Road Tripping In America

What are we doing? We weren’t really sure either, so today, we are going to make a list; a very long list of all possible options. And then we figure out what we’re actually going to do for the next six to nine to twelve months. Don’t worry, I promise the list is not going to be boring. There are jokes.

Come along in the Bobs on an extra-eventful week of our life on the road. Join us as we explore Western Colorado and end up not buying a house, even though last episode I was pretty sure I was going to be telling you this time that we had bought a house. Instead, we did plenty of mountain biking, crying into our cups of cider, dodging rainstorms, and crossing paths with all kinds of interesting people.

0:00 - Intro
2:42 - Friday, August 19th
8:15 - Saturday, August 20th
10:56 - Sunday, August 21st  
17:08 - Monday, August 22nd  
23:39 - Tuesday, August 23rd
29:42 - Wednesday, August 24th
35:09 - Thursday, August 25th

Our gear lives a tough life. After fourteen months on the road, how have things fared? Paul’s going to share all the dirty, rusty, dusty details. Plus, an update on our travels over the past two months. 

What happens when you get pulled over in the middle of the night by what feels like the entire police force of Missoula, MT? It’s a Driver’s Ed segment featuring three dads from upstate New York who, for a few hours in 1993, found themselves in the kind of situation they never expected to be in when they had left home for a northern Rockies backpacking trip 40ish hours earlier.

This story isn’t just about one of the scariest things that happened to these three. It’s also about friendships and inside jokes that last decades. And it’s about memory – how our minds highlight some events while glossing over others; how memory is often a collective, shared experience.

1:34 - My first real-life #adventure #inspiration  
2:50 - The intros
3:39 - How the trio first met, their first #adirondacks adventures, and their favorite and least favorite adventure travel destinations
16:07 - The Montana #travelnightmare
34:40 - The trio's top travel tips

Special guest Wendy Allen joins us for a "Drivers’ Ed" segment about the 30 days she spent on her motorcycle, riding solo from Wisconsin to Vegas and back. From cramped hands to making connections with strangers when she needed them most to realizing what was most important in her life, Wendy takes us through the unfiltered story of her adventure. And, she tells us why she’d do it again in a heartbeat.

1:06 - Wendy's story
35:20 - Remembering the kindnesses we've experienced on the road
40:26 - Next time, what happens when three forty-something dads from upstate New York are pulled over by the police in the middle of the night somewhere outside Missoula, MT in a case of mistaken identity? It’s the stuff of true travel nightmares.

Ride along with the Bobs as we drive from City of Rocks to Albuquerque, chasing green chiles and New Mexico truths along the way. The fires in the state may be preventing us from camping and hiking, but they can't keep us from eating up everything else as we make our way north. Learn more about New Mexico cuisine, how a town famous for its name got its name, where to find sparkling wine in New Mexico, the tastiest green chile cheeseburgers, heroic hot shot crews, how we save money on splurge days, and more.

1:12 - Waking up in #cityofrocks State Park and the plan for the day
7:47 - #hatch and green chiles
11:43 - #truthorconsequences
17:05 - Lunch at Blake’s Lotaburger  
19:40 - Sparkling wine stock-up at #gruetwinery
22:26 - Checking into the hotel
23:17 - The incredible Mormon Lake Hotshots
25:03 - Santa Fe Brewing Company at the Green Jeans Farmery
25:30 - Dinner in the hotel room
27:27 - New Mexico cuisine  
29:18 - More #albuquerque flavor

Bisbee or Jerome – do you have an opinion on the best Arizona mining town? In today’s “What is it about this place?” we compare the two towns and declare our ultimate, all-time winner with a Drunk History-level, very scientific analysis. And, an RIP to an unlucky Arizona hiker.

1:02 - Background and basic info about Bisbee and Jerome
6:50 - Parking: Bisbee vs. Jerome
11:03 - Breweries, wineries, coffee shops: Bisbee vs. Jerome
17:30 - Old-timey bars: Bisbee vs. Jerome
26:04 - Views: Bisbee vs. Jerome
26:27 - Park proximity: Bisbee vs. Jerome
30:27 - Stairways: Bisbee vs. Jerome
33:53 - Houses and architecture: Bisbee vs. Jerome
36:35 - Hot dogs: Bisbee vs. Jerome
37:27 - Visitors and residents: Bisbee vs. Jerome
42:01 - The ultimate winner, no math needed
44:58 - Ghost experiences
47:10 - RIP Donald Hayes

Another five weeks in Utah! Today, a What is it About This Place? with my top ten most memorable moments from those five weeks. From spider eyeballs to the time that Paul moved my foot and almost killed me – it was unforgettable. And in the latest Stocks and Vagabonds installment, Paul compares our costs from this round to our time in Utah last fall – did we achieve that $2,800/month ideal spend again?

1:18 - Memorable moments ten through six
9:07 - How much it costs to #vanlife in southern Utah
14:43 - Memorable moments five through one

We’re coming up on a year of no-job roadlife. Today, it’s an unsolicited advice smorgasbord – what kind of advice are people giving us? And what advice do your two favorite unshowered dirtbags feel qualified to give you? Money, life, relationships...it’s all on the buffet table.

