happy camper

3 Months in Baja: Bahía de los Ángeles to Guerrero Negro

This is the story of all Amy’s dreams coming true.

Ok—again, not all of them, and not just mine either. A whole literal boatful of people’s dreams came true in this portion of the trip! But I’m getting ahead of myself.

We left Bahía de los Ángeles via the long, bumpy dirt road that for a long portion of the drive follows the route that the Baja 1000 drivers take. We had full-blown off-road-racing fever, so it seemed like a great idea the moment we had it.

We had conquered the jarring Mex 5 and felt confident about our ability to manage this stretch of road. Our friends from Bahía had assured us that it wasn’t too much worse than the Mex 5, and as long as we were fully supplied we should be fine. The only difference between the two drives was the amount of road between towns.

So in order to continue having stories to tell, the Turtle decided to wait until we were just far enough away from Bahía that going back wasn’t an option, and that’s when it began leaking fuel. I had been smelling gas for a while, but it was just faint enough that we thought it could be burn-off or something non-troubling. But soon the smell was overwhelming and it was necessary to stop and have a look.

After a few minutes diagnosing the problem, Andy began unloading his tools.

From underneath the Turtle Andy explained to me that the fuel pump was leaking, squirting fuel out all over the undercarriage. We had a long distance to go until the next gas station, so losing any amount of fuel was a problem. He continued poking around while I took the pets out for a walk along the Bahia 1000 track.

When we came back to check on him, I noticed Andy had been digging around his storage space under the bench seats inside. I asked him how everything was going, and he asked me if I remembered what we’d purchased at the Auto Zone a week ago in San Felipe. Because we’d looked up and memorized the words “bomba de combustible” especially for that visit to Auto Zone, I also of course remembered what they meant.

Fuel pump! Andy had just bought a spare. He’s a real wizard, that one.

So despite the fact that we would have been in a real jam out there in the desert alone on a dirt track nobody uses, in about an hour we were back on the road! I love how he’s able to turn disaster into mere inconvenience with a wave of his wrench. I never take for granted Andy’s mechanic skills and his Eagle Scout level of preparedness. We’re able to take risks and see portions of the world that few others get to see because we’re not as worried about being totally stranded (see: Dalton Highway). He’s the best!

We continued on, driving through stunning desert landscapes, surrounded by cacti of all shapes and sizes.

Our unplanned stop to replace the bomba de combustible meant we were in a race against the sun to reach our boondocking site before dark. As we wound around the curves leading up to San Rafael, we were slowed down further by this hilarious herd of cows who were apparently doing a slapstick bit for our enjoyment and exasperation. They could easily have exited the road on either side, but trotted ahead of us for about a mile, weaving back and forth and giving us annoyed looks over their shoulders as they went. And stopped. And then went again.

We made it to our site just as darkness swallowed up the roads, and went in to fix up some fancy clams we’d brought with us from the beach of La Gringa.

Since we almost never drive at night we were curious to see what our new front yard would look like in the morning.

It was awesome! We were the only humans as far as the eye could see, on a low bluff overlooking our private beach.

The animals were safe to roam freely, so while they did I happily took lots of photos of them. The beach looks really good on these two.

I took Scout down to the beac to play in the surf and read for a while. He just kept digging his face in my bag for the frisbee so I didn’t get much reading done, but when you’re on a private beach there’s really no wrong way to spend the day.

We stayed a few days before getting back on the bumpy road that would reconnect us with the Mex 1. Where it connects, we’d originally planned on heading south and visiting Guerrero Negro in a month or two on our way back up north, but as we drove and I read about the whale watching season, we thought we’d go right away in order to hit peak whale season.

This road was another long stretch of slow going, surrounded by every flavor of cactus.

It was so beautiful that we didn’t mind it too much, until we’d reached hour seven and our brains couldn’t take the jolting back and forth for one more actual minute. The only vehicle we’d seen on the road in days was a truck hauling eight cows and traveling at about 80kph as they passed us. This isn’t a road for the faint of heart.

I began researching places to boondock for the night. iOverlander works offline, which was a lifesaver throughout our entire time in Baja! I saw a little ranch up ahead called Rancho Piedra Blanca that has room for campers for about $10 a night, and even had snacks and showers.

