camper

Two Weeks in Diablo Canyon, New Mexico

One of our favorite places to “live” is on BLM land, and if they didn’t have a rule that you can only stay a maximum of 14 days, we would likely still be in Diablo Canyon right now.

We were looking for some sunshine, and we got it! This spot is great. It has four primitive camp sites, which is our favorite since we come equipped with everything we need, and we get far fewer neighbors.

We did see loads of people, though, as it’s a really popular spot for climbers. The edge of the canyon is a really clean vertical, and we saw climbers up there every day.

The weather was warm and sunny, and we all got to do our favorite things outside.

Andy got to work on the Turtle.

Scout got to go for 3-hour walks and hikes almost every day.

Gracie got to roll in the dirt, climb things, and explore outside. She just learned how to climb the ladder to get on top of the Turtle, and now we’ve gotten used to hearing the thumping of paws on the roof!

And I was in rock-collecting heaven. Everywhere we walked there was an endless array of beautiful rocks, and my pockets were constantly full. I couldn’t help it!

Over the course of our time there, we hiked to the top of the canyon, around the opposite edge of it and up and over, and all the way through to the Rio Grande.

We played all day, and earned our naps.

After a day of exploring, we were happy to put our feet up and watch the desert sunsets, around the fire or under the awning wrapped in blankets.

We also met our neighbors, full-time travelers Eric and his darling dog Willow, and spent some time with them swapping travel stories. They’ve been all around, and also blog about their time on the road here. Go say hello! 🙂

They even gifted a squeaky stuffed worm to Scout, which he loves and has been dropped into our lap many, many, many times. Thanks guys!

On our last day there, we woke up to a bizarre surprise:

Snow!

We thought that was pretty well timed, since we’d reached our 14-day limit! So we traveled back into Santa Fe to plan our next desert destination.

Great Sand Dunes National Park: Climbing Up & Sliding Down

With our compass pointed south we continued our quest for some sunshine, and found it as we neared Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. Andy was happy to channel The Dude with his sweet Lebowski shades as we pursued the sunny weather.

We were a little surprised to see how much snow was covering the ground, but it made for some dramatic views of the Greenhorn Mountains as we approached the entrance.

We found a little pullout along the road into the park, and stopped to admire the view. We noted that it would make a great spot to stay the night, in case the campground was closed for the season. We had found conflicting information about whether or not any campsites would be available this time of year, so we had our feelers out in search of potential real estate in the event that we couldn’t stay in the park.

As we drove on, the snow-covered dunes came into view, and every direction we looked was just stunning.

A quick stop at the Visitor’s Center saw our water filled and our questions answered about where we could stay the night in the park (nowhere). We had to assuage the concerns of the rangers who told us it was going to get “reeeal cold” that night if we were staying in our “car,” and we felt pretty pleased with our setup as we reassured him that we had heat, a warm bed, and a stove to cook a hot meal for the night. Ah, Turtle life.

We decided we’d return to our pullout to spend the night, but in the meantime we had an hour to two to run around on the dunes! Dogs are even invited, and Scout was so happy. His two favorite landscapes are sand and snow, and he couldn’t believe his luck in getting to play on both at once. A great day for everyone! (Gracie was sleeping in a sunbeam back in the Turtle, so she was happy too.)

I think Scout inherited my posture.

That’s better.

Pictures could never quite capture it, but as the sun shone on the snow it created an explosion of rainbow fragments flickering across the surface as we walked along. I’ve never seen anything like it.

We parked near the amphitheater to explore a bit, then had to head back to our overnight spot as the sun was beginning to set. (We have a list of rules we’ve compiled for successful overlanding, and the first rule is Never Drive At Night. We break it now and then, but life is much easier when we don’t.) One obvious benefit to traveling only during daylight is that we don’t miss the scenery, and I was very pleased we made it in time for sunset so we could admire the view.

The next morning we woke up and drove right back to the parking lot outside the dunes for a long hike to the top. We packed a lunch and set out, and as we walked across the snowy dunes, Andy reminded me of a conversation we’d had earlier this year. . .

When we were visiting the Badlands, I was in such awe as we walked across Door Trail; I’d never been in such an incredible place before. It seemed so otherworldly and dreamlike, aside from the distraction of those other humans roaming around. I told Andy that I wished I could have the Badlands all to myself, for my birthday or some special day—just once. Always the voice of reason, Andy responded, “Well. . . I think that restricting public use would kind of defeat the whole point of the National Park System.”

Ok, ok, I know. But it would be SO COOL, right?

Well as we ascended the first rise at Sand Dunes National Park, Andy pointed out that there had been no cars in the parking lot, and that there was not a soul anywhere. My birthday was a just a few days away, and he asked, “Is this close enough?” Yes, it was.

For over an hour, we were the only people on the dunes. It’s pretty exciting to accidentally have a wish granted.

I’d like to point out here that these pictures give no sense of depth; I was actually so high up on this dune that I was a little nervous to be standing that close to the edge!

We hiked up, up up, at an elevation of about 8,000 feet. I’m telling you, that air is thin. And the last dune was a real doozy! There was some vertical hands-and-knees climbing there at the last ascent.

So we were thrilled to reach the top!

There we ate our well-earned cheese and crackers, with olives for me and onions for Andy.

After our picnic, I had a surprise waiting for Andy: a trick up my sleeve that I borrowed from my dad, who was endlessly creative when it came to having fun. When I was a kid, on a family outing in the mountains of Montana, we happened upon a steep valley covered in snow. My dad grabbed some trash bags out of the car, and we had instant makeshift sleds to fly down that mountainside. So when I saw the dunes covered in snow, I squirreled a few black garbage backs into my pack before we left the Turtle, and once we were at the top, I handed one to Andy.

