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Caption: So we bought a van (and other shenanigans)
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Caption: Well, a lot’s happened since our last update, folks! Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know by now that we purchased a 1985 Vanagon Westfalia (affectionately dubbed “Brown Betty” due to the sheer amount of brown both inside and out) and have been on several small and one ten-day (not so small) trips already! Plans for Mexico are still on hold, Covid pending, but that’s not stopping us from having some fun! We’ve made a couple of videos of our travels, which can be seen on Jena‘s Instagram at @jenarenee - in the meantime, here are a few photos from our recent trips:
Picture of La Push
Picture of La Push
Caption: A quick trip out to La Push during quarantine, which was spent floating a river into the ocean, watching beautiful sunsets, and trying to entice Nouille to be a water-dog!
Picture of La Push
Caption: First breakfast on our first official trip - went all out and made some pretty amazing breakfast sandwiches! Having the use of a stove and running water is definitely a step up from our usual backpacking and dehydrated meals - what are some good one-pot dishes we could make while on the road?
Picture of La Push
Picture of La Push
Picture of Washington
Caption: Next up:
MONTANA!
Picture of Washington
Caption: Matt finally entrusted me with the keys to the van without supervision 😂 He was very gracious in teaching me how to drive a manual - a crash course in twenty minutes and then we were on the road!
Picture of Winthrop
Caption: Somewhere east of Winthrop, WA, which is a cute little western-themed town at the base of the mountains in northern-central Washington.
Picture of Washington
Picture of Idaho
Caption: Found free ‘taters on the side of the highway in Idaho, which we snagged some of and made delicious hash browns with the next morning!
Picture of Idaho
Caption: Lots of windy roads - this one led us up to a remote lake in the panhandle of Idaho, where we had our choice of the only two campsites - we posted up by the lake for the night before the final push to Montana!
Picture of Montana
Caption: Heading into grizzly territory! Sadly, we saw none. My dream was to see a wolverine chasing a moose chasing a grizzly bear chasing a bald eagle chasing a salmon. Did that happen? Stay tuned!
Picture of Montana
Picture of Kootenay River
Caption: Oh okay, we see you, Montana! This part of the Kootenay River was just after crossing the border before reaching Libby, Montana. We were lucky to get here early in the AM and hiked in to see this before work!
Picture of Libby
Caption: Office for the day, just outside Libby, MT! We were lucky to have good cell reception here so we posted up on the side of the road for the day to get some work done. Definitely not the worst workday views we’ve had 😂
Picture of Montana
Caption: Another day, another office! Snuggled up in the back of the van to get some work done, while parked in the middle of nowhere with a gorgeous lake view!
Picture of Whitefish
Caption: Made it to our final destination: Whitefish, Montana! It’s a little sleepy resort-town in western Montana that we almost immediately fell in love with. If you’ve ever been to Bend, OR, it’s got a similar vibe!
Picture of Whitefish
Picture of Whitefish
Caption: Took a forest service road north of Whitefish and snagged a pretty nice campsite on the edge of a river! These scenic views are really reeling us in (still no sight of a grizzly parade, though...)
Picture of Whitefish
Caption: Trying to take the road less traveled, but this one was pretty well-worn. Matt had a great idea to get this shot, which consisted of me climbing onto the roof of the van in the middle of the road! Worth it?
Picture of Montana
Caption: Heading home! Goodbye, Montana 💕
Montana
Caption: THOUGHTS x Matt and Jena What a trip! Living with another human and two (thankfully small!) dogs in a 55sqft van for ten days has been an eye-opening experience - it’s a test of patience, cleanliness, minimalism, and more patience, interspersed with a LOT of backgammon games! Happy to have had a little look into what our Mexico trip might look like if we decide to van life it while we’re down there. If you’ve lived out of a van before, we want your tips! Send us a message below!
