[Astrodawn]

I've been on the road for 19 days now. I figured it's time to start sharing out.

Goal of the journey: make it to the west coast sometime before August while experiencing as many natural wonders and meeting as many great people as possible.

Currently, we're in St. Louis, MO. It's rained the whole time we've been here, so it's not been very adventurous, but we're staying with a couchsurfing host and enjoying the simple luxuries of a spacious memory foam mattress, an oven, and a real sink that you can use while standing up!

Our tentative plan is to go through Kansas City, to Colorado, South through Utah, down to Arizona, SoCal, and then up the coast. if anyone is located between St. Louis and California near our route, we'd love to meet up!

We have a blog at shelivesinavan.com, but I've been awful at keeping that updated so far (and there won't be as many photos of the van there).

Here are some photos from the beginning of our journey. I don't have any good photos of the interior space yet, because our house is almost always a mess.

here are some of the views i wake up to every morning:

 

[mcgregorj]

Awesome - looks like a great start to the trip!

 

[WimpTech]

Wow, cool stuff astrodawn! You (or your friend) looks nice n comfy in there, I was laughing at the "use the sink while standing" comment, haha good times.

Let us know your timing into SoCal, we'll setup a camp out or something. Any read on timing for burning van?

 

[markmitch]

Great stuff keep it coming! We are in norcal so probably won't see you unless your coming this way too. Mark

 

[Big_kid]

Replacing that ball joint was worth it!

Safe travels!

 

[nonhog]

Sounds great!

 

[sixsix]

Thanks for the update - Great Photos.
And ya' didn't miss much in St. Louis - no great loss.

Good Luck w/ your Van during your travels.

Mike

ps: Man! - you guys are cute !!

 

[Astrodawn]

thanks, everyone. definitely wouldn't be in Missouri right now without this community!

Let us know your timing into SoCal, we'll setup a camp out or something. Any read on timing for burning van?

that'd be awesome! we're taking things pretty slow, so i don't think we'll be able to make it to Washington by the end of the month. We'll probably be in Utah by that time.

We are in norcal so probably won't see you unless your coming this way too.

definitely heading up to norcal (van willing)! one of our goals is to get to oregon by July, so we might spend some time in your neck of the woods.

Replacing that ball joint was worth it!

i think about this nearly every day. hahaha.

especially when i was driving down the dirt road to Jackson Falls in IL after a heavy rain at dark. that road is more pothole than road. may have to replace another ball joint soon.

ps: Man! - you guys are cute !!

we'll pass this info on to the van. she appreciates your compliments.

 

[Mmusicman]

one of our goals is to get to oregon by July...

My brother and I will be riding Harleys out that way in July... maybe we'll cross paths!

 

[MI_Ghost]

Just remember.
We are only a keystroke away if you need help!

You have a bunch of supporters here that will be living vicariously through your adventures with you.
Keep us entertained and we'll keep supporting and driving you onward.

Enjoy the open road and have fun! :thumbup: :dance: :clap:

 

[Astrodawn]

in the past 22 days, we've made it across 2.5 states and now are officially in "the west" (i think).

we had one extremely miserable cold and rainy day in Missouri that made me question the desirability of van life. we successfully avoided our van being washed downstream in the flooding though. camping near a flooded river after the storm was also fun.

i tried to make an awning lulz

we've also been busy making our own kombucha and homemade root beer in the van...

and diving into dumpsters for food (yeah yeah we're hippies)

spotted this cool van in KC

there were also TONS of community gardens and this really cute baby (daughter of a college friend):

then i got really sick and laid around at a campsite in kansas contemplating the meaning of life. i'll spare you photos of that.

driving through Kansas was surprising really really fun and beautiful

we took US-36 through North Kansas to Denver, as opposed to I-70. this allowed us to see more of the beautiful countryside and small towns. we stopped at some little cafes along the way and relished the absence of chain businesses like Mcdonalds and Walmart. definitely recommend.

lil' astro still truckin strong

then finally we made it to Denver and woke up to this:

now we're here.

our spirits are high and we're currently planning a route through the mountains! we've been super blessed by the generosity of strangers and friends of friends. everywhere we go, we get TONS of recommendations for things to see and people to meet. if the next three months are anything similar, this'll be a helluva trip.

tomorrow is van day. i'm going to replace the brake pads and rotors, get an oil change (or DIY if people want too much $$), suspension lube, and finally have someone look at the front diff. woooo.

 

[Astrodawn]

this van is a trooper and i feel like a proud parent.

we picked up a few hitchikers in NorCal/Oregon and one of them commented on how many big trucks he'd seen struggling to make it up hills, through sand, etc. and my van had no issues whatsoever. that's the magic of Astros, for ya.

other than the alternator going out, we haven't had any major breakdowns (just scares and preventative maintenance).

i suck at updating, cause now we're getting into a routine and spending more and more time away from civilization in the beautiful wild...but right now we're in San Francisco and it's cold and driving sucks, so maybe i'll upload some of the awesome photos i've collected over the months.

peace.

 

[srdragonusa]

Wow! Glad to see some one is taking advantage of their Van ;-) Have fun and if you manage to make your way to San Diego area Give a Holler!

 

[smokinjoe]

Awesome, every bit of it. Would love to do this.

I am sure you play this song in the van every day but for those who haven't heard it.......

 

[Mmusicman]

Wow! What a GREAT journey!

I just got back from my "mini-adventure" two weeks ago... my brother and I rode Harley's though Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. I can relate to the good people you meet along the way! People are very different out west.. like a throw-back in time.

Maybe we DID cross paths? :mrgreen:

I don't know about the snow and rain you got... we were hitting temps of 103 in some areas!
It was refreshing to wake up to the cool 50's in the mornings however.

Is that odometer correct?
You a traveling across the USA with over 300K on the dial?
Wow, that is impressive by itself!

My wife and I do a little "camping" in our van from time to time...
Here's a shot of us in Cherokee NC:

Seeing this amazing country is wonderful if you get the chance. It was a trip of a lifetime for me to get to travel out west with my brother, brief as it was. Looks like we might make it an annual adventure. When you've lived in South Florida for 47 years... it's pretty fantastic to see some of the rest of the country. This might look "normal" to some.. but it was quite a treat for us.

Here I am in Joseph Oregon:

Me riding in Northern Idaho:

Hell's Canyon:

Oregon Washington State Line:

Sorry to hijack your thread... just wanted to share my similar adventure, although nothing compared to yours... you actually LIVING on the road for months and traveling to wherever the road leads you!

Glad to hear the van is making the journey well too!

PS: LOVE your photos!

Happy Trails!

 

[WimpTech]

OUTSTANDING Dawn! Thanks for the update and for checking in, looks like tons of fun. We are all quite envious of your freedom, glad you are having a blast doing it too. Back roads and small towns are the way to go; I do that as much as possible and it is just plain life changing huh!

BTW- now that you posted an odometer pic with over 250k miles, you are officially part of the quarter million club. Just send a PM and that picture to Leeann93. You get a badge and your screen name turns pink.... helluva thing doing that much driving on that van... impressive fo sho.

PS... San Fran is that cold... most of the rest of the state is hot azz desert, 92 here yesterday.

 

[markmitch]

Great stuff! as for California being hot or cold it was 100* here in Valley Springs Ca where I live. Approximately 2 hours north of San Francisco

 

[MI_Ghost]

Got to get us a pic of the van on the overlook with the bridge!
You have a lot of us envious of you right now. Good to see that you and the van are holding in there.

 

[nonhog]

Updates?

 

[WinnieVan]

I'm with nonhog! Lovely trip! Let's see some more... my wife and I want to do this sometime soon!