We’re coming up on five years, which, I know, doesn’t sound like much. But this has been five years of living in 200 square feet, of going to so many places (we’ve stayed in maybe 300 spots?), of navigating through weird situations and beautiful ones.
Here’s a list of surprising stuff that you might get a kick out of. (In the top photo, we do indeed have our microwave/oven sitting in the tent.)
How little water and soap you need to get really clean. We can go ten days off-grid as long as we conserve water use—because less water in means less water out, and waste tanks are what do us in. The trick is a bag of baby wipes and the tiniest bit of soap and shampoo, so you can use the tiniest bit of water to rinse. Here’s the surprise: my hair is just as clean. We really don’t need much. (But man do we need showers after ten days.)
How unpleasant laundromats are. Let’s say you go to your local laundromat sometimes for a comforter, or all the time because whatever. The thing is: it’s your local laundromat. Try a different laundromat every time. Young men posturing with loud music. People who should be wearing masks. People under pretty dire situations dragging their laundry in in trash bags with little kids running around. Mostly it’s navigating people, but it’s also the mysteries of load sizes and inconsistent dryer heat and broken change machines and no place to sit. An Alaskan laundromat had a booth with a two-person Guitar Hero game. Another Alaska laundromat was in the back of a restaurant that itself was in the back of a convenience store. Even there I had to navigate young men posturing, this time arguing about hunting bears.
How much open space there is in this country, still. There’s development every single place we’ve been: road construction literally everywhere, plus urban sprawl continuing to sprawl. But, there are still places you can park your trailer and not see a soul for ten full days. Well, maybe not a soul.
There’s always some guy playing Lynyrd Skynyrd on his boat. Ignore him: he’s a fixture. He’s in the same category as the young men in laundromats. Or camping on the secluded spit where you thought no one would be. Just accept it: there’s always going to be a dude somewhere.
Even I need a little indoors time. When I lived in a sticks-and-bricks, I managed to be outside as much as I could: at work I took my laptop on the fire escape, at home I did yoga on the deck. Inside is sterile and boring. Now that I do spend almost all my time outside, I find that even I need a sensory break sometimes, which is what the inside has become. Inside means fewer sounds, a controlled temperature, controlled sights. There’s only so much constant stimulation you can take, day after day.
Appearance goes out the window. I wear the same clothes day after day (see above: water use and laundromats). A lot of times, I look down and see I’m wearing ski pants under a skirt, or one work glove, or an insect net over my rain jacket. Whatever the situation demands. Tracy likes to take a picture of my travel-day outfits.
This post is getting long! Here goes, the rest in a list.
- People go to campgrounds to party all weekend long with their friends. I had no idea.
- When you don’t own a lot of stuff, you use it all more often, and therefore it all wears out fast. See photo of fav dress and hat. And duh, people who drag their clothes to the laundromat in a trash bag know this.
- Loneliness is interesting. For example, you can feel lonely and still want to be alone.
- Healthcare on the road is a puzzle like no other.
- Spending all your time with one person is also a puzzle, but it rewards you every day.
You know I’m going to discover more stuff that surprises me, too. Like this freight train carrying wind turbine blades that went in front of my eyes for ten full minutes, here at the campground. So cool to see. I wanted to yell out at the guy who had his back to it. Look at that!
My biggest surprise is how much I love writing. I’d never written anything before but academic stuff, and writing now is essential to me. So cool to see, as well. Look at that!
When I took a 13-day solo road trip from Portland to Dayton, Ohio and back in 2011, I came to the same realization as you about all the open space. It helped that I drove through Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota, of course!
My very favorite opens spaces! Was there always some dude though?
Actually, no. There were a few times it felt like I was the only person on earth.
I’m so glad. A feeling everyone should know at least once
I’m still thinking about this solo trip of yours. It sounds brilliant.
I could talk about it for days. It truly was life-changing. Without it, I doubt I’d have ever left the PNW.
Did you blog about it? I’d love to hear your impressions.
Be careful what you wish for. I blogged every day, ha. I’ll email you the link if you’re interested in reading more.
We should do some kind of co-writing. I don’t know what shape that would take, but I know I would love doing it.
What I do know is we’d have to take turns writing Jeez Louise!
I’d be down!
It’d have to be something more challenging than a Q&A, even with both of us Q&Aing each other. More collaborative and creative.
I don’t know, maybe you write the character of a naturally talented writer with a quick wit and a day job, and I write the character of an explorer who lives your dream life but not with your sense of humor. That’s a good story, right?
No, no, something about that does not ring true. 😁
On the other hand, we could do some kind of Q&A where we ask each other questions both sets of readers would be interested in. Would be easier than making up all that other weird stuff. 😀
I like this idea. What types of questions do you envision us asking?
Why, isn’t it obvious? Stuff that makes me look good to my readers, and stuff that makes me look good to your readers. Truthfully, I do not know. I’m sure we can come up with an angle though.
We’ve already established I wouldn’t last a week in your lifestyle… but man, that view of Montana might make missing a few showers worth it.
Love that you bought a dress from a drag queen’s trunk. Life on the road does have its perks.
👍
Thumbs up from about life on the road is rare! To set the record straight, I bought the dress from a box at a farmers market. The seller had just gotten a job in a drag show in the Keys and was so excited about it. We talked mustache or no mustache. But yes, it makes a good story and is partly why I love that dress. 🤩
Great post! We don’t go off grid, but I, too, have been so pleasantly surprised by our camper travels. We do a lot of volunteering, and thus far, have been provided free laundry areas. This has worked out great for us. Those wind turbine blades are huge; we once saw a park that had one on display. I do love the surprises our lifestyle brings – one day, there was a chicken on our camper steps looking in. 🙂 Best wishes for great adventures in the coming year!
I love the chicken story! I also love your volunteering. I think I’d enjoy doing that, if only we stayed in place long enough. Another love: Big Cypress!