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Sedona
Mildly buzzed ramblings on the first city crush of our trip, Sedona.
Short Rest: Sedona
4/4-9/2023
Hit Die: 2d10
When Jake and I pulled into the Sedona area and saw the LA-esque mob of cars and people, we found out too late in the game that April is prime tourist season. Oops.
Sedona. The amber ale, obv. The cool, popular, super attractive kid in class that also is nice to everyone. I wanted to despise Sedona. I mean, we left the crowds, the lines, the traffic back in LA. I couldn’t, I was incapable of anything besides crushin’ so hard on Sedona. Despite the dispersed camping meant being five feet from your neighbor and driving to and from town every. single. day., and don’t get me started on the prices of some stuff.
Sedona was gorgeous, Leinie-friendly and had more trails within easy access of any part of town. And the fellow trail peeps that were five feet from us, super chill and cool people, if a bit weird. While some trails were very, very busy (devil’s bridge, I’m looking at you), others were so quiet I thought I had gotten off trail.
Trail doggo and his human in their natural habitat
It is also home to the absolutely coolest dog park I or Leinie have ever experienced. There were four sections all interaccessible. A small and a large normal-type areas and then two hiking/elevation areas for both sizes. Leinie loved it.
As the weekend approached, rumors spread of it getting even busier. Jake and I couldn’t find any place to shower and we were quickly running out of clean clothes. The choice was made for us to continue on after four days of crushin’ on the popular kid.
A Beer Enthusiast’s Roadmap to America
Gettin’ Our Asses Outa Here
Two months in and our heroes have taken the road less choiced by the horns. Where have they been, what have they seen?
Month Two: Gettin’ Our Asses Outa Here
5/5/2023
Arizona - Utah - Idaho - Oregon
Month Two Done! Ohmigosh! Where’s Charlie Berens when you need him? Don’t mind me and my bowtonk midwest humor….Wow that spiraled. This month was all about gettin’ our butts outa the comfort zone and on the road.
Sedona. The amber ale, obv. The cool, popular, super attractive kid in class that also is nice to everyone. We crushed so hard on Sedona. A whole two breweries (Oak Creek & Sedona Beer Co.), LA-esque crowds & traffic, the lack of showers. Despite that, we stayed a glorious four days. Short rest to regain 2d10 hit die.
Devil’s Bridge
On this month’s vanlife reality topic: ‘gram pics.
Ever wonder about those epic ‘gram pics that make you crave adventuring and traveling. Something like the one above? Here’s the reality. We waited over an hour and half for our turn to take said super epic pic.
Over an hour and a half!
Despite our major crushin’ we left after hearing rumors of an extra busy weekend crowd approaching and in desperate need of showers. Full disclosure, it was mostly due to the crowds. Embrace the stench, my friends.
Flagstaff held showers (for all of us, Leinie included), laundry, and a lounge at a travel center.
Leinie does not and never will enjoy water
Squeaky clean and smellin’ fresh, we made our way to the Grand Canyon just in time for Easter brunch. We meandered along the rim trail, but snow pack and unfriendly doggo rules (but mostly snow pack) kept us from exploring below the rim.
Easter brunch in the making
We met another cool vehicle-dweller, Apocalypse Jane Doe. She dwells outa a badass Lexus suv. You’ll need to forgive me, but expensive car breeds are not my forte. Jake’s eyes were super big if that says anything. His commentary, “That vehicle is sweet.” We must’ve looked hungry, because she gave us a can of onchilada sauce. Foresty Forest anyone??
Keep ‘er moving.
A few suggestions from LA coworkers (thanks guys!), we found ourselves in Page, AZ. Unfortunately the super viral Antelope Canyon was not within our financial means (~$100/person before fees and taxes!). We did see some pretty cool things, hiked along the rimview trail and drank some beers at the Grand Canyon Brewing & Distillery.
Horseshoe Bend
Then we got our butts outta Arizona and into Utah.
Utah. A session IPA if I ever met one. Yes, you sure are pretty. But looks can be deceiving, because on closer look your beer policy made my liver cry. 5% lager, 5% IPA, 5% porter, 5% stouts, 5%, 5%, 5%. Like decaf coffee, or a hooker who only cuddles, what is the point?
