3 Months / 10,000 Miles / 1 Campervan

Guest Author: Jonathan Chong

Here I was in the summer of 2023. Packed up and moved out of my rented home. Quit my job. Thousands of unimaginable miles ahead of me on the road. And, a few thousand miles already behind as I left Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom to land myself in San Francisco. Strangers yet to be met. Places yet to be seen. Often the memorable ones are somewhere in between.

It’s hard for most people to know what 10,000 miles and the experience of spending three whole months freely roaming the roads of western North America feels like. To put that into some perspective, that is equivalent to driving for nearly 143 hours non-stop at 70mph. It is enough distance to traverse the US continent from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast more than three times over.

Sure, we saw a whole lot of amazing places. Everywhere from watching the sun set over Half Dome in Yosemite to hiking over the Athabasca Glacier in Alberta, Canada. From the changing colors in the depths of the Grand Canyon at dusk, to sitting by our campervan under the Milky Way in the Utah desert. From hip cafes in Portland to the lonely diners on Route 66.

But the sum of those experiences are often hard to summarize in any medium, along with the emotions they evoke at the right place, at the right time.

Choosing A Campervan

Although I have always loved the outdoors and camping, I had zero experience of van life. Renting a campervan for three months is also not exactly a small sum of money. So choosing the right van and the right people to hire from was really important in making every dollar count. Thankfully that search wasn’t long. Once we began our enquiries with the San Francisco Bay Area team at Wandervans, they were incredibly quick replying to my million questions about how the rental would work, what to expect with the van, how I’d look after the maintenance along the way, my insurance options etc. They seemed like a genuine bunch of people passionate about adventure with a small business vibe whilst still offering a fleet of competitive, quality vans. And it soon became clear these were the right people to partner with for our epic road trip. Our top three priorities for a long journey were:

A reliable van - Breakdowns suck. Especially if you get caught out in the middle of nowhere without a phone signal. Even if you are covered by insurance, nothing quite makes up for lost time on the road. Unless you’re driving your own campervan with the luxury of time, each day lost could mean another place not seen.

A comfortable sleep - A long journey can take its toll if you’re not entirely able to sleep well in your van. And feeling tired during the day for months on end is no idea of fun! Whether you’re sleeping in the freezing altitudes of the Sierra Nevada in September, or the warm evenings in July.

Storage space and organization - You don’t need a lot to have a good time on the road. And it always pays to be smart about what you take with you even in a spacious van. Clutter is your enemy when you have to pack up and pack out your van everyday.

We chose a ‘medium’ sized Ford Transit 350 XL in grey color, kitted with a spacious and comfortable queen sized bed, and added on a kitchen kit, shower tent, canopy, large sleeping bag etc. The medium sized van also allowed us to put in two extra passenger seats so a family member could join us for a small part of our trip. But I’d imagine you could easily enjoy a smaller Transit van just as much for two persons!

We found the Transit to be one of the most popular campervans on the road and is fairly easy to drive, especially for those new to vans. The automatic transmission, rear wide-angle camera and parking sensors all made the van that much easier to maneuver, whether tackling twisty roads in the mountains or tight carparks. Wandervans in general are a great balance in terms of size and the convenience they offer. They’ll fit into a normal sized parking bay and get down most roads not accessible to larger RVs.

Ultimately, living with your van has to be sustainable for a long journey. It is a home that you come back to after a really long hike. It is a shelter during the rain or shine. It is a place that offers illumination in the pitch darkness of the night to read a book. It is a place where you make coffee in the mornings and have your dinner somewhere in the wild.

It is the only material piece of your life that remains constant as the rest of the world around you changes with every mile.

SIERRA NEVADA

Leaving San Francisco behind, our first destination lay in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks within the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east of California a few hundred miles away. Famed for their enormous sequoia trees, these parks offer a unique and ancient forest of giants including the world’s largest tree (by volume), the General Sherman which towers at a staggering 275 feet high! Although we had begun our trip in high season, these parks were relatively quieter than the insanely busy Yosemite National Park further north in the Sierra Nevada. It was still possible to access many trails within the forests and meadows with a genuine sense of solitude within a day hike.

We had struck “gold” in our first week spotting a mother bear and two cubs at a safe distance whilst out on a trail. Coming from a country with no wild bears, it cannot be understated how this was simultaneously exciting but also somewhat terrifying for two people who have never encountered a bear in the wild, let alone seen a bear before!

