After much deliberation and a bit of procrastination, I’ve finally parted with my beloved van.  As most of you probably know, the engine threw a rod on my last trip with it and the van never made it back from Texas.

It was not an easy decision for me.  My brain tells me it was the right thing, but my heart doesn’t feel the same way.  It’s not so much about the van itself, but the things it signifies to me- travel, exploring, time in nature and freedom.  I’m not, of course, really giving up all of those things.

I loved the van and if I had a much larger supply of time and money, I would have kept it.  Or perhaps if I had a lot more money, I’d buy a newer, nicer van.  The thing is that those resources are limited for me.  Right now, I just have other goals in my life that are the priority for me.

I’ve become more and more aware of how there are only so many things that I can really focus on at one time.  Spreading myself too thin means that I don’t make progress in any areas.  This is a constant battle for me because there are so many things in life that catch my interest that I would like to do.

There’s also a cost to owning things.  While the van was paid off, I still paid insurance, registration and maintenance costs.  Then there’s the time- to drive it on a regular basis, to wash it, to get it ready for trips.  If I was living in it as I’d once planned, these costs would be worth it.  But not living in it, the truth is that it would spend the majority of the time sitting parked in the street in front of my house.

It did make a wonderful vehicle for camping trips and I’ll miss that.  It just wasn’t worth what it would have cost to replace the engine for the occasional camping trip.  And, well, I do have a tent.  I’m a little sad, but also a little relieved that it’s one thing I don’t need to worry about anymore.

Someday, maybe I’ll find a new RV of some sort.  For now, I’ll make use of my tent, my car and the plethora of motel rooms across the country.  Oh, and those cute little cabins they have at state parks in Oklahoma.

The post Sold the van appeared first on Live Hoppy.

The Ouachita National Forest is perhaps my favorite place in Oklahoma.  I know in my post about Wister Lake State Park, I said the southeast corner of the state was my most favorite.  The Ouachita National Forest is in this same area, so I’m not just saying they’re all my favorite.  Although I do have many other favorites, this area tops the list for me.

The Ouachita National Forest is home to the Talimena Scenic drive- an epic drive that curves along the top of the mountains from Talihena, Oklahoma to Mena, Arkansas.  The drive is known as one of the best motorcycle rides in the state and for good reason.  It’s also one of the best drives I’ve seen.

The road is filled with curves and goes up and down the hills making it feel roller-coaster like.  Each curve makes you wonder what is around the next bend and the road seems to lure you forward.  There are several pull-outs with expansive views that look out across the rolling tree-covered landscape.

A few years back, I took a weekend day on one of my trips and did the complete drive and then found some other back roads from Arkansas back over into Oklahoma.  It always stuck in my mind as a gorgeous area that I wanted to see more of.  So on my last trip to Oklahoma, I figured I’d spend the weekend there since I had the van with me and could camp where I wanted.

I drove out there on a Friday after a work conference in Oklahoma City.  Talimena State Park is located at the start of the drive.  I’d stopped there before on my mission to see all the State Parks, but all it has is camp spots, RV spots and some trail-heads, so I hadn’t stayed long.  Since I had the van with me this time, I thought it would be the perfect time to stop.  I remembered it as quiet and nestled into the tall trees of the forest.

When I finally made it there after a bit of a drive it was as gorgeous as I remembered, but also much more crowded and some of the people there were fairly noisy.  I decided it was not the spot for me that night.  It was eeking on towards late afternoon and I was starting to feel that unique tension of being on the road and wanting to find a place soon, but not really knowing where that place was going to be.

So I started driving up the Talimena Scenic drive.  I quickly hit fog.  Cool, blanketing, dense, encompassing fog.  I took the road slowly, knowing I couldn’t see far.  It was cool.  I don’t know how often that area sees fog like that but my previous journey there had been on a clear day and I love how different weather and times of year change an area.  One of the things I love about traveling to the same places again and again is the way they change and it’s never really the same place.

Fog Pictures

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I pulled off on one of at one of the scenic vistas to take some pictures. It felt strange and isolating in the fog. I knew that if it weren’t foggy, there would be an expansive view but as it was, I could only see a very short distance. I studied the map a while and saw there was a dirt road tahead that I could turn off on and it looked hopeful for finding a camping spot.

I drove down the dirt road a few miles, but the road went steeply down and the only flat spot that would be good for spending the night was right where I’d turned onto the road. So I went back to there. It wasn’t ideal because it was close to the highway, but I figured it would work for the night. In all other respects, it was a perfect, gorgeous little camping spot.

I was happy to have a place to call ‘home’ for the night.  The Ouachita Trail was right there, so I took off down it for a little ways, feeling drawn on by the mystery of what lay ahead.  The tall trees and dense fog made it seem so dreamy.  Eventually I turned back to go eat.  Once I had dinner, I went back outside again.  By then it was dark and being alone in the forest with the dense fog made me feel creeped out and I hid in the sanctuary of my brightly lit van.

The next morning when I woke up, it was still a little foggy out.  As the sun rose, the sun beams filtering through the trees looked amazing on the fog.  As the trees moved in the gentle breeze, the sun beams danced around in this mesmerizing sort of way.  It was one of those super enchanting moments that just makes one feel like, “WOW!”

The only downside of the morning was that there was heavy motorcycle traffic on the road once the day got started.  They seemed too loud for the peaceful forest.

Bike Ride Pictures

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After breakfast, I took my bike down a section of the trail.  I found a couple of bugs that look like sticks and was also treated to a gorgeous view at one point.  Sill, it was one of those rides that was less than enjoyable.  The terrain was just a little past what I’m comfortable riding and I walked more than I rode.

Then I crashed twice, the second time twisting my ankle pretty good.  Worst of all was knowing that I crashed both times because I suddenly freaked out, hit the brakes, lost my balance and went tumbling.  Both times I was riding parallel to the hill, and I ended up leaning towards the downhill side where the ground was too far away to get a foot down to stop my fall.  If it weren’t for feeling afraid and hitting the brakes, I would have been fine.

