Weeks 86 + 87: the one with the winter storm!
Staying warm and cozy in the van.
Hello, friends! Hi, fam! Did the winter storm come your way? I’d love to hear about your experience — leave me a comment below!
As for us, we decided to play it safe, so Wednesday, January 21 we left Dog Canyon Campground in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, and drove 5 hours to Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument (OMDP) in New Mexico, skirting El Paso and Las Cruces.
We wished we could have stayed at Dog Canyon longer but we didn’t want to risk getting iced in. It’s pretty remote out there and we were worried we might get stuck for a week or two. Plus it’s a long way to the nearest gas station!
Jason did a bunch of research, and it looked like Aguirre Springs Campground in OMDP would get some snow — but not too much — so off we went.
We got to the campground after the gate had closed, so we backtracked a little and camped at a trailhead. There were several other campers there as well.
The next morning we headed for the campground and found a spot. I spent the day getting ready to be stuck in the van for a few days and did some batch cooking while we were still producing solar power, plus I organized my art supplies. (More on the art projects I did during the storm below!)
It started raining Thursday night and didn’t let up until Saturday night when it turned to…SNOW!
Whenever there was a break in the rain I ran out to take photos — of course. There were some really amazing cloud formations:
And we even had a rainbow!
The air smelled amazing.
Sunday morning we woke up to…SNOW!
Clouds kept moving in and out and the mountain would disappear. The next two photos were taken just a few minutes apart:
Random fact about me: I LOVE snow! I grew up in Northeast Ohio, and I loved playing in the snow. After we moved to Austin, Texas snow became a rare treat — I missed it snow much! (Family in Ohio always gives me a hard time about it and threatens to send it my way and/or pelt me with snowballs when they see me, ha!)
I felt like a kid at Christmas and we celebrated with waffles. YUM!
Later that evening we went for another walk around the campground. It was so dang beautiful! I couldn’t stop taking photos. (Are you surprised?)
What a great day!
Van Update
It got down in the 20’s here at OMDP but the AEONrv kept us toasty warm and cozy! We’re really enjoying the new van. We’ve come up with a new routine when nighttime temps are forecasted to go below freezing — we’ve been putting the heater on 68 before we go to bed, letting it run for a while, then turning it down to 55 — and the heater doesn’t even come on until morning! So impressive.
AEONrv gave us a code to share with you: use this link for $2,000 off MSRP of an AEONrv of your own.
Hiking Pine Tree Loop
By Tuesday the temperatures had warmed up enough to go hiking — or so we thought!
We set out to hike Pine Tree Trail, a 4.5 mile loop, which starts out at 5,600’ elevation and goes up to 6,700’. We started hiking right from our campsite around 11 am, leaving plenty of time to hike. I packed plenty of snacks, water, and even my sketch kit.
We weren’t counting on snow covering 99% of the trail and a layer of slush — and sometimes ice — underneath! The snow hid all the rocks in the trail making it a wobbly slip-and-slide.
Don’t get me wrong, it was so beautiful! We had incredible views of Sugarloaf:
We got to see this most massive juniper:
And amazing views of the desert below:
It seemed like as soon as we got to the high point it got super cold! And of course that’s when the sun dipped behind the mountains! Brrr.
We made it back to camp around 4:00 pm — cold, tired, and happy hikers! That took way longer than we thought it would! Once we got back to pavement I had a hard time walking on flat ground — I was so used to the wobbly trail, ha! I felt like I needed to get my land legs back :)
I didn’t get to do a sketch on the trail, so I did one a few days later of that juniper:
It was a great way to get some gouache practice in! Check out the video for more.
We went for a walk around the campground on Thursday and saw this note at site 14 — totally cracked us up! Can confirm it’s accurate about that trail!
Thanks, Jack!
Hiking Baylor Pass
Tuesday we both woke up super sore — so decided to hike to Baylor Pass to stretch our legs.
We started the hike right from our campsite again but in the opposite side of the campground. This 5 mile hike started around 5,600’ in elevation and ended at 6,500’.
The views didn’t disappoint:
There was still snow on parts of the trail, but much less than Pine Tree Loop. We got to see some seasonal creeks flowing — so pretty and peaceful:
We found lots of cool cacti, including this barrel:
There was a flat sotol grassland when the trail leveled off — a huge change from yesterday’s pine-oak forest!
I got to do a sketch while we were up top — it was all sunny when I started but the wind kicked up and a cold breeze came in before I finished, doh!
Check out a video I did while I was up top here on Instagram.
What an amazing sketch spot!
We could see all the way to Las Cruces, the second largest city in New Mexico:
All too soon it was time to head back to camp.
Art News
Ink Sketching Class
I wanted to share about an ink sketching class I’m taking with Claire from Adventure Art Academy. Claire is such a great teacher and I’m having the best time sketching along with her! All the classes are recorded and you can join in at any time. Find out more here. If you’re in the class let me know — it’s always fun to think of all the friends out there sketching along together.
I’ve had an Art Toolkit set up just for ink sketching for a few years now — gotta stay organized when you live in a van, know what I mean? (If ever you’re in need of an Art Toolkit or palette, use code LISAFAN10 for 10% off!)
Valentine’s Day Cards
I’ve been making Valentine’s Day cards in camp the past few days so that I can mail them when we leave — and I thought I’d post them here so you can get some ideas for cards of your own!
Bouquets
The first batch of cards are inspired by the amazing bouquets from Kate at Bough and Bend Floral (@bough_and_bend) (Reference photos used with permission, of course!)
If you’re in the Warren, PA area stop by and see them in person — pick up some flowers for yourself or your sweetie! I first met Kate when I was an artist-in-residence at Allegheny National Forest and I fell in love with her arrangements — they’re just so dang beautiful!
I used the Color Play collab palette that I did with Kelly from @lettersparrow and had the best time playing with neons, and cool vs warm reds. There are still a few available in Kelly’s shop.
I Love You More Than All the Stars
One of my favorite things about van life is that we get to stay in places with truly dark skies. It’s so amazing to get to see the Milky Way overhead and the stars shining bright. ✨
I made these Valentines in camp today featuring the night sky and I thought I’d film them in case you wanted to try them too! They’re a great way to practice painting the Milky Way — and conifers. Full details in the video description.
To find out more about about Dark Skies and where they’re protected, visit DarkSky.org.
That’s a Wrap!
That’s it for this week! As always, it’s so good to have you along for the ride! — Lisa, Jason, and Henry-the-Van
Thanks for the post Lisa. The photos are great.
I always enjoy following your "adVANtures" and seeing your beautiful photos and art posts. Learning to paint with gouache is one of my goals for this year too!