Anywho, we didn’t just zip on through. Why? Zion.
Is this even real life?!
The narrows were closed, our permit for Angel’s Landing didn’t make the lottery. We ended up staying six days parked on sweet, sweet, free BLM land. Exploring trails, lounging away, listening to river music, drinking 5% beer and we met Utah Rick and Hazel. A nice long rest to regain precious spell slots.
Then we moved our butts to Bryce Canyon, the land of Hoodoos. Compact and surprisingly lacking crowds. Digestible.
Hoodoo’s galore!
But we woke up to our butter frozen. We were chasing spring north. Butter melts, head north. Butter freezes, head south. Time to get our asses outta here, to lower elevation, warmer temps or both. But where?
Our archnemesis, indecision. It was crippling, my friends.
Our temporary solution while we thought it through was Cedar City, UT. Warmer, plenty of close-to-town BLM land, trails, disc golf and a brewery! Utah, stop playin’. I could’ve lived at Policy Kings Brewery. Want something more than 5%, sure thing, we’ll crack a can (loophole!), Thurs Drag Trivia, yes please!.
Hands down, most beautiful disc golf course I’ve ever seen.
Drinking real beer again gave us perspective and the decision was made. Get your ass outta here.
Hello Idaho!
If God took a piece of the midwest and planted it squarely in the west (real west), it would be Idaho. Straight up an all american lager, drinkable and familiar but almost too comfortable. It’s as if we had never left the midwest.
First pitstop was Twin Falls, or as Jake dubbed it,“the Bigger Anoka”. He couldn’t have been more accurate. We saw some waterfalls and drank some beer. Frolfin left us in mourning for my main man Trevor, hopefully he is chasing foliage in a better place. Then we lost Cole and gained free agent Peyton. I’m not a driver gal, but Trevor left me needing to diversify.
Shoshone Falls
Then we got our butts to Boise. Oh Boise, you do not like the van-dwellers. It was hard to enjoy your attributes when you want us to not stay there. We gave it the ol’ college try. We tried Lost Grove Brewing Co. and did some disc golfing. We discovered your beautiful, flooded river green belt. Leinie and Jake enjoyed real grass since…oh, god how long has it been?? And the best IPA to grace this planet. A moment of silence for the queen of IPAs, please.
Real grass!!
We didn’t set off in the Yellow Submarine for a re-imagined midwest though. So we got our butts moving.
Into the promised land, Oregon.
Deep breath in, deep breath out. So many, oh so many people have herald the wonders and magic of Oregon. More specifically, Bend. We have tried, likely in vain, to hold our hopes and expectations in check. Maybe it was magic, maybe it was a long drive, maybe it was nothing at all. But crossing that border and entering Oregon had both Jake and I taking a big sigh.
The scenery changed, the feeling changed. We spent two nights en route to Bend and then held our breath as we entered the city that so. many. praised. We braced ourselves for disappointed, failed expectations. We stopped at the brewery closest to the camping site we picked. If first impressions matter, Bend is king.
View from our Bend basecamp
Within 48 hours, we had an amazing campsite, a gym membership for regular showers (bye stench), and a brand new city crush (sorry Sedona). It fits perfectly that Bend is where our month closes out, cuz we certainly didn’t get our butts outa Bend for a bit.
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Gettin’ Our Ish Together
Our heroes are one month into their epic campaign. What lessons have they learned along the way?
Month One: Gettin’ Our Ish Together
4/5/2023
LA - Phoenix - Sedona
We are one month in from the official start of our sabbatical year. One month! If this past month in the Submarine had a theme it would have been: Gettin’ Our Ish Together.
Prior to our sabbatical start we had already dealt with a dead engine battery and getting ourselves locked out of the Sub.
We were bound to complete the trifecta of vehicle hell at some point, why not the first week on the road. We found ourselves in Phoenix with the flattest of flat tires. Naturally, our tires are so old that no tire shop would touch them so we dipped into our precious Van Fund for a set of brand spankin’ new tires.
Sexy tires, no?
