Plus a quick update on life 🫶🏼
First up: the life update!
We’re over the hump with the scary health stuff: everyone is doing well and is alive with high quality of life 🙌🏼
We’re back in the camper prepping for some international travel! Next letter will cover all of this, but…
Now on to the Q+A!
My top 5 items for the road:
[Disclosure: I will always recommend shopping directly from independent brands when possible! But I know some folks need the discounted shipping + deals that Amazon can provide, so I will always include a link to both if possible 🫶🏼
This blog includes affiliate links which means I get a *very* small commission if you happen to buy though them, at no cost to you. I only link products I have tried myself and love! Thanks for your support.]
1️⃣ Thermacell
This is my #1 item I cannot live without. I get eaten alive by mosquitoes, and I hate Deet (plus it scares away the fish). Thermacell [Amazon] is the only thing that has works! It creates a 1-15 foot mosquito repellant dome surrounding it, and it has saved me on more than one occasion at our campsite. 10/10 highly recommend if skeeters love you 🦟
2️⃣ Leveling blocks
When you’re camping in the middle of nowhere, it’s rare when you come across a flat campsite. Leveling blocks are a must have because you won’t always be able to find rocks around you!
We made our own out of a few 2 by 6’s we nailed together, but you can also grab some online. These [Amazon] are the set I bought for my parents’ teardrop!
3️⃣ Mattress riser
RVs (which truck campers are included under) have problems with moisture buildup. This is a top 5 item that you *probably* didn’t know about, but it’s necessary to prevent mildew and mold under the mattress. This is the most common spot for moisture to accumulate so it’s really important to create some airflow! My partner did the research on this one, so I’m not sure of the alternatives, but we have the Froli ZONA bed kit under our mattress.
4️⃣ My studio table
Y’all have heard about this one a lot but I love my studio table. It’s so simple yet it was life changing for my creative flow on the road! It’s a slide-out table built into a locked compartment in the side of the truck bed. My partner built it for me, so no links here, but if you’re interested in a how-to, let me know!
5️⃣ *baskets*
It may sound simple, but baskets are a life saver. We have large storage compartments that need to be organized to keep things from moving around too much while driving off-road. We have hard baskets and soft baskets in our cabinets, as well as two baskets by the head of our bed for all those random side-table items (chapstick, kindle, mouth guards, hair ties, etc.)
How we find camp
There are a few ways we find camp! Some are more user friendly than others, but there’s definitely pros to all of them:
1️⃣ iOverlander
This is probably our most used app / way to find camp. It’s easy. The spots might not be stellar (some are though!) but if you’re in need of a last minute one-night spot, this is the app to go to. A lot of the spots are overrun with vans and RVs, so don’t expect seclusion at every spot, but there’s tons of reviews for campsites and pins for propane, tank dumping, and water. A great resource!
2️⃣ Gaia
This is our favorite route: finding your own campsite by overlaying public land maps and geographic maps to pin point a location that *might* be great. It’s a lot of work and may or may not be good, but this is how we’ve found some of our favorite spots. Plus you can save your sites with pins and include notes about the location for future reference. This app is also great for overlaying heat and smoke maps — this is how we determine what direction we’ll travel when weather starts to dictate our route!
3️⃣ Google maps
Pinned campsites on google maps is another way we look for camping. These spots will for sure be paid spots, but if you’re desperate it’s a resource. We also use google earth (as well as Gaia) to look for forest roads on public land that may lead to a clearing to camp at.
4️⃣ HipCamp
If you’re feeling fancy, HipCamp is a fun option. It’s more expensive than other campsites, but it’s nice for a special occasion! HipCamp is basically Airbnb for camping. Imagine tree houses, yurts, or even a nice spot to pitch a tent. This is a great option if you’re around a city too!
There are tons of other apps out there like Vanly, RA camping, and RV Parky but we don’t tend to use those much!
Why we chose a truck camper over a van
I didn’t really have a say in this one (my partner wanted a truck), but I have a few pros and cons for a camper versus van that I can share.
PROS:
1️⃣ Space
Space is probably the biggest pro of a truck camper over a van. The cab over itself is a huge space saver and allows for you to have a permanent bed set up. Many vans you have to choose between a temporary bed (one you set up and tear down every day) or a permanent bed with it taking over half your space. We’re able to have a full fridge, bathroom, oven, and stove top as well as a booth table and queen size bed. You wouldn’t be able to get all of those things in a van! Especially with two people and two dogs, we needed the extra space.
2️⃣ Storage
This goes along with the space pro, but there’s just a lot more built in storage with a truck camper than in a van. We have a custom flat bed that has storage on the outside of our camper instead of a typical truck bed which adds even more storage space as well. We still have left over storage space and we carry *a lot* of stuff for work, play, and living.
3️⃣ Capacity + capability + clearance
We can get a lot more places with the truck camper than we would be able to with a van! The clearance itself is huge, but we can also stress the frame of our truck more than you would be able to with a van and we can carry a lot more weight. My partner loves to off road and we both love camping in hard to reach areas, so this is a big pro for us!