After a few trials, we learned that they worked brilliantly on the snow, and when we’d hit the sand it would slow us down quickly and stop us. So we stuck to the good patches of snow, and rode those garbage bags all the way down the dunes.

It was a short two days at Great Sand Dunes, but by the time we left we felt like we had really made the most of it. As we travel from one National Park to another, it never fails to amaze me how diverse and beautiful this country is. We can’t wait to see more!

Winter in Rocky Mountain National Park

It was mid-January when we left South Dakota and began our journey south in search of sun. We learned a lot over the last few months about winterizing the Turtle, and have systems in place so we can go anywhere we want and live comfortably, even in single-digit temps. But seriously—we’re mobile and get to choose the climate in which we live. Let’s ditch the gloves and base layers and go play somewhere warm!

That was the idea, anyway. This story is not about finding the sun, but about the journey toward the sun that I am basking in as I write this. And that journey includes a National Park and a three trips down memory lane with awesome old friends.

First we stopped in Fort Collins to see my friend Rachel, who I hadn’t seen in 20 years! (There was much discussion about how that number was an impossibility, but the math doesn’t lie.) But even a couple decades couldn’t interfere with us picking right back up where we left off, and having hours of fun getting to know each other again. We were having so much fun gabbing, though, that I took no pictures! Only a few snaps in town as I walked Scout before bed. What’s that about? Having too much fun, of course. So I had to get one from her that we took after having coffee together the next morning. SO good to see you, Rach-o!

The next day we made the short trip to Boulder to check out the town since I’d never been. The highlights of our stay included Taco Tuesday at T-ACO (my favorite day of the week), Andy’s Lego picostomus,

the charming and bendy performer on Pearl St. who wriggled bum-first through a bucket,

Andy coming through on my request for a snow angel in the park,

and an unexpected early visit with our friend Rob, who we were going to see when we made it to Arvada, but happened to be in Boulder that night too!

Rob had to work through the rest of the week, so we took a trip over to Rocky Mountain National Park while we waited for the weekend.

We were lucky enough to get a clear sunny day upon our arrival, and had a beautiful snowshoe hike into the mountains.

As we got higher up, the ice crystals were so sharply defined and sparkling in the sun that I took a hundred pictures trying to capture the magic, and failed. So instead we ate some.

After a parking lot picnic, we drove up to Bear Lake to hike around, but the sun was starting to descend and not only was it getting chilly, the drifts there were so high that there wasn’t much to see aside from snow piles of various sizes.

Andy did find a bench, and we realized that what we thought were trail markers were actually a fence along the path that was nearly buried!

We should have known what we were in for, since the signs on the way up all looked like this:

There is one loop in the campsite that is open year-round, and a few of the spots had even been dug out already, so we picked one and called it a night. The next day we decided to take another snowshoe excursion, and as poor Scout was dying to run through the snow, we decided to walk around the expansive campground where dogs are allowed. It was overcast and cool, and the views even in the campground are stunning.

We left the park after our outing and drove to Arvada, where Rob lives. He’s a good friend who lived in our neighborhood when we lived in Portland, but his job took him to Colorado while we were still living there. We’ve missed him and his sweet fuzzy dog Kokanee very much, so what a treat to get to hang out again after a few years! He showed us the town, the Geology museum at the college in Golden, a great brunch spot, and the nearby park for Scout to catch Frisbees. And somehow, just like our visit with Rachel, I ended up with only a few pictures. And neither of them included us with Rob! We’ll have to go back soon.

Rachel had recommended that we check out Casa Bonita, a bizarre restaurant outside of Arvada with sub-par food and inexplicable ambiance. That girl still knows me well, because I was on Cloud Nine at that place! Yes, the line was staggeringly long, the cafeteria-style food was as shockingly bad, the place was jam packed, and still I loved it. They have divers jumping 30 feet into a small pool in the middle of the restaurant, fire jugglers, a guy in an ape suit, a spooky pirate cave, a mariachi band . . . it was hilarious! Andy agreed it was “pretty crazy” and suggested we go for a beer afterward. He’s a good sport.

After a too-short visit with Rob, we drove to Brighton to visit my friend Bev, who I hadn’t seen in 15 years. Once again, the years between were irrelevant, and we talked and laughed for hours, and only drove Andy and John a little bit crazy with our old jokes. It’s amazing to me how easy it is to pick up where you left off with real friends. If they hadn’t had to work the next day, we’d probably still be there playing games and being ridiculous in our usual way. Aaaaaand, once again, I’m full of great stories and low on photos. Love you Bearly! xoxo

It has been a dream come true to have enough time and flexibility to be able to reconnect with friends. This Turtle life is really making up for lost time, right? It’s also ensuring we’re able to continue checking National Parks off our list, with one more coming right up: Great Sand Dunes National Park.

The warm weather will have to wait! We’ve got some snowy dunes to climb.

Let’s Refurbish a Van – Part 6: Roof Rack (by Andy)

A post by Andy

{Note: The work detailed in this post was completed over the summer of 2015, before we moved into the Turtle. I am just getting the time to write the post now.}

So, we have stuff to carry. And we want a place to store our solar panels. And we want to stay cool. And, if possible, look cool. So, we need to put together a roof rack…

Here are a few pictures of the old RV when we got it. It had an aluminum ladder that was old and worn, along with the typical RV aluminum tube luggage rack at the back- all bits with some of the mounts loose. We also had a big plastic storage box bolted to the top, but it was cracked and would certainly leak. As you can see, there was also one solar panel and a mount for what I’m pretty sure was a TV antenna. Good stuff, but it was all pretty worn, as it had all traveled for close to 30 years and more than 250 thousand miles.

