Van Tramp adventures 2020

[Oldwolf]

Seems you guys just can't get a break. Hopefully the repairs are behind you now.

 

[bullfrog]

Hope all goes well for you and it is just a brake adjustment and everything looks good especially the seals. Believe me there have been lots of people who have run into similar problems, just keep after them and keep a log of repairs, dates and expenses. As many have found a good mechanic that has the equipment and experience to do this type of work is hard to find these days. Best wishes and good luck!

 

[highdesertranger]

DANG. highdesertranger

 

[Van-Tramp]

I backed off the brake shoes myself the following morning and took it out for a few miles. No more brakes dragging after that, so all looks good. That one brake drum is pretty heavily warped now (it was before as well) but that is an easy and inexpensive fix.

So far it looks like we are back on the road again... whew!

 

[bullfrog]

Thanks for the update. Hope your ordeal is over!

 

[Van-Tramp]

Returning to nomadic ways
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/returning-to-nomadic-ways/

[size=small]We have spent this past work week just trying to get back into the routine of van living on public lands. Lake Mead has been nice to us. We found a dirt road rough enough to keep most people from passing by and set down it. It then provided us a nice secluded spot with a view. Big Blue was parked to face the sun, put up on some blocks to level out, and then did not move for the rest of the week. The stresses of the past month has already begun to fall away.
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Each evening we would take our chairs out and take time to enjoy the sunset as best we can. I will admit that we appreciated it a fair amount more this week, in part to it not being in our life the past weeks. The Coyotes are out in force around Lake Mead, and sunsets with the packs of coyotes howling brings back some fond memories. Overnights were spent with every single curtain rolled up and stowed away. Insulation be damned, Kerri wanted to see the stars of each night and the sunrise each morning. We even officially celebrated our five year anniversary (a few days late) here as we both agreed we simply could not celebrate it in an AAMCO parking lot.
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But it was here, and with sound minds, that we both agreed that we are seriously missing the sailboat. Specifically, I am missing the act of sailing (during the summer in the Puget Sound). Kerri just misses the boat itself. We do not foresee another winter in Big Blue after this. Instead we will travel by air to further destinations during those super-cold months in the PNW. Speaking of; it was below 20 degrees with snow on the ground up in Bellingham this week. I sure was happy to be in Big Blue in the south west. We have already left Lake Mead, heading further south to meet up with Leigh and Brian of Campendium.com. At least we will get something out of this winter trip in the van, which is already only weeks away from ending.
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[Van-Tramp]

Our first LTVA
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/our-first-ltva/

[size=small]LTVA stands for Long Term Visitor Area (I think… sounds good enough). These are areas within BLM lands in which someone can pay a one time fee to be able to stay for an entire season, as opposed to having to move every two weeks. As you can imagine, they can be quite popular among the snowbirds that come to Arizona to ride out the cold temperatures from up north. Imperial Dam, not far out of Yuma, Arizona, is one of these places and the location for a small get together of a few long lost nomadic friends, us included.
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Honestly, for us it was just good to get some serious miles away from Las Vegas without another breakdown. And I’m happy to report that we did; successfully driving into and past Kingman, Lake Havasu, and down to Imperial Dam just across the California border. We were the first to arrive in the LTVA area so we spent that extra time scouting out an area large enough to accommodate our group, and far enough away from the bulk of the crowd in the LTVA. By the end of that day we had ourselves a proper get-together going on, with five other couples pulling in, all of which we know but haven’t seen in a while. All were coming from a much larger gathering (of 400+ RVs) so the tone of this one was all about coming down off all the excitement of the earlier. Daytime work and evening happy hours around a fake campfire is all that really happened each day – just nice and relaxing for all.
[img=913x524]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/IMG_20200124_064253-1024x588.jpg[/img][img=913x514]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Photo-Jan-21-5-09-35-PM-1024x577.jpg[/img][img=913x517]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/IMG_20200124_174601-1024x580.jpg[/img]
Kerri even started an social-media-diet (my phrase, not hers) in which she has seriously limited the amount of time she spends zombily (not really a word) staring into her phone. After just a single week she found that she spent 22 hours less on her phone (yes, there is an app to track that). 22 hours!!! That is gaining a full day of productivity in a single week. So much time that she got to pursue other hobbies.
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 [/size]

 

[highdesertranger]

dang, she has talent, keep her off that phone. highdesertranger

 

[Van-Tramp]

A week on junk food and friends
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/a-week-on-junk-food-and-friends/

