Here is a quick recap of my journey since my last post.  It’s been an unforgettable week.

1. Herm and Alberta in Sactown. 
2. The Devestated Area.  Semi stealth camping.
3. The Devestated Area.  Semi stealth camping.
4. Tune in for next post…..

The Rig

There are many Sienna minivan rigs, but mine is special!  I love my car and my setup.  I’m constantly improving things.  The car runs like a dream.  The gas pedal makes it go.  AC blows ice.  Brakes are a little squeaky but they do the job.  Steering works.  Fluids stay in their spot.  Suspension is way better after inflating tires.  Before I departed from Moraga, I did some basic fluid/engine checks and verified the tires were properly inflated.  I read the manual and followed the directions precisely.  Everything was in perfect condition; only adjustments needed were a bit more coolant and more air in the tires.  I did it all by myself!  I’m all grownsed up!

I’ve met a lot of other travelers.  People are impressed with my rig!  I’m proud of it.  I met a guy who was doing the same thing as me; taking a road trip through national parks and doing a bunch of photography.  He recently bought a broken Honda Civic from his friend and had it fixed.  He was stealth camping in a tent but said he was jealous of my rig.  I’ve also met a few people with Sprinter Van’s; way more advanced and built out than the Sienna.  This is what I love about van dwelling; it’s so easy to get started with a few modifications…and you can spend years doing something more complex if that’s what you desire!  So much room for experimentation and tinkering.  You’re constantly learning.

Sites

I stopped in Sacramento to see my Aunt, 2 Uncles and cousin.  It was great seeing some family and they gave me some much needed encouragement and delicious meals.  I further modded my bed; the original mattress was a 10 inch memory foam that had been cut to 28 inches.  It was a perfect width but was too high and soft; it left me with no headroom and was too soft for my fragile back and hip.  I decided to rip out the memory foam; thus hardening the mattress and reducing the thickness.  It worked like a charm.  Glad I went that route instead of buying a cheap Ikea twin foam!

Next stop was Lassen Volcanic National Park.  Until this trip, I only knew Lassen as a giant green blob beyond my radius of travel from the Bay Area.  I was always intrigued by it.  The drive up was pleasant; I stopped every 20-30 minutes to stretch, do last minute shopping, computer work, etc.

Towards the end of the day, I finally arrived at the Park.  There was no one at the ranger station.  I paid using the self-pay envelope method and cruised in.  The plan was to find a legitimate campsite to chill at for a couple of days until my brother and 15 of his closest friends descended into the park for 2 days of camping shenanigans.  I pulled into the campsite they were going to stay and it was closed!  Weird.  I saw a fellow van dweller family and asked the ladies about the campsite.  They had no clue, but said they stayed in “The Devastated Area” for the night and had no problems.  Cool, sounds like a great spot to park a mini-van for the night.  Since there were no rangers to be found, all the visitor centers were closed and I had no other options, I decided to drive 15 miles down the road to find this ominous sounding spot.

Turns out, The Devastated Area has that name because 100 years ago there was a giant volcanic eruption and it destroyed everything in it’s path.  Everything is grown back now, and there is a nice parking lot which leads to wilderness, trails and the giant peak of Mount Lassen.  This became my home for the next 2 nights.  Although camping/van dwelling is technically against the rules, the park was basically a ghost town so the rangers didn’t mind it.  I met a bunch of other people who were doing this thing called “hike up a mountain with skis and then ski down the mountain”.  I think there’s another name but that’s what I call it.  These folks are badasses.  I never knew such a sport existed.  One day, I’d love to try something like that.  Oh, by the way, there is still a ton of snow up here; Lassen peak is at 10,000 feet; I was camping at 8,000 feet.  Insane to realize how much snow exists in the summer, at high elevations.

I spent the next two days wandering around the wilderness with my camera gear, trying to take awesome time lapses, do healthy movements with my hip and avoid getting eaten by bears / falling into a ravine.  It’s been incredible.  The nature here is jaw-dropping.  The forests are thick, the mountains are towering, the snow is icy cold and pure.  The humans are sparse.  The skies are blue and flowing.  I’m reminded why I decided to explore California/Oregon (my backyard) before trying to run off abroad again.  Yes, there are amazing cultural and natural sites to see around the world, but this is some of the most spectacular scenery that I’ve seen in any exotic country.

Feelings

Things are great!  Everything is fantastic!  I’m living the dream!  Well, that’s a bit of an over-simplification.  There are ups and downs of course; but overall this has been life-affirming energizing.  I feel a lot of purpose, resolve, excitement and energy in my life right now.  I feel fully engaged.  I regularly find myself in the FLOW zone; hiking through a new park, setting up a time lapse, planning my next stop, modding my rig, etc.  I feel the exact opposite of how I usually feel when I’m banging on the keyboard inside an office.  I no longer feel like a zombie on autopilot.  It’s fantastic.

I feel super healthy and my hip is strong.  Hiking is the best thing I can do for it.  The worst thing I can do for it is sit down or stand in one spot for extended periods.

It’s been really great to meet other travelers and like-minded folks.  People are super friendly and encouraging.

Thanks to friends and family who’ve supported and encouraged me on this blog and on various Facebook posts.  It means a lot.