I was relieved when the trail finally met back with the main road and I could just bike back on the main road.  But it turned out to be steeply uphill the whole way back and I had to walk the entire thing.  Every time a car would pass me as I was pushing my bike up the hill, I’d smile at them, hoping I wouldn’t look as miserable as I was.

After my bike ride, I showered and drove on to find a new camping spot for the next night.  I found a dirt road that turned off of the main highway and went a few miles down it before finding a nice little spot.

The next day I took off to Lake Wister State Park feeling more peaceful and rejuvenated.  The sky was overcast and visibility wasn’t as good as it could have been, but I couldn’t help but take a few last pictures on the way at a couple of the scenic pullouts.

This is one of those areas I have plans to go back to again and again.

The post Ouachita National Forrest appeared first on Live Hoppy.

Lake Wister State Park is one of only two Oklahoma State Parks that has cabins that I haven’t stayed in.  Doing so is definitely still on my to-do list.  I did make a brief stop by it one day on a previous trip, but the cabins were all booked up.  On my latest trip out to Oklahoma with my van, I figured I’d at least stay there, even if it wasn’t in a cabin.  In some ways, I prefer staying in the van anyway.

My stay was short, but sweet.  I arrived at Lake Wister after a weekend spent in the nearby Ouachita National Forrest.  I found a nice RV spot by the lake without any close neighbors.  It was unusually hot and sticky for October, so upon arrival, I plugged my van in and turned the AC on high.  But I didn’t cocoon up in my van too long- I went to go walk around the park and explore.  I found another RV spot that I liked, overlooking the water and close enough to it to have a guard-rail around the spot.  I would have moved there, but it was too close to another occupant for my tastes, so I settled for taking a picture of it.

I walked on to go check out the “group camp”- several A-frame cabins, a dining hall, and bath-house in their own separate area of the park.  I let my imagination run free, thinking of the events that might be held here.  I imagine how much fun it would be to be at one of them, although oddly I suspect I have more fun exploring by myself and imagining such things than I would being a part of such an event.

Then there was the sewer lagoon with a fence with barbed wire on top and signs proclaiming “NO TRESPASSING SANITARY SEWER LAGOON”.  I wonder how sanitary a sewer lagoon could possibly be and who would want to trespass there anyway.  I meandered on back to the van, stopping to take a few sunset pictures on the way.  I climbed back into the van, closing the door behind me and pulling the curtains closed too, content to snuggle up in the safety of my own little space.  Then it was time for dinner and reading a bit of Word Freaks- an excellent book Sam lent me about competitive Scrabble players.

Lake Wister Pictures

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I was in bed early and up early enough to see the near-full moon reflecting on the lake.  Early mornings are so precious and still.  With a small amount of regret, I left my lake-view spot to head to work.  But some day, I’ll be back to Lake Wister to try one of those cabins.

To learn more visit the Oklahoma State Park website.

The post Lake Wister State Park appeared first on Live Hoppy.

I’ve wanted to share in depth about my van for quite a while- including pictures and all of the little things I’ve learned that make traveling in it easier.  This turned into a fairly long post, but I hope it may provide some value to other people with Class B RVs or perhaps be a topic of interest for others.  Some of the things I share are pretty specific to my van, some may be specific to the brand and others may be useful for any Class B or other type of RV.  If you’re just curious about what the van looks like inside, you can just scroll through to see the pictures.

This post does contain links to some products on Amazon.  I am an Amazon Affiliate meaning that if you click through the link and buy something, they pay me a little.  Amazon has a gazillion products and I only link to the few I really love.

I started this post before the engine blew up.  I thought I would finish this post despite the fact that the van is now sitting in Snyder, Texas waiting for me to figure out what to do with it.  I am now back home without it.  (Despite the fact that I adore it, I am honestly leaning towards selling it.)

I’ve put off really posting pictures of it for months because I want everything to look just perfect.  I finally decided that probably nobody cares and I would just take the pictures.  These pictures were all taken during the middle of a two week trip with the van, so this is what it really looks like when I’m on the road.  For reference my van is an Xplorer 228 built on a 1984 Dodge B350 base.  You can check out the floor plan and pictures from the day I bought it in my post about my van.

It is fairly tidy in the pictures, and it doesn’t stay that way all the time.  It’s easy for a few things to make it look like one giant mess since there isn’t much space.  That is one of the reasons that I tidy up a few times a day.  Another is just so that things don’t go flying, sliding or falling when I drive down the road.  My number one tip is probably to keep things clean and to have a spot for everything.  Bringing along a minimum amount of stuff helps a lot too.  This is something I’ve gotten better at over the years.  There’s not a lot of space to really store extra stuff, and when I have brought too much, I end up sleeping next to it. 

Parking

When I park the van at an RV spot, I like to aim for the best views out the front window and side door.  I also consider the privacy aspect of being able to keep the side door open if I want to.  I don’t feel like I have to utilize the spot as intended.  The van doesn’t have any fancy auto-leveling system, so I did buy leveling blocks but never actually used them.  After a while, I developed a very good sense for when it was parked level.  Of course, it’s not a challenge at a spot with a flat concrete pad, but some of the places I go in the woods are different.

Hook-Ups

Some of these things are probably obvious (or should have been).  Some things I’ve learned the hard way.

Water

The van has two options for water- hooking it directly to a water hose that pressurizes the system, or filling the water tank and running the water pump.  I always preferred just to fill the tank and run the water pump.  I once read a post on a RV forum about somebody with a brand new, very expensive RV that flooded on their way home from picking up the RV when a connection came loose under the sink.  They were driving with the water pump on, so it continued spewing water out and they didn’t notice until the whole thing was flooded and very damaged.  So, I always try to make sure and turn the pump off when I’m not using water, especially when driving since the vibrations going down the road make a connection coming loose more likely.

