A wrap up of the car camping routine: from my journal today, after my 3.5 week road / photography trip west: Ive been home now for just a few days. Getting home means transferring from a simple daily routine to one that seems much more complex, simply because of the simplicity involved in living out of ones car! Any routine would seem complex! So Im suddenly faced with the project of culling images and then working the ones I decide are keepers. That in itself is overwhelming. And there is the unpacking of the car set up. Though Im happy to come home, it always makes me a bit sad to break up camp. After all, the set up holds the memories of the most recent trip, and this one was an amazing mix of adventure, experiences, people, and artistic discovery. Unpacking the car finalizes this journey until the next one begins. Each trip Ive done in the car camping style has become more simple and more routine. I had no problem finding things in my camp this time, whereas in earlier trips Id notoriously find what Id been looking for at one point, solidly buried somewhere as I unpacked the car. This time Id start a garbage bag for each day, at my food bags. My morning coffee cup served as a local garbage for my drive. At night when Id sit in the back to eat, Id put all of my garbage and any leftovers into my designated daily garbage bag. In the morning I simply drove into a gas station, get my gas (if needed), get my ice (if needed - every day when it was hot, every other day as it became cooler), and empty all of my garbage. I learned to tie my pee bottle bag up and empty it into the garbage bag as well, so everything was neatly tied up and emptied from the car. After emptying, a new daily bag was started and a new white trash bag was added to the pickle jar. Because I did a better job of laying out my route possibilities before I left I spent less time sitting to figure out where I was about to go. I still did that, which I expected since most everything was new territory, but I was already very aware of some of the more scenic routes I was planning to take. Earlier, I relied on my Tom Tom to take me there .. it always did, but seldom to the more advanced routes that I had planned. I find it funny that Tom Tom has alternate route options and one is windy roads. However, the windy roads option isnt very helpful and rather haphazard. It often takes me down one road just to turn me around, or down dead end roads, ... I find that by using Tom Tom by marking spots on the map in the travel via option worked better. I had outlined and downloaded detailed maps from a Gaia Pro map app on my Ipad and Iphone. The many maps take a lot of space on the devices but its really nice to be able to see detailed roads. Because I went through a variety of terrain I learned how to better read a topographical map (as I went) as I could actually see as I went. In general I was much more at ease with my traveling routine than I had been before. Earlier on I felt like I was sneaking in to gas station wash rooms to clean up (sponge bath in the sink, brushing teeth, and maybe washing my hair) for the night. This time around I grabbed my overnight bag with my bath towel and change of clothes and sauntered in. I thought later how silly it was to ever feel like I needed to be so discreet about washing up. Id gone for runs in places away from my home and cleaned up in bathrooms so that I could meet someone for dinner, so how was this any different? It was nice to be comfortable. Cleaning up before bed always felt so good, and it is amazing how effective one can be with just a sink, hot water, soap and a wash rag. Speaking of wash rags: I took enough small wash rags to last for 30 days! At Walmart I found them in a package of 10 for I think less than $10! A great idea for road trips. So at night I parked, turned off the headlights ( I am still VERY aware to do this after forgetting once on my last trip and waking up to a dead battery), lock the doors, and crawl over the seats and to the back. ... Yes, my back seats are removed. My bags are all set up now for relative ease in finding and grabbing what I need when I need it. Lens bags are easy access for daytime use. Computer is within reach so I can grab it and download images from the day. I look through images with a cup of chardonnay and a snack of cheese and carrots, dried cranberries, pickled herring, and maybe a handful of grapes. Then I enjoy my dinner of sardines on greens .. or on this trip, I added those ready made salads which were an incredible treat! I couple that with a nice full bodied red wine. It is truly a delicacy to meet my nighttime routine because it is really my break in the day before I sleep. Sleeping was magnificent once the weather became cooler on the end part of the trip. The beginning night 80s made it hotter in the car and the only thing I could do was put ice on my head to help me to fall asleep. Mostly Id keep my sunroof slightly open but towards the end it was too cold. I appreciated this at night, but the end days in the Badlands were cold and miserable to be outside .. that is when the comforts at the days end really are appreciated!
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 00:53:23 +0000
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