I was tempted to just create a recap video for this trip and not to write about it, but that would do a disservice to so many of the special moments. I documented as much as I could in photos and videos (probably to an annoying degree) but there are some moments that you can never adequately capture. Like a sudden shooting star, laughing until you cry because you accidentally opened your door and not the window while driving and the fear that comes with listening to a crime podcast as you drive 50 miles into the middle of nowhere with no service.
I am so blessed to have the means to have gone on this adventure of a lifetime with one of my favorite people in the world. I cannot recommend enough renting a van from Outdoorsy.com, grabbing your best people and wandering off into the wilderness for a while. Below I will be documenting the details of our trip to help me preserve my memories, but if you’re looking for road trip itinerary inspo or just interested in the trials and tribulations of two girls living in a van without a shower or toilet – read on!
Our journey started in San Diego where my best friend Kara lives (hi Kara), so we stocked up there on alcohol and food for the week before setting off on our journey. I had grand visions of sitting around a campfire drinking every night so we got not one, but TWO cases of White Claw. Turns out, after long days of driving and hiking, you’re lucky if you even want one before passing out at 10 p.m. Needless to say, we did not even finish one case. We did finish a box of wine however but that’s neither here nor there. Another fun treat to kick off our journey was the fact that I am obscenely allergic to Kara’s cat. On day two of our trip we made a pit stop to a Walgreens so I could stock up on Benadryl as I was still wheezing 24 hours after we left. Very strong nature girl of me amirite? This brings up a good tip though: bring allergy meds with you if you even remotely have issues with them. In the span of 7 days we were in like, four different climates, geographies and seasons so my daily meds came in super handy.
Okay back to day one. We headed to Joshua Tree National Park which is known for its, you guessed it, Joshua Trees. The desert was a fun playground. We did a short hike and then drove around to find the best spot for sunset where we parked and had a charcuterie board in the van because it was so windy and cold. As we exited the park for the night to head to our campground, I noticed a burning smell. I was convinced we were heading toward a wildfire and that we would die in our van on night one. Turns out we had just left the emergency parking brake on for the past three miles so… that was a good lesson learned for the rest of our trip.
After stopping to grab pizza and wings for dinner (#nature #health), we headed to the BLM land where we would park our van for the night. For those considering a trip like this, BLM land (Bureau of Land Management) is government owned land where you can typically camp for free as long as you leave no trace and don’t stay for more than 14 days. This worked out well for us and as we pulled off the main road to head in for the night, we saw a shooting star. Shooting stars: guaranteed to make your heart flutter in the cheesiest way just as depicted on all television shows and movies. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise, grabbed breakfast in town and then headed to our next destination.
Day two. We’re off to Sequoia National Park and it’s quite a drive so we decide on a halfway point. Thanks to a wonderful program called Harvest Host, we were able stay on the property of a berry farmer who makes his own wine. Harvest Host is a membership program for people with RVs or vans. Typically a host signs up and allows people to stay on their land in exchange for buying a little bit of their product. In our case, we had to buy some wine and pick some fresh strawberries after a short wine tasting. Twist my arm. We had a wonderful night and I’m looking forward to a chilled glass of my California peach wine on a warm summer evening.
Day three. We woke up and made oatmeal in the van using the portable stove burner it came equipped with. Added a banana and peanut butter for extra luxury. We also brought two jugs of iced coffee with us which we stored in the van refrigerator one at a time as we drank through them. After breakfast we headed to Sequoia National Park. It was a gloomy morning and we stopped in Three Rivers, CA to stock up on snacks before heading into the park. We got warm reubens for lunch which were hands down the best we’ve ever had (surprise win) and they kept us warm for the first half of the day. We acquired my new, annual national park pass at the entrance and drove in. Highly recommend getting one of these if you’re planning on a big travel year – it pays itself off after 3 national parks. The park was absolutely stunning despite the fact that we got snowed on and a tall tower of fog kept descending upon the massive trees. It felt like we were in the clouds and… I guess we were! The trees can be up to 275 feet tall and are thousands of years old. It was surreal to walk amongst them. A neat part about Sequoia National Park is that it is basically adjoining Kings Canyon National Park and you can drive straight into it. As we turned the bend to head to Kings Canyon, our breath was taken away as we went from complete gloom to a picturesque blue sky with the sun shining. We got to experience two entirely different weather days all in one day with the sequoias.
