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…
What’s this Journey to Alaska all About? If you missed last week’s post here’s a quick summary of what this is all about. We’re planning a 3-month road trip to Alaska this summer in our self-converted camper van—Stan the Tan Van. The state known as the Last Frontier boasts 6,640 miles of coastline, the tallest mountain in North America, 100,000 glaciers, and over 322 million acres of public lands. While Alaska is a dream destination for many outdoor enthusiasts, planning…
I’m not sure if I’ve ever been this excited to share a blog post with you all! I mentioned this trip in our 2019 Travel Plans and Goals, but now it’s official—we’re journeying to Alaska this summer. And you’re invited! Since the cat’s out of the bag (which is a very weird saying IMHO) let’s jump right into all the juicy Alaska details, shall we? What Exactly is the Journey to Alaska all About? Alaska has been one of our…
It’s that time again—time to reflect on what the last 365 days have brought and start planning for the next year of adventure. Unless it’s a leap year, then you’re thinking about 366 days. Does anyone else also think that leap year is so very strange? Here I am—getting off-track already. Let’s talk about some 2019 travel plans and goals, shall we? The project manager in me loves a good list so last year I compiled all our travel plans…
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…
Where to stay, where to eat, and what to do on the Oregon coast in a week After Descending on Bend with a bunch of other rad van lifers and hanging with our amazing friends and family in Portland, we ended our time in Oregon by doing something we’ve long wanted to do—going on an epic Oregon coast road trip down HWY 101. Pin this post for later > Whether you’re a Pacific Northwest local or just visiting, a road…
When we hit the road in Stan the Tan Van after our European travels, we realized something—this isn’t just a trip or a “gap year” for us anymore. This is how we live our life. I think that’s why we were so excited to attend Descend on Bend 2018. We were very interested in meeting more people in the vanlife community. Through social medial we know there’s a lot of folks out there, but since we’re all mobile we don’t…
Phew! It’s been a busy 7 weeks since we hit the road again in Stan the Tan Van. You already know about hiking the Badlands or as Tom likes to call them, the Radlands (Instagram stories peeps, you know what I’m talking about). This week we’re sharing an update on exactly what we’ve been up to and announcing some changes to the blog. Pin this post for later > Fall in and Around the Rocky Mountains After spending time in…
It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since we packed up the few remaining things we own and left our beloved Portland for the open road. This has undoubtedly been the biggest year of travel and change in our lives. With our one-year travel anniversary (or should I say vanniversary?) upon us, we’ve been thinking a lot about what we’ve learned and what’s different than a year ago. Our goal on this blog is not only to share…
The Work Vanlife Balance, Volume 6 Slow down? That’s right, I said it. I’m officially old. Next thing you know, I’ll be telling you to, “Stop, and smell the roses.” Don’t worry, I won’t go that far. Unless you go to a botanical garden or something, then you should probably stop, and smell those roses. We’ve talked a lot about how to be a digital nomad. Disconnecting from things, finding a career, technology needs, and mobile workspaces are all import…