Tire pressure, check. Spare tire pressure, check. Oil level, transmission fluid level, brake fluid level, windshield wiper fluid. Check, check, check and check! Jack and accessories, check. Tool bag, check. Quart of oil/spare fluids etc., check. Room for the ice chest in back, check.
Day of the wedding: HUGE SURPRISE! The Bro in laws and Sis in law all went in together on a 75qt Dometic dual zone cooler for the van.... We were speechless... We had been eyeing the 45qt and had planned to use some of our wedding funds for a purchase at a later date, so this was an extreme surprise for us. And talk about a game changer! No more worrying about ice stops, what condiments we can pack or meat bleeding everywhere, and best of all nothing is wet! Okay, now where to put it?
(PUNT) We ditch the ice chest out of the back and move the kayak drive bag to the back in it's place, and with our very limited space, we decided to put the Dometic behind the drivers seat for our trip. We quickly realized that this position gave us a great insight into our wondering if we might have to worry about the dog jumping up onto things while the van is in motion. It became her perch for the entire trip...
I won't get into all the tiny details and specifics about where we stayed or what we did on our honeymoon other than we did a mix of dry camping or boondocking and staying at state or private campgrounds on our trip. It was nice to have both the experiences of just us two alone in our van and then the next night a nice hot shower at a state park. It was also nice to be able to refill our water jug as well.
Here’s the overview. We headed west. First night, we dry camped (directly in the flight path of some bees) off of a logging skid road above Rimrock lake.
The next day we decided to stop in Packwood for lunch at the Packwood Brewing Co. where the dream of the van had originated. Second night, we stayed at Ike Kinswa State Park, where the next morning we kayaked up the Tilton River and hiked to a beautiful waterfall.
Third night, we used the iOverlander app and found an awesome spot with with beach access for our van just south of Grayland. It ended up being a very popular spot (I assume because of the app). It was nice, other than one couple who ended up parking almost on top of us. This presented Carrie with a challenge as to privacy.
The next morning we headed north to have breakfast at the Blue Buoy resturant in Westport. Fourth night, we stayed at Twin Harbors State Park. It was a nice park. The camp sites were a little close together but we had no neighbors which made things easier. Fifth night, we started our way back east and stayed just outside of Cougar at Beaver Bay Campground which is owned and run by PacifiCorp. Both put off by the green jello colored algae waters of Yale lake, we decided not to kayak as we had planned, but instead we realized that we were only a mere 6 miles from on of our "want to go" destinations; Ape Cave. So the next morning we packed up and did the easier (.75 mile one way) lower ape cave hike (still minding/mending the knee).
It was awesome, and I can't wait to be healed up enough to go back and do the upper cave hike (1.5 mile).
After our morning spelunking adventure, we headed towards Trout Lake and then continued on to a primitive camp spot I had developed just north of Glenwood; where we would spend the night before heading home the next morning. We had an amazing breakfast at the Glenwood Station and hit the road. It was a wonderful honeymoon, and the van performed flawlessly. This trip gave us some much needed insight on as to what improvements we need to make, what works and doesn’t, and what are necessities or what we can leave home on trips. I can’t wait for our next adventure and any excuse to roll out of town in the chateau. Next projects are diesel heater, storage cubbies, countertop and sink.
~Tim
(Carrie)
Van in motion
We did it! The van is to a point where we were able to take it on a 600 mile week long road trip. We put the van to the test, from dry camping in the wilderness, to state parks, to dead end roads. We were in the high desert of eastern Washington, up in the cascades, and on the coast. All types of weather, roads, and activities. It was awesome!
We ended up getting a 75 L dual zone Dometic Cooler as a wedding gift. We have decided that this is essential for van life. Food stayed cold, dry, and we didn’t have to constantly stop for ice.
Outlander app is a super handy tool to find camping and place to park your van overnight. We had read about it in one of the van groups we follow. The downside is while you find some great locations, everyone else using the app finds the same locations! Thankfully we were given a small port-a-potty that made certain tasks more comfortable when surrounded by other vanners.
~Carrie
