The last load of laundry is put away and the mail is all opened. Before we move on to our next project and say “What Van Trip?”, we thought it would be a good idea to share our lessons learned from our second month-long trip in the Winona Rider. We visited 14 states in the past month. I checked off two new states; South Dakota and Minnesota and we both checked off two new National Parks; The Badlands and Wind Cave.
Here are our lessons learned from Round 2 on the Winona Rider:
- Trust your van (and driver) and have an optimistic outlook about being on the road.
We had three things go wrong before we got out of Danville. I thought they might be omens for the trip. Brad just concluded we got all of the mistakes done at the beginning. Brad was right.
- ‘Tis a Gift to Be Simple, ‘Tis a gift to be free
Keep it simple and downsize. Don’t worry about hair products or blowdryers or shaving. Make-up is a thing for a different world. We wore a lot of the same clothes because it’s just easier. Wear sunglasses in all of your selfies. Our dinners were very simple ones with minimal dishes and plastic wine glasses. Yes, Hall Wine still tastes as good in plastic glasses…almost. Simplicity is freeing.
- Be a planner and spontaneous at the same time.
I am a planner and sometimes a bit rigid with my schedule. It is necessary to have reservations during peak travel times but there are also times when you have to be ready to be spontaneous and make changes. We changed a few locations during the trip and that allowed us to visit with a childhood friend in Ketchum, Idaho and stay at a farm house in Montana. We went off our route to see Lake Winona in Minnesota and Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. It added an hour to our day but it was totally worth doing. New rule for me: Be a plan-taneous person or a spontaneous-er.
- Be aware of the number of days you are on the road and the days and dates when you are driving.
We kind of blew some of our travel times by traveling through Chicago on Fridays and coming home from Nevada/Tahoe on a Sunday. You get the point. Also, we undercounted the days we would be on the road and ran out of wine on the last night (the horror!) and you can ask Brad about his mis-counting of his underwear.
- Audio Books and Podcasts make the driving through long stretches in Nevada and Wyoming more tolerable.
We listened to the book “Running with Sherman” and enjoyed the Podcast from NPR, called “How I Built This”. We found a station on Sirius Radio called Road Trip Radio but Brad nixed it after hearing the country song “She thinks my Tractor’s Sexy” for the fifth time. You can never go wrong with Spotify. We were in the Van together for over 5500 miles. It’s good to have other things to listen to besides our own voices.
- Routines save us from ourselves.
We follow a lot of routines when we get to a new spot and when we leave. My favorite personal routine is the one where Brad makes me French Press coffee before I get out of bed. Brad’s favorite routine is when we share a beer when we get to our camping spot after a long drive. Routines also help us from driving off with our awning out (well, we did that once), leaving the dog bowls, or even worse leaving Ralphie. We make our bed every morning, do all the dishes, clean and vacuum daily. It’s a small space and will overwhelm you if you don’t keep it tidy. We do ALWAYS forget to turn on the Hot Water before we shower or do dishes so we still have room for improvement.
- Nature is Healing.
When we weren’t driving, we were out in nature. Some days we were outside 90% of the time. Our times on screens were minimal except to write this blog or text our kids and friends. Hiking on new trails is good for the soul. Sleeping in our van with neighboring rescue goats, fireflies, chickens, and chipmunks was peaceful. We slept like babies almost every night.
- Dogs are joyful traveling companions.
Our dogs really got into the lifestyle. They found their spots in the van when we traveled and were thrilled to run around as soon as we parked. Every new location had new smells and places to run and explore. Harvest Host spots are better for dogs because there are few people and the owners usually have dogs as playmates. Yes, sometimes they can be a bit stinky (Lookin’ at you Sophie) or wander to other campsites and go missing (that would be Ralphie) but overall they made the trip a lot of fun! Just be aware that there is virtually no hiking with dogs in National Parks so you need to find trails in nearby State Parks.
- Harvest Host is our favorite but there is a place and time for RV Parks.
When we stay at Harvest Hosts, we get the privilege of staying in grapevines in wineries, a beautiful meadow, or near a fun brewery. We are usually the only RV there. Sometimes there is one other van but no more. The dogs don’t have to be leashed and everyone is free to stretch out. RV Parks are less private and and a little noisier but they have the advantage of having all of the amenities like water, power, dump stations, and cable. It’s good to do a combo of both and both in moderation just like in life.
- Slow this Thing Down
Life is busy and full of to-do lists and meetings and events back home. On the road, you have a chance to go slower and simpler. Slow mornings drinking coffee and relaxing evenings looking at the sunset are part of every day. Eating lunches at parks in small towns like North Platte, Ashland, Anita,or Schereville gives you a chance to see a small sample size of the people who live there and what they do for fun and recreation. Playing the dice game “Farkle” or working on a crossword puzzle together are luxuries we don’t do often during our busy life at home in Danville. It is really nice to live the slow life for a few weeks out of the year.
Hope you enjoy these lessons we learned from Round 2. We thought we might only keep the Winona Rider for one season but it seems now we are hooked on traveling in our 6ft by 20ft long, 120 sq foot Van. We aren’t exactly turning into Fern from “Nomadland” but we do feel like “One of those lucky people that can travel anywhere”
Lisa and Brad's Travels 