We wanted our rack and top equipment to do a few things for us:

Have a dry and accessible place to store camping and fishing and other fun gear, out-of-season clothing, and some spare parts and equipment.
Have the rack removable, so we can maintain and fix the roof when the need arises.
Have a location to mount the planned solar panels.
Design the rack to provide us shade.
Have a system that we can change, add more solar to, move things around, etc.
Be able to fill and seal up all the holes prior people made when mounting things to the roof, and have a system where moving forward we will not be drilling into the roof any more.

Anyway, roof racks look great! I hear they can be useful too. In truth, we have pretty limited room and storage inside, so having a bit of room up top for our extra supplies and garage-like stuff was essential for a successful voyage.

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So, to the step of getting the old stuff off and sealing up the holes. Pretty much unbolt the bolts and pry everything else off. I then used fiberglass impregnated epoxy body filler for all the big holes (I love epoxy!), maybe adding wire to support it as it cured. I then added Geocel Proflex on the seams. I read about and tried a few things, but to date, it is my go-to for exterior sealing. Here is a link.

For the (many) smaller holes, I would first clean and fill with the Geocel, then screw in a stainless steel screw the size of the hole, then cover the head of the screw with another layer of Geocel. It is a technique I read about on the internet, and it seems to have worked well so far. Again, it is not worth buying any hardware but stainless or grade 8. It does cost a little bit more, but use the savings you get for doing this yourself to get the good hardware. Plus, you don’t have to worry about some interior rust and redoing the work down the road. After sealing the holes, I put down Rustoleum on all the modified spots. The following pictures show the antenna hole through the roof, and some of the removed parts scattered in the yard.

We were lucky enough to have a friend who worked for Yakima who gave us a VIP discount card for one purchase. With the card, we got 12 A1 rain gutter towers, 6 78″ crossbars, 12 wide body rain gutters, end caps, two 12-peice lock core sets, a Loadwarrior basket, and some cargo nets. A truly impressive amount of wonderful Yakima pieces at a great savings. Boxes and boxes of sweet components!

From REI, Amy and I used our one-item 20% member discount and each of us bought a Skybox Pro 12, shipped to the Portland REI for free. We got the long and narrow boxes to configure end-to-end, and not take up too much roof area width-wise. We effectively have the roof racks for 4 vehicles, all to put up top the Turtle. It added up to a lot of initial investment, but it has been working well, and added an important comfort to be able to store a reasonable amount of things to make our small world flexible, and I think it actually has a sleeker look being made from components—as opposed to a custom-fitted rack. Since we were doing all the work ourselves, we decided to invest a bit more on some nice new hardware. After popping down to REI and loading our new Skyboxes (in their own boxes) onto the top of the old Scout, we stopped for a bite in downtown Portland. Seems fairly reasonable to me, but I imagine to some people we made a sight…

The sky boxes, along with the other hardware, sat in the house for quite awhile. After stripping and sealing the roof, it was only logical to finish painting the Tutle blue, then do the white roof paint, and then finally get to the point where we could install the new roof rack. Consequently, this is what our place looked like for quite an amount of time. (As you can see, our front room was used to store a number of Turtle parts until they were ready to install.)

The pictures are few here, but after most of the painting was finished, I mounted the wide body mounts. I measured, marked, measured again, checked, and had the geometry figured out. On the corner of the Turtle roof, I would drill my two holes, fill with Geocel, cover the mounting surface with Geocel, align the bracket, screw in two (you guessed it) stainless steel lag bolts, then cover the seam and outside with Geocel. After it all cured, we repainted with the Interlux. It looked nicer with the black brackets and shinny bolts before the sealant and paint, but I didn’t want to risk it. And, just so you know, the asymmetric spacing along the length of the roof is due to needing to align the crossbars so they will not interfere with a roof vent when open, but also allow for the mounting points of the skyboxes. Here are the brackets installed:

It is a nice feeling to know that at any point we could unlock (all keyed alike, now) the 12 towers, unscrew, and remove the whole rack if we had to do some maintainence on the topside. Anyway, the pictures are limited at this point, but following are some involving the tower, crossbar, and rack install.

You might notice that the Yakima basket lost out to the solar panels. The basket is in the storage unit presently, and it would be great to get it up there at some point. When we were building and installing the rack, though, the geometric logistics were far too difficult for the time allocated. Anyway, to install the solar panels, I bolted two pieces of 12′ 6061 T6 aluminum square tubing to the crossbars with stainless steel carriage bolts and nuts fitted through the Yakima Universal Snaparounds.

I picked up used ones super cheap here. By the way, ReRack in Portland are nice people and can save you some money on roof racks, so check them out if you are in the area. Back to topic, after getting the aluminum properly spaced and installed, I then drilled and screwed the solar panel brackets to the the aluminum. That step was a breeze. Solar panels installed, photo taken probably a month in.

As to keeping it all cool. We planned on (and did), paint the roof surface with a couple of coats of Interlux topsides white boat paint. We actually painted the roof vent covers white as well. The assumption is that paint will reflect much of the sun’s heat, and be able to withstand the UV rays. So far, everything looks pretty good up there. We have some cracks in the paint where the caulking we used was not completely cured before we painted (I don’t blame the paint, we had time constraints), so we have some washing and fixing of some seams to do. Otherwise, all looks pretty good. A common approach for keeping a bit cooler is to have a couple of roofs, effectively carrying your own shade along with you.

The above old-school Rovers have a second roof with an airgap for passive cooling in the hot sun. (Side note, did anyone notice the tall skinny tyres the rovers are running on?) With the spacing added from the rack towers, and mounting the solar panels and boxes above the crossbars, we have a impressive air gap and continous shade on over 50% of the roof.

Currently, there is a middle strip free for walking, in which I will fit an additional panel at some point, then simply make some cheap synthetic or plywood panels and paint them white to increase our shade to close to 100%. So far, though, we have been to the Badlands of South Dakota in the summer, and have stayed with the ambient temperature with thoughtful venting and minimal electric fans.