North America is truly gifted with some of the world’s greatest wilderness and it was a privilege to have seen many of the amazing wildlife here. But it pays to give some attention to the basics on staying safe around them, especially if you are new to the country. If you happen to wander into one of America’s great National Parks, there are often free educational talks to familiarize yourself with the many simple things you can do to stay safe.

PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY

Returning to the civilization of San Francisco for a short pit stop, we continued our journey north along the iconic Pacific Coast Highway, also known as Highway 1. Rugged cliffs and hairpin bends snake their way north leaving the Golden Gate Bridge behind. We spent nearly a week lazily coasting the roughly 700 miles it took into Oregon, passing through the Avenue of Giants in California before arriving at Humboldt Redwoods State Park where we camped in the forest with some of the world’s tallest trees.

Left to Right: Humboldt Redwoods State Park, PCH Coastal Scenery, Oregon Coastal Sand Dunes

Very few trees seemed to have been harmed here when paving the narrow roads through the forest. Instead the roads seem to snake through, going around the trees, sometimes going between two very close trees and demanding some close attention to your wing mirrors as you pass through! Nonetheless, it was instantly one of our favourite places to camp on our whole trip as we enjoyed a thoroughly secluded and quiet pitch within a campground that had just a few dozen spaces. The thick forest canopy made for an eerily dark evening below by the time campers had extinguished their few fires. Continuing along the PCH, we reached the coastal sand dunes in Oregon stretching 50 miles. It is the largest expanse of coastal dunes in the US. Inspiring Frank Herbert to write his acclaimed Dune novels.

We used a great app, Dyrt, usually to find a place to camp each night. Whether it was free camping or a fancy KOA campground. A subscription allowed us to download offline maps which came in handy when we were often in places with poor to no signal. But just like many of America’s popular routes, many campgrounds along the PCH were fully booked, without having to detour significantly. Hence to grab the best spots along the beaches and coastal road, I would highly recommend planning and booking your campgrounds well in advance!

YELLOWSTONE & THE TETONS

Pushing east after a short city break in Portland, Oregon, we began our first long stretch of highway miles taking nearly three days to cross Oregon, Idaho and finally Wyoming where we reached the heart of Yellowstone National Park. Acid lakes, multi-coloured steam, and bacterial mats. Waves crash onto the shores of a lake. But the lake itself remains hidden behind thick steam and only the lashing of waves emerging from it to be seen. Angry, turbulent water roars behind the veil, and I only imagine what hell lies behind.

Yellowstone sits atop one of the world’s largest volcanic calderas and super-volcanoes. Stepping close to the fragile thermal grounds feels as alien as they come.

Whilst many of the tourist ‘hot spots’ have barriers or walkways to keep visitors at a safe distance, it’s often possible to encounter geothermal features on the many lonesome hiking trails here. In a stark contrast from Yellowstone’s feature attractions like the Grand Prismatic Spring, drawing endless streams of people, these quieter trails off the beaten track sometimes casually skirt large mud pots and inconspicuous fumaroles buried in a nearby bush softly hissing away.

Grand Teton National Park lies just south of Yellowstone and here we spent a couple of days also exploring the tall pine forests at the foot of the mountains. We spent a whole day looking for moose with no luck, only to find one outside our van the next morning when we woke up… This was also a great place to pull into one of the many scenic stops along the road, back up the van facing the iconic silhouette of the Teton mountains at dusk, pull out our table and chairs and have our dinner with one hell of a view.

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

Leaving the crowds of the Grand Teton and Yellowstone behind, we exited the northeast of Yellowstone and the roads turned into lonesome miles once more, as we approached one of America’s most scenic roads, the Beartooth Highway (Route 212). At nearly 69 miles long, it soars across the border of Wyoming into Montana, reaching an elevation of nearly 11,000ft above sea level. Sadly we saw almost none of the scenery as thick, low lying clouds blanketed much of our ascent.

Our campervan crawled slowly up the twisty switchbacks with the poorest visibility we experienced on our entire trip. The occasional soft glow of brake lights drifting in front of us was the only thing guiding us slowly through the thick clouds, beyond the 10ft of road visibility. Always weary that many areas did not have barriers to stop us going over the edge into the abyss if I carelessly misjudged the road.

