Mountain Green, UT

For a good chunk of my childhood I said I was from Utah, thanks to the three years I lived there before moving to Germany at age six. My parents kept that childhood home in Mountain Green, allowing Cameron and I to hunker down for the winter as we build out the van. It also gives me the chance to assess if I like living in a place with a proper winter, someplace that is semi-rural (meaning I have to drive to do any errands), and test out some of the realities of being a home owner. 

Mountain Green may have an unfair advantage, since we will be staying here significantly longer than any other location on the list. Rather than judging it on a first impression, we're getting the full experience of what it might be like to commit to this spot. At the time I am writing this, we have lived here for about three weeks. In that time we've experienced the peak of autumn leaves, transitioned into the first snows (both on the mountains and at the house), went on a few hikes, had dentist appointments, met up with a few potential new friends, and done various home improvement projects. I feel like I live here.

The Good

• Stunningly beautiful! We have great views of the northern Wasatch Range, and particularly of Thurston Peak. At the top of the neighborhood you can catch glimpses of the Strawberry Express Gondola at Snowbasin. Even if you are in Ogden, Morgan, or Salt Lake City, the surrounding mountains seem so close and tangible.
• With that, there is a lot of wildlife. I see wild turkeys practically every day, and we've also seen a herd of wild sheep, a black bear, and some deer and elk (or maybe moose) tracks not far from our house.
• No surprise, there are lots of outdoor activities. We're 15 minutes away from Snowbasin, and of course there are lots of hiking and mountain biking options, too. The nearest swimmable lake is also less than 20 minutes away.
• It's not just outdoorsy things that are close. Ogden (20 minutes) has a cute downtown, a seasonal Saturday farmers market, and quite a few restaurants. It also has all of the ugly-but-necessary strip mall-type stores that you need but don't really want to see, so it's a good town to be near when you need regular access to Home Depot.
• Similarly, Salt Lake City (30 minutes) is there whenever we need the airport or want to do a big-city activity, like see a live show.
• Folks are really friendly. We met most of our neighbors within the first two days here, and every time I go shopping I'm surprised at how engaging the small talk is. I've also been using BumbleBFF to make friends, and so far it's been very successful; I'm already making many more connections than when I used the app in Kraków. 
• It feels homey. I'm sure a big part of that is that we are living in a literal home (not a van, hotel room, or dinkey rental), but it's easy to imagine a fairly permanent life here.

The Bad

• There are literally no radio stations that reach Mountain Green or Morgan.
• Mountain Green is not really it's own town; it's a "census-designated place," but our zip code belongs to Morgan. That means there isn't a downtown or any real shops (other than a gas station convenience store) and it's a little hard to explain where I live.
• I have to drive for all of my errands. Just about everything can be reached within 15 minutes, but this is the first time in my adult life I haven't been walking distance to a grocery store. 
• Native Utahns can be a little cliquey, but it seems to help when I add that I grew up here as a kid.
• Because it's rural, it's also more conservative. I see a lot of Trump 2024 bumper stickers, and I need to be careful about sharing my liberal political views. 
• I also need to be careful about my religious views. There is a really high Mormon population (which is true for all of Utah, but especially the more rural parts) and I feel like every family I see out and about has at least four kids (heaven forbid if I mentioned birth control or abortion rights!). If Cameron and I were to ever have children, we would definitely be old parents in comparison.
• The general political/religious vibe of the state means there are some weird liquor laws. You can't get beer higher than 5% at a restaurant, if you drink at a restaurant you have to also order food; beer sold at grocery stores has to be under 3.2%; establishments can only sell alcohol from 11:30am-1am; and alcohol can never be served as a package (so if you buy a six pack, you are actually buying six individual beers). The rules won't affect me too much, but it is something to get used to.

The Verdict

Yes. If my parents decided to sell this house Cameron and I would seriously consider buying it from them. It may not be the perfect place, but it's pretty close. None of the items on the "bad" list are deal breakers, and the beautiful vistas really deserve bonus points – every day I wake up and am so excited to look out of the window. We'll see if my views change after experiencing a proper winter (another thing I haven't had to do in my adult life), and I also would want to test out the summer, since I've heard it can be oppressively hot. I'm a little worried that if we choose this as our just right it would be hard to find a house that is at least as good as this one, but for now I love it here!

Views from the top of the neighborhood during the peak of autumn colors.

Morning views from our bathroom window, after the first few dustings of snow.

