By Dawn S.
Some campervan tips, lessons learned, and words of wisdom from our van life adventures in our own van, Big Blue, and the Escape campervans that we have traveled in.
JOHN’S WORDS OF WISDOM:
- “Never, EVER, pass up a chance to use a flush toilet.”
- “If there is a tornado watch, get a hotel room.”
- “Travel size Febreze, it’s priceless” (spray your clothes when you take them off, hang over the seat back to dry.)
- “When you drive on Route 66, you really feel the American nostalgia; it takes you off the beaten path.” Oklahoma has more miles of the historic Route 66 than any other state, and a museum dedicated to its glory days.
- “When you meet a local who wants to talk, LISTEN! (and take notes) it might just make your whole trip” A rancher in Oklahoma told us about the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, which we would have missed. We fell in love with the wildlife, kayaking on the lake, hiking at little Mt Baldy, the mountains, the prairie, and ended up staying for three days.
- “When you’re at a campsite with great drinking water, fill up everything!” We try to keep two one gallon jugs, two 1 liter refillable bottles and a large thermos of water on hand
- “Get up early and see the wildlife, it’s so worth it!”
- “12 hours of driving in one day is too much!”
- “Custer State Park (in South Dakota) is amazing! Come in the off season, even if most things are closed, it’s less crowded with tons of wildlife” We spotted a big horn sheep, herds of bison and elk, watched the antics at a huge prairie dog town, and listened to coyotes baying and howling from the woods at dusk.
- “When in doubt, gas up the van” Don’t wait, top of the tank before you head off into the remote areas. It’s no good when you are in North Dakota and low on fuel and Google Maps says the nearest gas station is 215 miles away! Thankfully the Gas Buddy app saved the day by leading us to the Hoover Ranch, in the middle of nowhere, where there was an old 1970’s era gas pump at the end of the front porch!
- “We don’t need to buy ice if there is snow all around us” In our personal van, Big Blue, the cooler IS our fridge, but we didn’t need to use an extra cooler with the Escape Campervan, even with four people, it’s fridge drawer with solar panel worked great, so great, you shouldn’t crank it up to high, or it might freeze your spinach.
- “Just because the huge lake is frozen, doesn’t mean you can walk onto it – the edges melt first!” Being from Florida, I had never seen a frozen lake before, and I so very much wanted to walk out onto it. Thank you for answering our inquiry before we tested it out, Mr. local man at Lake Superior in Wisconsin, with the huge dogs.
- “Take a few minutes and explore around your campsite, you never know what you may see!” We saw a fox, and then 4 kits playing in an old rail yard outside of St Louis, MO.
- “Seize the day! We had less than a minute to decide if we wanted to go urban kayaking, and use the shuttle – we were rushed, but oh so glad we did it!” Huge thanks to Annie at River Queen Voyages in Nashville, Tennessee.
- “Take a break and make a nice dinner, then go for a walk in the woods.”
- “Uh, these Georgia troopers ain’t playin’, so don’t be speedin’, in the Big Blue Van with the Florida tag!”
So there you have it! Wishing you lots of wildlife, colorful sunsets, and starry nights on your campervan road trip. May all your water be potable, and all of your handwritten directions be legible!