Travel Update: Where I am currently living and summer plans
My partner and I live and travel in our old converted camper van.
We originally bought our camper van six years ago when we were working on a farm in Minnesota. A little over a year ago, we picked up our lives and hit the road full time.
We spent the summer traveling from southern California to Washington, and then settled down last winter outside Joshua Tree National Park.
After traveling up the eastern Sierra mountains this spring, we have been living full time in our camper van in Mammoth Lakes, CA since May.
We found a spot tucked among the pine trees where we have been dispersed camping for the last month. Technically, there is a 28 day limit on dispersed camping in this national forest, but we haven't seen a ranger yet so we are going to keep living here for as long as we can.
Mammoth Lakes is a small mountain town known for its winter sports and cool, dry summer weather. The cost of living here is high as it is a tourist destination for rich Bay Area and LA people. We try to just consider the high cost of living part of our "rent" since we are camping for free.
People stare at me when we go into town, probably because they are wondering how this fat person with a shaved head ended up in their perfect vacation fantasy town. It's unpleasant sticking out so much, but I just try to remind myself that I am going to spend the summer taking advantage of all their free resources in this town built for rich people.
As for travel plans for the summer, we are planning to keep living in our camper van tucked among the pine trees here in the forest outside of Mammoth.
A summer in Mammoth will still be hot, hitting 90 degrees Fahrenheit occasionally. There are also wildfires and smoke to think about towards the end of the summer. It is not a perfect solution for us, but it is the best solution we have come up with so far.
And that is for one main reason- money. With gas prices hitting $8/ gallon where we are, it is hard to imagine that we could ever have enough money to make it up to Oregon or Washington where there are less fires and cooler weather. We are barely surviving financially and we need to spend the summer trying to find solutions to our money problems. Traveling takes a lot of time and energy away from that.
Here in Mammoth we only need to drive a few miles to free water and trash dumpsters and we know we can live for free- at least until the fires come. So as long as we can make this work, it seems like the best solution.
Here we will stay for the summer, soaking in the fresh pine air of the California mountains. As for the fall, who knows where the good weather will take us next...
Let's be friends! What is the summer weather like where you live? Where is your perfect place to spend the summer months?
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