To me, the goal is not to be cooler than the outside, all we need to do is not be hotter than the ambient temperature in all kinds of weather.

Oh, almost forgot, we want to access the roof! We need to clean the solar panels, get stuff into and take stuff out of the boxes, check on all the paint and seals, and most importantly, be able to climb up and yell with arms outstretched like you are in a movie! Anyway, the ladder…

We actually bought a car roof rack ladder as a start. The almost $200 ladder (seems crazy) was well worth the money, in the time saved. It always feels pretty weird to buy something new, remove it from the box, then start cutting it right away. So, the ladder, welding, adding more rungs for the proper length, and fixing the folding function.

Some close-to-final pictures here. We started with a 9-rung foldable ladder, and ended with a 12-rung rigid ladder that bolts to the bumper and the top rack. Again, it was designed to bolt to the bumper and rack, so it is removable…

I’m pleased with the removability of the ladder, because we crushed it a bit when we backed into a tree one day, about a week after it was finished and installed. The ladder was subsequently unbolted, straightened, and remounted. From the side, it now does have a bit of ripple (below the designed joint and by the spare tire)—this is what we call life.

To sum up a bit, up in the boxes right now we have a few fishing poles, extra wire and parts and unfinished projects, cloth for sewing projects, extra window insulation, snow shoes and masks and fins, river tubes, my old tent. A pair of driving lights I have yet to wire up. Some cheap speakers I plan on installing in the doors. You get the picture. We call it our attic.

We have a completed rack now. It holds our solar panels, is our attic, and still has room to exapand.

Let’s Refurbish a Van – Part 5: Suspension (By Andy)

A post by Andy.

{Note: The work detailed in this post was completed over the summer of 2015, before we moved into the Turtle. I am just getting the time to write the post now.}

We wanted a little more ground clearance, fender and frame spacing for the taller tires, and a good, safe ride. We initially hoped to find an off-the-shelf lift kit. . . no soap. People make them for Ford trucks and Broncos, nothing for 80’s vans. I suppose that makes sense; the van market must be pretty small. So I guess we’ll just have to design and install a complete suspension overhaul and customization ourselves. This is where we started…

In the front we have what Ford calls a twin I-beam suspension with what I infer is an aftermarket sway bar, and the rear is just a simple leaf spring configuration, though there are functional aftermarket Firestone airbags that have been added.

Let’s address the rear first; that is comparatively easy. We found some 2″ lift blocks from Action Van (http://www.actionvansuspension.com), that fit between the axle and leaf spring. Action Van actually makes full lift kits, but only for ’92 and newer Ford vans. Lucky, the rear suspension was the same, so we were able to use their blocks for the back.

With some breaker bars on the end of the socket wrench and a little groaning, the blocks were pretty easy to install. Lots of jacks and heavy-duty jack stands were employed in this step! Here is a poor photo of the suspension when I was starting the modification.

Here is a photo of the installed blocks. Always remember that it is a good idea to drive a bit and then retorque all the bolts for suspension components after making changes- things can settle under the vibration.

After adding the lift blocks, the rear airbags were adjusted by cutting, drilling, and painting 2″spacers from hollow square tubing and bolting into place between the axle and bottom of the air bags with new grade 8 hardware. Sorry for the bad photos (at the time, the important thing was to get stuff done, so the documentation suffered), but what you can see in the following is the original airbags and the blocks and hardware cut, drilled, and painted.

And a current photo of the final installed version- a little dirty, as we have been trekking about for a little over a year now.

Pretty straight-forward modification, and after a few thousand of miles everything is very solid.

Now the front suspension. The modifications needed were: 1) taller coil springs 2) adding air bags 3) fitting the new shocks 4) dropping the sway bar 5) dropping all 4 I-beam pivot points 6) replacing all the suspension bushings in the process.

I was able to find taller MOOG coil springs and front airbags, cranked everything apart, and got those pieces installed.

You can see that at this point with the added spring height but no change to any of the I-beam pivot points, the camber is extreme.

The next step was to remove the suspension mounts. This was a true pain, as there were many frame rivets to remove. Depending on the accessability, I would drill, grind, hammer, cold chisel, or simply swear at for long enough to remove. I would consider it a solid success if I came home from work, spent all evening, and got only one removed. I blocked it out, but there were somewhere between 16 and 20. Anyway, after getting the pivot points removed, I made some drawings describing the desired changes needed to drop the pivot points 2″ lower, then took the parts to a fabricator. I weld myself, and made the grill guard, and all other metal modifications on the Turtle, but I wanted really great welds on these parts, so we paid to have someone with more skills do the modification. Plus, it was pretty darn magical to just drop the parts off and pick up the finished pieces a few weeks later. So, some of the suspension pieces back from the welder:

Painting, almost ready to install. I had ordered new MOOG bushings for all the pivot points, so these were installed at this point too.

Except for reusing a few special Ford bolts, the bolts and frame rivet locations were replaced with 1/2″ grade 8 hardware. Some current pictures of the completed front suspension.

Here is a photo of the dropped sway bar pivots with the new greasable bushings installed, again, everything is grade 8 hardware. I never buy anything else (except maybe stainless for chassis fixturing or the interior).

New Bilstein shocks were ordered for all four corners. The stock fit for the rear has enough travel to handle the 2″ lift, so we got the heavy-duty RV ones, and that was easy. We had to calculate the new front geometry to size the front, and went extra fancy with the front shocks and got an external reservoir setup. They look cool! (I ordered them from shockwarehouse.com, part number 25-177480 and 24-184663.)