[size=small]If there is one thing an experienced group of full-timing nomads understand is that your neighbor always moves away, and you do not always get to say goodbye when they do.  Whether it is someone leaving super early one day, or you are out on a walk, or that person just never returning from a shopping trip to Yuma (such is our case), it is widely understood as just part of the package with us shifty nomads. It just happened, that one Saturday we did not return to the group after a trip to town to restock. Instead, our goodbyes had to be done through the cell-waves.
Kerri and I followed Leigh and Brian of Aluminarium to the Kofa Wildlife Refuge an hour north of Yuma. Sure, we had just driven past here just a few days prior, but we were not going to pass up on getting a peaceful week, in a beautiful location (the LTVA wasn’t great), with great friends. We actually returned to the the exact same spot that we were at last year, as we are feeling less adventurous this year and more wanting to just hang out with friends. In fact, we are quickly realizing that our winter van-adventures are nearly over if we want to stick to our sailing schedule for 2020. In just a few weeks we need to start heading north again, making it all the more urgent to cram in visitation with as many friends as we can.
[img=913x513]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/IMG_20200131_0648492-1024x575.jpg[/img]
Through out the week Kerri spent her days inside Big Blue, blasting her NPR, and plugging away at her laptop. I, on the other hand, spent most days out on the road with Brian. He and I would run errands, or recon campgrounds for his business, as has become tradition over the years. He is quite the bad influence on me though, as we eat out at all the worst places during these excursions. We even ended up at a Wienerschnitzel – I haven’t been to one since 1991 – and gobbled down five corndogs together. I’m 48 years old! What the heck am I doing eating corndogs? To top it off, later that night we all ate Frito Pies (bag of corn chips, cut it open and add chilli, cheese, and jalapenos then eat) which didn’t help my elderly digestive system. It was like that every day; Pizza, McD’s, Carl’s Jr, breakfast burritos at Jector’s, etc. I do not think I ate a single healthy thing in more than a week.
[img=913x514]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/IMG_20200127_1429442-1024x575.jpg[/img]
Evenings were mostly spent sitting around the same fake campfire as last week, talking with new and old friends of the road that pulled in over the week. Evening walks down the long gravel road was a normal occurrence although I wasn’t feeling them myself. It was not a big gathering by any means, which was nice. I’m still getting over the whole AAMCO fiasco.
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We left Kofa on Saturday morning and headed into Quartszite for fuel before making a beeline for New Mexico. It was at that fuel station that I ran smack into Bob Wells. We chatted for a minute, unintentionally blocking the door to the building, before wishing each other safe travels and moving along. T’was a nice surprise to close out the Quartszite area seeing Bob.
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[Van-Tramp]

Hangin’ with the Banks
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/hangin-with-the-banks/

[size=small]We move East at a good clip. Through and past Phoenix, and up the mountains on the other side as we wanted to take a route other than Interstate to our next destination. It wasn’t even a new area we were traveling – we did it last year – but at least it wasn’t Interstate for 10 hours. We drove until just before sunset, settling on a dirt road that came to or rescue last year. Nothing out of the ordinary happened the rest of the night, or through the following morning as we departed to continue East a few more hours to meet up with Silver City, then South to Faywood Hotsprings… our ultimate destination for the upcoming week.
Yea, we have been to Faywood Hotsprings before. Twice actually. This wasn’t a new adventure to us other than we made sure to invite a couple that we have bumped into numerous times in the past couple years but hadn’t really had the opportunity to get to know; Beth and Taylor Banks of The Learning Banks.
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[size=small]Each evening we would get together after work to get to know each other over some grub. I believe there was some conspiracy to get me to eat some seriously questionable foods by all, but I made it through the week without. I stood my ground and stuck to the chicken, sausages, and good old American veggies while they ate things like salted, petrified, duck eggs.
[img=300x300]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/IMG_20200206_112951-300x300.jpg[/img]Dinner was followed by an after-dark soak in the springs, no matter how cold the air was, and it got cold. As if the gods were mocking us, it was colder in New Mexico than it was in Washington for a few of the days. Brutal cold… like into the single digits cold in the mornings. While it made some hours over night and the early mornings quite harsh, it did make the soaks that much more enjoyable. For five nights, that was our life; work, socialize, eat, soak, sleep. Sometimes we would even soak in the mornings, or during lunch. Basically, we soaked as often as we could, some more than others. Not a bad way to spend a work week, and to get to know some great new friends.
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[Cammalu]

Petrified duck eggs..... nope!!!

 

[Van-Tramp]

Dodging a bullet in Las Cruces
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/dodging-a-bullet-in-las-cruces/

[size=small]I froze when Kerri said she wanted to drive into Las Cruces to see friends.I reminded her of my track record with Las Cruces and van breakdowns (specifically brakes) in the most blunt way I could – I’ve never made it to or through Las Cruces without some form of repair. It’s both a curse (always a breakdown) and a blessing (always a parts store nearby). Did we really want to poke this bear so soon after the whole Las Vegas ordeal? And with that question, Kerri pulled out her favorite poking stick
We arrived at the designated boondocking spot to meet up with said friends for the night; Adam and Jen of… and TinyAssCamper and the ex-traveling, now local to LC, couple of Heather and David. Even Beth and Taylor joined in on the fun (after having a breakdown not far out of town… see?) for an evening catching up and watching the moon rise from the Organ Mountains to our East.
[img=913x514]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Photo-Feb-08-5-45-36-PM-1024x576.jpg[/img][img=913x382]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Photo-Feb-08-6-02-53-PM-1024x429.jpg[/img]
The next day we packed up and turned back the way we came. Back towards Arizona on the Interstate, we pulled over not a half-hour out of Las Cruces we pulled over for a pee-break. Walking Moose around I glanced back and noticed a pool of fluid under Big Blue (see?!?!?!) and crawled in for a closer inspection. It was then that Kerri returns with only my legs sticking out from the van. It sure appeared as though we were leaking transmission fluid at a pretty good rate, but after moving the van and not fining any additional fluids or leaks, we came the the only possible solution; we parked on someone else’s pool. Oh man, that was a fright.[/size]