I like to travel with the water tank at least partly filled up.  Often, I don’t know if I will be making it into an RV park for the night where I will have water, parking in the National Forest or where I will end up.  So I like to be prepared with enough water to make it through a day.  The down side of this is that it means extra weight.

I also added a small accumulator tank to the water system when I had to replace the water pump.  It did help to keep the pump from cycling quite as much when running and also had the added benefit of keeping just enough water under pressure that I could wash my hands without turning the pump on.

One last thing regarding water is to screw the ends of the water hose together when putting it away since this keeps out dirt and keeps the water left in the hose from getting the storage area wet.

Electric

Plug the end of the power cord that goes into the van in FIRST.  I only made the mistake of doing it the other way once because after plugging the cord in, I shocked the heck out of myself with the end that plugs into the van.  Certainly not my brightest moment, although one of the more electrifying.

Sewer

Make all sewer connections TIGHT.  This includes the fittings that go on the sewer hose.  Even if you’re only putting the fitting on the sewer hose to dump the toilet once and then planning on buying a new hose.  Trust me.  And when you go to put the sewer hose in it’s storage compartment, no matter how much you’ve held it up to let it drain, stand back a little.  As it compresses, a little more ‘water’ will always squeeze out.

There is one standard size for fittings for RV sewer hoses.  My van was graced with fittings on the end of the drain pipes that are not that size.  It took me some time to figure out that it is only compatible with Thetford brand fittings, which are always more expensive.  I was just glad when I finally found the ones that would fit.  It would be possible to change out the fittings on the end and everything would be standard, but I haven’t done that.

Pre-Driving Checklist

There are an annoying number of things that need to be done to make sure the van is ready to go.  It seems to start growing the roots the second I park and it becomes increasingly harder to actually go someplace in it.  I have kind of a mental pre-driving checklist, but it seems that I frequently forget to do something on it like making sure the closet doors are latched.  Then I’ll be driving down the road and the closet doors will be swinging since I forgot to latch them.  They’ll make an annoying noise and block what little visibility I had out the rear-view mirror.  Perhaps actually putting my checklist on a very visible place by the driver’s seat would help.  Anyway, the mental checklist is as follows:

• Close AND LATCH closet doors.
• Turn off water pump.
• Check that caps are on black and grey water outlet tubes & valves are closed.  Caps should NOT be loose on running board where they will fall off, I’ll drive over them loudly breaking the tabs that hold them closed and have to replace or repair them.  (If little wires that hold caps on so they don’t end up loose on the running boards are broken, make note to self to repair.)
• Check that bike is secure.
• Walk around van and make sure everything is unplugged, latched, attached, inside, etc.
• Check area to plan escape plan…er… how to back up.
• Open curtains, even the side ones I don’t look out very often because once in a while that visibility makes a difference.
• Make sure fridge is set to the right setting.
• Make sure vent in bedroom and all windows are closed if heading down dirt road to keep out dust.
• Make sure everything is put away in a secure spot.

Driving

Annoyingly, the van didn’t come with any cup-holders.  It does have two round divets in the center console thing that make one think it’s a good place to put a cup, but any beverage set there will go flying.  I did find a couple of cup holders on Amazon that I velcroed on that work surprisingly well.

One thing about the van is that it likes to road-walk.  It’s also very hard to control in the wind.  It helps to look further down the road and aim to make very minor steering adjustments rather than look too close in front of it.  The steering is just slow to respond, which makes it easy to over-correct causing more problems.

Bluetooth headphones.  OK, so probably I shouldn’t be on the phone ever when driving.  Sometimes, I just am.  One day, I’d like to upgrade the stereo to something that is Bluetooth enabled, but until then, my Bluetooth headphones make a big difference.

The gas gauge on the van is weird.  I think it actually had a larger gas tank put on it when it was converted into and RV (to help the range on it since it’s heavier with the RV mods).  Once G had it completely empty and we took it to the gas station and recorded what the gas gauge read as we put gas in it.  I later lost the paper we wrote it on, which I have always kicked myself for.  Anyway, I do remember that it stays at ‘E’ for the first 8-10 gallons.  From driving it, I know that I get about 100 miles on the top half of the gas gauge and about 40 on the bottom half of the gauge.

The Bedroom

The bedroom is one of the things I love about the design of my van.  It seems like the other Class B RVs I’ve been in don’t have a dedicated bed, but rather dining booths that turn into a bed or a similar convertible situation.  The back of my van was extended slightly, allowing for the bed to go in the back.

There is also a little storage space on each side of the van above the bed.  This is were I like to keep extra towels, a couple of books, Hoppy’s travel bag and toiletries that don’t live in the bathroom.

I like to take my sleeping bag with me and plenty of warm blankets.  If I have trouble with either the auxiliary battery that powers the RV things in the van or with the propane system, I can’t run the heater.  So, I like to know that I am prepared and can stay cozy if need be.

I love having the thermostat right next to the bed.  No having to get up in the cold mornings, simply turn the heater on and wait a few minutes. 

There are also speakers by the bed.  I always wanted to get the radio hooked up to the auxiliary battery rather than the other battery for the van so I could listen to music without any worries about draining the battery.  (I have no idea how long I could listen to the radio before this would be a problem anyway.)

I recently added a hook to the wall so that I had a place to hang a jacket or two.  (Ironically, I broke the clothes hanger I had with me in the process of putting the hook up.)

Under one side of the bed next to the water tank is the water pump. Under the other side is a little space that I found was just big enough to stash the smallest Shop Vac I could find. It has sometimes been useful, but I think I also love it because it is so adorable and just a perfect fit.