Here is the front suspension a year into our travels. I was replacing the brake pads, so I took the opportunity to clean everything up, and also paint the hub with Rustoleum. We have had no problems with the suspension thus far.

The lift was added to enable us to have the taller tires, and to have more ground clearance. There have already been a number of cases where we figure we would have likely damaged something on the underside if we did not have the clearance we have. Additionally, with the clearance and narrow tires, we have made it through some pretty deep snow without problems. It has proven to be a successful modification. Plus, it makes the Turtle look cool!

Leaving Bozeman Harbor

We’re back on the road! It’s super, super exciting. When you’ve spent a year roaming and adventuring and then suddenly sit still for a while, the call of the road is stroooong. But even though we were looking forward to moving on down the road, we got a lot of valuable things accomplished in Bozeman Harbor, mostly lots of family time, and it was two months very well-spent.

We originally posted up for a bit to do some Turtle work before winter hits, and after a year of being in the Turtle, we finally finished the bathroom! Andy really killed it on the vanity and faux toilet tank. The “tank” is actually storage (our favorite word these days), but he even made a little flusher you can pull, whose only practical function is to be charming. Andy always goes the extra mile!

You could say it’s come a long way from when we first bought the Turtle. . .

I’d like to make it clear here that it didn’t look like the above photo while we’ve been living in it. . . That’s a BEFORE “before” photo. 🙂 We got a good amount of progress done before we hit the road, but as you can see in the photos below, the vanity was still completely inefficient for storage and took up a ton of room in the small space. And we still had that sink in there, which we didn’t find useful since there’s a kitchen sink three steps from this one, and we’d rather have the storage! But with all the work we had to do in the rest of the Turtle before hitting the road, this portion of the renovation was put on the back burner.

But now it’s done! And we loved our extended stay in Bozeman. We parked the Turtle at my Mom’s house, and while Andy reveled in his huge garage/shop space and engineered all kinds of new fancy Turtle improvements, I got to spend lots of quality time with my mom, sister, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews. I had the best time getting to be a local for a while, and my love tank is filled to the brim. 🙂

We even had a pasta party night, where we made homemade 4-cheese ravioli, sausage ravioli and fettuccini, and three kinds of sauces. If you’re thinking about inviting me to a party, I can promise I’ll come if it’s this kind of party.

We had a fulfilling and productive stay in Bozeman, and I was only able to leave knowing that we’d be back for one more short stint since I have to return on the 8th to ~~walk the green mile~~ go to a dentist appointment. In the meantime, let’s go to Yellowstone National Park!

Watching the Seasons Change in Missoula, MT

Is it really October already? At the end of the month, it will have been a year since we moved in to the Turtle! It’s fun to look back on the last year, and how we’ve spent our time quite differently than we’d expected. We make a lot of jokes about how it took us a year to make it from Oregon to Montana! Turtle time a real thing, guys.

We’d originally planned to divide our time fairly equally between the outdoors and visiting long-distance friends we didn’t get to see enough when we lived in Portland. Little did we know that the year would be quite so filled with people time! It’s been great getting to see people we’ve been missing, catching up with family and being around for significant life moments, and spending that quality time leisurely instead of smashing it all into a weekend. And then in a hilarious twist, after the year away from Portland while we caught up with old friends, we were missing our Portland friends Jason and Kelly so we planned a meet-up in Missoula!

For me, it was a super-fun collision of two worlds. I lived in Missoula for a number of years and have incredibly fond feelings for that charming little town. So it was a total blast to have Andy and our friends come and play with me in my old stomping ground! When we arrived in town we wasted no time getting to the river, and discovered that since the last time I was in Missoula, they put a dog park right on the Clark Fork river! So the dogs can all run freely together, and swim and drink as needed, right in the middle of town. Plus it’s called Bark Park, so bonus points for charm.

We got there in time for some glorious sunny days, so we spent as much time as possible on patios. Jason only ordered drinks in novelty glasses, as far as you can tell from this picture.

Missoula is small and super walkable, so we wandered around from place to place all day and into the evenings. And to add to the list of reasons I love Missoula, someone had put two pianos on the street that remained the entire time we were there, so Andy played them every single time we passed them! It set such a whimsical mood to hear piano music drifting throughout the streets downtown, some people playing difficult pieces beautifully and surprising their friends, others laughing while they tried to remember how “Heart and Soul” went. (Andy was the former.)

One of my favorite days was spent at my very favorite spot: Red Rocks! It’s a short walk from Whittaker Bridge, just east of Missoula, and has a nice beach, a beautiful view, and slow spots where you can swim or wade, depending on the time of year.

We relaxed in the sun and played Ladderball (or Montana Golf, or Snakes, depending on whose side you want to take in the discussion of the correct name of the game.) I hiked up to the top of Red Rocks and snapped a few quick photos as close to the edge as I dared.

We had a beautiful sunset on our way out, and to top it all off, while we were there, I found punctuation rocks! I mean, that comma, right? So the day was a resounding success. 🙂

It was great getting to see Kelly and Jason again, and to finally meet Brendan!

Jason had to get back to Portland, so we dropped him off at the airport (right on time, and he did not miss his flight. . . is how we will remember the day’s events in the future), and the remaining four of us drove south past Lolo to a nice camp site for a few days. Initially it was clear and warm, and we soaked up the last of the summer sun by the river.

Andy decided he wanted to cut his hair short, so Kelly and I gave him a picnic table haircut! Having your hair cut fireside is another perk of the Turtle life. So is getting your picture taken at an unfortunate middle phase of that haircut.

At one point, the weather remembered it was supposed to be Fall. Fortunately, we’re all hardy campers and had a great time despite the wind and rain. We cozied up next to the fire, had slow-cooked bacon and huckleberry pancakes, hunted for firewood by the river, played more Ladderball, and sat around the fire some more.

