The Grand Canyon: Our Maiden Voyage of VanLife
And so it begins...
Have you ever wanted to do something so badly that once you’ve accomplished it, it doesn’t even feel real? That is exactly what this trip felt like for me.
To be honest, I was as nervous as I was excited for this first trip. I had spent months and months strategically and meticulously planning out and building my tiny home on wheels in the hopes it would be functional, cozy, and safe, and I just wanted everything to go smoothly.
The drive from Southern California (aka my “home base”) to the South Entrance of Grand Canyon National Park took us about 8 1/2 hours with just a few stops for gas, potty breaks and lunch. Luckily, we had a friend meeting us there and she was able to snag us a great spot on BLM land before we arrived (don’t worry, we will get into BLM logistics shortly), because we did not reach our destination until after dark and the woods presented us with an unsettling creep factor. Despite the feeling that a zombie could come plunging out of the dark forest at any moment on our drive from the main road to the campsite, we were able to find our friend and our home for the next few days.
The site had plenty of room for our friend’s car and our van next to a man-made rock and pebble fire pit surrounded by trees. We settled in with some nighttime photography, hotdog roasting, and “delicious hot sh’moes” by the campfire (no fire bans here). Then after a viewing of Stick It!, we closed our eyes and were lulled to sleep by the sounds of the wilderness.
We made the difficult but fabulous decision to get up before the crack of dawn and head to the Park to catch the sunrise. At the gate the lovely (and studly) park ranger advised us to head to Navajo Point for a beautiful view. We bundled up, grabbed our cameras and, with a few other spectators, watched the magic happen.
We aren’t normally morning people (hence it being a difficult decision to get up), but we reaped the benefits and ten out of ten would recommend you do the same!
Then it was time for pancakes and coffee in the parking lot with a beautiful view (happy to report that the kitchen worked like a dream), followed by some driving and stopping here and there for pics, a couple short hikes to some stellar lookouts, and a wonderful afternoon nap with an immaculate view of the canyon, the doors and windows fully opened to welcome in the breeze. In the evening, we checked out a few small shops on the way back to our campsite. (A lot of places were closed due to COVID-19, but we found some keepsakes, local art, and the unavoidable but ultimately necessary national park magnet to start a collection for the van fridge.)
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