Ash & Joe take the
show on the road
How many Americans ever get to go to the far Upper Left of the continental U.S.?
How many of us will stand at Cape Flattery looking past the rocky cliffs pummeled by Pacific crests, pondering how far we are from the rest of the continental U.S.?
That bracing view, that feeling of the whole world wanting to rush in on endless waves.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since we left the northeast for a nomadic life.
And that it’s going on three years since we moved to Boulder.
So it’s high time we talked about the move.
At first, we sublet a tiny apartment downtown for the last month of a friend’s lease.
It was the summer of 2020 and we needed a home base, so we started month to month at first.
We loved the location immediately: three blocks north to downtown Pearl Street, three blocks south to the Creek Path and CU Boulder campus, three blocks west to Central Park, right in a residential neighborhood that’s great for walking.
On May 18th, 2021, Joe and I celebrated 15 years together, 7 years of marriage, and 3 years since leaving Connecticut to live in the Western U.S. Yes, unbelievably, all 3 of these events took place on the exact same month and day of May 18th. There is a 0.000002% chance of that happening by random occurrence. The fact that three of our most important life events as a couple, thus far, all took place on the same date is either highly endearing or perhaps a symptom of neuroticism. Maybe both. So, which is it? Let’s explore.
This is a story of happenstance, synchronicity, and intentional planning.
When we got back on the road in March 2020, we expressed our intention to spend more time stationary, for example at campgrounds, or even hotels or Airbnbs. This time, more basecamps and less driving.
We felt we needed more stability for successful workdays and less stress.
We spent most of spring in Sedona, Arizona. We travelled a bit mostly in Montana, and then in early summer we arrived in Boulder, Colorado.
Whereas the first phase of van life was an extended scouting mission to see as many places as possible, in 2020 we revisited a few favorites and soaked them in – mission accomplished.
His t-shirt had read:
Ashleigh observed as we started our walk.
I had noticed an incendiary message set in a heavyweight font, but I hadn’t scrutinized it. Based solely on subtle conversational signals, our new neighbors at the next campsite had seemed like relatable people while exchanging pleasantries with us a few minutes ago. The bold triple heading emblazoned on the guy’s shirt did call for further investigation, but he would have seen me reading it, and I didn’t want to provoke a longer conversation; I just wanted to go for a walk.
Since we got back on the road, we’ve been just ahead of shutdowns and outbreaks. (From another perspective, it looks like we’ve been leaving a trail of Covid in our wake. But that’s correlation – not causation. To the best of our knowledge we have not spread any Coronavirus.)
We departed New York only a week or two before the novel coronavirus would fully emerge. We had been residing in Fairfield County, Connecticut – next door to the county which a mere week after leaving would be the origin point of one of the first known big outbreaks. And being close to NYC, our home base encountered COVID-19 head-on, early on in the pandemic.
We knew to take it seriously, but not before we departed the northeast and headed west.
This was the first national park where we required of each other bear spray as an everyday carry. In fact, when driving into the park, we came across a bottle of it lying on the road, so we opened the door and grabbed it and immediately felt safer, both of us now being equipped with our own.
Joe is behind the wheel of our Sprinter van home and we’re traveling Route 2 in Montana. We’re en route to East Glacier National Park, and it’s Memorial Day now 2:30pm. We spent the morning doing a foot tour of Apgar village, followed by showering, eating eggs on bagels, more self-grooming and then RV maintenance: cleaning dishes, sweeping floors, and moving out of “camp mode” (passenger seat turns forward and hiking books go on sliding door step). We’re hoping to accomplish a short 3 mile hike around Beaver’s Lake Loop before driving south to Helena, our planned stay for the week of work that lies ahead.
On October 16th, 2020 in response to a photo I posted on FB, a friend asked the following question and I wrote a lengthy response for a FB comment — I’m sharing that here! :)
You guys have covered a lot of ground. Do you guys feel safe traveling around the country in your RV?
Hi, friend! Nice to hear from you, and thanks for your question and the opportunity to share (I wrote quite a bit!):) Yes, we do feel safe, though I have to admit, in 2020 we've been intentionally spending more time in each place we arrive for purposes of greater stability, because van life, and especially while working full time, can be really challenging, and especially while during a pandemic! For instance, we spent 2.5 months in Sedona, Arizona at the same campground for half of March and for all of April and May. This was at the beginning of the pandemic, so it was important for us to find a place where we could stay for a while and feel safe and grounded and have access to resources, and to heal, too! ( we both were pretty sick immediately after taking a flight from JFK - RENO at the beginning of March). We had familiarity w/ this particular Sedona campground, and therefore knew we'd feel safe and wouldn't mind staying for a while. This was important, as many of the state campgrounds and parks -- places we prefer to stay for budgetary reasons -- were closing or were closed. Also, during the first 1.5 yrs. of van life we'd work from coffee shops each day, but during the pandemic, that has not been possible or something we wanted to do. Both of us working full time, taking phone calls, attending video meetings, etc. while sharing the small space of the van can be hard.
So we've been lucky to have a short term lease on an apartment here in Boulder, CO where we'll be staying for the next 2 months (Oct. & Nov.’20). This was intentional. Joe and I thought carefully about where we'd want to be during this time of the presidential election and continuing pandemic -- we knew we'd want to be in a place and culture that is more progressive, open-minded, of diverse thought, etc. We also have a couple friends here, too.
Personal Hygiene
Try to keep yourself clean.
You can’t escape the duties of personal hygiene just because you’re living in a van.
Hot showers are glorious.
You don’t need nearly as many showers per week as you might think.
A hot shower is a real luxury.
Our Sprinter Starship
An RV has a life of its own - many admirers. It also makes sounds at night and at all times (e.g. heating systems, refrigerator and water pumps).
RV coach systems, no matter how well designed, will act quirky. The bumps and jangles of the vehicle due to travel tends to upset electronics and whatnot.
It’s okay for your RV bed to double as a dinner table, a movie theater, a work office, a yoga studio, a seat near the campfire, a wildlife viewing station, and the list goes on.
Our Mercedes Benz Sprinter Van home is sexy and we know it. This helps us both stick out and blend in with our surroundings, depending on the locale we’re visiting.
This is episode one, in words. (Photos and video below; more videos on YouTube.)
Sedona... has been... Awesome. We’re blushing the colors of red rock formations, and gushing over our amazing home base for quarantine. This has been our strongest move in van life. We selected stability, healing, and restorative natural beauty – incredible, endless hiking trails, many of them accessible right from our campsite.