It happened in an instant but we realized, as the dogs peeked out at us from the wind-squashed tent and the leaves swirled around our rainy picnic table. . . fall was upon us! We were sorry to leave when the time came, but the weather made it easier to admit that being indoors sounded cozy!

I left Missoula with Kelly and Brendan and we drove to Portland while Andy stayed in the Turtle at the camp site to finish out the work week. I spent a week in Portland, hanging out with friends and my sisters, nieces, and nephews.

The week flew by, and in a flash it was time to go. I road-tripped with my brother-in-law back to Bozeman, where we met up with Andy at my Mom’s house. Since we arrived we’ve had lots more quality time with her, my other sister, and my other nieces and nephews! There’s a lot of us. Which means we require a lot of time to catch up! It’s been such a treat to see everyone on a more regular basis, being around for birthdays, learning to snap, and loose teeth, and we’re especially savoring it because we realize that we’re not going to spend every year the way we’ve done it this time—hopping from town to town hanging out with all our buddies.

It’s been so much fun to make this year a people year, but as we approach our year Turtle-versary we realize we also need to focus on the other reason we chose this lifestyle, which is getting outside and playing hard! We’re going to have to break the news to Gracie, who is thoroughly enjoying the comforts of Mom’s house. . .

But we’ll use Clive’s pop-up illustration of him and me roasting hot dogs over the fire as inspiration to get back outside!

In the meantime, we’re using our time and resources at “Bozeman Harbor” to get the Turtle in top shape before we get into the snow. As I sit bundled up indoors with a nice cup of coffee, I’m thinking this will be a good time for reflection as we approach a year of being full-time vandwellers. So look forward to posts where I dish the details of Turtle life—the good, the bad, and the breaking-down-by-the-side-of-the-road.

Happy Fall, everyone! 🙂

The Story of Gracie the Camping Cat

We get a lot of questions about Gracie. A lot!

I agree that it’s bizarre for a cat to be roaming freely in camp sites. Some people think she’s super rad and hilarious, which is true. Some people think it’s crazy that we brought her along on our travels. Some people can’t believe she’s actually a happy camper. And some people just like to look at cute pictures of cats. So I thought it would be fun to tell the story of how Gracie came to be a camping cat, and to talk about what a blast she’s having! I think once you get to know her better, taking her on this adventure will seem like the obvious choice. 🙂

About six years ago, I went to adopt a cat at the Oregon Humane Society. For whatever reason I really had my heart set on an adult male, preferably orange. As I walked up to the building, I saw a tiny little grey and white kitten staring out the window of the Cattery (I did not make that name up). She wasn’t looking at any of the people walking by, just staring outside with those big green eyes. I remember thinking how adorable she was, but I really didn’t want a kitten – I rented and it seemed too risky to box train and worry about new kitten behaviors.

I asked to hold a 2-year-old orange male named Garfield, but he was visiting with someone else. So while I waited I figured it would just be fun to hold a kitten, and they handed me the little window kitty, Henrietta. (I know, who is in charge of naming cats at that place, right?) She was freaked out and ran under the bench and didn’t come out for over five minutes before I finally lured her out. I held her close to me and she instantly started licking my cheeks and nose and purring like crazy! I was done for. Well played, Henrietta.

I found out while signing the adoption paperwork that she was 6 months old and had been brought in with a litter of kittens who had been born outside to two barn cats. The barn cats’ owner said they’d fed the kittens and even left a litter box outside, so she was already box trained and personable. Which was a relief, considering the aforementioned rental issues that I’d tossed right in the garbage when that kitten kissed my nose.

My plan was to keep the newly-named Gracie indoors, especially since I lived on the corner of two main streets in Portland. Her plan was to return to the wild at all costs. While she and I bonded and she loved to snuggle and play, she also spent a fair amount of time plotting her escape to the great outdoors. Screens were destroyed whenever windows were opened, and a complicated system was put in place for leaving and returning through the front door. She was a happy little kitty and she was very lovey with me, but it was obvious she still just wanted to go play outside, where she’d spent all her life up to that point.

After a while I moved to another house, this time in a quiet neighborhood. Gracie hadn’t relented on her mission to Shawshank herself out of the house, so I began trying her outside in the fenced back yard. She was awesome! She’d often break out of the fenced area, but never went far. She’d usually just go to the boat parked next door and sun bathe on the bow. I practiced calling her back in, usually with treats involved, and she’d always return to the front door, where I’d let her back in. To get in the back yard, I taught her to climb a ladder to hop back over the fence, and she took to it instantly. She’s so strange. It’s her best feature.

The longer she and I were a team, the better she got at listening to directions and trusting me. She grew into an affectionate, interactive, adventurous, chatty cat who purrs loudly, plays hard and eats like a wolf. She also has a knack for getting into trouble, but so sweetly and honestly it’s laughable. Andy says that if he didn’t know Gracie, and couldn’t see her antics with his own eyes, he wouldn’t believe pictures of her weren’t staged! She’s just a riot.

Andy isn’t a cat person, and even he admits that Gracie is the coolest. I call her the Gateway Cat, because she truly has convinced anti-cat people to reconsider their position. Some have even adopted cats. That’s my girl!

We also call her the Anti-Project, because she has a knack for sensing when a project is being executed and expertly interferes. Just try to start that project, and then: Enter Gracie.

It’s a gift, really.

Try to measure some fabric:

Try to recycle paper trimmings in paper bags:

Try to take a profile picture for your school portfolio:

Try to print a document:

Try to change the bobbin:

Try to pick huckleberries:

Try to fill boxes for the move:

Try to enjoy some cheese and crackers during a movie:

Try to put away groceries:

You get the idea.