The Closet

The closet in the van had a clothes rod in it when I got it.  But it is too narrow for clothes hangers.  For a while, I did buy kid’s hangers to put in there, which worked OK, but still didn’t make the best use of the space.  Eventually I put shelves in there instead which have worked a lot better.  They were always intended to be kind of temporary since they don’t actually attach to the van.  My idea is (was?) to replace the shelves I put in them with permanent shelves that are actually mounted to the van.  The ones I have in there work, but don’t quite take full advantage of the space since the back wall of the closet is not straight up and down but rather rounded.

The ‘shoe’ thingies on the doors are not large enough for even my shoes and I have pretty small feet.  And they are very ugly.  I always meant to take them off, but haven’t yet.

The Bathroom

The bathroom in my van is pretty much miniature.  I can’t stand in it, and sitting in there, my head is a couple inches from the ceiling.  It’s also very hard to get pictures of it, because it’s impossible to stand far enough back to get a very wide view of anything.

The Shower

I found these little wire baskets with suction cups at Wal-Mart not long after buying the van.  They have been one of the most useful things to have to hold all of the shower/bathroom stuff that I don’t want sliding all over.  Of course, I only put things there that can get wet since everything does indeed get wet during shower time.

In the upper right hand corner of the picture, you can also see one of the bolts used to attach the monitor to the other side of the wall.  It’s also got a washer and a bit of silicone.

I always light the water heater a while before I want to shower and then turn it off before I actually get in the shower.  The tank holds enough hot water to last through a quick shower and I don’t want to use up propane heating up more water once I’m out.  One cool feature about the van is that the coolant from the engine circulates through a heat exchanger in the water heater to heat up the water when driving down the road.  This make for hot water upon arrival at a destination without ever having to light the water heater.

When I First bought the van, I found that water would leak from the bottom of the door into the hallway when I’d shower.  So I bought the shortest shower curtain rod I could find and cut a shower curtain to size.  The shower curtain is wider than needed, so I can also wrap it around my hand-towel to keep it dry too.  The shower curtain also has the benefit of keeping the things that hang on the door dry- my towel, TP and very fancy trash can.

Also, the shower drain kept getting clogged with hair.  At one point my needle-nosed pliers lived in the bathroom for cleaning out the drain.  Eventually, I found a little cover for the drain to prevent this problem and it has worked great.

Another thing I have found helpful is that when I turn the shower off, I will pull up on the little pull thing on the sink and put the shower head on the floor to let any remaining water drain out of the hose for the shower head.  This makes it so that when I turn the sink on later water doesn’t drip out of the shower head onto my feet.

The van does have a control panel that allows one to check fresh water and propane levels, the battery charge and turn on the water pump.  It also has a button for checking the grey water level, but it always reads ‘E’.  I’m pretty sure it was never hooked up to the holding tank.  I discovered this early on in my van ownership days when the kitchen sink wouldn’t drain and I found water had come up the drain in the shower and was covering the bathroom floor.  So, I set out to dump the tank for the first time in the dark with no idea what I was doing.  I now know that the holding tank will hold a day or two’s worth of water and approximately the same amount of water that the fresh water tank holds.  I try to always dump the grey water before driving the van anywhere as it just means less weight for the van to haul around.

There is also a little under-the-sink cabinet where I can store a few extra things.

The Toilet

I know WAY too much about the toilet in here.  I have taken it out of the van and taken it completely apart, replacing many of the parts.  One thing I can say is that the bolts that attach it DO NOT work as specified in the owner’s manual for the toilet.  I spent a considerable amount of time trying to follow those instructions to remove it, only to discover later that the parts I was trying to get apart had been welded together.  (Those instruction probably are right for most installations of this type of toilet, but on the van, there are two nuts on two bolts under the van that must be taken off and then the whole toilet lifts right out.)

The plastic has yellowed with age and looks kinda gross, but RV toilets are expensive.  I did replace the lid and seat which was also insanely pricey.  The new one was obviously not as well built because the lid cracked a little when I was showering a day or two after taking the above picture.  I’m not pleased about it, but not sure I’ll do anything about it.  Another replacement would probably just have the same thing happen.

The clear plastic on the back is on there because otherwise water from the shower runs into the toilet, which means the black water has to be dumped more frequently which is a  pain.  It’s not a very clean-looking solution, but it works.

I did find that it’s best to use the harsh chemicals for the toilet with the warnings about cancer, birth defects and reduced sperm count.  They make ‘natural, biodegradable’ versions that sound nicer, but don’t work well.

I have had trouble with the toilet flushing on a couple of occasions, probably due to a loose connection.  The easy hack on that is to use the shower to ‘flush’ it.  Also, it wants an initial charge of water before use, but one can forgo that and use the shower to flush when needed until the liquid level hits the minimum to run the pump.  This has the advantage of making it so that it’s longer before the black water needs dumped.

The Kitchen

There is an extension to the counter top by the sink that folds down.  (You can’t get out the door with it up.)  It doubles as a counter-top and a table for when the passenger seat is swiveled around to face the back of the van.

A lot of times I don’t bother to turn the passenger seat around, but when I do I remember how much more comfortable it is than the dining booth.

The kitchen in the van has everything one could need- a stove, fridge, sink, microwave, a little storage and even a vent fan for the stove.  The vent fan over the sink never quite sealed right, so I added some of the bubbly aluminum coated stuff that I used to make window covers to the ‘door’ on it.  That helped a lot.

I can’t talk about the kitchen without talking about coffee.  I have a metal french press that I take with me in the van.  I ordered the metal one after having a glass one smash on the floor of the van.  Plus it’s insulated.  That way when I’m parked off-grid, I can heat water in a pan on the stove and still make coffee.  Actually, I use the french press at home too just because it makes good coffee.  I did try buying a hand-crank coffee grinder for fresh ground coffee when I was off grid, but the thing didn’t work that well.  Now I go for either buying ground coffee or grinding it when I do have the van plugged in somewhere and storing it in a container.

