Alabama Hills

Once again I say it, “I’ve never been there”. The Alabama Hills, right off my second favorite stretch of California road (my first being any stretch leading out of the state) and within spittin’ distance of one of my favorite little towns in the West – Lone Pine. The Alabama Hills would be our home for the coming work week (or so we thought) as we explored Hwy 395 together for the first time as a couple. Arriving on Sunday meant many of the main-street businesses (including the auto parts store) were closed so we stopped in only for a shower and some groceries and spent went into those hills to find a spot we could call our own. It wasn’t as easy as it sounds; now that all these boondocking locations are so easily found online they are all much more crowded than they used to be a few years back. I’m partially to blame for this, as I have posted all my boondocking locations publicly as well. Eventually we found our spot, leveled out, and got to our relaxing and picture taking. We even set out for a quick hike to Mobius Arch, since we did basically park the van at one of the trails leading right out to the arch.

We broke camp on Monday morning to head back into town for the auto parts we needed for the failing universal joint issue with us. The parts not on hand (a rarity) I had to wait until the next morning to pick them up. That meant we had to break camp again on Tuesday morning for a run into town, just to pickup the parts. Knowing that, we could change our attitude on where we would stay that night – no cell signal needed. So that day, and night, we buried ourselves deep in the boulder field in the center of the Alabama Hills. for a more intimate visit of the area. Another hike lead us up top of and around the boulder field, the dogs joining in on the fun of the hike this time.

Tuesday morning we packed up and ran back into town to the community park. I have spend some time in this park before and knew it as a safe spot to hang out for the work hours. It also happened to be directly across the street from the auto parts store. Here Kerri could continue working while I picked up the parts and completed the repairs right there in the parking lot. And that is exactly how it all happened, and without any real issues. Big Blue got two new universal joints installed and I got a Carl’s Jr lunch (also right next door) to boot.

We thought we would head back up into the hills, but Kerri suggested we move on to roads less traveled. See, she had been doing a bit of scouting on Google Maps of the roads nearby. Not 15 minutes up the highway was a spot that she felt we had a good chance of finding a camping location to finish off the work week (more on that in the next post). She is learning how to be a van-dweller quickly, and just how enjoyable being a tramp can be. We can get up and move any time we want, with minimal effort. We can scout down roads too tight for the Airstream, and when we find a spot we can just hit the brakes, turn the key, and get right to the camping… as opposed to going back to the trailer, hitching up, towing, unhitching, then camping. Life as a Van Tramp (or ‘Van Hussy’, as she calls herself) is the best!