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A Taste of Vanlife

May 31, 2024

Camping has always been one of my favorite hobbies, but I've always wondered
what life might be like on four wheels. It's difficult to think about living on
the road indefinitely—and understandably so. I'm not really into the idea of
getting rid of all of my posessions and living out of a van, constantly on the
move. But surely, there's a way to try out that lifestyle without making such a
drastic commitment?

Years ago, my wife and I set a plan in motion: to save enough money to take a
year off from work, travel the world, and immerse ourselves in our personal
passions. This adventure seemed like the perfect starting point for that dream.
I've shared more about that thought process in [8]Reflections from Apple.

After some research, we decided to rent a fully equipped Sprinter van from a
private owner through Outdoorsy. It felt like the ideal middle ground—no
permanent commitment, but still a chance to experience van life firsthand.
Plus, we've been wanting to spend a lot more time playing outside lately. Our
goal was simple: to explore the iconic national parks of the western United
States, with a touch of the Canadian Rockies for good measure. Below is an
illustration of the route we took.

Vanlife Expedition Map

We took a few days to prepare ourselves, picked up our van, loaded it with
every supply we could think of, and set off on an epic roadtrip—one which we
knew we'll remember for the rest of our lives.

This post will be a photoset with words interspersed in-between. My hope is
that it will inspire you to go on an adventure like this of your own. I'll try
to share all the spots we camped at, the hikes we tackled, and some general
observations about life in a van. It'll be a fun one.

Joshua Tree

Our adventure started 8 hours south of the Bay Area in the desert. We arrived
late in the night at [9]Indian Cove Campground, which is just outside of Joshua
Tree National Park. The night sky was cluttered with stars, and temperatures
were perfect.

Mercedes Sprinter Van at JoshuaTree
Mercedes Sprinter Van at Joshua Tree atNight

We took our time and leisurely hiked around some popular trails in the park
like Arch Rock and Cholla Cactus Garden.

Pallu CactusPhotoshoot
Cholla Cactus Garden at JoshuaTree
Prayash next tocactus

Even in the blistering sun, the views were excellent. Joshua Tree's landscape
is so unique.

Pallavi staring at a JoshuaTree
Pallavi admiring a field ofrocks

Getting to cook lunch right next to these prime spots was such a fun
experience. Pallavi got a sneak peek of her dreams of owning her own food truck
and letting happy customers pick off food from the countertop.

Pallavi lunchsession
food truckcustomer



Alabama Hills

After a short 4 hour drive, we arrived at [10]Tuttle Creek Campground, an
incredible first-come-first-serve campground right along the Eastern Sierra. We
typically prefer first come first serve because reservations are always so
difficult to grab, but the anxiety of not knowing where exactly you'll spend
the night can be daunting. That risk, sometimes, is so worth it because it
leads you to some incredible campgrounds that you may not have run into
otherwise. We could not believe that our view was this good. It felt like a
postcard moment.

Mercedes Sprinter Van Alabama HillsCampground

As the sun started to descend behind the mountains, we prepped for dinner and
just enjoyed the view in front of us. As per usual, Pallavi cooked up a storm,
so we ate like royalty. Pictured is Nepali style stir-fried chicken and veggies
with pickled radish and beaten rice.

Dinner Alabama HillsCampground
Chureito Pagoda BlueHour

The next morning, we got up early to catch the sunrise at [11]Movie Road. There
were some road closures which prevented us from being able to drive the van
there, so we just stopped on the side of the road to get a good look at Mt.
Whitney and friends light up at dawn.

Chureito Pagoda BlueHour
Fushimi Inari-taishaTorii
Sake barrels at MeijiJingu

We headed back to the campsite and decided to spend the afternoon lounging
around, playing music, and relaxing. Then, we headed off to our next campsite
in Death Valley.

Death Valley

Things got real interesting and fun as we drove the van towards one of the most
remote campsites within Death Valley: [12]Eureka Dunes. The road to get to camp
was a grueling 30 miles of washboard roads. We drove the van at a soul-crushing
8 MPH because of how rough the roads were. At times, it felt the van was going
to topple because of how bumpy it got. All of the cabinetry and fixtures within
the van were rattling – not a good sign, but we were already too far in to turn
back.

