hosts, and (you guessed it) a good ‘ol Cracker Barrel.

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These last few weeks of traveling were really bittersweet. As you’ve probably heard by now, we are in the transition between vans. We began this transition by purchasing an empty cargo van in Phoenix, and while there, we met with the company that is doing our custom buildout.

It was pretty challenging to make the final decision to get a new van, but soon after starting this whole adventure we knew that the travel lifestyle was something we’d like to continue for a while.

Back in 2020, we purchased this van after having done hours and hours of research on layouts and functions. When we found this used van, it was the closest thing to what we had been looking for. It was the most perfect first van for us as we started this whole travel lifestyle.

Over the past four years of owning this van and almost three years of traveling in it full-time, we’ve learned so much about the routines that work best for us. After a wide range of experiences and countless conversations about the configuration and details, we’ve figured out what our priorities are in a layout, and we’ve gained so much knowledge about how the van’s functions contribute to our routines day in and day out.

We went back and forth about it for over a year trying to decide if the changes we wanted to implement were going to be worth designing a new van from scratch. None of the changes seemed huge, but they all added up. Many conversations began with “It would be really nice if…” or “could you imagine if…”, and as always, we considered all the factors and followed our intuitions.

A van is our home. It’s our vehicle and means of getting around. But above all that, it’s like a magical portal to experience amazing things, to live in and to explore nature, to visit people we never had the chance to visit and places we’ve never even heard of before. You live in a sticks and bricks house then you go out into the world and have plenty of experiences outside of the house. With van life, the van is with you all along the way. It’s a huge part of the adventure!

Of course, we’re excited for the new van, but it’s hard to say goodbye to something that has been an essential piece of your lifestyle and the reason for all the experiences you’ve been so fortunate to have.

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Once arriving to the Midwest, we were able to stay put with some family/friends and move out of the van in order to get it ready to sell.

Preparing the van took time, effort, and money. There were numerous appointments to have various things inspected and fixed up if needed. Often it was quite stressful and emotional. It felt like putting in tons of work with no promise of reward. Of course we loved this van so much, but how long would it take to find a new owner that would love it just as much?

After having it on the market for six weeks, we sold our van.

Luckily, (and this was something we were most hesitant about in selling), the van found a wonderful new home in an extremely kind and fun couple getting ready to set off on their retirement adventures.

On a separate but related note, we used KeySavvy for this transaction. For anyone selling or buying a vehicle, we highly recommend this platform. KeySavvy verifies both the buyer’s and sellers’ identity, oversees and verifies the financial transfer, creates a bill of sale and purchase agreement, and handles the transfer of the title. Throughout the transaction process, the site’s dashboard updated with who needed to do what next. It was so clear and easy to use. Buyers and sellers each pay a fee of $99 (this cost increased since the time we signed up), and there’s an option to either divide the fees between buyer/seller or to have one party pay all fees. In our opinion, the fees are well worth the guidance, safety, and peace of mind of the entire process.

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The morning before handing over the keys to the van’s new owners, we took one last family photo in it with Harvey. He definitely knew something was up. After the photo, when Erin tried to pick him up out of the van, he backed away from her into the area between the seats where his bed used to be. He didn’t want to leave! She finally got a hold of him and as she pulled him towards her, he dragged his feet and they slid across the floor. Wow. What a defined moment.

Before heading out, we took some final family photos in the van.

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The van transfer itself went smoothly. We got the OK from KeySavvy and handed over the keys. The moment we began driving away was quite emotional for both of us. It was so hard to say goodbye to this van, but we’re so happy that it went to such a good home, and we know she’ll be well loved!!!

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Since mid-February when we began this transition, we’ve been able to stay with family and friends. “Home is where you… are?” Seriously though, we feel SO MUCH GRATITUDE for those who have given us a place to call home in this period of transition. THANK YOU!!! ❤️🫶🏻❤️

And thanks to you, our readers and followers, for coming along on this journey with us. Like we said before, we’re not done with #vanlife yet! As soon as we pick up our new van, which should be ready within the next few weeks, we’ll be hitting the road. See you out there!