 

[nature lover]

Everything reminds me of a story. My dad had just purchased a "new to him" mini van. It was only 2 years old and seemed in good shape. They came to visit their grandchildren (not me) and when they left our place there was a fairly large puddle in the stone driveway where they had parked. Out of concern I examined the puddle. It did not look like oil or transmission fluid so I pricked up a wet stone for closer inspection and it did not feel oily but light like water. I put it to my nose but could not detect any distinct odor. Of course I called dad when he got home to tell him to keep an eye on it. He laughed while he told me he was the one who leaked in the driveway before they left. Well they say it is better to be peed off than peed on.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Last weeks in Arizona
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/last-weeks-in-arizona/

[size=small]Our return to Arizona was simply to meetup with even more nomad friends. We have done little camping by ourselves this whole winter, and even less was in our future. That was okay, as it may very well be the last time we get to see most of these people. So off towards Tucson again… but first, a quick overnight stop in Bisbee as Kerri has really wanted to hang around in that old town a little more since our last visit, not 11 months ago.
Now, I’m no huge fan of Bisbee (although I admit I liked it a lot more last year) but I went along for the ride anyway. We walked the strip, visiting stores at will, and eventually sitting down in a bar-slash-rave-club for a mediocre burger. Then to the dusty saloon next door for a few drinks before calling it a night (against her will). There is only so much to be done in the little town, and I think we did it all.
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The entire next week was spent just outside Tucson, at a boondocking location I have never once stayed; Snyder Hill. This is probably one of the oldest and well known free camping location around Tucson. I’ve driven past it numerous times and every time I stare and wonder why anyone would want to stay there. It is a small plot of land with RVs crammed as tightly as your average RV park. Sure, it is free, but it is easily one of the works boondocking areas in Arizona. Anyone and everyone that needs quick access to Tucson is here, right out your bedroom (or van) window.
So boring is Snyder Hill that neither Kerri or myself took a single photo to share, sorry.
A group of our friends were camped here for some reason, so we popped in for the work week. We got to hang with even ore longtime friends, meet a few more, and just generally have a good time in what we knew would be one of our last weeks on the road this season. In fact, we had just put Big Blue up for sale a few days prior, and a Texas couple was flying into Tucson to see the old beast at the end of the week. Snyder Hill was a good spot to accomplish this task. Kerri worked during the days while I tackled miscellaneous add jobs on Big Blue, getting him prepared to be seen by strangers. He even got his first ever car wash since the new paint! And after a bit of dusting and sweeping too, he was as handsome as he ever was. The potential buyers were going to fall head over heals for him.[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

Truly, the final week
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/truly-the-final-week/

[size=small]Well, that’s it. The couple that flew out from Texas to look at possibly purchasing Big Blue did leave us a deposit on the purchase. Since they were unable to drive Big Blue back to Texas that very weekend, they allowed us to hang out in the old fella one more week. This then allowed us to get a final week with friends boondocking on the other side of Tucson now. At least it would not be more time at Snyder Hill.
A lot of ‘lasts’ took place over the course of the week. The last water fill for us in a van. The last days boondocking. The final days seeing most of these people (again). The list was never ending. We are extremely grateful for this final week in Big Blue, and to hang out with long time friends for a few more days and nights. It even included a D&D game one evening, and a 14-person outing on the final night as a true send off to Kerri and me.
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All week people kept asking about my feeling towards the sale of BB. They all seemed quite taken aback when I said that I was actually excited. First, I love to purge belongings, but most importantly the sale means that Kerri and I no longer have anything holding us to land. No property. No house. No cars… nothing. Our future is 100% free of ties, which is so much more freedom than I have ever felt. So, yeah, I am excited.
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[highdesertranger]

I am sad because I will not have your posts to read and your adventures to follow. but I am happy for both of you because I can tell you are happy. good luck and don't be a stranger. highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

Mixed feelings here too. I am kinda at a loss. I guess I was envisioning a surf and turf existence for you guys. I really like the way you write and you will be missed here. Stop in now and then to let us know how you are doing. Fair winds and following seas.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Thanks guys,

I think we saw a few more years of wintering in the van too, but the reality is that we would have only repeated the same few states each winter. Not so much excitement there. Instead, we decided not to winter in the van, and fly international for our winters (we spent more money traveling in the van this past three months then if we flew off to Thailand for the same months) which will at least bring new adventures for us.

If you care to follow our journeys, they will still be blogged at https://roadtothesea.com/
I will keep van-tramp.com up for years to come.

 

[Cammalu]

I am signed up for the van blog but this one I’m not and I don’t see a place on there to do so..

 

[Van-Tramp]

I am signed up for the van blog but this one I’m not and I don’t see a place on there to do so..

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