It was a vast, desert landscape. Not a single soul in sight. No cell service.
No gas station or water source nearby. It is the most remote we've ever been,
and quite frankly, we were a little nervous at first. Pallavi patiently drove
us through this one while I was busy capturing the moment through my camera,
sometimes even running out of the van to get that long telephoto shot from far
away – all in an attempt to capture just how vast of a landscape it was, and
how little and alone we were.

Chureito Pagoda Blue Hour
Fushimi Inari-taisha Torii
Sake barrels at Meiji Jingu

The silence of the landscape helped us calm our nerves as we eventually made it
to the campsite. No one was there, and it was just a patch of dirt with a
handful of fire pits. We parked the van right in front of the formidable Eureka
Dunes, and I quickly ran out to snap a photo before we set off on the hike up
to the top of the dunes. It was peak golden hour time.

Chureito Pagoda BlueHour

The deception of the dunes quickly became obvious. The summit was miles farther
than we initially estimated with lots of false summits to lead you on. The
winds were blistering, and you could feel a billion particles of sand flying
into every inch of your body at piercing speeds. It was a rough hike, but there
was so much beauty to be taken in there. Perhaps the most aggresive blend of
peace and chaos I've experienced.

Fushimi Inari-taishaTorii
Sake barrels at MeijiJingu
Sake barrels at MeijiJingu
Chureito Pagoda BlueHour

We couldn't climb to the top because it was so windy and painful. Walking along
the ridge of the dune was difficult in such harsh winds. The sky dusked and it
was no longer to safe to continue hiking through sandbowls. We set back for
camp for a nice dinner. Content that we could enjoy the rest of the night in
solitude. A couple campers arrived later in the night so we didn't end up being
all alone at the end, which was a comforting thought.

The next morning, we decide to give the dunes another shot. Conditions looked
favorable wind-wise, but temperatures were already in the 90s well before the
sun reached its zenith. We trekked back up the ridgeline of the dune to get
another good look at the dunes that were hiding beyond. We didn't get to see it
under golden light like the evening before, but it was still epic.

Death Valley EurekaDunes
Death Valley EurekaDunes
Death Valley EurekaDunes

To get out of Eureka Dunes and onto the rest of the park, it was another
soul-crushing 40 miles of washboard. We made it out in tip-top shape many hours
later, and the road led us straight to pavement and onto [13]Ubehebe Crater.
The mid-day sun was blistering, but we ventured out of the confines of our air
conditioned van to get a good glimpse of it anyway.

Ubehebe Crater Mid-DaySun

Moving on. [14]Dante's View and [15]Zabriskie Point were straight out of
another planet. The polychrome mountains definitely give off Iceland vibes.
There's no comparison, of course. But it's cool that the US has some alien-like
landscapes too.

Fushimi Inari-taishaTorii
Fushimi Inari-taishaTorii
Sake barrels at MeijiJingu

We headed back for camp at [16]Mesquite Spring Campground around sunset. The
night sky was incredible, and the galactic center was clearly visible to the
naked eye. At 2am, we got out of the van to get a good look at the Milky Way.
Truly a core memory.

Fushimi Inari-taishaTorii
Sake barrels at MeijiJingu

The next morning, we did our usual business – emptying out the grey water tank,
filling up with fresh water, and emptying the septic tank. All necessary chores
for van survival! We made a quick stop at [17]Artist's Palette. Pallavi whipped
up a delicious bowl of noodles and eggs.

Fushimi Inari-taishaTorii
Sake barrels at MeijiJingu

We then headed off to the Utah-Arizona border, ending the evening at [18]White
House Campground.

Antelope Canyon

The following morning, a Navajo-led tour of Lower Antelope Canyon was on the
books. It was a fascinating lesson with geology and history intertwined.
Snapping photos in the canyon is a fun exercise for the discerning artist, as
you must carefully frame your shot in an ocean of contours.

Fushimi Inari-taishaTorii
Sake barrels at MeijiJingu
Fushimi Inari-taishaTorii
Sake barrels at MeijiJingu

It was too windy to kayak through the canyons, so for the rest of the
afternoon, we spent lounging at a [19]viewpoint above Lake Powell, where I
captured this 5-image panorama of the vista.

CanyonlandsPanorama

Pallavi spent time writing on her journal while I lost myself on the little
Martin guitar. Nothing is finer than playing music in nature.

