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Sun Valley, Idaho
After driving about six hours, I arrived in Sun Valley, Idaho. It was a place I had never visited before and I was excited to check it out.Sun Valley, Idaho is not a town, in itself. It is a popular Ski Valley along the Wood River comprised of several small towns. The main towns are Bellevue, Hailey, and Ketchum.
Ketchum seemed to be the most popular. It was a bustling tourist community with traffic inching along through the quaint small town.
I was tired and not ready to deal with traffic, so found a National Forest road and drove to a place that looked like it would be nice to camp. Wrong! The mosquitoes had no mercy. They were biting any area of exposed skin several times in one chomp. I knew I had to get out of this place.
I went back into town and headed on down the highway until I came to a nice riverfront picnic area. I stopped for a while and enjoyed the peaceful sounds of nature. There were few others at the park. It was a good place to make lunch and chill.Knowing that I could park my van and camp any place in the National Forest, I wasn’t concerned about finding a place to sleep for the night.
When evening came, I decided to take a road going the opposite direction as last time and ended up in a beautiful green valley with pullouts along side the road. There were some interesting camper rigs pulled off to the side. I found my own little pull-out and nestled in for the evening. There was a very mild rain beginning to come down and the air so fresh and clean.
I grabbed my new instrument, a Strum Stick, which is a three string instrument similar to a guitar, but much smaller. I found myself playing a singing until I had a new tune going through my head. That tune would be the theme song for the next couple days.The next day I went back to the park to make my tea and chill. It was actually still quite cool out so I do mean “chill.” I crawled into my blankets with my hot tea and wrote in my journal, with the sounds of the river serenading me.
After a breakfast of Granola and banana, I drove to Hailey where I saw a Natural Grocers and grabbed a few items. I passed by the Starbucks (without stopping) and headed back to Ketchum to catch the Art Festival. After that I went to a hiking trail I saw earlier. I had my green drink of coconut water, Spirulina and Barley Grass, to both hydrate and give me extra energy for the hike.
It was a beautiful hike along the Wood River. I hiked about three miles in until I came to another parking lot and decided to turn around. There were lots of mountain bikers on this trail, and very few hikers. I could have taken side trails and continued on, but by the time I returned it was a six mile hike and the temperatures were nearing ninety degrees.After this beautiful hike and amazing day in the beautiful Sun Valley, it felt time to move on. I had no agenda. No destination. It was Saturday and I didn’t have to get in position for work until Sunday. I could stop anywhere I wanted. I loved this feeling.
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Summer 2019…The Journey Begins
With weeks of preparation it was finally the night before I was to drive off into the sunrise. However, with all the excitement I couldn’t sleep. I ended up getting out of bed at 4:30 in the morning after barely sleeping and decided to finish packing the van and head out.I pulled out around 6:30 in the morning towards Flagstaff, got gas, a Starbucks for the road and headed towards the Navajo Indian Reservation towards Page, Arizona.
I took the exit to Kanab, Utah and knew I just had to stop and take a rest. I was exhausted, hardly able to keep my eyes open. However the morning temperatures were already in the nineties, moving rapidly towards the triple digits. How was I going to rest in these temperatures?
There was a small Motel with a few shade trees in the parking lot, so I pulled in and crawled into the back of my van. It was like a sauna, but I needed to rest and so I fell into a very deep meditation. I would like to say I slept but it was more like I entered a sweat lodge. I fell so deep into a trance that an hour passed very quickly. Suddenly I was wide awake and ready to get back on the road.
As I traveled up the mountain pass towards the North end of the Grand Canyon, I noticed the temperatures dropping down the eighties. I thought I could take another nap, but was feeling strangely energetic, so decided to keep driving. I drove through to Kanab, Utah, gassed up the van again, grabbed a bag of trail mix from the store, and headed out on the second leg of my journey.
I’ve driven this stretch so many times. The familiar drive between the Southwest and the Northwest and the endless hours behind the wheel, had become an annual event. I enjoyed the red rocks of this area as I passed by the entrance to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. I visited both in the past, but wasn’t going to brave the temperatures this time of year.
Approaching late afternoon my GPS was acting up and not sure how to get me to where I had planned to stop for the night. After getting the run around several times, guided down dirt roads and told to turn “right here” when there was no “right,” I decided to reset my GPS to a more familiar destination. The place I stayed nearly every year when I passed through the area. It was a campsite off the hwy outside of Nephi, Utah. The GPS had no problem getting me there within thirty minutes of breakdown. After ten hours on the road, I had never been so happy to see the old familiar campsite, crawl into the back of my van and close my eyes.
