Now What? Buying More Stuff

We've owned a van for a week or two now, and we're slowly coming to terms with what that'll mean this summer. One of the big things is trying to figure out what kinds of things we'll actually need to have with us, which means browsing REI's website every couple of hours, then looking for lower-priced versions of those things on Amazon, then just going to REI so we can actually see what the things look like.

Mobile toilets, collapsible 5-gallon water jugs, poop shovels, blind-spot mirrors, headlamps, outlet converter/inverters, biodegradable soap, bag-showers, packing cubes, a mobile safe-box, and some more normal things like new hiking shoes or long underwear have all popped up on the list in the last few weeks. Plus dozens of other things. 

It's weird to be living in a house and realizing that we're trying to get rid of most of the things in that house, but also knowing that some day we'll be back in a house (I guess we can't guarantee this, but it's at least our assumption) so we maybe shouldn't get rid of all of it. But also knowing that our entire lives are going to fit inside the square footage of roughly 2/3 of our bedroom. And then compound that with the realization that we need to add stuff to our list of things we'll need. It's a little intimidating.

But! When we then consider that figuring these things out means we can wake up in places like this? Seems pretty OK. 

The truth is that we're somewhere between blissful ignorance and general excitement. We know that there will be difficult times and we know that there will be long or boring days. We know that we're going to have to figure out some way to pass the time when we get stuck in a 36-hour rain storm, even though we will literally be stuck in a 100 square foot (ish) van. We know that we're going to get on the road and by the 3rd day realize that we forgot something important. 

All of these things can be true, and they can be true while the freedom of not knowing where we'll be in 24 hours lets us dream. 

No one wants to spend all day every day driving from place to place. We know that part. And we know that we'll feel like we just want to stay put for a few days at a time. But imagine the feeling of waking up in Montana and knowing that the forecast is 3 days of rain and being able to say "screw it, let's go to the Oregon coast for a few days" and then actually being able to do that. That's what we're signing up for. And if it's sunshine and clear every day in Montana? Then we stay in Montana. Tough break, right??

Like I said, a lot of this is blissful ignorance. We're going to need to figure out the best way to store food (we have a small fridge, but it's small). We're going to need to figure out laundry. We're going to need to figure out a bike rack. And if/when we can get electricity into the van to charge any electronics we'll have. And how to safely and consistently start fires, even with damp wood. And how to find the most-likely-to-be-clean bathrooms. And how to stay vegetarian while in cowboy country. And how to not draw the attention of bears if we're gonna be cooking in our van. 

But man...to wake up in the mountains and have nowhere to be? For weeks or months?

Sign us up.