The thingies that go on the burners for the stove rattle when going down the road, so when I remember, I’ll take them off so I don’t have to listen to them.  At one point, I had a little bit of hot glue on the points where they contact the stove top and that helped, but eventually the hot glue fell off.  I would maybe replace the hot glue if I end up keeping the van post engine catastrophe.

There isn’t a lot of space in the van, so it’s pretty essential to just do the dishes right away.  Early on, I bought the cutest little RV dish drainer.  There wasn’t really a place to put it though, so it was soon ditched.   Now, I just put a towel on the table and set the dishes on there and then dry them as soon as I’m done washing them.  Speaking of dishes, I keep them to a minimum- a couple plates, bowls and cups, some silverware, a can opener, a frying pan, a sauce pan and a few containers that nest inside each other.

I rarely use the microwave and have thought about taking it out.  It is a hazard for bonking my head.  Speaking of which, there are many things that are hazards for smashing my head in the van including the lights and most especially the doors on the overhead storage areas when they are open.  The microwave is however a good place to hang a Daily Motivator that I liked with a magnet I got at a yoga retreat.

The Fridge

The fridge is a 3-way fridge that will run off of propane, 12-volt, or AC power.  I have occasionally had problems with it staying lit on propane.  Mostly these problems were fixed by taking it apart and cleaning some of the pieces.  Sometimes it will still blow out on extremely windy days.  It does have a vent on the outside of the van above the access panel for the fridge and a quick way to check if the fridge is still lit is to feel if that vent is warm.

The fridge is pretty tiny, but it’s enough to keep a few things. I found it hard to fit normal egg cartons in there, but found a plastic egg container for camping that has a 3×4 dimension rather than the standard 2×6 of normal cartons that fits a lot better.

I even have a miniature freezer.  (The ice cube tray is completely frozen to the cooling element.)  My Ice Cream Snickers bar on the other hand was in good shape. 

Dining Area

The benches for the table also lie flat to turn into a twin bed.  Since the two seats are designed to also convert into a twin bed, I bought two fitted twin sheets and folded them in half to make my seat covers.  The front seat will also rotate around to face forward so that passengers can ride there (two to a bench means that the van has seatbelts for six.)  My trashcan also lives here.  It’s really a collapsible laundry hamper that I put a trash bag in.  I loop it over the armrest for the driver’s seat so that it doesn’t go sliding around when I’m driving.  This way I can reach it easily when I’m cooking or when I’m driving down the road.

I prefer drinking filtered water to drinking the water from the RV tank.  One reason for this is that I can be lazier about disinfecting the water tank.  The other is that tap water can vary in taste widely across the country.  I found a little hand pump that attaches to the bottle to make it easy to dispense.  It happens to fit perfectly behind the dining booth with a second water jug, my yoga mat and a folding camp chair.  The camp chair used to live in the storage area that’s accessible from outside, but I found it so much nicer to have it handy.

There isn’t much room behind the other seat, but there is just enough to store the window coverings I have.  They are made out of reflective foil insulation that velcros to the inside of the windows for extra insulation in really hot and cold months.

Both seats lift up, but there isn’t much space under the rear one since that is where the heater is.  The other seat has a little space under it where I keep a few tools.  (I try to pack light, but tools is not a place where I skimp.  I have a second toolbox that I carry in the back storage area.)  It also houses the water heater and auxiliary battery.

Outside

My bike goes on the back of the van.  It’s really just attached with two straps that go around the mount for the spare tire.  Plus I lock it on so nobody steals it.  The spare tire swings out to give access to a storage compartment that is under the bed.  The storage compartment is home to my water hose, electrical cords, extra tools and some other miscellaneous things.  There is a second access to this compartment on the side of the van.

The van also has a little porch light by the door.  I have found it handy at times when bugs get in the van that are attracted to light.  I’ll turn off the lights in the van and turn on the porch light to try to draw them out.

The van also has a great awning.  While I haven’t used it very often, it has been really nice once or twice, especially when it’s raining and I want to chill outside.

This post has come out to be longer than I expected, but I wanted to share all that I’ve learned over the years with my van.  While I am now contemplating selling it, I’ve had a ton of fun with it and am so grateful that I had it.

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The engine on my van basically exploded while I had the van out in Texas.  “Exploded” is not the technical term for it.  I’m too tired to care about the technical term.  I was set to start driving back home later that day.

It has been a long couple of days since it happened.  Tonight, I am tired.  Or more accurately, totally exhausted.  Tomorrow will be another long day, but I will get home tomorrow.

The tow truck took me to an RV park, although not an exciting one.  (A dirt lot by the train tracks with a few other old trailers a bit of trash and some plants with stickers on them.)  But I have RV hook-ups and have had a little time to make a plan which at this point mostly involves heading home in the rental car I picked up today with everything out of the van and then finding a way to transport the van home later.

I feel kind of sad and nostalgic.  At this point, I don’t know if I will replace the engine in the van or just sell it or what.  This could be my last night in it.  I’ve already packed some stuff in the car and the van has that feel like I’m moving out of a house.  Chaos, small bits of clutter and miscellaneous things out of place and empty spots where things used to go.

In a lot of ways, it’s been a major bummer.  The van needs major repairs and I’ve had to deal with being stranded.  Although, I do have a plan now and I feel better now that I have the rental car.

I keep thinking that I have a lot to be thankful for. On the side of the road after it happened, several people stopped to ask if I needed help.  The tow truck driver was super nice and helpful- taking me first to a shop to get a quick diagnosis and quote, then to one RV park that wouldn’t answer their phone and let me know if I could park and then to another RV park, getting out with me to help me check that the spot had hook-ups and taking time to position the van well.  The people I know here have really helped me out- driving me an hour and a half to the nearest rental car place to get a rental, offering a place to park my van when I leave town and just being generally great.  Lots of people have offered advice and support, helping me to figure out the best plan.  While the van needs repaired, I didn’t wreck it- I am safe and Hoppy is safe too.  It’s a bummer, but it’s not my only vehicle.  I have a reliable car to go home to.  I have enough money to handle a tow bill and rental car.

