A Foretaste of Upcoming WonderVan Life

My favorite new organic taco dinner with mushroom taco ‘meat’ and eating the rainbow of fresh veggies! This was my Last Supper before I headed out West for John’s work conference in AZ. Thought I’d share some pics along the way as we made our way from Ohio to Arizona. 

I saw this sign and cross in Illinois and thought, “There’s a message in this for someone!” Maybe when you’re at a Y in the road of life, what direction will you choose??

Along the way in Missouri we had the joy of visiting dear family friends then found a mountain bike trail with some beautiful Redbuds and Dogwoods, but sadly didn’t see any morels.

However, we did use our Harvest Host membership for the first time and parked our van (not the WonderVan yet) for the night in the parking lot of a winery/brew house and meet a sweet young gal who served us with a smile and shared camaraderie over eating plant based food! Thanks, L!

Like so many, we donned our Eclipse glasses but sadly we weren’t in an area of totality so it wasn’t as cool, sacred, awesome and amazing as some of my folks back home experienced. 

Oklahoma's…..a long flat drive with cows and oil wells. That’s it!

However, New Mexico had more topographic interest. We were all hyped up about Taos, but in all honesty, it disappointed. Along the way, there was so much poverty, dusty and arid terrain, but also had mountain views that were very pretty. Some passes even had snow still on them which was a treat to see in stark comparison to the desert-y rest of the state. We did a little off-roading for fun but not too much in the 2 wheel drive van. The WonderVan will handle this with no problem. 

The Rio Grande!

Our wild camping site on BLM land in NM had wild turkeys nearby. 

We kayaked the San Juan River for a day while John played around with fly fishing for trout. He managed to hook a little guy on day one which he ate for dinner. I took one bite and was surprised that I was kinda grossed out. For a gal who used to eat any animal protein, becoming plant based has certainly changed my tastebuds. 

We meet up with friends from Ohio where John and Joe G fly fished with a guide in quality waters of the San Juan near Navajo Dam. 

Then we headed out toward Arizona. 

On a whim we decided to stop at the Grand Canyon and OH MY!!!! were we glad we did. So many gorgeous views that photos never do it justice! We rode our mountain bikes along the South Rim trail, hiked Bright Angel trail, wild camped along forest service roads in the Ponderosa Pine forest, and took an unforgettable helicopter ride over the Canyon!! Both John and I actually teared up flying over it and we were speechless. 

Next stop…Phoenix to see friends from 30 years ago then Tucson for a conference.