CONS:
1️⃣ Diesel is expensive
Plus we’re heavier than a lot of vans are so our gas milage is a lot lower than a vans would be
2️⃣ We’re more noticeable!
A van can fly under the radar a lot easier than we can and our steps can’t come up while we’re inside the camper, so stealth camping isn’t really possible for us. This is only an issue in cities where you wouldn’t want someone walking by to know you’re inside, but it is a consideration if you’re wanting to urban camp!
That’s all I can come up with off the top of my head, but let me know if you have any more questions on this — I’d be happy to give my thoughts!
Have you figured out a schedule to balance work while on the road?
I think this will always have room for improvement, but the short answer is yes!
The long answer is I’ve been listening to my body more and aligning my work schedule to be more similar when I had a stationary studio: allowing the inspiration to come and take hold when it wants to. There are obviously more constraints to this now than there used to be (light, temperature, wind, rain), but since installing the studio table I’ve been able to align my schedule to follow the natural motivation more closely. If it happens to fall after dark or when the weather isn’t cooperating, I move the studio inside and focus on the simpler tasks that don’t require a lot of tools (or a lot of ventilation).
The schedule changes day to day, but when I’m in a studio flow it tends to look like a morning outside in the studio, a few hours of admin around lunch time, a break between 3 and 6 and then some admin or studio work after dinner. This all changes depending on our location and how tempting the outdoors is for recreation, but this is an ideal day of work for me and it’s felt like a really healthy and encouraging balance while on the road!
Weekends are still moving, errand, and recreating days 🚍🌲
Recipes!
Another go to recipe plus the *easiest* meal —
Homemade pesto and green bean pasta
This meal is in our regular rotation and is incredibly easy and healthy. The pesto recipe is two meals worth of pesto, so we freeze half of it for another day!
Pesto:
1/4 pine nuts
1/4 walnuts
3 garlic cloves
~ 6 cups greens (basil, spinach, etc)
1 1/2 cups nice olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup parmesan cheese
I give myself a lot of creative freedom with this recipe. Don’t have pine nuts? Use only walnuts. Don’t have walnuts? Use only pine nuts. I’ll typically buy a big container of basil and fill in the rest of the greens with spinach or kale. But I’ve also used swiss chard and carrot tops! Use up the greens going bad in your fridge!
I use the measurements as a starting point, but really just taste as I go and add ingredients for consistency and taste. For example, if you use more kale you’ll probably want to add more cheese (kale is a bit more bitter than spinach or basil). Want it thinner? Add more olive oil. Want it thicker? Add more greens. Too nutty? Add greens, oil, and cheese.
Now the steps to make the pesto:
Add nuts and garlic in a food processor (yes, we have a mini one in the camper!) Process for about 15 seconds. Add greens. Slowly pour olive oil in as the pesto is processing. Once all of the greens have been processed and oil is added, add salt, pepper, and cheese. Process until smooth. Taste + adjust!
To store: we use Stasher bags [Amazon] because you can remove all of the air. Pesto will turn brown if it’s exposed to air, so remove air from it’s container or store in a smaller container and add some olive oil on top to create a protective layer!
Pasta:
Your choice of pasta, 1 box
Handful or two of green beans (quantity of your choice)
Tomatoes
Pesto
Cut ends of green beans off and cut the long beans in half. Cook pasta per box instructions (and salt your water). When there’s 4-5 minutes left on the timer, add the green beans. Drain, add a good amount of pesto (to your preference). Plate with a handful of tomatoes and your cheese of choice!
And now for one of the easiest meals:
Trader Joe’s frozen fried rice ~upgrade~
Trader Joe’s frozen meals are a given for easy, fast, yummy meals that don’t take a lot of dishes to make. But today I’m presenting a little ~upgrade~ for TJ’s frozen veggie fried rice that balances out the meal —
1 bag of Trader Joe’s frozen veggie fried rice
4 eggs
vegetable oil
tomatoes
salt
Cook the fried rice per instructions on the bag. Crack 4 eggs into the pan with fried rice. Saute until egg is scrambled and cooked. Add some fresh tomatoes and salt to taste. Feeds 2 people!
Next letter:
I’ll be writing from a plane! It’ll be a quick recap of this last week + the prep for our trip to TURKEY!
Yes, we’re traveling abroad to Turkey for a friend’s wedding for about two weeks and I’ll bring you all along for the festivities. Next letter will just be the recap and will be on the shorter side, but the following letter?! Get ready for a good one 🎉
Sadie at camp 📍 Oregon
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And as always, thanks for reading 🫶🏼
Note: I will always recommend shopping directly from independent brands when possible! But I know some folks need the discounted shipping + deals that Amazon can provide, so I will always include a link to both if possible 🫶🏼
This blog includes affiliate links which means I get a *very* small commission if you happen to buy though them, at no cost to you. I only link products I have tried myself and love! Thanks for your support.
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