While the van is in the shop I figured I’d give you all a brief update of progress. I am happy to announce that the demolition phase is officially complete. Old green shag carpet has been torn out, along with the side panels, oversized halogen lighting units, and most importantly the back seating plates that were bolted through the floor of the van. These #$!*ers proved incredibly difficult to remove, due to numerous frozen bolts.
A breaker bar combined with my friend Hobie’s impact driver plus a can of PB Blaster and later an angle grinder (seen above) and 4 trips to Home Depot eventually did the trick.
Unfortunately the removal of these bolts left numerous large quarter-sized holes in the floor of the van that really should be covered for insulation as well as creepy-crawler purposes. Hobie and girlfriend Sara helped me fiberglass over most of the holes to officially mark the beginning of the flooring phase.
The next step (once I get the van back from the shop – fluids change, brake pads, rotors, etc.) is to take the van to a body shop to have the rusty frame repaired. Once that is done, I will begin insulating the van and installing the subfloor.
For those of you wondering more about my upcoming journey, here’s what I know so far… Departure Day: September 6 (or thereabouts)
Rough Itinerary of Travels (subject to change based on weather, housing, finances, and whim):
September 10 – 21 Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming September 22 – Early October Denver, Colorado
Early October Moab, Utah
Late October Yosemite National Park/Bay Area
November Red Rocks, Nevada/Los Angeles Area
December Joshua Tree National Monument/San Diego Area
...to be continued...
Frequently Asked (and frankly, valid) Questions:
Where will you poop? Public restrooms + the wilderness
Where will you/will you bathe? Solar shower + natural bodies of water + suck it up and accept the fact that I’ll probably smell pretty bad sometimes. Hell, I smell pretty bad right now...
What will you eat? No fridge means no soft cheeses. The truth is my diet will largely consist of PB&Js, pasta, dry cereal, protein bars, long lasting fruit like apples, and the occasional leafy greens found on the trailside. Definitely not gourmet dining, but one does not embark on a trip like this to expand their pallet; Sacrifices must be made. If anyone has on-the-road fine dining tips, I’m all ears. I will have a jet-boil and hopefully a camp stove to cook with (and yes I know not to use these things inside the van or in a tent).
Who will belay you? Friends along the way and fellow climbers. Hopefully I will meet a few cool cats along the way.
Where will you sleep? The van will have a bed. I will also have a tent that I can set up for some extra space at campsites. Additionally some very kind friends and family have already offered to host me in my travels. (Thank you!)
For how long will you do this? Minimum of a month, maximum of a year. Essentially until I run out of funds or find a place to settle down.
But how will you watch Netflix? It’s true, I will be dependent on cafés and free wifi hotspots for my interwebular connectivity. It will be far more difficult to binge watch five seasons of Friday Night Lights in a single weekend, What I will ‘definitely not do’ is resort to outdated and illegal methods of obtaining free and downloadable copies of feature films through the internet. (Is Limewire still a thing?)
I have many hurdles still to cross, and many more unseen will surely rise. But with a working vehicle, numerous tanks of gas, and enough Builders Bars to get me through next winter, I will survive.