Night three was an interesting one for us. We were going to camp in the park but due to either COVID or construction, many campgrounds were closed (especially because this was late March which is not peak season). We decided to leave the park and head toward Yosemite which was where we were headed next anyway, and figure it out as we drove. At this point we are exhausted and unsure of where we’re sleeping, so to take the edge off we stopped at Chick-fil-A. Crisis averted. After a spooky gas station stop in Fresno, CA, we learned of a massive casino near Yosemite. Naturally we headed there and gambled and drank all night. Just kidding. Apparently though, it’s very common for casinos to have RV parking lots…which are FREE. So we spent night three in a casino parking lot. Not so glamorous…but safe! On the drive there, I may have accidentally opened my car door, while going 60 mph, mistaking the handle for the window button. In my defense, they were identical, and I think that is a fault of the van, not me. Next time you rent a van or drive literally any standard vehicle, be sure to know the difference between the door handle and the window button. Very classic mix-up. As if that wasn’t bad enough, that sent me into such a fit of laughter I’m sure Kara was fearing for her life with me behind the wheel. Sorry Kara!
Day four. While it wasn’t our original intention, this plan ended up working out great for us because now we were only an hour outside Yosemite. That is probably the BEST perk of van camping because we weren’t tied to any locations (like a hotel) if plans needed to change. After a quick gas station freshening up where we were given some suspicious looks by the fancy casino gas station security guard, we were off to our fourth national park in four days. Yosemite is a huge National Park. Because of that, there are many entrances. For some reason, the direction we were coming from felt very unglamorous as we entered the park. There were massive valleys of wildfire scorched trees for miles. While I was still excited, I began to wonder if I was so jaded from living in Colorado that this park would underwhelm me. As we began to wind through the park, we reached a tunnel. When you exit the tunnel, your breath (that you may have been holding because you were in a tunnel) is immediately taken away. From this spot, you have the most exquisite view of the main staples of Yosemite: El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall and Half Dome.
After picking our jaws off the ground and taking 100 versions of the exact same photo for no reason, we continued driving. After a very glamorous lunch of deli meat and cheese sticks in the van, we headed out for a hike to a waterfall. It was a gorgeous spring day so naturally this area was a little crowded with parked cars. We had to walk .75 miles basically from the van to even get to the trailhead. For Kara this was no big deal. I, on the other-hand, was just praying I could make it back to the van without acquiring too many new blisters. For some reason no matter what shoes or socks I wear, I will get blisters. My feet hate me. (Anyone have tips? Please advise. Thx in advance). If you, too, suffer from the occasional blister, make sure you bring plenty of moleskin on your adventure. Actual lifesaver. Anyway, we start our hike which is just absolutely stunning. We wind slowly up into the mountains with a creek running alongside us the whole time. The hike actually had a small detour near the top due to a portion of the trail being closed for winter. Nonetheless, we carried on. About five minutes from the top, aka the WATERFALL, we reached an impasse where it would have been impossible to keep going without shoe spikes and hiking poles. While mildly soul crushing, the view from where we made it to was still incredibly beautiful. Eventually we left the park and headed to our hotel we had booked for the night. As this was night four of our journey we figured we should plan one pit stop to scrub the grease out of our hair. Admittedly though, I am shocked at how NOT gross I felt by day four. Huge shout out to baby wipes! #NotSponsored. We absolutely crushed some burgers after our long hike, took lengthy showers, drank some wine and played We’re Not Really Strangers. Such a thought provoking game that will yield a lot of reflection but also lots of giggles. I haven’t belly laughed as hard as I did on this trip in a long time. I’ll give Kara some of the credit for that one.
