The Low Down № 81 – Trading Jetsetting for Van Life in the USA

Apr 3

Apr 3 The Low Down № 81 – Trading Jetsetting for Van Life in the USA

SS Express – from Santa Fe to Seattle. A one-way ticket to awesome adventures courtesy of a 1986 Vanagon. Driving along train routes touring the US, taking cues from old-school hobos and their code for the road, we looked for clues marking spots to check. It was a phat dose of Americana from the era of road trippin’ and train hoppin’, and we found the goods to match.

Instead of collecting country passport stamps, I filled my national parks passport with cancellation stamps from parks and historic sites!

So much beauty and wonder – Bandelier, Valle Caldera, Chaco Canyon, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Death Valley, Manzanar, Mono Basin National Forest, and Yosemite.

Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park

Ubehebe Crater (L) and Zabriskie Point (R), Death Valley National Park

Devils Golf Course, Death Valley National Park

Death Valley was like diving into a fantastical world that I didn’t want to leave. It’s filled with so many extremes – from the lowest point in North America, 282 feet below sea level at Badwater Basin, to the hottest place on earth, 130 degrees Fahrenheit recorded at Furnace Creek!

Gallo Campground, Chaco Culture National Historical Park

But THE highlight was Chaco Canyon. It transported me to another time. 13+miles of gnarly washboard roads eventually led to a campsite deep in a canyon with a 360° view! An awe-inspiring moment in grasping the delicate balance between humanity and nature. Their Night Sky Program? Stargazing supreme – 99% of the park is a “natural darkness zone” where no permanent outdoor lighting is allowed. Looking up, I saw an endless field of diamonds in the sky! Over a thousand years ago, Chacoans were at this same spot experiencing the same dark sky that I’m looking up at?! AH-MAZING!!

Getting out of Chaco Canyon was equally adventurous. Barely-there trails marked as roads on Google maps that were impossible to drive forced us to turn back. Mud-bogging roads frozen to the core were too much for our Vanagon. We turned around. Our detour led to a pit-stop-turned-magic-meal in Cuba, NM!!! We grubbed on frybread, tacos, and tamales at Chaco Grill, located inside the Phillips 66 gas station. This is what I live for – unexpected discoveries that are pure gold.

Hyped on fresh surroundings, we drove slow. How many different shapes and sizes of pine cones could I spy? Hyped on staying present, we stopped often. How can I remember every color – russet-colored pine cones with prickly scales, copper-hued pine needles the length of my hand, salt-n-pepper sand that sparkled in the sun, chalky white salt flats that resembled powdery snow, a rainbow-colored mountain boasting shades of rust, goldenrod, mustard, amber, turquoise, smokey-blue, and lavender. Hyped on blazing new trails, I embraced my loose drawings and makeshift setups instead of demanding perfectly straight lines and ideal workstations.

I rolled with it, just like road trips. Things will go wrong – missed exits, closed roads, and breakdowns. But don’t stop. Choose right or left, or continue straight. Trust that all the wrongs will lead to a series of rights. Because eventually, you’ll arrive at the spot where you need to be. Trading jet setting for van life? Hyped.

oxxo, Hen

* View the SS Express map featuring our fave spots (& the occasional meh) from cafes and restaurants to national parks and museums discovered during the RAD AND HUNGRY USA sourcing trip.