En route to Phoenix we had originally planned on staying in Joshua Tree for a few days. However, we pulled up to some nice (read: free) BLM land and after settling into base camp mode, had no ambition to move.
We saw a few sites like the Salton Sea and Slab City and met a real cool guy we dubbed Desert Scott. He mentioned us on his website here!
We adjusted to sun time versus clock time. We woke up when it got bright, ate when we were hungry, slept when tired, and went to bed at dark.
Tired trail doggo
Even though we were settling in nicely to a mini retirement, as the theme states, we still had ish to get together. We had to learn to live on limited resources because batteries don’t last forever in the desert. We needed to eliminate waste because trash stinks in your living room/kitchen/bedroom and we be broke af (so you had better finish that spinach at $1.69 a bag). A big fight had us learning super quick how to coexist in 53 sq ft.
Then there were the super sexy things like storage items to be stored, new residency to obtain, taxes to file. So after dropping Leinie with his grandparents and putting the Sub into temp storage, Jake and I trekked to the midwest to drop off storage items and gain new residency.
We made a pit stop in Colorado to visit Adam.
Gang’s back together
Gained a new hometown in South Dakota and tried the local watering hole.
Spearfish Brewing Co.
Dropped the car and storage items off with my brother, Dan, in Nebraska where we tried Site-1 Taproom and Upstream Brewing Co.
Site-1 Taproom
Upstream Brewing Co.
Hitched a ride with Ryan and Nate to Iowa, where we ate, but mostly drank our way around Des Moines, stopping at Barn Town Brewing, Exile Brewing Co and The Iowa Taproom.
Barn Town Brewing
Exile Brewing Co.
The Iowa Taproom
Then it was a flight back to Phoenix to get back on the road. Except our van’s battery was dead. Super dead. Like three attempts to charge it and move it, then leave it plugged in for 30 hours dead.
Attempt two of three
Our first difficult choice was which area to scratch from the itinerary due to the van needing shoes and meditation time. The crippling indecision was cut short when the lack of free camping and dog restrictions of the southern peaks was discovered. The Superstition Wilderness whispered, “Dogs Welcome” and “dispersed camping” in our ears and we were hooked. Battery almost fully charged, we waved adios to the fam and headed off for adventure.
If the Superstition Wilderness was a beer, it would be a crisp pale ale. It’s easy on the eyes and soul. One day of over indulgence with a hike to The Flatiron, left us bruised and questioning our life choices. But with the hair of the dog the next day, it soothed our grumpiness with an amazing hike to Fremont Saddle. Yes, I would drink in this wilderness area again.
The Flatiron
Weavers Needle from Fremont Saddle
A quick pitstop back at the folks to use laundry and a dishwasher. While listening to our stuff get squeaky clean, Jake and I took a peak at our bills. Flatiron hurt, the bills from the last few weeks hurt just as bad. Time to get our financial ish together.
A tough discussion on spending and saving had us grumbling, but we figured out a game plan going forward. Quick note to any impressionable readers: Living with someone is hard, especially in 53 sq feet. Sharing finances with someone is hard, especially with no income. Bottomline: vanlife is very, very hard at times and we’re only one month in. Look past the rose-colored lens that is plastered everywhere due to Algorithmic Big Bro.
Soapbox off, back to normal broadcasting.
Financial plan in place, a battery hopefully charged, and no more major hiccups in the works (someone knock on wood, fast) and we were back on the road. This time heading north, our sights set on the Grand Canyon.
Jake came up with the genius idea to take the winding road there, so at this time we are still en route to the Grand Canyon. We looked around Vickenburg and Prescott before regaining some hit die in Sedona.
A month-long learning curve to get our ish together. Our life resembles nuggets more than ducks. It’s less in a row and more running amok with one rogue nugget neurotically circling, squawking at random. RIP Digger, you were our very special nugget.
One final note, as part of our financial ish, we started a Patreon. We love drinking beer and sending postcards full of Leinie love. If you do too, please consider joining our patreon as postcards and stamps ain’t free. This is not a plea to finance our life choices, this is a we would love to share our journey in another way and is completely optional. Link is below. We will love y’all the same either way.
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For as much as we love the outdoors, we also love a good lazy Sunday.