The day after Christmas in 2020, I finally hit the road again. You see, I bought this van and started full time right as the pandemic began. It was so difficult figuring out vanlife when the entire country was closed, so I went back to part time. I spent most of 2020 in Ohio, which was soul crushing since I had envisioned this grand year of embracing an outdoors focused life. I'm proud to say I have now completed year 2 completely full time in the van!
2021 opened in the best way, I decided to take a step away from the usual NYE parties and end the year right, 15 miles of Paria Canyon with Bill and Traci from Adventure and Vow! At the time, this was the longest hike I had ever done, and doing it with my close friends in the longest slot canyon in the world was incredible.
January 1st opened up also in a grand way, we went rappelling through a white slot canyon where I had an accident and swore I crushed my finger. My finger ended up being okay, and I was feeling alive.
In the winter I visited Zion National Park, California, Arizona (where the transmission blew up), drove all the way up to Montana to try skiing for the first time (definitely not my thing), some jobs in Colorado, and then finally ended up in Moab in March for the spring.
Moab is one of the most defining parts of 2021 for me, but more on that later. Spending the entire month of March in Moab just made me fall even more in love with the land. Family and friends visited for the first time, and I completed the 5 national parks in Utah!
April brings us to California, I make lifelong connections on the central coast, and quickly find San Luis Obispo being one of my new home bases as well. After a busy spring season in California (read the blog on that here!), it was time to travel solo up to the Pacific Northwest.
August in the PNW was hard, beautiful, healing, and lonely all at the same time. Being on my own on the road brought a lot of tears, a lot of days where it was hard to get out of bed, but also a lot of excitement for the strangers I was meeting. I mostly stayed in Madrona, I had a beautiful spot on Lake Washington just a block away from Kurt Cobain's Seattle home. I had a short 4 minute commute to a really cute shop I worked at every day. I got to know the baristas, the locals, and the coffee shop owner. I also spent a bit of time hiking in the national parks alone, and learning how to find peace in my own company.
a new chapter: FINDING my NEW HOME
After many late summer weddings, I ended up having a 3 week break in the fall due to Covid cancellations where I usually wouldn't. I decided to drive to Moab, and I was so surprised with what I found.
I found community like no other. I found peace, friendship, adventure, shared hardship, everything I would want in a small town. I drank the water from Matrimony Springs, became “wedded” to Moab, and then spent a majority of the rest of the year here. Every morning would start with making my own coffee from Bob's espresso machine at the FMC. There's at least 20 people there every morning, everyone being friendly, playing chess, letting the dogs play, and coming up with our plans for the day. I conquered my fear of canyoneering after my hand accident earlier in the year, and bought my own gear to continue the sport on my own!
The biggest highlight of my year was going to the Fruit Bowl for turkey week, and not only seeing the spacenet, but getting to zipline into it for the first time! I picked up slacklining a couple months ago, and plan on high lining here next year.
So, where does that bring me to now? I'm spending the winter in the southwest again to escape the cold weather. Now that I have found new home bases, I'll mostly be splitting my time between the central coast of California and Moab for the foreseeable future (with a little trip to the PNW in the summer again!). I'm hoping to take some breaks from Van Life, starting by moving into a junkyard in the spring (it's nicer than it sounds I swear!)
Finally, the lessons learned from Van Life this year:
Living on the road can be scary and dangerous.
Less is more.
I enjoy a lifestyle that forces me to be outdoors more than indoors.
Good community is vital.
I thrive in small communities.
Being alone is scary, but very necessary for growth.
Self reliance is a blessing
I'm so excited for what year three brings! Thanks for reading along with my adventure :)
