Our First Four Months Living on the Road: Van Camping Favorites

Our last post shared the numbers from our first four months of van living, and some slightly embarrassing fails. Today we list some of our favorites: places, hikes, and gear. It was sooo hard to choose just one of each category. We devoted quite a lot of drive-time to discussing favorites, fudged a little, disagreed often and ended up with a greater appreciation of all the places and things along the way. The list covers our trek from Massachusetts to Arizona to Louisiana… and all spots in between, from Sept 1st to January 1st 2022.

We hope this might guide you on your own adventures. But, in reality, this list is a selfish one: we’d very much like to remember and revisit these places as we swoop through the western states all over again in the near future. It all went so fast!

Favorite Big Cities:

New Orleans, LA We enjoyed the heck out of this city! Two days was not enough to fully partake of the music, culture, and food here. But we did our best! We walked the well-known spots, and many many blocks in the Garden District, but ran out of time and money. Hoping to return someday, when our splurge account recovers.

Tucson, AZ We arrived here after weeks in the remote Arizona deserts, and this sprawling city felt overwhelming at first. There was so much everything! But we more-or-less got our sea legs (“city legs”?) and found some great places to work and play. The downtown Tucson Library was very welcoming, as was a ginormous bakery beside a ginormous used bookstore (that included a thrift shop, board games and terrific mini book reviews from staff scattered about the stacks). We found free and cheap camping in the Coronado National Forest. It was close by, though up a very steep road. We hiked the Arizona Trail in the mornings and went down into town to work and eat tacos. We passed four days like this. What could be better?

Favorite Small City

Las Cruces, NM Perhaps because we didn’t expect much, we were wowed by Las Cruces. It felt welcoming and genuine. Nothing fancy here, no “downtown” to speak of, but everyone was super friendly and we enjoyed the Chili Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University, thrifting in quirky shops for a couple needed items, the neighboring town of La Mesilla, the Saturday Farmer’s Market and so much more. We updated our cell phones here, showered at Planet Fitness (twice) hiked 3 trails, washed the dog, and did our holiday shopping. Woohooo! Camping just outside the city beside the majestic Organ Mountains was free and easy.

Favorite Small Town

Bisbee, AZ For us Western Massachusetts folks, Bisbee felt like a homecoming of sorts. We loved the funky, crunchy, arty vibe of this old mining town. Even more, Bisbee seemed to welcome campers –and characters– from all over. No need to keep a low profile, we let our Northeastern flags fly! Bisbee was like a friendly, western Northampton. We boondocked in a parking lot in the middle of town and felt right at home. In the morning, we walked to quaint coffee shops. One evening, we enjoyed live music in an old hotel. And, of course, we climbed many of the 1000s of staircases Bisbee is famous for.

Favorite Grocery Store

Dan’s pick: Natural Grocers This supermarket chain is everywhere out west, from Casper to Tucson and many places in between. We came to count on it for Dan’s nuts and figs (a MUST, okay?) and a variety of local coffees. It even has that specific co-op smell, just like back home!

Perri’s Pick: Walmart Didn’t see that one coming, did you? Neither did I. When we lived in our “sticks and bricks” house, I never shopped Walmart. But once we were on the road, it became a go-to spot. Where else can you buy bag salad, oranges, kombucha, coffee, fishing gear, hardware and propane all in one stop? In addition, we found shopping at Walmart reduced our grocery bills by about 1/3. Really. I know that Walmart wields that pricing like a weapon, slashing away at “hometown” grocery store. But that the damage has been done: we found very few non-chain groceries along our trip and the loathsome Dollar General is often the only downtown option. In comparison, Walmart sort of rocks.

Favorite National Park or Monument

It was hard to choose a favorite in this category. Besides the ones mentioned below, we enjoyed Grand Staircase Escalante NM, Colorado NM, Bryce Canyon NP, Capitol Reef National Park, Guadalupe Mountains NM, Organ Mountains Desert Peaks NM, White Sands NM, and Carlsbad Caverns NP. Rules against dogs on the trail in most of these places put a damper on many of our experiences, and full campgrounds/busy trails made them feel less wild than much of the public land we visited. But spectacular they were. We’ll definitely revisit these spots someday.