Pallavi lounging in the van at Lake Powell
Prayash at Lake Powell
Fushimi Inari-taisha Torii
Sake barrels at Meiji Jingu

Once we had recharged our batteries, we decided to catch the sunset at
Horseshoe Bend. Being one of the most photographed spots in the world, it was
no surprise that this would be a fantastic spot to catch last light.

CanyonlandsPanorama

Once the sun dipped over the horizon, we headed out to Zion to camp for the
night.

Zion

We had a dispersed campsite that we loved camping at years prior, so we were
stoked to revisit the same spot right under [20]Smithsonian Butte.
Unfortunately, all of the BLM campsites in that area had been taken out of
commission due to excessive noise and trash left by visitors. The locals were
rightfully annoyed, so BLM decided to break down all the sites. This is why we
can't have nice things (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻.

I was heartbroken, and stressed out that we now had to hunt for another
campsite at midnight when we're already tired. One of my favorite sites was no
more, but here's how it looked years ago when we camped there for my birthday.
I'll share a photo of that instead.

Prayash at LakePowell

Anyway, we decided to just grab a vacant lot at a nearby RV park because it was
too late to hunt around for a campsite. The next morning, we headed straight
for Angel's Landing.

Canyonlands Hike
Canyonlands CandlestickTower
Canyonlands Panorama

It wasn't as scary as the ultra wide-angle videos on YouTube make it seem. The
exposure definitely sends chills down your spine, but there were plenty of
guardrails and chains to hold onto the entire way. Views of the entire Zion
Canyon were fantastic and we enjoyed one of our favorite snacks, Kurkure, at
the top.

Canyonlands Panorama
Canyonlands Hike
Canyonlands Candlestick Tower
Canyonlands Hike
Canyonlands Candlestick Tower
Canyonlands Panorama

We hastily rushed over to Bryce Canyon to spend the next couple of nights
there.

Bryce Canyon

Catching the sunrise at Bryce Canyon is one of the most magical things I've
ever experienced. It's a small park, but undeniably unique because of its
hoodoos. How magical it would be to see these features in their snowcapped
state, but I'll settle for an orange burst this time. And yet again, we're
humbled by the beauty of this planet.

Canyonlands Hike
Canyonlands CandlestickTower
CanyonlandsPanorama
CanyonlandsPanorama

The serene morning gradually transitioned to a fabulous breakfast and coffee at
the van. Pallavi got her morning yoga session in while I brewed coffee.
Self-care can be done even during busy periods of travel, folks! We took the
day slowly with a couple day hikes. A long day of walking is much more
preferable than a long day of driving.

CanyonlandsHike
Canyonlands CandlestickTower
CanyonlandsPanorama

We hiked the Navajo Loop trail and decided to end the night with a little jam
session by the campfire — a small cover of Junkeri by Bipul Chettri. A
beautifully poignant Nepali folk song. [21]You can watch our cover video here.

Canyonlands Hike



Canyonlands

The epic Utah excursion continues through Canyonlands, where we stared at the
vast abyss of Utah's desert in all directions. Striking rock formations and
atmospheric haze above the canyons and ravines. Utah is a place like no other.
We parked the van and lounged all day.

CanyonlandsCanyon
Canyonlands VanView

As a result of lazily lounging around, it was a nice balance to spend the next
day hiking.

CanyonlandsHike
Canyonlands CandlestickTower
CanyonlandsPanorama

A visit to Canyonlands must always be accompanied by a visit to Arches.

Arches

Arches has some absolutely epic structures, and the shifting light of day
really lets you appreciate them.

CanyonlandsHike
Canyonlands CandlestickTower
Canyonlands Hike
Canyonlands CandlestickTower

A quick coffee sesh with a view and a short walk, then we were off to Wyoming.

Grand Teton

On the way to the Tetons, we stopped by a farm for some Wyoming skyr. [22]
Shumway Farms is run by a kind family man who had all of his children helping
him run the farm. Unbelievably rich and fatty yogurt. It was unforgettable.

CanyonlandsHike
Canyonlands Hike
Canyonlands CandlestickTower

We made our way through Jackson Hole by the night and landed at our next
campsite at [23]Gros Ventre Campground. After a nutritious stir-fry, we hit the
hay early that night.

My alarm went off at 4:50 AM. Sunrise is at 5:05, and we're 20 minutes away
from [24]Schwabacher Landing, a classic sunrise spot for watching the Tetons
light up. In a delirious haze, we sped down the highway, took the turnout into
the small parking lot and hiked towards the river. At 5:10 AM, the Tetons were
beautifully highlighted and side-lit from the rising sun.

