Recent content by USExplorer

Matamoros is a dull border town with cheap hotels and good grocery stores a little farther on, including a Mexican H-E-B. The most visible effect of the violence is the drastic downtick of cross-border tourist traffic, which makes the downtown rather lifeless. At least that's how it was when I...

A new year is approaching, and with it my four-year odyssey of wandering has reached an end. A little background... In May 2014, I was an academically gifted but socially inept twenty-year-old nerd who had just finished three years of intensive college courses and three seasons of equally...

And with the next recession, millions and millions more. Perhaps we will see "bum blockades" at state lines again, just like in the 1930's. Increased restrictions on public land camping are definitely coming; it will become more regimented and regulated, LTVA style.

I am 24 years old, been on the road over 4 years, living full-time out of a bare-bones SUV camper while not working. Dabbled with truck driving, got my CDL through a community college program, shot high and struck out. Too many rules and regs, high stress, 168 hour workweek. Good earning...

Given the explosive growth of van dwelling get-togethers, caravans, and other events, it would appear that a fair share of us are looking to escape the unnatural confines of continually solitary vehicle living. Humans are not and never will be a solitary species. Extended periods of solitude...

Regarding stealth: often the more you try to hide, the more suspicious you appear. Especially in residential areas. With the long nights this time of year, I know I will be cooking dinner, reading, or otherwise spending time awake inside my truck after dusk. This activity is all a big no-no in...

In California, non-payment of a parking ticket is a civil matter, not a criminal matter. I have an outstanding "vehicle habitation" ticket from the city of San Diego to the order of 126 dollars. I haven't heard from them since receiving a letter saying that my appeal was rejected, back in May...

Yes he was missing one ear, his (former) buddy chomped it off while on the glue trap. Since I sprayed the undercarriage with vinegar, no more mice.

Bam! Problem solved.

My friends have a dog that's part Jack Russell, part dachshund. He doesn't care about anything but playing fetch. Now my buddy's kitten, THAT was good perimeter security. Shots fired! haha @Rayd888 Regarding the coat hanger trap; there's no way these field mice would enter a bottle. They...

This is my fourth year on the road, but my first full-timing during the summer months. And man, have the mice been a huge PITA lately here in Colorado. Two years ago, I worked briefly for a trucking company. While I was away for a week, an industrious mouse at the terminal tore a hole in my...

I've picked up at least two dozen hitchhikers all across the country. Most of them are fellow road trippers, thankful for a ride in this age of "stranger danger" and rampant paranoia. Yes, there are very few "normal" hitchhikers; the practice does not appeal to our culture of instant...

I got my truck (and most everything I owned) cleaned out in on a road trip in Mexico July of '17. I was getting careless, leaving a T-bone in the proverbial dog pound and daring the dogs not to touch it. Well they did. Didn't hurt my truck though. THAT was a surprise, seeing as I had brand new...

Telluride, Colorado. The high country is enchanting like no other place I've seen. Summer travel beats winter travel, that's for sure!

After spending a month in Colorado, with legal dispensaries on the main street of every little town, the giant sham of marijuana prohibition becomes starkly apparent.