A few days later, we reached Glacier National Park at the northern border of Montana with Canada. This was one of the most beautiful places I had the pleasure of hiking, including the 12-mile long Highline trail. Like many other places around the world where glaciers once existed, the landscape features beautifully carved mountains and ridges that seem almost unnatural. Ancient layered bedrock that once lay deep under the ocean floor a billion years ago now soar up towards the sky. Whilst it is still possible to view glaciers here, many of the original 80 glaciers here have melted and just 25 remain as of 2022.

CANADA

Though the American border may have stopped where it meets their Canadian neighbor, the majestic formations of the Rocky Mountains clearly do not recognize our man-made boundaries. Soaring even higher towards the north into British Columbia. The pine forests seem thicker, interrupted only by the linear asphalt that divides the forest as the trees almost seem like they’re pushing for every inch they can afford into the straight highways.

Glaciers make their presence known in even more spectacular ways. Melting into water. Water flowing into streams. Streams into rivers, picking up fine grains of sediment and soon it thunders down waterfalls. And so an abrasive force of nature seeks every fissure in these Rocky Mountains, carving them into deep, narrow canyons.

From left to right: 1. Yoho National Park. 2. Exploring one of the many beautiful lakes in British Columbia. 3. Peyto Lake in Calgary. Another stunning example of a lake holding emerald coloured glacier meltwater.

Along the Canadian fault line lies an immense area protected by a combination of Kootenay, Glacier, Banff, Yoho and Jasper National Parks neighboring one another. The result is an oasis of dense, untamed wilderness. Glaciers melt into waterfalls thundering off mountain cliffs. And the most brilliant emerald green rivers and lakes are filled.

From Banff to Jasper, driving up the 230km (143 miles) long Icefields Parkway is a must. You can easily spend a full day driving this, making plenty of stops at jaw-dropping viewpoints, hiking the network of trails around the mountains and lakes, and even taking a dip in the many glacial rivers or lakes (yes it’s pretty cold). We took every opportunity we had to pull our camping chairs out of our van or simply swing the doors open for some epic views whilst we had a quick lunch or just a break from the driving.

The Icefield Parkway also runs close to the relatively accessible Athabasca Glacier. Hiring a guide to take you onto the ice is highly recommended, as you are able to safely approach and learn about the many features that exist on the surface of a glacier.

THE DESERT

It took about three long days of solid driving once we re-entered the USA to reach our next destination in Utah. The iconic deep orange colors quickly took over the landscape of towering buttes and mesas that have an incredible other worldly feel to them. Traversing through Capitol Reef National Park, we followed the Scenic Byway 12 southwest towards Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, then east towards Page and Monument Valley.

This was by far the best place to camp under the stars and the Milky Way. With little light pollution in the sparsely populated desert, very low pollution in the air and cloudless skies, all that is needed is the absence of the moon to truly awe at the infinite universe above.

Finally, we visit the North and South Rims of the Grand Canyon. The drive to the North Rim is a spectacular drive on its own, and is arguably the less touristy rim to visit. As most people who have been here will tell you, no matter how you may have imagined it, how much you have seen it in photos, or how much you have read about it, nothing quite prepares you for the view of the grandest canyon on earth. Nothing truly articulates the experience of peering into its depths and the peninsulas and temples that reach outwards into its depths.

Reaching the penultimate viewpoint on the Widforss Trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona.

Each visit to its rim, it is seemingly a different canyon. Each visit it is seemingly a different colour. It is almost futile to photograph the overwhelming scale of this wonder that has been one billion years in the making. Eventually I had opted to simply stop taking photos and simply be present with my environment. To find solitude in its endless presence can be a deeply spiritual experience that can never be re-lived in any number of pictures.

It beckons us to consider what we have made of our brief time here. To come to terms with our finiteness. It reminds us that our humble existence occupies but a mere flash in a time that is quite simply, incomprehensible.

Though National Park campgrounds here were no different in terms of being very full most of the time, it was surprising to see that some State Park and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) campgrounds can be very empty in comparison. If you are only spending a whole day in a National Park, it is worth considering campgrounds just outside the National Parks which are often overlooked. Personally, parking up in some of these campgrounds were my most memorable places as the solitude with incredible backdrops to match the National Parks were truly unique experiences.

ROUTE 66

Ghost towns. Diners. Eccentric attractions. Those were the memorable things that punctuated this part of the iconic mother road as we made our slow return westwards from Arizona to California. Though some ‘ghost towns’ have been somewhat commercialized into crowded tourist attractions, it is still possible to find lonely towns such as Amboy in California. It is a bizarrely well-preserved town sitting in the middle of an otherwise barren desert along the old Route 66. It consists of a post office, Roy’s Motel and Cafe and tourist shop, operated by the town’s population of just four people.