We sat on the porch and chatted with the caretaker in Spanish until bedtime. It was a lovely relaxing evening, watching the sun set and enjoying the pace of life out in the middle of nowhere. We discussed life in Baja, family and travel in as many words as I could recall, we learned that the cows who had passed us in a blur had been on their way to Rancho Piedra Blanca and were now residents, and I fell deeply in love with this tiny lady:

The next day we steeled ourselves for more bumps and after many more hours we saw pavement and cheered! We turned right on the Mex 1 to go just a bit out of our way up north to Guerrero Negro and after driving through the entire town we decided the best spot to camp for the night would be an RV park. Two nights in a row paying for camping! What are we, the Rockefellers? Is that a reference the kids are using these days?

We sat on the patio and I began researching Guerrero Negro’s famous whale watching opportunities in earnest.

Here’s what I learned: half an hour south of the town is the Ojo de Liebre Lagoon, which is a popular calving spot for grey whales traveling their 6,000 mile journey from the Bering Sea. From January through April they come by the thousands to this lagoon, which is warm and protected from predators. The mothers feel so protected there that they seek out and enjoy the company of humans, and are even known to push their babies up to the surface with their noses to show them off and let them be petted. The height of the season is late January through late March, so our early February timing couldn’t have been better.

We met two awesome couples on the patio at El Malarrimo and spent a few hours hanging out over some beers and sharing stories. Marcus and Doria were planning to take a tour from Guerrero Negro the following day on a large tour boat with many passengers, and we met when I told them they might consider another tour. I’d just read on a website (because we got a wifi signal there!) that there are tours you can take on smaller 10-passenger panga boats that get you much closer to the whales, but I wasn’t sure where to go. As fate would have it, Di and CR had just taken a tour a day or two ago and they highly recommended that we drive the half hour south to a camp spot on the beach at Ojo de Liebre instead. They said the tour boats out of Guerrero Negro weren’t authorized to travel in the portion of the lagoon where there are the most whales, and because the boats are larger you don’t get a chance to touch them either. And I needed to touch a whale (now that I knew that was an option). They gave us directions and we started getting super excited.

The next day we ran around Guerrero Negro, eating as many tacos as we could manage.

With hard work and dedication, Andy was able to reach a daily total of seven tacos, giving rise to our new expression, “It really was a Seven Taco Day.” This can be used in any application as an equivalent to “best day ever.” And the tacos adobadas at Señor Taco were in the Top Three Tacos we had on the entire peninsula, so that was icing on the cake. The taco cake.

Later that day we followed Di and CR’s directions down to a campsite right by the lagoon, with huge round palapas at each site that basically doubled our living space. Fancy!

We walked down to the restaurant at the entrance for dinner and big icy margaritas with Marcus and Doria and a handful of other travelers who were all going out to see the whales the next day as well.

When we woke up the next day, it was pretty overcast and chilly. We optimistically mused that since it was only 7 a.m. maybe it would burn off, but the impression we got from the staff on the patio as we drank our coffee and watched the sky told us that what we were seeing is what we’d get. Oh well, we were going to see whales!

Marcus and Doria were as excited as we were.

We sped out to open water on our little 10-person panga boat and breathlessly watched the horizon for spouts.

It only took about 10 minutes before we saw not only spouts in the distance, but the whales themselves, and close up!

When we first began seeing the whales, a little girl on our tour was pointing each one out, saying, “There’s one!” “There’s another one!” until after a while we were seeing fifteen at a time, and she turned from the bow, threw out her arms and happily shouted, “We’re surrounded by whales!” It became the group’s catchphrase for the next few days.

It was a fun tour, but we all suspected that the overcast weather may have had something to do with how mellow the whales were. We decided not to be terribly disappointed since we just had a miraculous day seeing grey whales from 10 feet away, and we reminisced with Marcus and Doria at their palapa as the boys fixed a broken oil pan (not the Turtle’s injury, for once!).

Scout was no help at all, and silently criticized Marcus and Andy for misusing their frisbee time by working on the Golf.

Gracie oversaw the project from on high.

We considered the tour company’s policy of giving a discounted rate for a second day out on the boat, dropping the price from $45 to $20 if you wanted to go out again. We decided we couldn’t pass it up, and made plans with our new friends Ransom and Casey to meet up for coffee early the next day to try to get on the same boat.

The next day was absolutely perfect. It was warm and sunny, and we were able to get all our friends in one boat. Everyone felt positive about our chances to get closer to a whale on this gorgeous day.

Though the tour began at the same time as the previous day, it was clear that the whales were feeling much friskier; they were swimming right up next to the boat in no time!

I didn’t take many photos because I wanted to be present and experience the trip firsthand, but I did take some videos at chin level while I watched so I could relive it later.