It literally only takes 15 minutes to drive to Snowbasin. Although we'll be using our season passes primarily for skiing, they have lots of summer hiking and biking routes as well.

After picking up our season passes, we took the gondola to Needles Lodge. I'm really looking forward to seeing this same landscape under some snow! This photo was taken on October 3rd. 

It won't be long! This photo was taken 10 days later, on October 13th. A Bumble friend and I did a hike near the base of Snowbasin on the Green Pond Trail. 

I'm curious how late-season hiking will go. This mid-October hike was really muddy, and all of the trails at Snowbasin are closed to hikers now. I'm expecting there could be a month or two between when hiking season ends and skiing season begins. 

Pineview Reservoir attracts fishermen year round (even for ice fishing), but it's quite popular for swimmers and SUPpers during the summer. 

I love the turkeys! This little rafter (a term for a group of turkeys) was pictured from our family room.

I'll leave you with some more neighborhood views. This is the main selling point for Mountain Green. I expect I've taken this same picture every day since we've lived here.

Steamboat Springs, CO

Steamboat Springs, Colorado is a resort town that feels much larger than its population of 13,000. It attracts nature folks of all sorts for its skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and fishing. The city also boasts geothermal springs.  As one friend said, "Steamboat sure is dreamy!"

We visited during the off season (autumn), but what most would consider the most beautiful time of year. The surrounding mountains were filled with yellow and orange aspens. During our four days there, we ate out at a few places: ice cream at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, dinner at Carl's Tavern, and lunch at Otto. I also spent considerably more than I expected when casually browsing the downtown shops. 

As far as outdoor activities go, we hiked Fish Creek Falls and walked along the Yampa River Trail into downtown and the botanical gardens. We also played putt putt golf, saw two bears, and drove around looking for real estate flyers.

The Good

• Really beautiful mountain scenery: two ski areas and plenty of creeks that feed into the larger Yampa River. Bonus: Steamboat Ski Resort is visually prominent but the mountain doesn't look too cut up.
• Lively and cute downtown with lots of eating and shopping options. The town's aesthetic perfectly appeals to me, as evidenced by the shopping I did. If I had unlimited funds I would have definitely also purchased some pillow cases, an apron, a sweater, a few games, and surely plenty more.
• Other than the ski-in, ski-out region near the ski resort, the neighborhoods feel residential. 
• The town culture seems friendly and safe: kids were on bikes, families were out for post-soccer game treats, and people were generally interested in chatting.
• There are enough major stores (Safeway, Walmart, Ace Hardware) for the town to be fully self-sufficient. 
• It's a destination spot for friends/family to visit.
• Lots of activities: skiing, biking (road and mountain), hiking, fishing, hot springs, bowling, mini golf, nearby lakes, river actives, botanical gardens....you name it!
• Good trail systems.
• Options to buy homes with some acreage, or to buy a plot of land and build on it, without being too far from downtown.

The Bad

• A bit busy during the off season, which means it's likely really crowded during the peak seasons.
• It's a destination for a lot of reasons, so tourists can be a hassle; while we were hiking we saw two bachelorette parties.
• Expensive housing market.
• The main road going through downtown is an extension of the highway, so there are lots of cars driving through.

The Verdict

Yes, but with some caveats. This is by far my favorite place we've visited, but I fear we may have experienced it during the ideal conditions. If this becomes one of the final contenders, I would need to experience it during peak tourism before I commit. I'm also becoming somewhat disenchanted with Colorado as a whole, so if there were a similar town in a less-trafficked state, I would almost surely chose the alternate option.

Look how beautiful this places is! This was within 1 mile of downtown along the Yampa River Trail.

The main Yampa River Trail runs about 4 miles. There was a wide variety of folks using it on Sunday morning: retirees doing morning exercise with their friends, dads towing kids in their bike baskets, and pre-teens riding to their friend's house.

The hike we did was also gorgeous, but pretty busy. That might have been because we were there on a promotional free parking Saturday, but I think Steamboat attracts enough wealthy people that the $5 discount didn't significantly impact the crowds.

One really nice thing about Steamboat is you don't have to travel far to get out into nature.

We saw two bears. I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad indicator, but I throughly enjoyed the sightings!

There seem to be lots of parks in town.

Downtown parallels the river and has lots of things to see and spend your money on.

Their annual Food and Wine Fest seems to be a hit: they were sold out of tickets for final BBQ luncheon. 