Towards the end of our journey before we began straying north from Route 66, we make one last diner stop at Emma Jean’s Cafe in Victorville, CA. The only notable mention in my guidebook was that they had really good burgers. A small cafe with a counter and maybe ten tables. Apart from the beautifully maintained 50s Chevy pickup truck parked in the front, a faded pastel green exterior and the neon ‘ Open’ sign, there is nothing quite notable about this diner. It is not cluttered with posters and memorabilia from a bygone era. There is no loud graffiti or neon signs catching the attention of passing drivers. A couple of locals are quietly having their lunch and coffee. And it probably looked obvious that we were not from around here. But we excitedly pull up some seats at the counter.

But the moment I took a bite of their signature Brian Burger, I knew instantly this was the best burger I had ever had. At the center stage is a half pound of perfectly seasoned and seared mouthwatering American ground beef. Drenched in melted Parmesan cheese and a slice of pickle. Two slices of perfectly grilled Texas toast hold the show together. This burger doesn’t pretend to be anything other than the disgustingly delicious heart attack that it is.

Amboy ghost town along a quiet stretch of the old Route 66 highway in the California desert.

Shawna co-owns the place with her husband, Brian. After some small talk she eventually asks how we heard about this place. I confess I wasn’t aware of its established fame on Diners Drive-ins and Dives. She asks if I’ve ever seen Kill Bill. Hell yeah I have. She says, “Do you remember the scene where Uma Thurman punches her way out of that coffin in the desert, walks across to a cafe, takes a seat at the counter and orders a glass of water? Yeah, this is the cafe. And you’re sitting in her seat.”

THE LAST MILE

Pushing north, we sadly had to detour past our highly anticipated destination of Death Valley National Park that had been closed at the time due to extensive road damages from recent flooding in the area. And so we spent a few days instead in east Yosemite, leaving the warm temperatures of the low desert behind in exchange for the now chilly High Sierra in mid-September. Camped by a river not far from the junction at Lee Vining, our primitive campground lay in the shadows of the surrounding mountains and forest that offered a slightly eerie feel in the near-pitch darkness of night. Only the sound of the river and the loud howling of cold wind racing through the trees could be heard each time we exited our van.

We spent our coldest night of our entire journey here as the inside van temperature dropped as low as 37ºF (3ºC). Though we had to wear several layers to stay warm, incredibly the thick double sleeping bag provided by Wandervans still kept us comfortable enough to get a really decent sleep even without using the gas heater! Needless to say, it became too tempting wanting to stay in bed all morning waiting for the warmth of the sun to reach us.

We embarked on our last scenic road; Tioga Pass (Route 120). Reaching an elevation of over 9,000ft, it meanders across the Sierra Nevada, past beautiful sub-alpine lakes, the meadows of Tuolumne, spectacular vistas of Yosemite Valley and pristine groves of Sequoia trees. We reached Glacier Point just in time to watch the sunset. Though still fairly touristy this late in the season, we found our own quiet-ish corner on the rocks as we gazed upon the slowly changing colours of the iconic Half Dome, the last beautiful sunset we would watch in America’s National Parks.

EPILOGUE

North America is truly gifted with many natural wonders and roads that invite as much adventure as you can stomach. It is blessed with large expanses of public land where you can camp for free in some of the most beautiful and unique landscapes. And though the US particularly can feel comparatively more crowded in its national parks and touristy areas than they were 10 years ago, it is nonetheless still possible to find plenty of solitude with the wilderness here.

Our campervan certainly got us to all of these places. And back. When you’ve spent three months living in a van, it begins to feel more like a home than it does a vehicle. It had become such an integral part of our daily life, our routines, our vessel with which we traversed so many different places. It was tough to finally say goodbye to our Wandervan as I pulled into the carpark in Livermore, California, where I would hand the keys back over to Tommy from Wandervans. Turning off the ignition for the last time as the odometer ticked over to a stop at 9,893 miles.

We thank the team at Wandervans once again for supporting us on this once-in-a-lifetime journey that gave us the smoothest journey we could hope for, and the confidence to throw ourselves in the deep end, embarking on our first ever campervan adventure. The van and the team are forever integral to our memories when we now look back upon those amazing moments on the road. And we can only wonder what adventures the next person behind the wheel is having in the van that once felt like home.

Check Out More of Jonathan’s Travels Below

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