I’m coming up on my two month anniversary of being without an address and can report that so far I love it! I have had my moments of thinking, “Good grief, what have I done?’ but all in all it’s been a great experience. It took a while to adapt and develop a rhythm of traveling, to somehow synchronize myself to the road but I think I’ve got it now.

Maya has learned about this traveling life too. I watched her carefully in the beginning because I know she didn’t sign up for this adventure. In the back of my mind I always felt that if she was too stressed about traveling I would bring her home to my son Jack. Although I have noticed changes in her they are not bad ones just adaptations. One example is her protectiveness of the campsite, she really wasn’t a very protective dog before but now she is. She is very aware of people passing and will bark or growl if something isn’t right. She has her own language of sounds which I am learning. Maya likes adventures so a day of hanging around the campsite while I’m painting or working on something frustrates her. She will huff and whine at me all day.

Traveling days; when we move from one place to another are always busy and tiring. I sometimes wish I had bought a small closed in trailer instead of a pop-up camper. Taking down and putting up the camper is quite a process, although I’ve gotten much better at it, (and quicker) it still takes several hours to pack up and about and hour and a half to set up at the other end. A small camping trailer would have been simpler but I always felt closed in and cramped when I looked at them. The pop-up has lots of windows so you always have a feeling of being outside in nature.

The kitchen area, I have a sink with running water and a little refrigerator that runs on propane. The drawers have all my art supplies.

Our little home.

My little Subaru posing for a photo!

Traveling solo is not new to me but there were still obstacles I had to overcome. Backing the trailer up or hooking it up alone is always a crap shoot! I have to hop out of the car more than a dozen times to make sure my position it correct. Usually I have no one to yell, “STOP”, before I hit whatever is behind me. At one campground I knocked the pole that said the site number down. I gladly accept help when people offer!

Campers were designed for families not single travelers so there are other problems to puzzle out. When it’s time to crank my camper down I have to swing the door up and latch it to the ceiling of the camper. It’s a tricky operation which requires one to hold the door steady in an upright position while you climb up on the couch. Every time I got on the couch the flaps of canvas would get in the door’s way and I couldn’t latch it to the roof, since I didn’t have anyone to come and move the canvass I would have to repeat the process – usually several times. I finally figured out I could use my bulldog clips that hold my drawing paper to the board to hold back the canvas. Now I can put the door up without breaking a sweat!

Maya checking out the solar panel.

I cook outdoors so the inside of the camper doesn’t get saturated with cooking smells.

I use a solar panel to recharge the camper’s battery so it’s always fun to try and get the panel oriented in the right direction. We can usually see where the sun is setting so I use the compass on my iPhone to find the directions so I can get it somewhat right.

Every place has dozens of different variables; weather, terrain, rules, campground set-up, and amenities so you have to be adaptable and prepared. Most National Parks and many beautiful and inexpensive National Forest campgrounds don’t have showers, so you have to figure out some other way to get clean. Being prepared for rain is important, my little camper doesn’t leak and it’s fine to stay inside to draw and paint but I have good rain gear so Maya and I can still get out for walks and not go stir crazy. I have a small heater for very cold days and wear layers of clothing. I don’t mind cold nights because I have a warm and cozy sleeping bag.

People have asked me if I get lonely and I can honestly say not once during this trip. I think it is easier to travel these days with cell phones and the internet. I still feel very much a part of friends and families lives. I have Maya and of course she is great company! What I do feel often is when I see a special place or thing I will think – “I wish so and so could see this!” Which is part of the reason I began this blog in the first place!

Glacier National Park

Maybe it was the terrible weather or maybe it was the daunting size of the landscape but Glacier National Park didn’t inspire me to write anything about it. I’ve included some photographs in this gallery because the scenery was stunning, some things are better without words.