Dan’s pick: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Dan loved (loved!) our primitive camp in Alamo Canyon surrounded by cactus! I (Perri) did too. And we both enjoyed the quiet hiking and lovely views here. Weather was perfect in November!

Perri’s Pick: Dinosaur National Monument I have already waxed poetic on my love for this place. And we’ve only seen it’s edges! Scenic and uncrowded, wild and open. This place has my heart.

Favorite National Park/Monument Hike

Dan’s pick: Echo Canyon Loop, Chiricahua National Monument. This 4.5 mile trail leads you among the park’s hoodoos and canyons. It is a relatively easy hike, heading down into a shady, enchanted-seeming canyon full of interesting rock formations and dark grottos. Then it heads back up to the trailhead along another, sunnier canyon with views down the into the valley. We only saw three other people here, which is awesome in a National Monument. No dogs allowed here (National Park rules) but on a December morning, Milo was able to hang in the van at the trailhead while we enjoyed this stunning hike.

Perri’s pick: Carlsbad Caverns “Natural Entrance Trail” I didn’t expect much from Carlsbad, which is maybe why this trail down (and down and down) into the caverns felt so extraordinary. But then again, it WAS extraordinary, and otherworldly. And quiet. We saw almost no one on the way down. The hike was dark and cavernous and mysterious…. until we got to the part of the cave accessible by elevator (which was busy and somehow less impressive). There is an amphitheater at the entrance to watch the bats swarm up into the sky at night, but we missed that. Have to go back, I think.

Favorite Canyon Hike

Canyon hiking was on our list of “musts”. When the kids were little, it was always too hot for desert canyons when we did our summer wandering. THIS year, we hiked every canyon we came across, many without any info about what to expect. Maybe that’s why they were all, hands-down amazing! It was hard to pick a favorite but we did our best… and it was a tie!

Meek’s Mesa Trail, UT We found this trail while following an unmarked path from our roadside boondocking spot just west of Capitol Reef National Park. It led along a river, through a narrow gorge, up into a canyon then across a red rock bench littered with petrified wood. Then it skirted along the side of a steep mountain to a viewpoint. About 6 miles total and totally Spectacular!

McDonald Creek Canyon in the McInnis Canyon NCA, CO This is another canyon hike we just happened upon. We stayed almost five days free camping in the Rabbit Valley BLM area and walked many of the roads and bike trails. One of these took us to the trailhead for this lovely three mile long canyon. It was mostly an easy walk beside the dry creek, with a few climbs and many amazing red rock formations to make it exceptional. We enjoyed looking for pictoglyphs on the red walls, and it is easy to imagine a the once thriving community here in this generous canyon.

Favorite Breakfast

Dan’s Pick: The Broken Yolk Cafe, Yuma, AZ This place is, as the kids would say, extra. The menu is yuuge and there are a gazillion kinds of eggs benedict (that you can mix and match!) We shared a couple of those. So. Much. But creative and fun. There was a line up mid day on a weekday here. But, if you like creative breakfast food, check it out!

Perri’s Pick: Eggington’s, Casper, WY This is another fancy breakfast and lunch spot with creative foods and a Wyoming-hip vibe. It is downtown in an old bank building and was busy for a late breakfast even on a week day. Also, the food was great!

Favorite Tacos

Boca, Tucson, AZ We like to joke that we are on a taco tasting tour because we just can’t resist these things. Every time we get a chance: Tacos and Margaritas. It never gets old. We “tacoed” in Custer, SD, Heber City, UT, Steamboat Springs, CO, Las Cruces, NM, El Paso, TX, San Antonio, TX, and probably a few other places we can’t recall. Best of all, we tacoed TWICE at Boca in Tucson, AZ. This spot has lovely outdoor seating and creative, delicious food. We mix-and-matched all sorts of tacos– traditional carne asada to portobello mushroom. And they come with a tray of equally creative and delicious salsas. There are creative cocktails too!