It just makes me realize how much my habits of gratitude have sunken in very deeply.  Something major can go wrong in my life and I still have so much that I find to be grateful for.  And it’s not like I’m working to feel that way.  All these things that I’m thankful for just spring to mind unbidden.

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Red Rock Canyon State Park is a very welcome respite when driving I-40 across western Oklahoma.  That drive is characterized by fairly flat farmland.  In contrast, Red Rock Canyon State Park is a small, luscious canyon lined with red sandstone walls that seems to appear out of nowhere.

Unlike some of the Oklahoma State Parks that I love, it doesn’t have any cabins, but it’s a perfect place for a hike, or staying in an RV or a tent.

On my most recent stay, I pulled in after a long day on the road.  I’d left Santa Rosa State Park in New Mexico that morning.  The drive was less than pleasant.  I was trying to make good time, but the van was running kind of hot so I was trying to not drive too fast.  And since it was running hot, I didn’t want to run the AC and make it worse, so I was running hot too.

I stopped on the side of the interstate in Texas somewhere for a sandwich and had the door open for some air.  Several flies took the opportunity to invade my residence and I couldn’t seem to get rid of them even driving with the windows down.  A fly is annoying in the best of circumstances.  Sharing a very small space with them feels practically unbearable, even though it’s all just a matter of annoyance.  I’m sure there are worse things, but in the moment, it’s nearly impossible to think of any.

Then the wind picked up.  The van is difficult to control at times in gusty winds.  A good side wind seems to make it jump several feet in it’s lane which is fairly unnerving when driving next to large semi-trucks.  While it feels like it helps, a white-knuckled death grip on the steering wheel only makes things worse.  The wind is bad enough, but the van is slow to respond to input which makes it easy to over-correct leading into a downward spiral.

Oh, and the cruise control refused to stay on and after several hours on the road driving without it, I felt a burning sort of pain in my right leg from pressing down the gas pedal for so long.

And wow, I seem to have a lot of complaints.  I don’t want to give biased accounts of my travels though.  I love to travel and there are so many cool things that I’ve seen.  But some days traveling seriously just sucks.

Anyway, after a day of driving like that I was so ready to pull over and stop for the night.  Red Rock Canyon State Park seemed like the perfect place to do that.  I drove down the very steep and windy road into the park and then along the curvy, tree-lined road that winds through the bottom of the canyon.  I found a spot in the RV area next to the little creek that runs there.

It was nearing dark and I wanted to move around a bit, so I went walking around, finding myself somewhat impulsively jogging down one of the trails with a need to just move after so many hours in the car.  I checked out the tent camping area and it was more secluded than my spot so I moved my van over there and parked in a great spot.

I managed a quick dinner (and had the extreme satisfaction of whacking a few flies with my fly-swatter) before gratefully crawling into bed and slipping into unconsciousness.  The next morning, I was up early and took my breakfast outside to eat at the picnic table.  The sky was just starting to lighten and I was watching the cliff walls and trees as they started to emerge from vague outlined shapes and gain detail, the colors of the red rock and green trees eventually becoming visible.  I thought about how it’s interesting that when there isn’t much light, we see in sort of black and white and even though we can see an object we can’t make out the color.  I’m pretty sure I learned about that in school at some point- something about rods and cones in our eyes and how one of them lets us see colors and the other just that sense of light that is responsible for our vision in dim light.

A fellow camper’s car alarm went off while I was eating.  Woooooh-woooooh-woooooh-beep-beep-beep-maawww-maawww-mawww-woooooh-wooooh-woooooh-beep-beep-beep-maawww-maawww-maawww echoing through the canyon.  It tried out every attention-grabbing noise it could think of and then started the loop over.  I felt bad for the people, imagining them flustered and embarrassed trying to get it to turn off.   It probably took them a good five minutes and I’m sure everybody was awake in the campground by that point.

Once it was light, it was clear there were foot and hand holds carved into the rock face by my campground and a rope to help one climb up or down.  I walked over to give scrambling up it a try.  There I noticed a large spider, and then several other spiders.  Most of them were harmless daddy-long-legs, but they were giant and I had no desire to have one crawl on my hand while I was trying to climb up the rock.  I opted to take a few pictures and pack up instead.  After all, I had places to be, like work.  It’s cool being able to travel for work, but the bummer is when you actually have to do the work part.  OK, my work is pretty cool too.

Red Rock Canyon

Click on a thumbnail to view the larger version

When I was sitting in the van, waiting for it to warm up, the wind picked up, blowing a ton of leaves off of the trees to send them swirling through the air and landing on the van with gentle thunks.  It felt like it was raining leaves and seemed like the essence of fall had caught me in it’s embrace.  With that, I was off to my next destination.

To learn more visit the Oklahoma State Park website.

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I went on a short trip with the van to explore the Jemez mountains a few weeks ago.  Some of the areas I found were nice enough that I’m reluctant to share lest more people go and it ruins it for me.  Like a lot of trips, this one had some ups and downs.  There were times when it was plain hot, the AC in the van didn’t seem to be doing much good, some areas were pretty crowded with people out camping, fishing, and hiking for the weekend, and my hiking boots about made my feet feel like they were on fire.  I don’t write that to complain, but simply to help you understand how nice some of the areas were when I say that the good far outweighed the bad on the trip.

The first cool find was an area called tent rocks.  It was not a planned destination, but rather a happy accidental find.  It was not visible when driving on the dirt road I was on, but it happened to be across the road from a little place I parked for a nap in the back of the van.

