Prologue

The starter went out somewhere in New Mexico, or was it Arizona? Regardless, it wouldn’t get replaced till Oklahoma City. I would pass through a lot of country before finally being able to start the van with a key again. Every parking spot was first scouted for incline and clearance. Gas stations were timed to ensure easy exit pushes. Every stop was questioned. Did I really want to explain to one more person that I […]

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A Clean Slate

I think I should lead off with the fact that this is my third van. Three times now I have emptied the interior of a Vanagon and built something I thought to be more functional. This third van, however, came to me as an ASI Riviera that you may remember hearing about in this post. As such, it was already built out as a camper – complete with sink, stove, fridge, and even a thermostat-controlled […]

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Backcasting

This weekend, after a pleasant trail run out at 1,000 Acres, a couple friends and I got together for brunch. The topic of age came up, as it relates to where we “should” be in life. I recently turned 35, Paisley turns 35 soon, and Melissa is a trailing behind a couple years. The conversation, at one point, brought up the question of where we are, where we are going, and where we “should” be. […]

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Back To Vanlife… For Now

They say the more things change, the more they stay the same. That definitely rings true, in some ways, right now. As I write this I am sitting in my van along a noisy street, tucked neatly into my van. Curtains drawn and top popped, I ready for my first night of being back in the van. It’s different this time, this time it’s in Portland, where I have lived off and on for the […]

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Single #Vanlife

As I sit here drinking a camp cup filled with red wine, alone, I am left to contemplate vanlife as a single individual. Tonight I spent a couple of hours with my vanfriend Amy, with whom I am doing some work with down here in San Juan Capistrano. The topic of love and relationships was the main course tonight, and we delved into it fairly deep. Her and I have different problems, but in some […]

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Wanting

This is not a post about self help, at least not one that will guide you out of wanting and into some higher state of being. Rather, this is a post about my personal battle with it and confronting it. Thank you for reading part of catharsis. Eckhart Tolle, author of the Power of Now, would likely describe it as part of the ego. I say likely as, to be honest, I have yet to […]

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