And you can see what an independent little monkey she is! So when we decided to take on the Turtle lifestyle, I had no doubt that she’d adapt flawlessly to a changing venue. We started her out with a harness and leash, and gradually began giving her a little more freedom when we were in safe, secluded spots. We discovered that she’s very careful in new environments, and when she gets scared, she always runs home and hides under the Turtle. If she’s out of sight, when I call her name she always meows back from her hiding spot! When called again she comes running back. She needs the freedom of the outdoors, but she loves us best and knows she’s part of our team, so we know she’ll always stick close.

So close, in fact, that when we go for short walks she comes along with us! She stays right near us, chirping and chatting down the road. When we reach our destination, she sunbathes and crawls into our laps, or pounces on bugs and climbs trees. We always put her inside if we’re going too far for her to join, and never take her on busy roads, but if we’re walking around a campground or up a trail, she can generally be spotted at our heels or at the edge of the path leaping through bushes.

This lifestyle is perfectly suited for our wild girl! Before, when we both worked full time, she’d be home alone for eight hours a day. She’d roam around the back yard and in the neighborhood, but she’s so social that she prefers people around to interact with and needed lots of attention when we’d get home. Our friend John—who lived behind us— told us that one warm day when he was cleaning house with the door open, he walked into his living room to find Gracie sitting in the middle of the room! And that wouldn’t be the last time she dropped by to visit John unannounced. She likes to be around her people.

Now we’re with her nearly all the time, and she gets a new back yard to explore and play in every week! She is very happy and safe. Yes, indoor-only cats have fewer risks, but this girl was going to play outside with or without our consent! So we compromise, and she stays close to us, and we give her plenty of options for safe outdoor spots to explore.

And now that she has freedom, she’s very happy when it’s time to stay indoors. She’s a real cuddler, and if you sit still for more than 30 seconds, she’ll usually end up in your lap, or sneak up on you and lick your cheeks while she purrs loudly in your ear. If I’m trying to read and she’s feeling sweet, she’ll hold my chin between her paws so I can’t turn away while she licks my face!

She’s the happiest she’s ever been, and loves to meet new friends on the road. If you see us camped out somewhere, stop by to visit Gracie the Camping Cat!

And if she’s not home, just check the nearest trail. . .

Huckleberry Heaven: Seeley Lake, MT

Of all the places we’ve been so far, never have we been so perfectly in the right place at the right time! That’s right, huckleberries are ripe early this year and we’re camped out right in the middle of a huckleberry field!

If you’ve ever eaten fresh huckleberries, you will agree that this is likely the most magical part of our journey yet. If, tragically, you haven’t had the pleasure, do yourself a favor and come to Seeley Lake right away and I will treat you to the yummiest berry you have ever tasted. Of course I can’t tell you where the berries are—when you have a good huckleberry spot, you keep that information locked in a vault! I probably wouldn’t have even told Andy if he hadn’t been with me when we found them.

Ok, I probably would have. We’ll assume I would have. 😉

It all started at our camp site at Big Larch. We were walking Scout down to the water for some swimming, when Andy saw a ripe huckleberry on a bush along the path. We were so excited! Huckleberries usually aren’t ripe until mid-August! After a (quick) swim, we rushed back to the Turtle and got a couple Nalgenes and outfitted them with paracord and duct tape to make hands-free berry pails.

We picked like crazy, but the spot was pretty thin. We worked for about an hour to end up with a few handfuls of berries, but it was worth it!

Now that we knew there were ripe berries to be found, we were on the lookout. In between Berry Bush Searches, we enjoyed our camping spot: riding bikes, fishing, collecting firewood, and late nights stargazing and chatting by the fire. And of course, cooking up our berries into fresh huckleberry pancakes!

Gracie climbed trees pretty much the entire time. Our neighbors all thought she was hilarious. (I often forget how rare it is to see a house cat roaming around a campsite. We think it’s pretty normal these days!) I tried to get a photo of her up a tree, but the only one I was quick enough to capture was this one, and she’s mostly behind it!

I did get a great video of her racing up a tree and bounding off, but I don’t know how to upload videos to the blog yet. And it’s gorgeous outside so I’ll teach myself on a rainy day! You can see it via our Instagram though: #blueturtlecrossing

After a week at Big Larch, we left to meet up with Andy’s family at a cabin in Seeley for the week. We had an awesome time! We fished and swam in the Clearwater River running behind the cabin.

We took a day trip up to Rainy Lake (not rainy this year, woo hoo!). We picnicked, fished, kayaked, and caught crawdads*.

*Andy and his dad caught crawdads. I did my best, but mostly terrified everyone at random intervals by shrieking whenever one raced through my fingers as I tried to scoop him up.

We took a day trip to Lake Elsina where we fished, built fairy houses, floated, caught frogs, and sketched.

And to top it all off, while on a hike to find a fishing spot we stumbled across a huge huckleberry field covered with ripe berries! There are camp sites there, so Andy and I plunked our tent down to save the spot and we got to work collecting berries. The whole family helped, and during our stay at the cabin we had huckleberry pancakes, huckleberry bars, and huckleberry cocktails. It was pretty freakin’ fancy.

I love huckleberries more than any fruit on the planet. They’re small, but pack an incredibly intense sweet flavor. Yes, they’re related to blueberries, but there’s no comparison! They like blueberries’ much more stylish and exotic cousin, who has loads of exciting stories to tell and a great sense of humor. And looks great in hats.

Based on our huckleberry discovery alone, we decided to stay another week! Our site is beautiful, overlooking the lake, and we’d love it even if it weren’t surrounded by ripe berries. . . but they really do put this place over the top.

We’re definitely making the best of it—every day we’re out collecting berries!

