Travel Photo Challenge Day 1

I’ve been nominated by some fellow bloggers, Tony and Margie with Back Roads and Other Stories, to post one favorite travel picture a day for ten days without explanation, then to nominate someone else to participate.  That’s 10 days, 10 travel pictures, and 10 nominations.  It is my understanding that the idea behind the challenge is to expose audiences to new bloggers and vice versa.  I’m always up for helping fellow bloggers, so I have accepted the challenge. 

That said, my rule following self is going follow Tony and Margie’s lead and break a handful of them.  First, while a picture paints a 1,000 words, I’m incapable of posting a photo without some explanation.  Sometimes the story makes the image that much more special.  Second, though not specified, I think the intent is to post 10 days in a row.  I’ll be lucky if I post 10 weeks in a row.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE!

Van Life: Camper Van Necessities

My regular blog followers know that I recently purchased a Mercedes Sprinter, and I am having it converted into a camper van.  My drop off date in December can’t come soon enough.  I am so excited that I have actually been online shopping for camper van necessities.  Anyone that knows me, knows I hate shopping! 

Anyway, I’ve been holding back on certain items until after I take VANgo for a test run when it is complete in March. But below are some of the camper van necessities filling my basement while I wait. Tic toc, tic toc….are we there yet?  I’m so ready to put all these purchases to use!

As I’m sitting down in my excitement to write about all these camper van necessities, I’m realizing they are hardly exhilerating, fun purchases.  But they are needs!  And they are things that I had a difficult time finding as I surfed the internet.  Hopefully, this summarized list will help others with the time consuming chore of sifting through the black hole of products on the world wide web.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
haibike sduro trekking 1.0

Van Life: Layout and Selections

The next step in my van build was to complete the layout and selections for the custom build.  This process took several iterations between me and Wanderful Wheels.  Fortunately, I had seen pictures of two vans I liked and combined the best of both for my needs for my build which made the process a little easier for a novice.

Having said that, I have had a house built, so I am very aware to pay close attention to the details. By the end of the planning process, I probably drove Colleen crazy with all my questions, but if so, she didn’t let on. She was very patient with me and provided all the information I requested. Below are the some of the things I considered while determining the layout and selections.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Van Life: Bids and Consultations

Not realizing that I needed the van prior to selecting a builder, I had already completed a decent amount of due diligence on the options available to me.  I preferred someone local as opposed to out of state and stumbled upon this helpful article. But after purchasing the van, I went through a more detailed process.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
new mexico sunset

Day 188 – New Mexico North

Day 188 of Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Today turned into more of a maintenance and travel day than a scenic drive day.  By the time I finished using the free wi-fi at McDonald’s, fueled up VANilla, loaded up on groceries, and caught up with a few folks while I had good cell service in Durango, it was past noon, and I hadn’t begun driving to Angel Peak Scenic Area, my first stop on my scenic drive through the northern portion of New Mexico.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!