It was a magical and deeply moving experience. These magnificent creatures were both enormous and gentle, and it was clear that they really did want to interact and play with us. The “little” 1,000 lb. babies followed their mothers right up to our boat, and flipped around onto their backs as they passed underneath us!

We watched these videos again after the tour, and Andy commented that I was grinning as widely as I had been when I witnessed it in real life. And now as I uploaded these I just realized I’m doing it again! It was a life-changing experience.

And then I GOT TO PET A WHALE!

I actually got a little teary-eyed afterward and had to sit back for a moment to take it all in. It’s hard to explain, but I felt tremendously close to nature and a part of another world that seemed so remote just an hour before. What’s another word for magic? Because I want to keep using that word as I describe the experience. I got to pet a whale!!!!

Almost everyone on our boat got to touch one at least once, which is why we looked like this on the way back:

What a day.

We got back to our mansion after a big celebration lunch at the restaurant patio just as the coastal clouds were beginning to roll in.

Luckily our suite had walls all around, so while the wind picked up and the rain began, we were all very cozy as we read books and watched the birds flying over the water in the distance.

Before we went to Baja, I didn’t know that one of my biggest dreams would be getting to pet a whale. Rarely do we get to realize a dream exists while it’s happening, and I’m so grateful I got to experience it. When we talk about our best days in Baja, this one always tops the list.

It really was a Seven Taco Day!!!

Disc Golf, Hot Springs, Board Games, & Animal Photos: The Nelsons Come to Missoula!

Guess who came to visit us in Montana last month:

Kona!

And she brought our good friends and long-time-ago neighbors, Lisa and Rhema!

We were super excited when we heard that they would be coming out to Montana around the same time we were dropping in from Canada, so we made plans to meet up for a week in my beloved old stomping grounds—Missoula.

Fall was in full swing when they arrived, and despite the fact that the forecast said we’d have mostly rainy and cold weather, it was crisp and sunny for almost the entire trip. Since we’d anticipated the October-in-Montana weather, though, Rhema and Lisa had planned on staying in the Jeep, and they made a super-cool bed platform and suction cup curtains so that they could sleep inside. They did an awesome job, and had lots of room for storage under the platform and so much overhead clearance that Andy and I commented numerous times about how luxurious it was! Lisa even strung up tiny lights across the inside making it incredibly cozy.

(I forgot to get a picture of that, probably because we’re all animal people and mostly took photos of the pets having fun. So brace yourself for copious animal photos!)

Since both parties were mobile, we’d planned on visiting a few camp sites around the Missoula and Lolo areas. It’s the winter season so we had only a few options for open campgrounds, but the ones available were some of my old favorites, so it worked out brilliantly.

The first site we visited was Chief Looking Glass, just south of Lolo. We like this spot because there is a great site on the edge of a huge field, so Gracie can roam and the dogs (and their people) can run around and play frisbee.

Both Rhema and Lisa are incredible disc golfers, so we told them before they came to bring their discs because Missoula is a big “folf” town and has two great courses nearby. (For Rhema’s sake, that’s the last time I’ll use the term, but for accuracy I have to acknowledge that it’s what Missoulians call the sport.)

On our first full day of the trip, we went up to the Blue Mountain course and Andy and I got a lesson in disc golf from the pros. They were so professional in fact that they didn’t once complain about having to walk slowly beside me as I threw 5 times before my disc reached where their first throw landed.

We all agreed that this was a great way to get a taste of the Montana scenery while catching up and playing a game. And aside from a few minutes of rain and later a few minutes of hail, the weather held up quite nicely.

Kona also tagged along and sniffed her way through the course, though Scout did not, for obvious reasons. For a frisbee-obsessed dog, it would have been pure torture watching us throw discs and making him leave them alone.

Toward the end of the course, Kona’s sniffing led her to a very wild and wonderful smell which she loved so much she couldn’t resist rubbing her face and body all over it. It turned out to be some wild animal scat, which was so potent and foul that she required a soapy shower when we got back to the parking lot!

She was pretty sheepish about it, but a good sport.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that we had to walk down to the river to rinse her soap off, we wouldn’t have seen the tiny fuzzy bear cub that walked across our path on the way back! We waited a bit to make sure his mom wasn’t right behind, then quickly got back to the cars and drove back to Chief Looking Glass.

The next morning was another sunny one, and we had our coffee by the river near our site.

Then we took advantage of the sunshine and drove out to Pattee Canyon to try out the disc golf course there. It’s a very densely wooded course, so the soundtrack to this outing was the constant cracking of plastic against trees.

