Camper Van Update: Our First Trip!

Ford Transit Campervan tour on North to South
Ford Transit Campervan tour on North to South

It’s official! Our camper van is officially camp-able — albeit a bit incomplete.

Phase One of our van build is nearly finished, so this past weekend we decided to take our Ford Transit campervan out for a test camping trip! With just a few days remaining before our scheduled return to Chicago, we drove the van to both the beach and the desert for a brief but relaxing first trip.

Continue reading “Camper Van Update: Our First Trip!”

A Magical Morning at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (Denver, Colorado)

A Magical Morning at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge

A Magical Morning at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge

I’ve never been a morning person, but there are major advantages to rising before the sun when it comes to wildlife photography, usually in the form of fewer people and more animals. This summer, with our new 100-400mm lens, we arrived at Rocky Mountain Arsenal before dawn and were pleasantly surprised with what we found. Continue reading “A Magical Morning at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (Denver, Colorado)”

Burning Man 2018: Portraits of a Camp

Burning Man 2018: Portraits of a Camp

Burning Man 2018: Portraits of a Camp

Twenty-six. The only integer that is one greater than a square and one less than a cube, the number of spacetime dimensions in bosonic string theory, and the number of faces in a rhombicuboctahedron (thanks, Wikipedia). That’s how many people were in our Burning Man camp this year — double our numbers from burns past!

Despite our camp’s monstrous growth, however, we managed to keep our important camp traditions intact. Nightly camp dinners, the Da Vinci bar, and our biannual camp photoshoot all brought us together per usual, and some awesome new additions made 2018 even more special.

Could we have done without our recycling queen, that handy megaphone, or our unplanned (but ridiculously delicious) Sunday meat feast? Of course — but it sure wouldn’t have been as memorable without each and every campmate that made up this year’s Prosciutto Bay.

Continue reading “Burning Man 2018: Portraits of a Camp”

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Twenty-Two (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas)

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Twenty-Two -- Sanibel Island, Everglades National Park, Key West, Mobile, Jackson, and Little Rock

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Twenty-Two -- Sanibel Island, Everglades National Park, Key West, Mobile, Jackson, and Little Rock

We got off to a rainy start on week twenty two of our road trip, but the sun always comes out eventually in Florida. Walking on the uncrowded beach of Sanibel Island, airboating in the Everglades, and a three-night stay in Key West wrapped up our Florida time before we turned back north to begin our long trek back west.

Stops in Mobile, Jackson, and Little Rock spaced out this week’s drive, and with only eight states left on our road trip itinerary, achieving our 50-state goal was now in clear sight!

Note: I’m still catching up on our weekly road trip re-caps! This one covers October 4-10. Continue reading “U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Twenty-Two (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas)”

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Twenty-One (Georgia and Florida)

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Twenty-One -- Charleston, Savannah, Orlando and Clearwater

Departing Myrtle Beach and continuing south, we started this week with a stop in colorful Charleston on our way to Savannah. The dreamy moss-covered oak tree scenery continued into the sunshine state, where we stopped to visit family, got a live-action dose of Harry Potter, and went to see a movie star in rehab. SPOILER ALERT: It was a dolphin!

Note: I’m still catching up on our weekly road trip re-caps! This one covers September 27 – October 3. Continue reading “U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Twenty-One (Georgia and Florida)”