1:08 - The advice people feel we need
3:35 - Money and budget update
6:07 - How much it costs to build out an adventure vehicle
8:27 - Relationship advice for living the #vanlife
12:03 - Our advice to you: do it! Whatever it is!

What's it like to actually live the #vanlife? Ride along with us in the Bobs as we explore Utah's San Rafael Swell and try to find a sheltered campsite on a very windy day – a typical day in our road-based life.

1:01 - Back in Utah at a dispersed camping site with a view beyond belief
4:15 - Where we spent the previous few months
8:48 - Exploring the San Rafael Swell and hunting for a campsite

Series four will be starting soon! In series four, we will continue to share updates from the road including “days in the life,” where we’ll take you along on a typical day on the road. We also hope to bring in other voices, including stories about why other people are on the road, their travel nightmares, and their inspirations. If you have a story you’d like to share to get us started, email us at info(at)roadtrippinginamerica.com. We’d love to hear from you.

Is there anything more bittersweet than the end of a good adventure? Find out what Edna and Charlotte took away from their desert experiences and what they did next as we close out the final chapter of The White Heart of Mojave.

Mojave is not going to let Edna and Charlotte go unscathed. She throws snowstorms and sandstorms at them as they begin "the going home." 

Edna and Charlotte embark on their long-anticipated adventure of climbing Telescope Peak, where they stand on top of the icy, shiny world for a few all-too-brief moments.

Edna and Charlotte find glorious water, an abandoned gold mining town, lost burros, and a route up Telescope Peak. 

Edna and Charlotte become more and more obsessed with water as they continue their hot and dry journey across Death Valley.

Edna and Charlotte struggle across the blazing floor of Death Valley and in the process, Edna learns the true appeal of the desert. 

Edna and Charlotte arrive at Furnace Creek Ranch and learn how difficult it is to simply exist on the hot floor of Death Valley.

Edna and Charlotte get their first look at the place they've been trying to see for over a year. Standing high above the valley floor, overlooking Death Valley for the first time – do you think they were happy they were there or nah?

Why we stuck around Florida for a month: featuring delicious raw bars, freezing iguanas, the new worst smell I've ever experienced, miles of serene beaches, and all kinds of sea specimens.

1:02 - Why you need to plan ahead if you want to camp in Florida
4:37 - Why it's still, always worth camping in Florida
13:35 - The worst smell I've ever experienced

Edna and Charlotte decide that they can't drive into Death Valley – a more traditional, formal expedition will need to be mounted if they are going to reach their goal. So they go back home, back east, and wait for the hot desert summer to pass. In January, they return to Silver Lake and to their guide, the sheriff. The trio travel by railroad to Beatty, NV, where they rent a cart, a burro, and a horse, stock up on a month’s worth of supplies, and head west towards the valley.

Edna and Charlotte bum around Silver Lake, chasing mirages back and forth across the dry lake bed, then take a treacherous drive to Saratoga Springs with the town’s sheriff. They get tantalizingly close to their goal in Death Valley, walking when they can drive no further and learning firsthand how the heat, light, and distance of Death Valley gave the place its name.

Edna and Charlotte try to get their Death Valley trip underway but face plenty of obstacles. They visit the Imperial Valley and the Salton Sea and gain some healthy respect for the desert. Armed with new determination, they finally arrive on the doorstep of Death Valley in Silver Lake, CA. Will they finally find what they are looking for, or will they give up and head back home?

First, we talk about how this podcast is going to work. Then, Edna takes over and reveals why she and Charlotte decided to go to Death Valley for a lighthearted break from raising children and fighting for women's rights in the 1920s. Why are two wealthy women from Cleveland so obsessed with going to Death Valley? Let's find out!

A hundred years ago, it was considered by most to be foolish, absurd, unthinkable for two women to travel on their own, especially to an undeveloped place like Death Valley. A hundred years later, anyone who thinks that idea is foolish – well, they are the ones considered absurd now.

A hundred years ago, in the early 1920s, Edna Brush Perkins and Charlotte Hannahs Jordan, both in their early 40s, went to find the heart of the desert in Death Valley. A hundred years later, in the early 2020s, I, on the verge of 40, found the book Edna wrote about the experience, The White Heart of Mojave. As I devoured it, I wondered why it didn’t have a more prominent spot on the shelf of adventure classics. This is my attempt to make that book and these two women more widely known and to modernize this classic adventure narrative on the centennial of its publication. This is Backtracks, a special series from Road Tripping in America. 

After five months on the road, we share a budget update, answer some unanswered questions from previous episodes, and find out what each other’s “ests” were (the bests, worsts, scariests).

1:13 - Budget and spending for five months of #vanlife
9:57 - Questions answered from past episodes
23:04 - The bests, worsts, scariests, and more

In canyon country, we force our bodies through cracks in the ground in places like Buckskin Gulch and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, send the Bobs down tough roads, and struggle with some big questions about land use. After 35 days of this, after enjoying endless canyons, gorgeous dispersed camping spots, carefully timed resupply runs, and achieving furnace temperature perfection, we finally feel like we have hit our stride with road life – just in time to pause for a few weeks.