We kept score this time, and it will surprise no one that Rhema and Lisa did very very well, Andy did well, and everyone acknowledged that I participated.

Whether or not you’re a first-rate disc golfer, it’s a beautiful walk through the woods and we had a great time. Afterwards we took our sore arms (it truly is a work-out on the old triceps) to Tamarack Brewing to try lifting some beers, and also ordered their Keg Of Nachos that is as delicious as it is enormous. Between the four of us we couldn’t finish the thing!

We decided to switch things up and go to another site for the night, a favorite of mine when I lived in Missoula—Thibodeau Campground. It’s open all year, right on the Blackfoot River and far away from civilization, so you can hear the river while you watch the myriad stars at night. It’s a great spot.

Rhema and Lisa have a great camera and when paired with Rhema’s equally great camera skills, we got a bunch of gorgeous photos of the animals!

Just a few minutes from the campground is a local-favorite day-use spot called Red Rocks. It’s just a short walk from the parking area. . .

And then you’re right on the river with a stunning backdrop across the water!

It was another beautiful day, and Scout wasted no time getting in the water to swim, fetch sticks, and watch us skip stones. Rhema caught his tail in mid-swish as Andy skipped a stone.

We spent a few hours at Red Rocks, enjoying the weather and making some sweet cairns.

The water was so lovely and appealing that after some time considering it, Rhema finally couldn’t help himself and had to jump in!

As he dried off, he and Andy built a very charming stone man.

Scout just pretty much tried to get us to throw sticks the whole time.

And Kona practiced her camouflage skills.

On the way back into Missoula, Kona rode along with us in the Turtle. She loved it and sat up front the entire time like it was her usual spot!

Scout sat in the front-middle for the first part of the trip, and then in the back for the last bit.

When we got back to town, we stoped for a beer and a few games of shuffleboard at Kettle House Brewery.

Scout and Kona watched us from the Turtle when we came out to the patio to play a game of Rummikub.

The next day we drove into Lolo National Forest to stay a night at Lolo Hot Springs. We got a nice spot at their campground and paid entry to the hot springs so we could soak before dinner, after dinner, and then before bed. We got our money’s worth for sure!

The next morning we had coffee at the restaurant and discussed plans for the day. Should we drive farther into the forest and find a dispersed camping spot, stay another night, or camp somewhere else on the other side of Missoula? As we thought it over, we noticed that since we’d been at the restaurant the night before they’d added a bunch of balloons hanging over the bar. We asked what they were, and the bartender said they were full of coupons and cost $2 each to pop one and see what’s inside. Well of course we had to!

We each popped one, and the bartender bought us two additional balloons, so we ended up with six coupons, one for a free tent site and one for a free cabin site! Plus free soaks and free drinks. . . and the decision was made. We stayed another night!

The cabin was tiny and adorable, and made for a great spot to dry our swim suits in between soaks.

That night we spent a few hours in the restaurant eating dinner, playing Catan, having some drinks, and laughing about how we basically got a free day of fun at Lolo Hot Springs!

When we woke up the next morning, it had snowed a little bit.

But as we drove back toward Missoula, the snow eventually melted and we had beautiful views of the bright yellow larches covering the mountains.

When we got back to town, we stopped at Rockin’ Rudy’s to browse for souveniers, Andy got a fancy new pair of sunglasses, and then we took the dogs down to Bark Park, a great dog park right on the river near the university.

As the day neared its end, so did our visit with Rhema and Lisa. We went back to Chief Looking Glass for one last night of fun and games and animal friend snuggles. Gracie adopted Rhema early on in the trip, and every game session in the Turtle looked much like this:

Also this:

We realized after the sun had gone down that we hadn’t taken a group shot yet! So Rhema set up the camera and we gave it our best attempt.

Perfect.

We were very sad when it was time to say goodbye the next day, as we always are after a visit from Lisa, Rhema and Kona.

We miss you guys! But especially now that you have that sweet setup in the back of the Jeep, we know we’ll see you down the road. Thanks so much for coming our way and spending your week off with us! We’ll keep you posted on our progress toward Baja, so you can start driving that way too. . .

Wildlife Safari on the Alaska Highway

Remember that time I said we loved spotting wildlife? Well we really loved the drive down through British Columbia into Alberta.

As we pulled away from Liard Hot Springs, we made it about 100 feet before spotting this darling lineup of wood bison.

We read in one of our travel pamphlets that while wood bison are a subspecies of the American bison, they differ slightly from the plains bison that are more common in the States. The most obvious difference is in size: these guys are much larger than the bison we’d seen before, and when we looked it up we learned that they are the largest land mammal in North America. Large males can weigh over 2,000 lbs!