I got an early start the next day, arriving to Provo, Utah within thirty minutes of gassing up the van in Nephi. My GPS helped me to find a Natural Food Store so I could stock my mini fridge with healthy treats for the journey. I came out with coconut wraps, hummus, a favorite raw food sweet treat, a gluten free vegan muffin and coconut water. Grabbed another Starbucks and off to my next destination…Sun Valley, Idaho.
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On The Road Again “Flying Solo Season Two”
I have had several people ask me if I would be blogging about my travels again this summer. The answer is YES! Why not?Some of you who have followed my travels last summer told me you were traveling vicariously through me. How awesome is that? I hadn’t realized my mystical minivan ventures would be so inspiring for others.
This summer won’t be as long of an adventure as I have some commitments back home in Arizona that I need to be there for, but I am outfitting the minivan now and setting out on the 11th of July towards the Northwest.I learned a lot last year from my minivan camping experiences and am making a few adjustments this year. I work from home or in the case of traveling, I work from the van, and so having what I need to manage my clients and Internet is important.
Last year I had my WiFi unit and an expensive Verizon Data account. I will activate this again. However the primary issue I had with working on the road was power. I didn’t want to stay in expensive RV parks with power. Can you see my little minivan camper wedged in between huge Motor-homes and trailers? Mini ME would get lost in the crowd. I preferred being in more places of solitude. I preferred to be parked between two trees.
Business on the road requires I keep my phone, laptop and WiFi unit charged. There was some stress with my batteries being drained before my work day was over and needing to run to the coffee house between clients to recharge.
This year I have acquired an Aeiusny Portable Power Station. It is a small unit that will charge my phone, laptop and WiFi unit multiple times. I can recharge my Power Station via AC wall outlets or 12V car cigarette lighter or to recharge it under the sun with solar panel. I did not buy the solar panel this year. But it is a great idea for the future.
Now I am powered up and ready to go for the long haul.
Last year I had way too much stuff! I learned about minimalism on the road. I only really needed about half of what I brought with me and some of the things I brought were cumbersome and space consuming.
My portable kitchen was one item I could do without. It was great to have and I loved it, but it took up too much space in my van while traveling. Since I had my cook-stove and Igloo 12V fridge in the back of my van, I only really needed a table to prepare food on.
So I found this handy little compact table that I can use both indoors and outdoors. It folds quite small and can be stored under my bed, however I realized it fits inside my van right next to my bed perfectly and a great place to eat, put my tea cup and laptop while working. It has great storage space underneath as well, so no wasted space.The table has leg adjustments so can be short or tall. What an exciting find and will work perfectly for my needs.
Last year I traveled with a roof rack for all the extras. Near the end of my journey the key busted off in the lock and I had a miserable time dealing with it. This year I decided to forgo the roof rack and all the extras. Who needs them.I won’t be taking a canopy but have two simple little tarps that fold up really small (about the size of a large pair of socks.) These can be extended from the back hatch of my van for extra shade and used as a floor mat for outdoors.
Another thing I learned last year, was I only needed half the clothes. I had a large bag of clothing I never used, stuff under my bed at the far back. That space is better used for something else. One bag of clothes and a few hanging items will be enough.
My porta-potty is coming. I can’t say enough for that little pot. It will store perfectly under my new table and great for those middle of the night moments where I really don’t want to put on my shoes and trek to the loo, if there is one. Us girls must have our luxuries.
This year will be both simpler, more minimalistic and a shorter journey. I’m getting excited to be back on the road again.
If you would like to come along for the ride, I invite you to join me. If you haven’t yet signed up for my newsletter you can do so here….
Happy Trails!
Kaleah
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Integration and Minimalism
I’m now back at my home in Arizona but instead of taking the whole house back, I moved into the downstairs and put together a make shift kitchen, using my outdoor kitchen, a two burner hot plate and small refrigerator. I’m slowly organizing and integrating back to living in a house.
I’ve run into several people in Sedona who have been following my blog and I say “thank you! Thank you for flying with me! I am honored! For some my journey was a reminder of their own previous van ventures, and others lived vicariously through my travels.
Since I’ve been back I’ve felt a restlessness, a sense that I have a purpose to fulfill and I need to fully embrace this purpose. I’m not ready to pack up the van again and head out. Not yet. We are now entering October, which is the nicest month of the year, here in Arizona. So I want to stay here and embrace the cooler weather while I delve directly into the restlessness within me.
I’ve begun weekly podcasting again at Pandoras-Box-Radio.com and also posting the audio’s and video’s on Youtube.
