Life with 3 Living Beings in a Van

By Jen.

Dates: 3/1/2021 to 07/28/2021

During my last post, I realized that some vital information about current travels had been left out of Jonathan’s posts. When we started traveling again this year, I made the executive decision to try it out with our cat. I felt cheated that I wouldn’t get the full time with my cat as our parked time had been cut short. After traveling with her in the van from Charlotte, I had hopes that she might do all right traveling. So I started introducing her to the van while parked. I occasionally found her exploring the van during her outdoor ventures. As long as she was alone or had 2 ways out, she was cool with the van. So, we did a 1.5-hour trip to a hiking location with her.

 

Charlotte, NC to Arkansas road trip in 2020.

 

She was definitely getting carsick while we were driving the winding AR roads. And, she kept trying to find a comfortable spot, trying the bed, the bench, the countertop, and even my lap. Eventually she landed on staying on the bed, and towards the end of the drive, she seemed like she was getting a hang of it. But, on the way back, it was a repeat all over again. This definitely did not bode well for my desire to bring her along. But I didn’t give up. We tried taking her with us to visit my family and another hiking trip. She fared better each time, with the exception of trying to run into the woods when we stopped at a rest area. I tried finding things to make her comfortable, but after a week, she was pretty comfortable without having a kennel or anything.

 

Spending a few hours with her in the van after a trip.

 

So, when we were ready to hit the road, I thought our Texas trip (2 weeks or so), would be a good trial run.

 

Giving her a chance to get outside. She doesn’t like the leash much.

I think she is starting to get comfortable in the van after a week in.

Occasionally, she decides the bench is a good spot to ride while driving.

Eventually she figured out how to burrow underneath our covers, which, while cute, is a total no-no for us as we don’t like dealing with hair while sleeping. So we had to start tucking in our comforter so she couldn’t do that anymore.

 

By the end of the 2 weeks travelling in the van to Texas and New Mexico and back, she was quite comfortable and considered the van her home. In fact, when we tried to get her to stay the night in the house when we stopped back in Arkansas, she did NOT want to get out of the van. But, no one killed anyone, and she seems to be mostly happy, so we decided to continue traveling with her.

 

A “box!”

 

It has been an adjustment. We don’t sleep with our cat, ever, for reasons and others mentioned previously, so we had to teach her that the bed was off-limits at bedtime. We did this by putting up our A/C curtain, which is a fairly effective signal for her. Jonathan makes her a little “nest” from our spare blanket so she can control her temperature overnight. We bought a smaller litter box and switched from clay litter to pine pellets and have to scoop it every day to keep the odor down. We secure it to our bench seat while we drive, then put it forward of the passenger seat while parked. I reduced her feeding mice toys from 2 to 1 at a time to reduce the likelihood of stepping and tripping on them. I had to buy a lint roller to control the hair left all over in this small space. Her “scratching post” in the van is my grass mat because she uses it and I couldn’t get her adapted to anything else. She really likes to sit on the floor of the “kitchen” when we cook, which has resulted in many a tail-stepping. And we are used as furniture even more by our cat than before, as there is little elsewhere for her to step. But, we have also taken time to teach her new tricks, like “sit”, “down”, “five”, and we are working on “flop”, which is getting her to lay down on her side. Who says you can’t teach a cat tricks?

 

Hiding during a thunderstorm.

A favorite spot on the floor, especially when it gets a bit warm.

 

Overall, I think she has mostly enjoyed van life, especially since it tends to be warmer than a house, and she still gets fed regularly with more treats.

Midstate New York

Dates: 10/16/2020 to 10/17/2020

New York is a large state by New England standards, and has a good bit to offer travelers.   Passing through the Finger Lakes region was as scenic as upstate. 

Our next planned stop was Watkins Glenn SP.  When driving past, this park is little more than a cleft in a hill, with a modest stream exiting.  A bit more investigation reveals some excellent walking.

 

 

 

 

 

With a bit of persistence, good remote camps can be found.  This one is Ossian State Forest.

 

Next stop, West!

Big Bend: Part 1

With a case of cabin fever, and a few weeks to burn, we searched for a location to visit within striking distance of Oklahoma.  After consulting the weather, driving distances, etc, we decided to visit Big Bend area in Texas.

There are two large parks here, Big Bend Ranch State Park, and Big Bend National Park.  Located along the Rio Grande, which forms the Mexican border, and is part of the Chihuahua Desert.

The slog across the wasteland of west Texas was a long one.  Thankfully they had had a wet winter, and there were large swaths of wildflowers blooming in the dirt between oil wells.

Surprisingly we actually knew someone out here.  So we stopped over in Midland TX to say hello.  Also intrepid explorers, their daughter (like most children) enjoyed the van.

Arriving just a few minutes too late to BB NP, we had to camp outside the park at a ranch/campground.  Lots of spring flowers scattered about.

 

There was also a large rattlesnake, which was quite annoyed when Jen almost stepped on it while taking photos!

The next day we drove into the park, and took some time enjoying the flora.

We also checked out some of the (long extinct) fauna.  This area was quite temperate and green on and off over the last 100 million years.  There are several excellent fossil dig sites, and examples of the recovered fossils are displayed.

Such as this giant crocodile. With specimens up to 39ft long and 16,000 lbs, it was not to be taken lightly.

You can pick out parts of the giants skull below. 



This is the earliest ancestor of the modern horse.  Hard to imagine, but they definitely got bigger and faster!


A relative of the Triceratops.



Check out that femur!

Here is the arm (wing) of a giant flying dinosaur.  Bigger than a small Cessna...

With a back country campsite secured, we wandered one of the few oases in the park.  Hard to believe, but humans have been living here for over 15,000 years.  Most recently European settlers who tried ranching with some success.

Then we made our way down to our campsite along the river.  You will notice Mexico over there.  Despite what you may hear on the TV, there was no rapists or criminals in sight.  Don't worry, I am sure someone will insist on building a "big beautiful" wall to protect us from such beauty.

To be continued in part 2.