I found this handy visual online which compares the two:

As I read this information aloud to Andy as we drove, he tapped my arm and pointed up ahead.

There, on both sides of the road, were about 60 or more wood bison! They ranged in size from hulking males to darling little fuzzy babies.

We pulled over to watch them graze and nap in the tall grass, while others crossed the road right in front of us to meet their group on the other side.

It was very, very exciting—for us, not the wood bison. They seemed pretty nonplussed by the whole encounter.

After a while we decided to move along, and the landscape along the Alaska Highway was just as incredible to watch as the wildlife.

It wasn’t long before we came across another neat animal: a female rock sheep. She was the only one we saw during that portion of the drive, despite the signs all along the road telling us to watch out for rock sheep.

After we passed rock sheep country, we stopped to take a picture of the beautiful rainbow of fall colors on the hill, and this time I was the wildlife being observed from someone inside the Turtle.

The drive took us up into the mountains and then back down again as we approached Fort St. John, B.C.

Once we’d left the mountains we thought the wildlife spotting was over, but just outside of town we came across this handsome couple:

We hadn’t seen as many caribou as Andy had hoped, so this close-up view was just perfect.

There’s a great rocky beach just south of Fort St. John that lots of locals go to launch boats and spend the day, and we saw other boondockers there for the night as well. That night we watched the Northern Lights while Scout and Gracie sniffed around on their leashes, and in the morning we played outside for a while before getting back in the Turtle and driving some more.

Typically we prefer to move really slowly and drive a maximum of two hours a day when we’re not camped out. We’re not in any hurry, it’s cheaper and uses less gas, and we get to see so much more of the world and have more impromptu adventures that way. But since we were trying to stay ahead of the weather, we’d been driving much more frequently than usual, and it was starting to catch up with us. Being in a van all day is not why we’re living in a van!

So when we finally reached Whitecourt, naps were in order. Gracie is the best nap buddy a person could ask for.

Waking people up to interact and play is much more in Scout’s wheelhouse.

We pushed on, and within about 20 minutes of each other we watched a black bear cross the road in front of us, and then a lynx. I speculated that British Columbia wanted to make sure we left satisfied and was quickly sending animals out for us to have one last treat before we crossed over into Alberta.

Alberta felt very metropolitan compared to the rural areas we’d gotten used to, but it was exciting to have cell service and reasonable gas prices again. We decided to take a trip to the West Edmonton Mall to get our wave pool and waterslides on at the World Waterpark. It was a great way to spend a blustery day, and as full-time travelers we always appreciate a fun activity that ends in free showers.

The next day we returned to check out Galaxyland in the mall and went on the “largest indoor triple-loop roller coaster,” the Mindbender, which is very aptly named. Holy moly.

After a few days in town, we escaped back to nature. We had plans to meet up on the road with some friends we met at Diablo Canyon in New Mexico last year, Eric and his PBD (plain black dog), Willow.

We stayed for the weekend at a dispersed campsite outside of Hinton, AB. It was a great spot to catch up on the past year’s travels, have a few beers, enjoy a nice fire in the pit Andy built, and watch some animal playtime.

Now that we were moving away from the land of many predators, we let Gracie have a little supervised off-leash time, and she chose to use her freedom to revisit her favorite sun porch and oversee everyone else’s activities.

While we’re on the subject of wildlife, there are three pets in this picture. Can you spot them all?

Eric is a 5-star animal lover and was a patient and accommodating friend to Scout, throwing toys for him almost every time Scout asked. That meant he was busy from morning to night. Willow loves a cozy chair and a sunbeam, so she didn’t mind watching her human play with another dog.

In case you were wondering, this is what the aftermath of two days of being totally spoiled looks like:

The next day, he was back to his old self and ready to go again!

Of all the wildlife we’ve gotten to see along the way, these two are the strangest and sweetest.

Hmm . . . make that “these three.” Wild beasts, all. I think I’ll keep them.

A Busy Few Weeks: The VLA, ABQ, Boise, The Bisti Badlands, Four Corners, & Mesa Verde NP

Our current location is generally a mystery to anyone trying to keep track of us—including us—mostly due to the fact that we’re so busy having fun that I forget how long it’s been since I last updated the blog or Instagram! I promise that by the end of the next post both you and I will be completely caught up.

As I type this, I’m sitting at an adorable cafe and sweets shop in a town that, I announced immediately before consulting anyone else in the Turtle, we will one day live, even if just for a season. This place is a dream. But we’ll get to that next time. We have so much to cover right now!

