One Week in the Van

Today marks one week since we started out on our Arizona, Utah and Colorado National Parks adventure. With that milestone, I wanted to document our initial thoughts and feelings of van life and specifically the little things that we didn’t know we would enjoy so much and the other things we didn’t realize would be less enjoyable. I think it goes without saying that the benefits of this adventure are many: freedom to choose where we go and what we do every day, no planned schedule, always having a cozy place to sleep, not having to think about work (sorry everybody) and getting to see some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world.

But what about the little things that you don’t know you’re going to love? I want to address those today and hope to remember that it is always the little things that mean the most.

Here are Mike and my top favorite “little things” about van life:

Having our kitchen always with us

Hungry after a long hike in the Grand Canyon? Great, we have our full fridge and pantry waiting for us in the van. There’s also something about cooking full meals in the van – door open, sun shining, music blasting. Want a La Croix mid drive? Don’t worry, let me grab you a cold one.

Slippers

Big Deb is so cozy and there’s something about having warm slippers to walk around the van in. Even if it doesn’t seem like there’s much space for that to make it difference, it totally does!

Solar panels

I don’t know what we would have done without solar panels but when we bought the van, we had no idea what we were doing and what that would mean for us. It has been such a benefit. We don’t have to worry about the battery running low or turning the car on to recharge the battery during the day since it’s constantly being charged by the sun. Science.

Sleep schedules

It is amazing how being outside all the time really puts you in sync with the rising and setting of the sun. When we were in Arizona, we would be in bed ready to go to sleep by 8 pm, which is very early for us normally. Now, in Utah, the sun sets a little later so we go to bed later. The same goes with the sunrise, we haven’t had to use alarms at all because we’re woken up by the sun. It’s been really interesting to pay attention to that and listen to our bodies.

Bathroom in the van

We LOVE having a shower and toilet in the van! We have used the shower multiple times already, which is a surprise to both of us. But, there’s nothing better than being clean after a long day of exploring outside.

This might be TMI but it’s also really nice to have a place to pee in the middle of the night or when it’s 20 degrees outside.

No judgment zone (Bonus Positive)

Being in the van, going on hikes every day and camping, neither of us is focused on appearances. Just this morning I told Mike, “I’m going to wear the same clothes I wore yesterday.” And he said, “Me too.”This also means no makeup, which I’m sure my face is very thankful for!

The things we don’t love as much:

Driving the van in the wind

Luckily, Big Deb has crosswind assist but Mike hasn’t figured out if he likes that or hates it since it basically just slams on the brakes for him.

Watching the battery meter at night

As I mentioned above, solar panels are great during the day, but we have to worry about the battery at night and make sure we’re not drawing too much power from it.

Staying warm

We have a heater in the van that works nicely but it draws from the battery, so we have to be super conscious of using that at night, so we just haven’t yet.

Some things you don’t think about with the cold but are not great:

• Doing the dishes in cold water when it’s cold out.
• Putting on a cold bra in the morning (yikes!)
• Frozen water in our water jugs so we can’t get water from the sink.

 Organization

We thought we had scaled back a lot on what we brought on this trip, but we still have too much stuff. We’re trying to make sure everything has its place so the van doesn’t get cluttered, and we can find what we need.

Needless to say, the positives far outweigh the negatives. We have already learned so much about living in a van and it’s only been a week! We’ll see how these pros and cons change for us throughout our adventure and if the little things really do continue to be the big things.