My Van Life: Day 8
Saturday, July 17, 2021
Henry’s Lake, Idaho
That’s right, we didn’t go anywhere! If you can believe it! One whole day without ANY driving.
Today was the first official weekend day that wasn’t booked with hours of travel. We had our overnight in Henry’s Lake, Idaho, last night – which I would highly recommend by the way – and woke up this morning with not a single plan. I know, so unlike me. We woke up about ten minutes to 10am although we are in the Mountain Time Zone right now so I guess take that with a grain of salt, laid in bed for another hour watching YouTube then decided to go for a walk, get some movement in and soak up the sun.
The weather here has been absolutely perfect since we arrived. I think it hit a high of 84 today so very mild with a delicious soft breeze. There’s a more official RV Park Resort (Red Rock RV Park) type thing just up the road that appeared to have a convenience store when we first drove in so we wanted to walk up and check it out. The Henry’s Lake campsite we’re staying at is definitely off the beaten path so it was approximately two miles of winding road to get back to the main road where the RV Resort was located and of course they didn’t have any coffee in the convenience store which was really all we wanted. Or maybe a nice breakfast option to treat ourselves with on our first official weekend. Nevertheless we really didn’t need it, we had plenty of food back at camp we were mainly desiring some movement and sunshine which we got plenty of I'm happy to report.
Once we made it back to camp we had an amazing lunch of salmon burgers (pre-made from Trader Joe’s) and wild grain rice. Probably one of the most delectable lunches I’ve had in a while! Made all the better by the fact that we made it on the stovetop in our van!! Still can’t get over that sometimes.
Days like today, personally, I struggle. Not having any plans. We set up our table and chairs outside to eat and soak up some sun but other than that there was really nothing on the docket. Granted I have books, journals, writing, arts and crafts galore to keep me occupied but for whatever reason I wasn’t feeling any of that today. Although I really wasn’t feeling sitting around doing nothing either. I’m soooo not good at that. I knew it would be challenging at some points living in this van for a multitude of reasons but this was one I was most nervous for – getting bored. I’m usually quite good at entertaining myself – innate only child talent – but it’s different when you’re limited to a van. One twenty-four foot space. When you’re in a house or apartment you can bop around from room to room but here, well, you have one room. And it’s the room you happen to be spending all your time in every single day. Obviously we have the outside which is super nice and I think will be our saving grace in addition to tourist attractions and must-visit destinations but you see what I’m getting at. It’s just, well, different.
We’re still getting used to this van life but I know these are the memories we’ll cherish for a lifetime. Sometimes I still pinch myself in disbelief. We’re really doing this. Working remotely, living on the road, going wherever we please. It’s a dream. This is the freedom I crave and truly dream about. And we’re living it. In a week’s time we’ve already come across so many people living similar travel dreams. One man, Andrew, whom we met at Henry's Lake, is originally from Poland and moved to the US in his 20s. He’s now in his 60s, traveling the US with just his car and his bike and all the belongings one can comfortably fit in a small truck. He shared travel recommendations with us, destinations he’s loved, others he hasn’t, it’s just a happy little traveling community. One that I’m proud (and excited!) to be a part of.
In other news, I washed my hair today which was glorious in every single way. Aside from the water being uncomfortably cold, I’m trying to remain focused on the positives which is I’m going to bed with clean hair thank you very much.