It feels like I am living more to be of service to others than to find new ways to make myself happy. My happiness comes in knowing I am being of service.
My life is not about collecting things, or distracting myself with all the usual distractions any longer. I’m more in the “clearing” phase of my life not the accumulation phase. It’s time to let things go. It is time to live more simply; more minimalistic.Since I moved the majority of my personal belongings to my downstairs space, prior to leaving on my journey, I have the opportunity to begin clearing a lot of things out that I no longer want or need. Going through my desk drawers I found Windows 7, Windows XP and old software that is no longer valid. I threw out all my old CD burning gear as I no longer burn CD’s, nor do I have the computer with a CD burner. Some things we need to clear out simply because they become obsolete, and in today’s world this happens fast.
Last January after returning from Costa Rica, I let go of seven garbage bags of clothing and other items. I was already moving in this direction. This past week I released another five or so boxes.
It feels like one of the biggest realizations that came out of my trip is that I need to embrace minimalism, live simply and de-clutter all my spaces. I need to get very clear about what serves me and what doesn’t. Life is not about stuff! It is not about possessions. It is about living a quality life. What is quality? I’m still working this out. I’m still finding my way.
The one thing I can tell you is that Van Life was so simple in so many ways. I only had a 4 x 9 space to be concerned with. Of course I had very few conveniences that I had at home. But this was part of the simplicity.In the past, if there was an empty space in my life, or my house, I would fill it with something. Now I am learning to appreciate the empty spaces and trying to create a whole lot more of it. It is a slow process.
The lessons I have learned on the road are many and I will continue to write about them. For now I can tell you, I am not the same. This journey has changed me in a way I can’t yet explain. It has taken me so deep within my own Self-ness and showed me things I may not have seen otherwise. I have a stronger relationship with myself, and a deeper spiritual connection.
I have a feeling that something more is about to emerge; a deeper sense of purpose, a new mission, and a freedom that can only come when we are able to identify our self imposed prisons and release ourselves.
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Flying Home
June Lake My last camping venture was at the beautiful “June Lake” nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. The weather was perfect and it was a lovely last stop before the long drive back to Cottonwood.
The least favorite part of the journey was to drive through the Mojave desert which was 114 degrees in September. I knew I didn’t want to camp in my van at night anywhere in these kinds of temperatures so I ended up driving from my camp at June Lake to Flagstaff and camped outside of Flagstaff my last night. It was one of the longest driving days of my journey.
June Lake Beach As I was nearing home I began to have a lot of mixed emotions. I had some practical reasons for getting back earlier than initially planned. My van needed attention. I had run into tree in Tahoe and broke my rear view mirror, so it was shattered. The trees in my Tahoe camp were close together and my mirror caught one as I was backing up. Fortunately there was no damage to the rest of my van. However my key fob was also not working and I feared getting locked out of my van. I was not given a spare key when I bought the van and the ignition key was not a “normal” key. The key fob would no longer open the doors to the van, although at this point it was still unlocking and locking the van. Sometimes it would take several attempts.
I had rented the upstairs of my home to a friend and her adult daughter and they had a lovely banner draped over the upstairs balcony when I drove into the driveway that said “Happy Return Beautiful Angel.” What a beautiful welcome. I truly felt it.That first evening, after unpacking my van, I got in my van to go visit friends and the van wouldn’t start. Not only did it not start, but the key got stuck in the ignition and I couldn’t remove it. I tried several times and did all the usual turning of the steering wheel and letting it rest and doing it again. The next morning it still didn’t start and the key was still stuck. I called my warranty service and had the van towed, for a second time, to the mechanics. It was as if the powers that be were saying “you are home now and you aren’t going anywhere.”
Because I still had my upstairs rented out, I settled into my downstairs which didn’t have a kitchen. I set my van kitchen up outside and had my outdoor kitchen for cooking. I bought a small refrigerator for downstairs as my igloo cooler was also not working properly.
Going from the mini van to a 950 square foot space was an interesting transition. I hardly knew what to do with myself, and in some strange way I missed the van. It was the simplicity of having such a small space to care for and being completely at the whim of my intuition. I wasn’t sure how to integrate my new found simplicity into my life back home. I now had electricity and unlimited Internet. I was back to modern living, minus the kitchen.
People asked me if I was glad to be home. Did I miss the road?
I never had the feeling that I was glad to be home. Somehow all the experiences I had while traveling had become such a part of me. I had walked through some very deep passages on a spiritual level. My sense was that my journey was not over, it was just beginning. But I wasn’t sure what that meant yet.
Right now I am in a period of integration. What is next? Only time will tell.