Day five. We’re headed to the coast! The first four days of our trip were by far the most planned. By the time we reached this point we kind of thought we’d have the hang of things. So we headed in the direction of our main destination for the night, Big Sur, and figured we could stop somewhere cool on the way. We stopped in Monterey where we strolled along the pier and sampled some delicious clam chowder to hold us over. Our drive along the coast from Monterey to Big Sur blew us away yet again. To our left were rolling hills and lush mountains and to our right was the ocean which was the most brilliant turquoise as if we were in the Caribbean. Happy cows lazed around by fields near the water and we genuinely wanted to trade places with them. We took our touristy photos at the Bixby Bridge (thanks Big Little Lies) and drove until we couldn’t go any further. This sounds dramatic, but really the road was closed due to a rockslide so we were going to have to turn around. At this point, we’re ravenous and realizing we would have to drive two hours back the other direction to find somewhere random to camp for free. We stop for dinner and find a local campground and make a reservation for the night for a fee. Definitely worth being able to get there five minutes after dinner.
Day six. Because we have a cute little campground and a picnic table, we set up a cozy breakfast. I brought my bluetooth speakers out and we had coffee, oatmeal, tea and I journaled for a bit. At this point, we have hit all the destinations on our itinerary. We know we have a long journey back to San Diego ahead of us, so we decide to hit the road and at least break the long drive up into two days. As we drove back along the Big Sur coast, we got out to do a nice little stroll. As we walked along the cliffs at Garrapata State Park, I wondered how, after leaving our campsite a mere 20 minutes prior to this, I already had to pee. 10/10 biggest struggle of this entire journey for me was not being able to find the balance between remaining hydrated and being in pain without a bathroom nearby. We remedied that situation and continued our long drive toward…somewhere. We look at our maps route to calculate what we could hit that is on our way home without being out of the way as at this point we have already exceeded our allowed mileage. With our rental, we got up to 150 free miles a day. Anything after that you pay an additional fee. No big deal, but at this point we’re trying to keep it minimal. Something to keep in mind when planning your routes though for a trip like this. We decide to stop in San Luis Obispo which I wish we had more time in. We went in a few quirky little stores, stretched our legs and got on the road again. Since we had to pay to camp last night, we were looking for a free night of camping. Kara finds a place in the middle of nowhere and we start the remaining 1.5 hours of our drive for the day. At this point we have exhausted my road trip playlist so Kara suggests we listen to a Wine & Crime podcast. I’m a sucker for a good podcast, let alone a spooky crime story, but I have to say, driving into the “largest preserved grasslands of California” for miles with no service and rarely seeing another car, all while listening to graphic stories about fetal abduction…do not recommend. Luckily at this point we are slap happy and anxiously laugh it off (while silently praying that when we arrive to this “free” campsite it isn’t actually a deserted ghost town that will haunt us for life). After a stretch of off roading going 10 mph for probably 10 miles, we arrive at the most blissfully normal campsite. Probably 20+ other RVs and people with bonfires, dancing around listening to music. It was a road trip miracle. We set up the van for the night and decided to have a good last hurrah and break out the wine. We made a nice mushroom risotto on the stove and giggled until we couldn’t keep our eyes open.
Day seven. After a slow and cozy breakfast at our campsite where we finished off our coffee and oatmeal, we packed up and hit the road for our last stretch. Between exhaustion, LA traffic and the heat, this was by far the worst stretch of driving the whole trip. LA traffic is no joke. But eventually, we arrive back to San Diego, take gloriously long showers and order way more food than two people need. We unloaded the van, cleaned it up as much as we could and went to bed. In the morning, we returned our sweet chariot, Harriet, to her mom and dad.
All in all, it was the trip of a lifetime. I’ve decided I don’t love that expression though because it implies I may never go on another trip as explorative and adventurous as that, which is certainly not the case. The world can be so heavy at times, and when the dark feels like it’s closing in, it’s important to remember all that you have left to see and experience. Seven days on the road with spotty cell service and one of my closest friends was the best way to ground myself as I look ahead toward a year of change and growth. I never take for granted how blessed I am to live the life I do, but recently I have gotten much better at practicing that gratitude and also turning it toward myself a little. It’s been a long journey to get here, but I am proud of the work I’ve done to make it. This time two years ago, I couldn’t even drive to the store without having a panic attack some days. For anyone who might need to hear this: it gets better.
I’ll end with one of my favorite quotes which is randomly from a John Mulaney tweet? I have no idea if it was from elsewhere before then or if this is something he said but regardless…”Life is limitless before life takes over.” Make time for joy in your life. Escape for a little. You deserve it.
Lauren Price 