Oregon Coast God's Thumb
Oregon Coast God's Thumb
Canyonlands Hike

I whipped out the coffee grinder the moment we got back to our van for our
morning fix.

Oregon Coast God'sThumb
Oregon Coast God'sThumb

On our way northbound, the Tetons stared at us relentlessly. So we parked and
decided to stare back from the comfort of our van bed while the winds raged
outside.

Oregon Coast God'sThumb



Yellowstone

Upon arriving in Yellowstone, we spent the night at [25]Madison Campground. We
visited some of the classics like [26]Old Faithful and [27]Grand Prismatic
Spring. There were some truly wonderful textures there to photograph.

Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail
Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail
Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail
Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail
Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail
Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail



Glacier

The drive through Montana was stunning. It's easy to see why Montana so often
ranks as one of America's most beautiful states. It felt like we were in
Switzerland at times. Lush, green, and filled with epic mountains. We arrived
at Lake Macdonald right in time for blue hour. It was cold and nippy, a much
welcome change after all of those desert excursions.

Oregon Coast God's ThumbTrail
Oregon Coast God's ThumbTrail

The [28]Avalanche Lake trail was quite nice. Glacier wasn't quite in-season
yet, so it was the only accessible trail nearby.

The mountain pass on Going-to-the-Sun road was closed which meant you couldn't
drive to the eastern side without driving back outside of the park and around.
So we did exactly that, spending the night at [29]Saint Mary Campground. We
cooked and basked under a moonlit mesa.

Oregon Coast God's ThumbTrail
Oregon Coast God's ThumbTrail

East Glacier is absolutely epic. The Many Glaciers area in particular was
awesome. We did the [30]Grinell Glacier hike, but the end of the trail was
closed. We ran into a moose and saw a baby bear rustling around the bushes. It
was still a lovely hike, and ended with a ton of rain.

Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail
Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail
Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail



Banff

Scattered thunderstorms in Banff led to little hiking, but grand views. Most of
our time was spent lounging around at different viewpoints, admiring the jagged
peaks of the Canadian Rockies. We camped at [31]Lake Louise Campground,
spending a full day admiring the peaks from Lake Louise.

Astoria Town Center
Astoria TownCenter
Astoria TownCenter
Astoria TownCenter

The next day, we hopped over to [32]Two Jack Lakeside Campground, which put us
in close proximity to this excellent lounging [33]viewpoint of Tunnel Mountain
Road and a fantastic [34]picnic viewpoint for Lake Minnewanka.

Astoria Town Center
Astoria Town Center
Astoria Town Center
Astoria Town Center

A loooong drive southwest through Idaho and Washington, and we ended up on
the...

Oregon Coast

The ocean, finally! Now we drive straight along the Oregon coastline starting
in Astoria. We explored this quaint little coastal town, sampling some seafood
and even picked up a cool record at a local vinyl shop called [35]The Lonely
Crab.

Astoria Town Center
Astoria Record Shop The LonelyCrab

We hiked [36]Indian Beach Trail in Ecola State Park, which ended with the
perfect lunch with a view of the seastacks, followed by a banger sunset at
Cannon Beach.

Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail
Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail
Oregon Coast God's Thumb Trail
Oregon Coast God's Thumb
Oregon Coast God's Thumb

Further south, we hiked to [37]God's Thumb, which ends at a cliff that juts out
into the sea. We lucked out with a beautiful, clear sunset at a place which is
notoriously gloomy on most days.

Oregon Coast God's ThumbTrail
Oregon Coast God's ThumbTrail

There, we met a lovely couple who were celebrating their wedding anniversary at
their first date spot. They were kind enough to snap a photo of us, too.

Oregon Coast God'sThumb

We continued south, heading towards Crater, with plenty of stops to cook and
admire the views along the way. [38]Tokeetee Falls was a good one. We stuck
through an opening in the boardwalk to get down closer to the waterfall.

Oregon Coast God's ThumbTrail
Oregon Coast God's ThumbTrail
Oregon Coast God's ThumbTrail



Jedediah Smith Redwoods

Our final stop, the much revered Redwoods. Some of the oldest growth in the
world, so much peace to be found among these titans. [39]Grove of Titans is a
highly recommended trail here.