The other really cool area I found was the San Pedro Parks Wilderness, not far from Cuba, New Mexico.  It is a vast wilderness area, filled with super tall trees, green alpine meadows and a few streams.  The area gets more rain that a lot of New Mexico so it is much greener than a lot of the  mountains I go to around here.  The campsite I found was absolutely perfect: up a little dirt road off of a slightly more traveled dirt road, surrounded by tall trees, a little campfire ring made of rocks, and a gurgly little creek right there.

Swimming in the creek was a real treat, although it was pretty cold.  I always love to spend time sitting by creeks, just listening to the sweet creek-noises that they make.  It’s always such a soothing delight.  There are some areas that I travel to and I am glad that I got a chance to go, but don’t want to go back.  Other places are nice and I’d go again if it was convenient but would just as well go somewhere new the next time.  This area is one I would be happy going back to again and again.  I’ll end this post with one last picture of a grassy meadow I found on a hike in the wilderness area.

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The story of a week long trip in the van

I left Socorro a week ago for a three night trip.  A week later I’m finally back home.  I left a night early for a weekend yoga retreat at Ghost Ranch, figuring that I would camp somewhere on the way.  I had a map showing some roads in the National Forest north of Albuquerque around Placitas.   I missed the road I was looking for, but probably just as well as the area was too populated for my taste.  I continued on into the Sandia mountains.

It was starting to get dark and as I was following up a dirt road and not finding a good spot to park for the night, I started to get a little nervous.  Luckily, I soon found a parking lot for a trail head and while there was one car parked there upon my arrival, they soon left.  There was just enough light remaining for me to head up the trail with a sign declaring it the Sandia Cave Trail and see what was at the end.  On my way up the trail, I ran into a young couple.  I said “Hello” and the guy said “Good morning!” (despite this being around sunset). The girl walking behind him said, “You scared me!”

After the odd encounter, I continued up the trail, climbing up the mountainside.  After about 1/2 a mile, I encountered a staircase heading up the side of a cliff to a cave.  The staircase wasn’t exactly dangerous, but it felt exposed looking over the cliff side.  I opened the small gate leading into the cave, the mystery of what was inside and that small feeling of fear that can arise when exploring alone making the whole thing feel like an adventure.  The cave turned out to be dusty and not really all that big so I headed back down the trail to my van.

The next morning I hit the road towards Ghost Ranch.  I’d pulled off the interstate and as I was pulling back on between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, I found my van had no power.  With the gas pedal to the floor and traffic zipping up behind me, I crawled along at 35 mph, hoping that no semis would come plowing into me from behind.  I took the next exit and finished the drive into Santa Fe on the frontage road.  From there it was another hour or two driving until I made it to Ghost Ranch.

Ghost Ranch was a nice place to finally pull up to.  They have both lodging and a campground that accepts tent and RV camping.  The rest of my friends at the yoga retreat were staying in the lodging and other than a few employees I had the campground to myself as it was still early in the year.  It brought back memories of the last time I was at Ghost Ranch on a school trip in the 9th grade and not really particularly fond memories.  We had to volunteer to earn our spots there so I remember working in the gift shop folding T-shirts every morning and helping with the dishes in the dining hall after meals.  It was cold then too and we were staying in tents. The sand and dirt made everything filthy within minutes of arrival, but the thing that really bothered me then was that I didn’t have the freedom to go off exploring on my own.

I have to say that this trip was a lot better.  Meals at the dining hall made everything a responsibility-free experience and eating with my fellow retreaters was nice.  I spend a lot of time alone which I really don’t mind, but it’s still nice to be social once in a while.  The yoga classes were amazing- relaxing, informative and enjoyable.  Hoppy even made a new friend at one of the classes- Brian Howard.  Plus Hop and I took off one afternoon for a 4.5 mile hike up to the top of one of the mesas.  Marissa had sold me on the hike by telling me that it even involved a small amount of rock climbing- not enough to be really scary or need any special gear, but enough to make you wonder if you should let somebody know where you were going.  It was a fun hike with  amazing views as a reward at the top.  I figured that taking the longest, most difficult trail on the list that I’d find a bit of solitude.  I was wrong.  I soon ran into several other people on the trail.  On the way back down, I passed an older couple on their way up that was also there for the yoga retreat.  I think they had a faster pace than I did!  This made me feel rather out of shape and by the time I got all the way back to my van, I was so exhausted I barely wanted to take the step up to get inside.  My only consolation was talking to the couple later and hearing that the hike was tiring to them too.  Likely it really wouldn’t have been that hard for us except that we were really pushing the pace to make sure we didn’t miss out on dinner.

Pictures from my hike

Things weren’t completely perfect.  My water pump (the one for pumping water in the van, not the one that goes with the engine) was leaking even after an attempted repair on it that I had done the week before.  Plus, it rained while there and I discovered that despite having taken off and resealed the gutters on the van, I still had some leaks.  There was water dripping in at both the foot and the head of my bed, so I shrunk down a little when I went to sleep to avoid the damp spots.  At least replacing the fan over the bed a few weeks ago did stop the leak that had been there so there wasn’t water dripping on the middle of the bed as well (unlike a previous trip I did in the van to Oklahoma last fall).  The problems didn’t get to me though.  Water all over is a minor thing and the joy of traveling totally outweighs the issues.

After leaving Ghost Ranch, I stopped at Echo Amphitheater just up the road.  It’s a naturally occurring amphitheater in the side of massive sandstone cliff walls.  True to it’s name, it makes sound echo.  We used to stop there when I was a kid when we were on the way to visit my dad’s parents.  There’s a campground there now, which I think is new.  It’s a beautiful area and a good place to stop for a rest break on Hwy 84 north of Abiqui.  I was going to have a little picnic there, but discovered the food in my fridge was frozen solid.  I guess I haven’t quite figured out the settings yet.