We left our last story outside the Very Large Array near Socorro, NM, having a delicious evening treat of a pie sampler from Pie Town. We found a great pull-out to stay the night just a few minutes from the VLA. That night before bed, we watched Contact with a view of the VLA right outside our window! It was awesome. In the movie, the VLA plays a prominent role in Jodie Foster’s research and makes a really dramatic background. And it’s just as impressive in person.

The VLA is an astronomical radio observatory made up of 27 antennas that are each 82′ in diameter. They’ve helped with the investigation of black holes, quasars, pulsars, planets, and loads more. It’s astonishing to see them up close.

(Not quite sure what I was up to in this photo, but it’s the only one I’ve got, so you’re stuck with my unexplainable dance number.)

After getting our science on, we made our way back to Albuquerque where I had a flight to catch in a few days to Boise to visit my girlfriends Beth and Lexie.

But first, Andy and I had a mission: to get poolside as soon as possible. I’m not sure how we got the idea in our heads, but suddenly we couldn’t live without a swim. So we headed to the only RV park in Albuquerque that had their pool open before Memorial Day—American RV Park.

We came for the pool and stayed for the lovely park, yummy continental breakfast, clean showers and laundromat, and beyond-friendly staff. We really did stay another day. It’s a great park that I can’t recommend highly enough! We realized that it had been over a year since we had stayed in an RV park, which was fun because we’ve really gotten the hang of boondocking and have saved lots of money by not going to parks unless we need to take advantage of their amenities. Turtle power!

We stayed two nights, and the next day I left this guy:

To hang out with these guys:

It was a bunch of fun. We painted the town red, and even got dressed up to go watch the Kentucky Derby.

After a whirlwind few days, I was back in Albuquerque and the four of us were back on the road. Andy and I went to a fantastic mining museum in Grants called the New Mexico Mining Museum, which has a replica uranium mine underground. The man at the front desk had worked in mining for about 35 years, and had worked his way up from the bottom to be the head of his mine and even got an award for safety, with the longest time without a death in the mine or serious injuries. He had lots of information, was adorable, and gave me a goldstone to remember the mine by.

Outside of Grants, we stayed at the Joe Skeen campground near El Malpais.

I was happy to be reunited with this guy:

And this guy:

We drove to the Bisti Badlands wilderness, where you can stay overnight in the parking area for free! It was especially appreciated that we got to stay after we climbed for hours over the crazy hills that changed in appearance every few minutes. It felt like a walking tour of 10 different planets.

It was a hot day, and when we got back to the parking lot, we relaxed in our chairs and read books with Scout and Gracie. Gracie has become a real champ with her harness and leash these days. I think she’s figured out that sometimes it’s her only ticket outside, so she wears it without any problem, and even comes to my feet meowing when she hears me get it out.

The next day we made it to Four Corners with beautiful skies above us.

Then we drove on toward Mesa Verde National Park. The landscape on the way to the park was a destination unto itself. I swear this is not a painting.

In the last year, we’ve been to two other cliff dwellings sites: Bandelier NM and Gila Cliff Dwellings NM. We really enjoyed both, but agreed once we made it to Mesa Verde that this is our favorite site so far.

In the park are 600 beautifully preserved cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo people, many of which you can tour or see clearly from various vistas. Depending on the site, the tours are just $5 or $10 each, which gets you 1-2 hours of information and a walk right through the dwellings. You can see petroglyphs and pictographs, the different styles of construction each group used, and the actual tools they used to grind corn and make food. And the views are so vast and unreal that we both said more than once that we’d pay just to hike the trails on the mesa! There are also self-guided tours you can take, so we did all of those too.

Our second day there, as we parked at Balcony House for our tour we noticed another van that could be the Turtle’s long-lost cousin, so we parked by it as we often do when we see a van we like. After traveling around for the last year and a half, we’ve found that we can usually tell by someone’s van if they are kindred spirits, and our track record is pretty good so far. This time was no exception! We ran into Gary and Kiki as we returned from our tour, and found out that they’re just starting out on their full-time vandwelling adventure (though they’ve already been on many, many adventures of other sorts). We’d all already purchased tickets for the same tour the following day, so we got to hang out even more during the Long House tour.

We super enjoyed getting to know you guys, and I’m certain that our paths will cross down the road. (When they do, we’ll let you know what Turtle theme song we came up with; hopefully one as cool as Birdy’s.) You guys were a pleasure to hang out with. Stay in touch! 🙂

After the tour, we did a quick 6-mile loop on top of the mesa to check out the other cliff dwelling overlooks.

