Small breather: Fraser, CO

Fraser was supposed to be only a couple of days of pausing, but I stayed a week. A friend who lives in a primitive cabin [no running water] right up against the Arapaho National Forest put me up. I slept a whole lot, still popping the painkillers, and tying up loose ends on the internet before heading out. Turns out, I needed the downtime more than I realized. My stomach, still super queasy, has calmed down a bit and I'm able to eat meals again...which is much appreciated in getting my blood sugar balanced out again. Multiple insulin reactions per day have finally smoothed out.

I got in a few small hikes and bike rides with the pooch and I also tried carving my first spoon!!

The van is mostly organized, too. I've added a small metal cabinet with 6 drawers to catch all the little things, some plastic tubs for keeping the clothes accessible and bookshelves! Ah, such luxuries in a mobile unit! And the food pantry is completely full. Ready to hit the road!

Officially "homeless"

Well, the past few weeks have been HELL. I got hit by a car while on my bike, roughed up a bit. Luckily, no damage to the bike, but I rolled over the car's hood and face planted into the asphalt.  My face is scraped up pretty badly and the dirt and grime is incredibly buried into my cuts. Then, I had to immediately fly to Phoenix to train the person who is taking over my job. Training with Scabface. Dabbing lots of Vit. E, honey and herbs over the wound while traveling. Oy. However, I discovered an amazing product for healing wounds! My scabs were melting away within a couple of days! The stuff smells fantastic, too. I wanted to eat my face off.

The last week of living in a home: trying to sell off everything superfluous, moving everything out that I'm keeping into storage, and packing what I need for the road....well, I ended up having oral surgery to remove 2 wisdom teeth and getting sick from the painkillers and my van–which was originally quoted as needing two days to be updated/prepared for the summer-long road trip–took five days [due to a couple of mechanics not being at work as expected]....and so I couldn't use it to move out my belongings in a leisurely fashion. A very grim reminder that procrastinators rarely win. Double oy.
 

I was originally supposed to turn in my keys on Saturday, May 31, but I ended up staying through Sunday and kind of snuck out of the house at 4am on Monday morning. The van was so crammed of stuff I needed to donate/sell/store/rearrange, there was literally no room for me or the pooch to lay down. We slept upright on bags of shit for a few hours [the dog, crammed in the hole where passenger's feet normally go, was giving the stink eye, as if I had just traded her for chocolates, cigarettes and nylons] and then it was off for another round of purging. I wished I would have taken a photo...but at the time, nothing was humorous and I felt a bit of dog-mom guilt for putting her into a precarious lifestyle. Denver weather decided to soar to mid-90 degree temps which certainly didn't help a scratched-up, sleep-deprived, diarrhea-ridden woman with a fur baby in tote.

Luckily, I was able to stay at a friend's home that day and night...I had a luxurious bath, did some last-minute laundry and ran the last of the errands [ie, buying camping gear and selling house gear]. The pooch slept in a nice, cool dog bed. I slept on the sofa, looking around at all the luxuries I was about to lose...climate controlled rooms, toilets and showers, electricity to charge the phone and laptop, water and ICE, Netflix...wondering what the ^%$& I was getting myself into.

On to Fraser, Colorado!

The new [old] van!

So, after managing to live without a vehicle for nearly ten years, I've purchased a van to live in for the summer [and hopefully longer]. It's something I've wanted to do for years but could never summon the courage. The idea of road tripping/camping alone, especially as a woman, is a bit intimidating. I also have a dog, so that adds a few more restraints and concerns on top of the obvious ones. But the timing probably couldn't be more perfect...I have so few obligations–I'm not happy in my job, I'm not in a relationship, I don't have a mortgage, and I have no credit to pay off aside from student loans. I don't have as much money saved as I'd hoped for, but I can make do.

So, my plan is to leave Denver in June and head through Yellowstone and Glacier Natl Park, onward to Banff Canada. Then travel to Vancouver and drop down through the West Coast until I reach Baja. I'm WWOOFing along the way and working on a photo essay documenting the farm lifestyle.

Back to the van...with my limited means, I originally wanted to buy a used van that has a raised top and convert it into a stealth camper. Lay down hardwood flooring [no dog haired carpet for me, thanks], install a small sink and hand pump for water, a counter and twin size bed and a fridge. I also wanted to install a solar panel/inverter/battery for off-the-grid living, which I plan to do a lot of. However, that didn't work out as planned and I found this van in Pagosa Springs, CO....me and a buddy drove the 6 hours downstate to pick it up. While certainly not stealth, it will at least give me a taste for living on the road and if I should decide to continue at the end of the summer, I'm gonna make good on that custom van dream.