Week 14: Back to van life!

On the road again after my residency at Valles Caldera.

Hello, hello! Thanks for tuning in to another weekly update! This post marks 14 weeks since we sold our house in Austin, TX to travel full-time in our converted camper van — and the end of my artist residency at Valles Caldera National Preserve.

Read on for all the details!

Monday: Moving Day!

Today we moved everything from the cabin back to the van (after Jason gave the van a good cleaning) — it took so much longer than what we thought!

My desk with a view at the cabin! Really gonna miss this.

We’ve been sleeping in the van and working/cooking in the cabin, so I didn’t think it would take all that long — but it sure did! Guess that’s what happens when you stay someplace for a whole month!

They may not look like much — but they tasted so good!

Speaking of cooking, I put the oven to good use and made one last batch of fries! We don’t have an oven in the van so this was a real treat.

We also gave the cabin a good cleaning and took I took one last long shower.

I’m really going to miss this place!

Tuesday: Last Day as Artist in Residence at Valles Caldera

We woke up to elk bugling near the van and fog filled the valley this morning — what an amazing farewell. It’s like Valles Caldera was pulling out all the stops to send us on our way.

Both of these were taken from the front porch of the cabin!

Then I met with Ranger Lauren and gave her a portfolio full of artwork that I created for the park. The requirement for the residency was to donate a single piece, but I figured I would donate it ALL since the park could use it way more than me.

I can’t wait to see what they use it for!

I’m working on a separate post with all about my residency so stay tuned for that — in the meantime you can check out this video of the art I donated to the park:

The residency went by way too fast and there are STILL so many things I want to paint!

I had to get a photo of our tiny house on wheels next to the cabin as we left. (The white car with the hood up is an NPS vehicle that we got to use. The hood is up to try and deter packrats from building a nest!)

Just gonna have to go back.

We’ll be camping at Bandelier National Monument for the next few days — this park is adjacent to Valles Caldera but it takes about 40 minutes to drive here through the mountains — and even longer with all of our stops to see elk!

Wednesday: Meeting the Next Artist in Residence

Today I got to meet the next Artist in Residence at Valles Caldera: Melissa Fu! She’s the author of Peach Blossom Spring — I can’t wait to read it.

Hiking the Frey Trail

Jason and I hiked the Frey Trail down from Juniper Campground where we’re staying to meet Melissa at the cafe near the Bandelier Visitor Center — and what a hike it was!

Everything was so beautiful in the morning light.

I couldn’t stop taking photos! (Are you surprised? HA!)

First glimpse of the Visitor Center complex:

It was neat to see the archeological ruins that we hiked by on our last visit to the monument on the Pueblo Loop Trail — but this time from above.

Look at this monster multi-stemmed cactus!

Meeting Melissa was like meeting an old friend — it felt like we’d already known each other forever. We talked nonstop!

We decided to hike the Falls Trail and it was so cool hearing about what what it was like when she came here as a kid. She grew up in Los Alamos but has been living in the UK near Cambridge. Hearing about all the changes was so interesting — it also made me sad to learn about all of the differences brought about by climate change in such a short period of a time.

Meeting Melissa was like meeting an old friend — and I love her orange hat!

Melissa shared how Ponderosa pine bark smells like vanilla, especially when it’s warmed by the sun! So we kept stopping and sniffing the trees as we hiked!

Ponderosa pine bark smells like vanilla — who knew!? Wish we had scratch n’ sniff screens!

That’s the Rio Grande in the “V” of the frame! Really made me miss Big Bend National Park.

This part of the Falls Trail was closed down to the Rio Grande — or “the Rio” as Melissa called it!

I couldn’t get over all all the colors of the rocks — just so dang beautiful. It was 91 degrees — such a shock after the 70s at Valles Caldera.

Then Melissa drove us back to the campground and we showed her the van and talked art supplies — what a great day!

Thursday: Camp Day at Bandelier National Monument

We really needed a rest day today.

Turned out to have a bit of excitement as a big storm roared in with nickel and dime sized hail that sounded super loud on the van! Luckily the van was okay.

We later learned that there was flash flooding in Frijole Canyon and some trails in the park are currently closed due to the flood damage.

Friday: Back to the Valle!

Today we went back to Valles Caldera to give Dr. Bill Sayer a card to thank him for all of the geology field trips he took us on. You can read about them here, here and here!

We got a backcountry permit and went on a 7 mile hike in Obsidian Valley — we just HAD to hike this route after Dr. Bill showed us the obsidian at the start of the trail.

All of the black rocks you see are obsidian! So cool.

Foot selfie with obsidian!

Dr. Bill told us that all of the little pieces of obsidian that you can see are discards from when Ancestral Pueblo people worked it to form arrowheads and other tools. So amazing to think about!

We hiked through several burn scars — it made us sad, but it was good to see small pines, spruces and aspens making a comeback.

We didn’t see a soul all day until we were almost back to the trailhead — and then we ran into someone visiting the preserve from…Austin! Small world, right?! What are the odds?

We made it out of the gate with 9 minutes to spare — the gate closes at 5:00pm this time of year and I almost forgot as closing was at 6:00pm when I started my residency.

Then we stopped at the viewing spots along NM-4 and were treated to more elk, including 2 bucks!

I’m really gonna miss these sweeping vistas — does this mean I’ve turned into a Valley Girl? (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)

Can you spot the elk in the distance? There are 2 groups! Don’t ask me how I saw them from the highway!

Then we went to Los Alamos to get gas, mail some packages and pick up a few groceries. Los Alamos seems like a great little town — so good to see mass transit and so many people walking. And the views of the mountains can’t be beat.

Saturday: Hiking Tsankawi Trail

Ever since my friend Paula told me about the Tsankawi Trail I wanted to hike it — thanks, Paula!

The trail climbs up a mesa and follows the same paths used by the Ancestral Pueblo people. The trail is on tuff rock — which is pretty soft — so grooves get worn in the trail where people have walked over hundreds and hundreds of years.

Following in the footsteps of those who came before me.

It’s so hard to capture the feeling of hiking these trails — but I hope this gives you a sense of the wonder that we felt.

The trail has 3 ladders, but they’re just lil baby ladders compared to the ones we climbed at Alcove House — I climbed them without fear!

One tough plant!

The colors here really have my heart — it felt like home.

There are petroglyphs carved on the rocks here - it was amazing to think of the people carving them and trying to guess what they meant.

Sunday: Camp Day at Bandelier!

We’re both pretty beat from the week we decided to have another camp day.

I love Sundays in campgrounds — they’re usually quiet and peaceful — and today is no exception.

We’re planning out the next part of our advantures — and hope you’ll follow along!

I really want to go to Georgia O'Keeffe’s home in Abiquiú, NM, but right now all the tours are booked up, darn! I also want to stay at Ghost Ranch and Jason wants to go dispersed camping in the Jemez Mountains, so we’ll see what shakes out.

See you next week! Lisa & Jason