We would have loved to stay and visit (both the park and the new friends) longer, but the storm clouds were rolling in and the skies were getting darker. Our first rule of overlanding is “Never Drive at Night”, which is comparable to driving in terrible weather, so we hit the road to make it to Durango, CO to find a spot before the weather hit.

We hung out in Durango for the evening, a town that I already loved and knew Andy would too. The weather was unfortunate, with frigid winds and constant cloud cover, but we had a great time anyway. If you can involve pizza in the plans, Andy is a happy camper.

If you can also include a free trip to the coolest railroad museum ever, Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum, he will be even happier.

And if you really want to make his day, cap it all off with a little performance testing at the highest altitudes the Turtle has ever attempted. . .

Which, unbeknownst to us, was the next leg of the trip. And one that would bring us to where I sit now, in my new very favorite town of all time! But that’s up next.

A Good Place to Crash—Outside Roswell, NM

We’re back in New Mexico and we couldn’t be happier about it! We never imagined we’d stay in a single state for multiple months during our travels, but we can’t seem to rush through anything here. We always plan a general outline of our route a few weeks out and estimate how much time we’ll spend in each spot, but it’s always subject to change and sometimes we trip over a great spot and end up staying much longer than anticipated. The reasons for the extension vary each time, but more often than not it’s because we find a great quiet spot where the weather is clear and we can get some work done on the Turtle!

Considering how limited our storage capabilities are, we keep a surprising amount of project materials on hand in case we find a good spot to do a little maintenance and housekeeping. Of course this was Andy’s idea, and the additional paint, brushes, wood, and tools for which he prioritized space has made Turtle life much more comfortable and manageable. It helps that he’s a wizard with problem solving, woodworking, electric jobs, and wordplay. (That last one has less to do with this topic, but it’s worth noting.) Anyway, we’ve got a pretty customized Turtle these days!

We never know when the work space is going to present itself. Thanks to our arsenal of travel apps, we can tell if a spot seems to be a good place to stay the night, but we can never know exactly what we’re going to get when it comes to the view, the size of the site, the crowds, etc. So we left stormy Lake Meredith on our way to sunny Roswell, NM thinking we’d just travel through Roswell on our way to some great National Parks.

First we stopped in Borger, TX and this happened:

Don’t worry; he’s fine.

After we got him back on his feet, we stopped in Portales, NM to catch up on some computer work, journaling, and letter-writing at the Roosevelt Brewery, where we happened upon some new friends who are also really into the vandwelling lifestyle and have some plans of their own on the horizon. It’s so much fun to meet people who understand the impulse to make life simpler and more fulfilling and adventurous by traveling full time in a tiny house on wheels. So we decided to stick around and spend the evening with them, and had a great time. It was so much fun meeting you, David and Robyn! And thanks for the stickers; we really wanted Roosevelt for the brewery sticker book. You guys are the best! Keep in touch! 🙂

The next morning we were ahead of schedule daylight-wise, since we hadn’t anticipated a stop in Portales, and we were super close to our next stop in Roswell. But since I’d bookmarked an interesting OHV site (Off-Highway Vehicle) for the previous night, we thought we’d just swing by as we drove past to see what it was like.

Aaaaaaand, we loved it.

It was like being on a Star Trek set.

And because this spot is made for toy-haulers, each of the sites is huge, and even has a covered picnic table, grill, garbage, and bathrooms. Not to mention a great view.

The weather was perfect, the space was ample, and the nightly fee was minimal, so we decided to settle in for a bit. Because when you live in a Turtle, there’s always a project waiting to be done!

So while the animals enjoyed their enormous new back yard, Andy and I got to work.

Jobs that needed to be done included:

(Andy’s notes)

– Toilet started running continuously. We got a new valve for $45 in Amarillo, TX, and installed it here. Needed to remove the toilet, remove old parts, install the new parts (took the time to thoroughly clean the toilet), and then reinstall it.

– Rotated the tires. Kept them all on the same side, and moved front to inner rear, inner rear to outer rear, and outer rear to front. We had a slow valve stem leak some time ago, and when we did, I rotated the spare into the front at that time.

– With the tires off, took time to clean the rims and brakes, and inspect the brakes with the wheels off.

– Made, painted and installed the Nalgene holder for behind the stove.

– Installed the D-ring recovery points onto the rear bumper where it is welded to the frame.