1:14 - Dayssss of exploration and figuring out how to stay warm
11:38 - Buckskin Gulch slot canyon
17:42 - Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument dispersed camping, hiking, and slot canyons

After previous attempts were thwarted by Maruchan lunches, underpowered rental cars, unusual rainstorms, distracting flowers, flying tents, and snow, we finally managed to climb a big mountain. And why we'll never stop returning to Death Valley, no matter what it throws at us.

1:08 - Finally climbing Telescope Peak
5:13 - The October 2015 rainstorms
11:32 - The Spring 2016 #superbloom
19:09 - Telescope in 2021

A deep dive into our budget vs. actual spending for our first two months of road life and a tour of Dinosaur National Monument – the fossils, the canyons, the river, the...poems?

1:12 - How much we spend on #vanlife  
9:28 - Highs and lows of road life
13:24 - A tour of Dinosaur National Monument
27:00 - The Cataract of Lodore, the poem
31:37 - Wrap-up

This episode was written, recorded, edited, and produced by Lisa McNamara, with additional recording and editing by Paul Olson.

A special edition all about mountain biking in and around Colorado. We rank, we review, we get bruised (often). Find out how Hartman Rocks in Gunnison, the Thunder Trails in Norwood, and Turkey Springs in Pagosa Springs stack up with a few other trail systems in Colorado.

2:22 - Paul's trail-ranking criteria
3:17 - Our third favorite Colorado mountain biking spot
7:15 - Our second favorite Colorado mountain biking spot
13:31 - Our most favorite Colorado mountain biking spot
20:10 - Honorable mentions and places still on our list to bike

This episode was written by Paul Olson and Lisa McNamara (but mostly Paul). It was recorded, edited, and produced by Lisa McNamara.

What are ruins, really? A trip to Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico digs up memories of Lisa's favorite childhood playground. And, Hartman Rocks is an amazing place to mountain bike in Gunnison, Colorado but...be prepared with rodent repellent if you're there in pack rat nesting season! It was a battle of Paul vs. the pack rats - and the pack rats won.

1:11 - Digging up my childhood playground in New York
4:00 - The road to Chaco Culture
10:36 - Bringing the two together
13:27 - Making a podcast in the wild
20:06 - What we've added - and removed - from the Bobs

When traveling, do you like to plan every detail or relax and go with the flow? Lisa used to be a thorough planner, but found that all that planning did was make her miserable and stressed. She has learned that she can’t plan or predict when interesting or memorable things are going to happen, so she just has to put herself in the way for them to happen. How that approach to travel relates to our life on the road, highs and lows from the first month of road life, and the Road Tripping in America road trip playlist. 

0:48 - Over-planning my first international trip to Paris, France
6:08 - Exploring Palisade and Grand Junction with friends
9:36 - The reality on the ground in Ouray, Telluride, and Silverton
11:17 - Finding a better pace in Grand Mesa and Norwood

Listen in on our first week on the road, as we leave Fort Collins, overland Colorado’s bumpy backcountry discovery route, explore Buena Vista, Salida, and Leadville, and search for the right pace for long-term travel.

Pace is important. We don’t want to fly through things too quickly. We don’t want to leave things undone because it’s not always feasible to go back. But there’s so much to see and do that even with unlimited time, it’s still impossible to do everything. Because you’re always limited by something – if not time, then weather, dirt road fatigue, the need for fresh vegetables, life maintenance duties. So we’ll be working on finding the right balance for us as we continue this journey.

0:00 - Intro and leaving Fort Collins
2:02 - First morning coffee stroll, a stock up in Fairplay, and turning off the pavement and onto the adventure road  
6:08 - Getting our driving legs on the Colorado backcountry discovery route
9:26 - Taking it easy in Buena Vista, Salida, and Leadville

The true story of our worst travel experience...so far. 

Good trip stories are boring. There’s only so much you can say about that great meal you had in San Francisco, that amazing wine you tasted in Bordeaux, those three glorious days you sat on the beach in Cancun. Most of our travel stories are boring. We usually get lucky. But two years ago, we did not get lucky on our last day in Mexico City. Instead, we spent six hours in the police station on our last day of vacation. Listen to find out why...

We answer our most frequently asked #vanlife questions: what we’re doing with all our stuff and where we’re going once we start for real.

1:56 - What we're doing with all of our stuff
7:54 - Where we're going first

What we decided to name the camper, a tour of what it does and doesn’t have, and a dry run to find out what else we’re missing. Hey, just in case you didn’t get the hint, we’re going to talk about bodily functions in this episode. So, you’ve been warned.

Why we decided to live in a vehicle and what we picked: featuring palm readers, lots of research, box wine, and In-N-Out burgers.

0:45 - Working towards early retirement and full time roadlife
6:55 - Deciding what type of vehicle to get
14:44 - Getting the All Terrain Bobcat installed in Reno