Why Am I Doing This?

Why am I doing this?

I've always wanted to repeat the two month car camping trip I took in 1990 with my then boyfriend David. We had a pop up camper and a little Volkswagon Golf. And I had a small Cairn Terrier also. It was an amazing experience and I've dreamed about doing it again for two and a half decades.

Why alone?

Because I waited around for someone to show up for a long time to do it with and they never showed up.

Why only the car?

This is the question that I get most often. Last year, I almost bought a beautiful van camper. One with a kitchen, stove, bathroom, microwave, and so on. I had a deposit on it, then decided to back out.  Something inside just said no.

I wanted it simpler. As someone who is very concerned about over consumption, this was just another thing that I was adding to my already fairly large pile of things. And I don't want to have to care for another "thing".  So I bought the tiniest, ittiest bittiest pop up trailer my Honda could tow. And I have even decided that's too much and am going to sell it.

You camp in your car?

Yes. For most, sleeping in their car denotes the lowest possible place you can fall in this society. Not for others who choose to live a mobile lifestyle and totally get it! 

For me,
*it promotes the greatest amount of freedom and spontaneity, no booking ahead and showing up on time. Indulging in reverie is a top priority and not looking at the clock essential,

*the best possible gas mileage and best bang for my buck,

*the greatest ability to travel freely with my beloved pup,

*the highest level of safety as a woman alone (I can lock doors, blast the horn and just hop into the driver's seat and away I go),

*the most profound simplicity and minimal use of water and electricity (use solar lights and 12 volt chargers) and when I need a little heat, fire up the engine,

*the best way to get me outside of my comfort zone and talk to people and be in nature, because, let's face it, who wants to hang out in their car for too long,

*and actually, a fellow FULL TIME car dweller (see David in his Prius here) prefers sleeping in his car and refused a bedroom when offered because it's actually harder to move everything from one place to the other,

*it forces me to only  take what I actually need and will use. An extra sweater sometimes isn't even possible,

*it affords the greatest flexibility and stealth factor when I visit someplace. As a matter of fact, "stealth" camping is an art and it requires fortitude and guts and is part of the adventure and thrill of "not knowing" exactly what, where, and when.

*And you get million dollar views almost every day!

Is it safe?

That's the second most asked question and the one that I was most concerned about. 

I've camped in big box store parking lots like Walmart, at gatherings of hundreds of mobile dwellers in the desert of Arizona on BLM land and in the forests of Sedona, I've done Couchsurfing and boondocked in people's driveways, casino parking lots and stayed with friends. And it's all free.  I've rarely paid to sleep, and in a two month period, used a motel only three times when I was so beat I couldn't manage anything else. 




And YES, it is  all very safe. If you are thinking of doing this, learn how and learn how to be safe. Mostly common sense guides you. If it feels creepy, leave. And I can travel for longer periods BECAUSE I don't pay to sleep. Which I think personally is a waste of a good $100 bucks when you could have a whole lot more fun with $100 being conscious.

What's the downside?

The sleeping part is awesome! I've never had better sleep. I usually went to bed not long after the sun went down. Again, what are you going to do in your car for hours when it's cold outside? And the desert gets cold.  I was usually in bed by 9 pm. That's almost impossible at home. I'd wake up at 4-5 am and put in three hours of music practice first thing before I "got up." 

The worst thing is really the bathroom thing. Us "nomadics" aren't shy about talking about the how-to's of that, but I'll spare you. Gym memberships like Planet Fitness are really terrific for this reason, you can use it anywhere in the country. And when you fill up your gas tank, even if it's two dollars, you get to use the (hopefully not gross) facilities. But sometimes........ it's prreeettttyyy gross!

AND you can get busted for stealth camping. I got busted once in a casino parking lot and it's a horrible experience  (ok not HORRIBLE, but being in your pj's with security rapping on you window isn't that great). I dragged myself to a Motel 6 at 2 am and got three hours of sleep. Most mobile dwellers usually count this as the worst thing that happens. And it happens to everyone, hopefully only once! (fingers crossed).

This isn't just tiny living, this is "micro" living. And it has it's challenges. Dropping something in the middle of the night is usually irretrievable until morning. There are moments when you want to scream or cry, but those moments happen in a house too.

Are you going to keep doing the car?

For now, yes. I've wired "house batteries" to my car so that when I drive I can charge two large 75 amp AGM batteries that will power computers and even a 12 volt oven! I'm always looking though. If a larger vehicle comes along that gets decent gas mileage, then maybe someday. But I'm getting 30 MPG and most vans get half that.

What is your hope and purpose ultimately?

I want to move more into doing service work and teaching.  I'd like to write, compose, take pictures. I love playing my guitar and singing  and want to explore offering this also. I want to travel with my dog and do these things in places that I've never seen or been before and love. And I have always wanted to escape New England in the winter months. Living and traveling this way allows me to do this a couple of months a year now. And I'm very, very grateful! 

I'll be heading off sometime soon after Christmas!

Thank you for your interest, love and support of this project! xo Laura and Choochi

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