Our next destination was Monument Valley and a few other sightseeing spots, after we crossed into Arizona via back roads. Since we didn’t prepare for anything, we had no idea vans were not allowed inside Monument Valley, or that it consisted of a dirt road. We were stopped at the entrance and asked if the […]
Moab, UT : June 30, 2022
We arrived in Moab and found a BLM campground with hardly anyone in it – Horsethief Campground. It was the first time I experienced having to pay for a BLM site, but the campground was super nice with numbered sites and flat parking pads. We arrived after dark, so waited to hit up the self-pay […]
Aspen, CO : June 29, 2022
We headed into Colorado, where the roads were not so great. A was driving behind us and called to mention our bikes were nearly falling off the rack after a particularly nasty bump. We pulled over to adjust and tighten everything down before continuing on. Just shy of Silverthorne, with A behind us, we hit […]
Waukee, IA : June 27, 2022
After visiting family for a week, we continued our trek west with A tagging along in her van. I found a nice RV resort with cabins, so we booked her into one and dry camped outside it. The cabin had a nice patio out back overlooking a pond. We did take advantage of the nice […]
Michigan to Illinois : June 21, 2022
We headed from Bad Axe, Michigan to the northwest suburbs of Chicago, where my parents live. First we stopped at my Dad’s, had dinner at the local waterfront dining establishment and hung out. Then we visited my mom/baby brother’s family, again street camping (AT got to sleep in the houses). The van has certainly afforded […]
Niagara Falls Canada : June 20, 2022
When AT tried to enter Canada six months prior, as mentioned, her van was stuffed to the gills with her belongings. The border agent looked at her and said, “Nope, looks like you’re trying to move here.” So she rented a storage unit in Buffalo, NY and unloaded her van before successfully crossing over again. […]
Canada : June 16-20, 2022
I had heard you had to use the ArriveCAN app to make getting through the border from the US to Canada without being chastised. It replaced the old paper forms route. So I downloaded it on my phone and set about adding our passports and visit information while we were stopped at one of my […]
Harrison Lake State Park, OH : June 16, 2022
The park was nice enough. Our spot was across from a berm around the lake that made for a nice walk. Apparently I’ve forgotten what the bugs of my childhood were like because midwestern bugs were not being nice to us. And of course, it was still hot.
Iowa : June 15, 2022
We went from a heat advisory in Nebraska to a full on excessive heat warning in Iowa. So we found an Army Corps of Engineers campground in Iowa with full hookups for the night so we could run the air conditioner.
Elwood, NE : June 14, 2022
As we headed into the heartland of the country, we started experiencing extreme heat. I’m not sure it was related to weather, but we passed a semi that we could see smoke coming off the rear trailer tires. I had a handheld CB in the van, but it seems truckers don’t use CBs anymore, so […]