Huckleberries look like small blueberries, with the same “bull’s eye” at the base, but their color can range from black to blue to purple to red. And unlike the copycat bushes we’ve been seeing next door to the real bushes, the leaves are staggered—not paired. Don’t forget to push the leaves back to check underneath – that’s where most of the berries are hiding! We’ve found a wide array of colors and sizes here, and they all taste spectacular.

We’ll walk down the road, with Scout leading the way and Gracie following close behind, and settle into a nice spot.

Gracie rolls in the dirt and perches on logs while Scout leaps through the bushes and grazes. Andy taught him to pick berries right off the bush, and now he happily helps himself! (Another funny video of Scout picking berries at #blueturtlecrossing, or if you’d like, you can follow us on Instagram at @amycsummers)

Every day we make a huckleberry dish; the most decadent so far was the huckleberry sangria I made two nights ago. It was divine. A friend of Andy’s caught and delivered four delicious cutthroat trout right to our site the other night, so we cooked that up on the fire with our sangria and felt very spoiled indeed. Thanks Joe!

We’re heading to Great Falls in a few days, so I’ve got to go back to berry picking now! My goal is to fill the freezer before we leave—we’ve got a 1 1/4 gallons so far, so I’ve got work to do!

Wahoo!

Let’s Refurbish a Van – Part 4: Curtains

Of all the updates one can make to an RV, in my opinion the most drastic change for the least amount of effort is the curtains. It’s a way to infuse color, pattern and texture into the small space, especially in a vehicle like the Turtle, which has zero wall space for art. We almost have zero wall space for walls! Even if you aren’t a world class seamstress, it’s a simple shape to tackle, and honestly nobody even notices if your hemlines wobble a bit. I really encourage you to give it a try!

When we got the Turtle, I knew I wanted to plan all my color choices around the curtains. It’s the best place for statement patterns, and I love-love-love a bright and colorful interior space, so I wanted to see what was available before making further paint or fabric decisions. Actually, it was the first decision I made at all, and I think I had the fabric in hand within the first week of owning the Turtle! I love a whimsical graphic print, and the green shade is so friendly and cheerful.

When picking your curtain fabric, I highly recommend choosing outdoor fabric. This may sound obvious, but the selection of outdoor fabric is often pretty slim, and the allure of an entire store full of pattern and color choices seems like a fine trade-off for less sturdy material. But the outdoor fabric won’t fade as quickly as other fabric. It’s also mold and mildew resistant, which doesn’t seem like a big deal until you’re boondocking on the Oregon coast and the hygrometer reads 93% humidity and the windows are weeping and mold is knocking at the door. The last thing you want is to find your curtains flocked with green fuzz! Ours stood up to the damp like a champ.

Something to keep in mind about outdoor fabrics, though, is that due to their durability, they are slightly more stiff, and don’t bunch or ripple like regular fabrics. But if you take that into consideration, you can work around it by reducing the ripple a bit or giving your curtain rod span a few extra inches to account for the thickness when the curtains are pulled open.

As you can see, I opted for a gentle ripple, and at the top and bottom it’s still pretty thickly bunched. Additionally, since we don’t have a ton of room on either side of the windows in the Turtle to add rod span, that extra fabric to make the ripples does take up a little window space when they’re pulled open. So it’s good to pick the fabric you like, then decide how you’re going to mount the rods and how much the ripple will affect the length of each panel.

With that in mind, it’s time to determine yardage so you can buy that awesome fabric you found! What I needed to consider with our curtains was the fact that the Turtle’s walls are curved, so I’d need rods on the top and bottom to avoid them hanging far from the wall at the bottom. (I’d actually recommend this even for straight walls, as it keeps more light out and doesn’t blow around.) So I hemmed pockets on top and bottom, and made a double-fold hem on all sides. The double-fold isn’t necessary, but it’s a nice detail. Just fold the hem over, press it with an iron, then fold it over again, press it, pin it, sew it down! Do this to all four sides before sewing the pockets so the rods can slide through.

Then fold the top and bottom pockets over, press them, pin them, sew them! This part can be tricky if you’re using two rods, as it needs to be nearly perfect so that the curtains stay taut but don’t pull on the rods or just not fit altogether. Even after explicit measuring, I ended up spending some quality time with my seam-ripper as I tried to get the fit just right.

Oh, did I mention I had a hard time getting the fit right? Yes I did. It was difficult getting them to not balloon out, and when I took them in they strained the rods since they were a little too short. In the end, I had to make another pocket and sew it to the top of the curtains. This made it easier because I could adjust the pocket right on the rods and pin it in place before sewing it. If I did it again, I’d just plan on approaching it that way to save a headache! Luckily I love the way it looks, and if anyone asks, you can tell them I totally did it on purpose.

For the rods, I bought some dowels from Home Depot and some wood end pieces from JoAnne for the finials. Cheap! Andy sanded, stained and varnished them for me, and screwed the finials into the dowels. The benefit of doing it this way was that we could cut them to the exact size we needed inexpensively, and the wood end pieces already had holes through them, so screwing them in was really simple.

Andy’s genius came in handy as we tried to figure out a way to mount the rods. He found some utility tool hangers at Home Depot that fit our rods perfectly and hold onto them tightly enough that they don’t slide back and forth. We painted them white, and done!

For the tie-backs, I just sewed a strap with some navy fabric I found in the remnant bin at Mill End, and attached one end of each to some stainless steel eye screws I’d screwed into the wall.

The other end I attached to stainless steel S-hooks.

They wrap around the panels to hold them back, and then when the curtains are open, we just re-hook it so it stays out of the way (and so Gracie isn’t as tempted to bat it around).

And there you have it! Inexpensive custom curtains that make a statement, liven up your small space, and are a nice splashy backdrop for pictures of your pets.

If you have any questions about the process, let me know! As with any How-To post, I’d be happy to explain any parts in greater detail to help get you started on your own project. 🙂

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