Favorite Bar

Elephant Ranch Beer Garden, Las Cruces, NM This quirky New Mexican outdoor bar was so much fun. Most of the seating is outside, with an adobe walled inside area with fountains, a bar and bench seating. There’s a food truck out in the courtyard. It’s a ready-made party! We discovered this place on a rare rainy day in the desert. The air had that lovely desert creosote smell. The fountains burbled away inside. We ordered a few drinks and some gorditas from the food truck and hung out with the locals for a while watching the rain.

Runner up: The College Inn Bar, Douglas, WY Walking the mostly-closed downtown of this small city, we came upon this amazing spot. It truly felt as if we were stepping back in time. Some locals were hanging out playing cards in the back, the place was homey, and a little busy for a weekday. I worried that we might not be welcomed, but the bartender was friendly and the food and drink were super affordable. If you happen to be in Douglas, Wyoming, look this place up!

Favorite Hot Springs

Hobo Hot Springs, Saratoga, WY We haven’t visited many hot springs yet. But this free spot– in town and open 24/7 was a great start. We showed up after dark and moved between the overly-hot pool (107 degrees Fahrenheit!) to the more reasonably hot pool (100 degrees Fahrenheit) and chatted with the small groups of folks enjoying the night. The social-ness of this spot made it special. We met middle aged men from Wyoming who shared rockhounding spots and memories of camping adventures they’d had, a couple of youngsters from Laramie, and a young family traveling back home to Idaho after weeks of camping. We stayed late into the night chatting, and watching the mist rise and the stars twinkle.

Favorite Beach

Magnolia Beach, TX We started checking out beaches the last few weeks of December, which was pretty late in the game. But we visited quite a few. In two weeks we camped at San Padre Island National Seashore, TX, Galveston Beach, TX, Crystal Beach, TX and Gulf Islands National Seashore, MS. All of these were wonderful in their own way. Beaches are as unique as snowflakes, I guess. But our favorite camping beach was Magnolia Beach, on the Gulf Coast of Texas. In truth, it wasn’t all that beautiful; the beach was hard packed shell. And it wasn’t all that scenic; there was an oil refinery out across the water. But it was both welcoming and private. There was a friendly collection of vans and RVs from far-flung places, which made for great conversations. But we were able to camp off by ourselves, which was nice an private. It felt like the best of both worlds to us. There are no stores in Magnolia Beach and no major attractions. But you can walk a long way and listen to the surf. We hear that it can get muggy and buggy but we enjoyed a nice breeze and missed all that. For us, Magnolia beach was a great spot to settle for a few days.

Favorite Van Camping Gear

Perri’s Pick: BougeRV Refrigerator. This thing was a game changer! Back in our tent camping days, we always ended up with a cooler full of melted ice and soggy food. No more! This fridge uses very little power (We plug it into the dashboard of our van when driving and our Jackery Power Station when camping) and–viola!– cold, unsoggy everything! It fits perfectly between our front seats too!

Dan’s Pick: Leatherman Multi Tool Dan has had his Leatherman for over 10 years, and he uses this thing every day… and LOSES this thing almost every day. It always manages to find its way back to us, though. We have used it to pluck porcupine quills out of Milo’s face (pre-van-life) and to pull cactus spikes out of his butt (In Arizona). We use it to make sandwiches and tighten screws and cut hair and, well, MULTIple things!

Holding Time

Wow! These four months on the road really flew. It was hard recalling some of our early days on the road. They sort of run together sometimes. Living in a van, in a sense, is living on the move, constantly looking forward and leaving places behind.

We miss some of these spots, though we only experienced them a short while, and are looking forward to revisiting them already. But then, there are so many new places to explore! It’s a funny thing, this traveling life.

We are trying to keep a daily record of our travels on Instagram just so we can remember it all. And when we move on, it doesn’t feel quite so “gone” then. Anyway, we hope your travels have been happy ones. See you around the next bend!