– Installed an ammo box under the spare tire in the back. They make a nice waterproof container, and inside I have replacement ignition parts and other electrical parts we what to have on hand and keep dry.

Some notes: We travel with all our tools, including a 50-ton bottle jack and two 3-ton jack stands. cordless drill and jigsaw (that charges from the solar). They came in useful here!

Gracie helped.

When the weekend arrived, we decided to leave the spot available for the real OHV riders and see if we could find some aliens in Roswell.

We saw a bunch, but sadly none of them took us with them for a universe tour. Which worked out for us, because a couple of other strange creatures were waiting for us to take them back to our desert landscape for a few more days of work—and even more play—before hitting the road again for further adventure on planet Earth.

The galaxy can wait for now.

Albuquerque to the Ojito Wilderness, New Mexico

Before a month ago, neither of us had ever been to New Mexico, and both of us were super excited to explore the state. It certainly never disappointed! (Except Taos; that city didn’t live up to the hype at all.) We loved Santa Fe and Diablo Canyon, and next on the list was a night in Albuquerque on the way to the Ojito Wilderness.

We went to Old Town in Albuquerque and walked around the shops, had tacos for lunch, chatted with some charming locals, and visited the historic church in the middle of Old Town.

While we were in one of the touristy shops, I noticed a whole wall full of Breaking Bad paraphernalia. We remembered that the show was set in Albuquerque, and as we walked through Old Town, I saw a flier for a Breaking Bad tour that takes you to a dozen or so places from the show. Andy wasn’t a fan of the series, so he watched me curiously as I frantically found a post from Lonely Planet with a map of a do-it-yourself Breaking Bad tour and ran for the Turtle.

I didn’t want to take over Andy’s day with my Breaking Bad fandom, so I picked a few of the locations I most wanted to see, and luckily (for Andy) they happened to be fairly close to one another.

First, we went to the park where Mike always went with his granddaughter.

And of course we had to go to Walt and Skyler’s house, which has been painted and gated.

And the A1A Car Wash!

In the far end of the car wash parking lot, we ran into a familiar-looking RV. It’s not the same one, but close, and we guessed that it’s part of the $75 tour we saw advertised, which was arriving at the car wash as we were pulling out.

We also ran by Gus’ Laundromat, but the sun had almost set so we just looked and then went and grabbed a beer at the Red Door Brewery, just a few doors down.

The next day, we got supplies and drove to the Ojito Wilderness, about 45 minutes outside of Albuquerque.

It’s a gorgeous desert spot on BLM land just west of San Ysidro. Lots of people go there to ride bikes on the White Mesa Bike Trails outside of the wilderness area, and to shoot guns various places just inside the entrance.

We kept driving in until we got to the Hoodoo trailhead, on the west side of the wilderness, where we made camp—a.k.a. parked the Turtle and opened the door.

Ojito is a great spot because you have access to over 11,000 acres of wilderness! You have to park on the edge of the actual wilderness area, but it’s all BLM land so you can hike in and camp anywhere you like. There are two marked hiking trails that get you out into the wilderness, or you can just blaze your own trail. We did both, and loved both equally.

The rocks and formations out there are diverse and lovely. There is an abundance of sandstone, gypsum, quartz, volcanic rock, and even fossils, which of course you can’t take but are really fun to find!

I’m beginning to suspect that the desert is Andy’s natural habitat.

Gracie loves it because she gets to run and roll in the dirt all day, nap in the sun when we leave for hikes, and ever since she learned to climb the ladder at Diablo Canyon, she’s made the top of the Turtle her personal patio.

Check out this enormous sliced cucumber rock!

Both animals were so happy here that they were even more sweet with each other than usual. This is what I woke up to on my stomach one morning:

Gracie was so pleased that we finally found sunshine that she did her best to soak it all up, and I think she succeeded.

On our last day there, we got a day without wind, which was exciting because the previous two days we were hit so hard that Gracie and I opted to stay inside and read all day! We celebrated the sunny day by taking our favorite four-hour hike for a final picnic and rock-collecting mission.

We left this idyllic site only because we saw rain in the forecast, and the dirt roads would be nearly impossible to drive on for a Turtle if we were caught in wet weather! So we began our journey south to Roswell, not knowing that halfway there we’d decide to make a last-minute detour to Oklahoma City to see our friends Beth and Jonathan!

Which is why as I write this, we are in Elk City, Oklahoma. We found a great free spot for RV’s just south of town on a lake, and it even has water, electric, and lot of nice red dirt for Gracie to roll in! So everyone’s happy.

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. . .

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