#Vanlife
I have been itching to travel recently. My husband would pack up and move tomorrow if I said go. It’s not that he doesn’t like Duluth, it’s just that the mountains are calling. The thing that sparks joy for him is walking uphill for hours on end to reach a summit. That’s something you just can’t get in Duluth, MN. The problem (if you could really call it that, given how few people seem to find such a thing), is that I love my job. Really and truly I do. And my job is here, in Duluth, MN. So this is where home is for the time being, but we are trying to take advantage of travel where we can.
One thing we have been dreaming about for the past few years is a camper van. We spent our last summer in Alaska with one and it’s how we made the move back to Minnesota five years ago. But at the time, we were living downtown Minneapolis and it didn’t make sense to keep it. So, much to our current regret, we sold that home on wheels and have been pining for a new one almost ever since.
THE RIG
It was a 1994 Ford E250 that we bought for $2000 on Craigslist. The previous owners had insulated the back end and built in a sleeping platform with under-bed storage. It would sputter a bit when we first started it up each day, but it warmed right up in about 30 minutes. I dream of that van. Whenever I look at campervans online these days all I see are these fancy $100k new model Sprinter with built in kitchen and shower and the whole works. I don’t want that. I just want a rumbly old van with our stuff in the back. I want to feel like I’m roughing it but without the set up and the heavy backpacks.
All packed up and ready to leave our home in Palmer, AK.
THE ROUTE
The Alaskan Highway: a uniquely wild route in our modern world. It runs 1,387 miles through Alaska, Yukon Territory and British Columbia, and passes through some sparsely populated but stunningly beautiful country. There are long stretches of the highway where there is no cell service, and up to 150 miles between services. It’s in your best interest to fill up your gas tank whenever you have the opportunity, and to travel with a spare tire and anything you might need to survive for a couple of days in the wilderness. There is a guidebook published each year called the Milepost which goes through every mile of the Alaskan Highway and keeps up to date on where to find gas, food and lodging. A real paper book that you hold in your hands. On the Alaskan Highway you can travel like we did 30 years ago, before we all carried GPS maps of the entire world in our pockets.
From Palmer (where we lived in Alaska) we drove north through Glenallen and caught the Alaska Highway at Tok, then headed southeast across the Canadian border and through Destruction Bay, Haines Junction, Whitehorse, Watson Lake and Fort Nelson. Along the way we stopped at the Liard Hot Springs. Hot springs were our only source of bathing on our week long journey, and Liard in particular was wonderful. The Alaska Highway ends in Dawson Creek, BC and from there we opted to take a 200 mile detour down through Jasper National Park and Banff. Unfortunately it was raining pretty heavily as we came through Jasper National Park so we didn’t get to do much there, but we were able to spend 2 days in Banff before heading home to Minnesota across more predictable and populated terrain.
Somewhere in the Yukon Territory
Liard Hot Springs
BANFF
Banff is as beautiful as they say. We arrived from the north and made our first stop at Lake Louise. It was a wet rainy day so we didn’t do much hiking or get out on the lake, but we walked around the area and enjoyed the smaller crowds and moody weather. In Banff, we stayed at a campground just outside of town for two nights. We went to the Banff hot springs both days we were there. They are not nearly as charming as Liard - more like a crowded swimming pool into which water from the hot spring has been pumped - but it was still nice to take a soak and the view was lovely. A gondola goes to the top of Sulphur Mountain, where there are stunning patio views, a small history center, and a cozy restaurant where we had cocktails and watched the sunset.
The rest of our time in Banff was spent shopping downtown, eating great restaurant food, getting massages and walking. It was a great change of pace after a couple of long days on the road eating out of our cooler.
View from the top of the gondola in Banff.
LIFE ON THE ROAD (IN A VAN)
I try to keep a written record of the things we do when we travel, just little notes about what our days looked like. Whenever I come back to them I’m reminded of little life treasures that I certainly would have forgotten otherwise. Here is an excerpt from my journal of this trans-Canada trip.
“Woke up about 8 and hit the road. Stopped on the shore of Kluane Lake for coffee, breakfast, and a stretch with a beautiful mountain backdrop. Drove on through Whitehorse and Watson Lake (about 9 hours) with stops for stretching and coffee. Roads were good with long straight stretches where we could make good time. Saw red fox and bison herds along the road - even a couple of little ones still nursing. Stopped at Liard Hot Springs about 7 pm, spent about and hour and a half soaking, stretching and mud masking. Dinner was Mountainhouse dehydrated lasagna and wine. Met another traveling couple who gave us tickets for the Banff hot springs. Slept at a rest stop nearby which was perfectly dark and quiet.”
To pass the hours in the van we listened to audiobooks, talked about what our future in Minnesota might hold, watched the wildlife, marveled at the views, and ate a lot of snacks. According to my journal, our favorite road snacks were rice cakes, fruit, veggies with hummus, turkey sandwiches, sparkling water, and chocolate. Coffee was hand ground fresh, and brewed with the jetboil and the aeropress.
Seven days and 3,300 miles later, we were back in Minnesota moving into our downtown apartment. We sold that sweet van but we have not forgotten its charms. Eight months later we were spending the week in another van, this one rented, this time pregnant, exploring the Oregon Coast from top to bottom. In about 2 months from this writing we will be introducing our daughter to the adventure of van life as we explore Arizona and southern California. And every few weeks I find myself on Craigslist searching for camper vans for sale in our area. We can’t seem to let it go. It’s a mode of travel that just makes sense.