Looking at the map, I saw I was only a couple hours from the Bloomfield/Farmington areas where most of my family lives so I headed up that way instead of returning home as I’d planned.  I spent some time with family and worked with a friend to do a few repairs on the van.  (OK, by friend I mean my ex’s dad, but we’ve always had a gotten along well.)  After not being able to accelerate on the interstate, I wanted to get things checked out by somebody that knew a bit more about engines than  I did.  We replaced the fuel and air filters, cleaned the carburetor, disassembled and cleaned the fridge which wouldn’t run on propane, replaced the leaky water pump and traced down an issue with the brake light staying on.  The van was scarily low on brake fluid since apparently none of the shops I’ve had the van to have checked it.  We filled it up and I now know how to check it myself.  I stayed longer than I meant to, but we kept finding more things to work on.

One night, I got to try jelly made from a Carolina Reaper pepper.  Some guy bred them to be spicier than the ghost peppers which many people still think of as the hottest peppers.  The jelly had an amazing flavor- sweet, and like orange marmalade, but with a really nice kick.  I fell in love with these wraps we made with leftover pork loin, lettuce, guacamole, cheese and the Carolina Reaper jelly, even making an extra wrap to take on the road with me when I finally left.

It’s amazing to have the freedom to just extend a trip and to have my little home with me wherever I go.  I can’t wait until I have the freedom to just stay on the road and I don’t have to make the return trek back to my house.

The Map

Further Resources

Ghost Ranch

Ghost Ranch has an impressive number of retreats throughout the year and they are generally surprisingly affordable.  It’s famous for being where Georgia O’Keefe liked to paint.  It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere offering gorgeous views and a bit of solitude.  Information on retreats or visiting Ghost Ranch can be found on the Ghost Ranch website.

Santosha Yoga and Meditation Retreats

Marissa Wolfe ran the yoga retreat at Ghost Ranch and she runs wonderful retreats throughout the year. I’ve been to a couple of them and both were amazing experiences.  More information can be found on the Santosha website. Marissa also runs the Yoga del Sol studio in Lemitar where I attend yoga classes on a regular basis and is a wonderful person and yoga instructor.  You can also check out Marissa’s blog.

Thanks

Thanks go to Marissa for a great retreat, Gary for helping with the van and being an all around great guy, Maggie for Mr. Rabbit’s yoga mat, blanket and bag, my fellow retreaters for making it a great experience, Sue for bringing Brian Howard and my mom for lunch.  Also to all my wonderful readers for getting this far in the post.    If I’m forgetting anyone, it’s due to my foggy memory, not lack of gratitude.

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Of course, there have been a few bumps along the way.  My fridge won’t stay lit.  Odd as it may sound to those unfamiliar with RV refrigerators, it runs off of propane through some sort of complicated process.  My dad who is brilliant tried explaining it to me one day, but I half-understood at best.  To me, it’s still kind of magic that a little flame keeps my food cold.  At least, it keeps my food cold when I can keep the flame lit.  Also, my auxiliary battery doesn’t seem to have enough power for what I need for a night out.  There’s always something to keep things interesting.

Honestly, I’m not too worried about any of the little things that aren’t working.  Part of the idea of doing some short trips away from home is to start to figure out what I need to fix and what stuff I really need to have with me while I can still return to the resources of my house to work on the problems.  My excitement at finally being in the van out-weights any little issues.  Taking the van out for a night really reminded me exactly why I am working so hard to sell the house and travel around.

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Tint, shelves, tires & curtain rods

I also had the windows tinted to help keep the van cooler and provide some extra privacy.  The tires still had good tread, but they were several years old so I had new ones put on to be safe.  The improvement in handling and the smoother ride from the new tires made me glad I did.  Then I put some temporary shelves in the closet so I could fit more stuff in there in an organized fashion. I also installed new “curtain rods” (basically some wire with a white plastic coating and some nice looking hooks to attach it).  You can see from the picture of the curtains below that I still need to re-do the window screens in a couple of the windows.

Installing a new fan

I had a leak in the vent/fan over the bed and I didn’t want water dripping on my when it rained.  So, I replaced the vent fan with a better one.  I have to say that the new fan was one of the best things I’ve done for the RV.  I only put it in because the old one was leaking, but the new one has been amazing!  It move an incredible amount of air, is remote controlled, has a thermostat option, a reverse option, and a rain-sensor that will automatically close the lid if it rains.  My favorite thing is just the amount of air it moves, making it comfortable in my van at times when I otherwise would have needed the air conditioner.

Here’s links for everything I used for installing the fan on Amazon: Fan-tastic 807350 vent with digital wireless remote,  universal vent installation kit, dicor lap sealant.

(Note:I participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. I only link to the few products that I would recommend anyway. I am very selective since I hate ads, thus the lack of any other form of ads on here.)

The toilet

I did a lot of maintenance on the toilet.  I completely took it out of the van and cleaned everything.  It has two gate valves that drain it, one directly under the toilet and the other at the end of the drain pipe.  Both of them leaked, which created some real problems.  I replaced both valves and several other parts on the toilet.  It was not the most glorious job, but it’s worked a lot better since then.

The dream list

There is a lot more that I want to do to the van and an endless list of cool things that I’d like to buy for it.  I just wanted to start with the most important things before I actually moved in.  The other stuff is stuff I can work on while I’m living in the van.  Plus, some things that I think I want I may find out that I don’t really need.  My dream list includes a 12-volt monitor, solar panels, an extra battery, a back-up camera, a stereo with a built-in GPS and a screen to see the back-up video feed, a generator, new carpet, new upholstery on the seats, re-wiring the stereo so it runs off of the auxiliary battery so I can use it for watching videos, adding an extra shelf in the back, and the list goes on and on.  The truth is that I know that a lot of that stuff probably wouldn’t really even increase the quality of my time on the road.  For now, I’m happy with having things fixed up and ready for me to move in!

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