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Category: Gear Guides

Everything You Need to Know About the Alaska Marine Highway

Everything You Need to Know About the Alaska Marine Highway

When planning an ultimate Alaska road trip, a voyage on the Alaska Marine Highway, also known as the Alaska State Ferry, is a must! This impressive “highway” stretches 3,500 miles of coastline from Bellingham, Washington, up through Alaska’s Inside Passage to Skagway. Then heads west across the Gulf of Alaska and follows the southern coastline out to the Aleutian Islands. Our trek on the ferry system was an exciting and unique experience and a highlight of our Alaska road trip….

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Best Ways to Find Free Camping

Best Ways to Find Free Camping

How We Find Free Campsites Across the US When we hit the road in Stan the Tan Van a few years ago our biggest goal was budget travel— how to explore the beauty of the US inexpensively. One of our top money saving tips while traveling is—free camping. When we say free camping we don’t mean truck stops, Wal-Mart, or street overnight parking. We’re talking about awesome campsites in nature. We’ve found two easy-to-use, and free resources that help us…

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Complete Alaska Packing List for Spring and Summer

Complete Alaska Packing List for Spring and Summer

Everything You Need to Pack for a Trip to Alaska In a month we’ll be leaving for the Last Frontier. This is our final Alaska planning post that we’ll be publishing pre-trip. You can find out how to plan your trip to Alaska here, and what to do to get your vehicle ready for a long road trip here. Today we’re sharing a comprehensive Alaska packing list before the peak travel season to help anyone else who is preparing for…

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How to Build a DIY Camper Van Electrical System

How to Build a DIY Camper Van Electrical System

Our Budget Camper Van Battery Set-up When we started our camper van conversion, we knew we needed to have electricity in our van. We need to power our fridge, our lights, and our fan. We need to charge our electronics, get online, and Instagram the veggie burritos we’re eating in the wilderness.😉 And sometimes we just want to watch a little Netflix on a cold rainy night. Even without prior electrical skills we were able to build a DIY camper…

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How to Build a Camper Van on a Budget

How to Build a Camper Van on a Budget

Our $1,200 Budget Van Build It can be intimidating to think about building out a camper van. When researching, you’ll see many beautiful rigs with custom woodworking and top-of-the line appliances. People often spend months or even years building out their home on wheels. What if you want to hit the road soon? And what if you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on an elaborate build? That’s okay! We did a budget van build and found…

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2018 Best Travel Gear Gift Guide

2018 Best Travel Gear Gift Guide

The Best Gifts for Travelers When traveling across the country or internationally the right gear can make a big difference in your travel experience. We’ve been traveling for almost two years and know the importance of great gear. You don’t want to haul around things you never use or gadgets that don’t work properly. So, if you’re filling up your holiday wish list or looking for the perfect gift for your favorite traveler, the 2018 Best Travel Gear Gift Guide…

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Packing List for Long Term Travel in Europe – Women’s Edition

Packing List for Long Term Travel in Europe – Women’s Edition

This week it’s my turn to share packing tips and tricks for a long term trip in Europe. If you missed it, be sure to check out Tom’s men’s version of our Packing List for Long Term Travel in Europe—after you finish reading my post of course. Earlier this year we traveled around Europe for 3 months with only what we could carry. We started in Paris in Spring and ended in Italy in Summer so needed clothing that could…

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Packing List for Long Term Travel in Europe – Men’s Edition

Packing List for Long Term Travel in Europe – Men’s Edition

When preparing for extended European travel, it isn’t just where to go, it’s also what to bring. It can be stressful deciding what makes the cut and what doesn’t. Liana and I recently returned from three months backpacking in France and Italy. When it came to our own packing lists, we had to make some additions and subtractions along the way. In the end we felt we had the perfect packing list for long term travel in Europe. Pin this…

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13 Road Trip Essentials

13 Road Trip Essentials

Not many things compare to the feeling of cruising down the open road on a hot summer day. Dark pavement glistening with heat mirages stretching out in front of you indefinitely. Soft white clouds rolling across the land. Windows down and sweet country air blowing across your sweaty back as Tom Petty blasts from the speakers. This is what summer dreams are made of friends. Pin this post for later > Road trips make for some of the best vacations….

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Top Outdoor Gear List

Top Outdoor Gear List

15 of Our Favorite Things for Outdoor Adventure Since it’s time to start planning those summer adventures, an update to our outdoor gear list is in order. We also added some goodies to our van life gear recommendations and our road trip essentials guide. While a list of stuff is pretty contrary to all our talk about minimalism and letting go of things, even a minimalist needs some things. Plus we’re big proponents of thoughtful purchasing. We research the crap out…

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