Astoria TownCenter
Astoria TownCenter
Astoria TownCenter
Astoria TownCenter



Fin

This 1-month long taste of vanlife has been one of the greatest adventures of
our lives. We learned so much about ourselves. Many long drives and hikes
filled with vibrant conversations—some hard and some easy. It gave us a chance
to truly unwind from the stress and responsibilites of daily life.

Each day followed a simple rhythm: get from point A to point B, cook the best
meal we could manage, hike the most rewarding trail, or find the coolest
viewpoint. Purpose was easy to find, and that simplicity was liberating. There
was no need to think about work, errands, or chores to fill our time. The goal
was clear, and it made life feel beautifully uncomplicated.

It's definitely something we see ourselves doing at another phase of our life,
perhaps in 20 years we send off our future children to college. We met many
older couples in their 50s and 60s who were doing something similar, and they
praised us for taking the leap to do such a thing at a younger phase of our
lives.

The idea of a "mini-retirement" is compelling. Society often pushes the
narrative that we must spend all our youth studying, working, and building a
career to "save up for the future." But it's worth questioning this assumption.
Life isn't just about preparing for what's ahead; it's also about creating joy
and meaning in the present. We owe it to ourselves to find a balance—planning
wisely for the future while embracing happiness in the here and now.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Prayash Thapa

Hello! Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I hope you enjoyed your time
here. Photosets like these allow me to share my photographs with more context
and depth, and I find them rewarding to create. I hope to do more of these in
the future. Let's also connect on [40]Instagram or [41]Twitter.

  • [42]← Chomolungma: Into the Heart of Khumbu
  • [43]Reflections from Apple →


References:

[1] https://prayash.io/
[2] https://prayash.io/
[3] https://prayash.io/journal
[4] https://prayash.io/software
[5] https://prayash.io/music
[6] https://prayash.io/feed
[7] https://prayash.io/about
[8] https://prayash.io/journal/reflections-from-apple
[9] https://maps.app.goo.gl/imAyTZ27Y6Tekze58
[10] https://maps.app.goo.gl/nZX5cTy3ta4t8S3H8
[11] https://maps.app.goo.gl/izMZHaGMP3zUdx5B8
[12] https://maps.app.goo.gl/J94JXF2eTX1NEgYH9
[13] https://maps.app.goo.gl/QRVaDZdh4aEELBVM7
[14] https://maps.app.goo.gl/gkctY2faceqoFcns6
[15] https://maps.app.goo.gl/5YGiJHC9wYSy5UCq5
[16] https://prayash.io/journal/vanlife
[17] https://maps.app.goo.gl/AG9tbFaQynFFj1pA6
[18] https://prayash.io/journal/vanlife
[19] https://maps.app.goo.gl/DqkTbp57gNc4DrSH7
[20] https://maps.app.goo.gl/wMBG2RqYgKg5QrpV6
[21] https://youtube.com/pallavibhusal/videos
[22] https://www.shumwayfarms.com/product-page/icelandic-skyr-jh
[23] https://maps.app.goo.gl/YB4iFtMRUCggnoPQ8
[24] https://maps.app.goo.gl/cpyRpqe2casQwwN37
[25] https://maps.app.goo.gl/NzJ26yfC8N63d9PM9
[26] https://maps.app.goo.gl/B6HumotVCqduUGmE8
[27] https://maps.app.goo.gl/XoJtLaAL1AUswfmJ7
[28] https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/montana/avalanche-lake--6
[29] https://maps.app.goo.gl/t7q9XHTLHxZKwu8b7
[30] https://prayash.io/journal/vanlife
[31] https://maps.app.goo.gl/mJMu1rwecc5Hg98m9
[32] https://maps.app.goo.gl/h7tvN7qkUPs5aRei8
[33] https://maps.app.goo.gl/yanZqJyQMQ7ikND96
[34] https://maps.app.goo.gl/GfWQAPTARiGW5Pkn9
[35] https://maps.app.goo.gl/2oJkD95jHh1Bv1AE9
[36] https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/oregon/ecola-state-park-to-indian-beach-trail
[37] https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/oregon/gods-thumb-via-the-knoll
[38] https://maps.app.goo.gl/mvLYJv3rM3j2sHa47
[39] https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/grove-of-titans
[40] https://instagram.com/prayash.io
[41] https://x.com/prayash_io
[42] https://prayash.io/journal/into-the-heart-of-khumbu
[43] https://prayash.io/journal/reflections-from-apple