Van Buildout: First Steps

Step 1: Assess your van. Realize that it is way too big from the outside yet still way too small on the inside. Consider if you have made a very expensive mistake. Realize that even if it was a mistake, you've already committed to this and that you have too much pride to call it quits. Plus, despite the pang of intimidation, you also are intrigued and excited.

Step 2: Practice driving. You're pleasantly surprised that the driving part is easier than expected; sitting so high up gives the illusion that you have pretty good visibility, plus you can see a decent amount out of the back windows. Realize those back windows won't be accessible once you've added in all of the furniture. To compensate, putting in the floors, walls, and furniture will tamper down the loud echoey sounds that make it seem like you are constantly driving through a cave.

Step 3: Practice parking. This is particularly tricky since the pop-up canopy you've bought is probably too short. Make your partner hop out of the van to guide you in and silently curse the whole time that there is no way this mammoth is going to fit in between the narrow set of poles you've set up. Surprisingly, it fits! Hope that you are not the one driving it next so you don't have to then back it out of that impossible parking space. Console yourself that if you are, then at least there's a built-in 360°camera to assist. Internally promise yourself that if you run over the new flowers you planted to not get mad; they are a small sacrifice.

Step 4: Insulation. Watch the video Havelock Wool put together on how to properly insulate your van. Start tearing off puffs of wool to fill in the nooks and crannies. Get snippy because you partner tells you you've over stuffed, but then retort that he has under stuffed. Start filling in the scantily filled holes he's left because you realize that's the side of the van you will be sleeping on, and you don't want to be cold at night. Continue to pad out the walls until the entire thing looks like the inside of an uncleaned lint trap.

Step 5: Cardboard models. Review the blueprint you've been developing for months and compare it to the real thing. Try to match your chicken scratch to the real measurements. Tape up cardboard sheets to mark the boarders of the "kitchen," "bathroom," and "bedroom." Reassess after realizing that the remaining pathway to get between each "room" is far too narrow. Consider how much counter space you really need and come to the conclusion that you can shave off a few inches of depth. Remind yourself multiple times that the cardboard models are bigger than the real thing, since in reality the boarder of your materials will be closer to 1.5 inches rather than the few millimeters of thickness your cardboard presents.

Step 6: Ask, "what's missing?" You sarcastically respond to yourself "well, everything. It's just a metal box filled with cardboard. Even a very imaginative six-year-old would struggle to picture this as a livable home." In reality though, you realize the original plan for the work and eating spaces may not be practical. The swivel seats are further removed from the main living space, and the seats also are quite high up. Start to think up practical solutions for how that can be rectified. Be grateful that this was discovered early on and that you have ample time to make modifications.

Step 7: Cut out cardboard floor plans while watching cycle 20 of America's Next Top Model (after all, you just realized it was added to Netflix). Praise yourself at how clever your improvised tool of sticking a marker through a sewing spool clamp works at allowing you to trace around the edges. Keep telling yourself that you probably just need one more cut, but know that you are lying to yourself because you said that two episodes ago. After three full episodes, admire how sung of a fit you got, and then dread the moment where you will use that cardboard cutout as your template for cutting the real-deal insulation foam and flooring.

Step 8: Make a trip to Home Depot. You need bigger cardboard sheets, automotive primer, insulation primer, silicone sealant, plywood, anti-rust spray, specialty tape, and many other things that you've never used before. Groan, because you realize that you need to drive the van, which means the challenging backing out. Become slightly overwhelmed at the knowledge that this is one of many Home Depot trips to come. You could continue to order from HD online, but it's almost more overwhelming having a new large heavy mystery box get delivered to your house every day.

Step 9: Build out a model bed frame. The bed is the biggest piece of furniture and the measurements of it determine the true workable space for everything else. To do this, you learn to use a jigsaw to cut out the very splintery 2"x2"s. Make the decision that you should order the aluminum rails at the exact measurements because if you're in charge of any cutting, they will not be precision cuts. After placing the wooden sample frame in the van, award yourself with a half smile and a sigh of relief since because you're actually doing this, and the space doesn't seem too tiny (yet).

Step 10: Warn your partner to read this blog post with a grain of salt. Although you sound really critical and grumpy, you're actually really pleased that the two of you are doing this. Make the a joke (admittedly in poor form) that this is way better than having a baby, because there're no guarantees that a baby will be perfect but you can do a lot of things to help ensure your van is perfect...and a van costs less than a baby does. Then wonder to yourself which is more environmentally damaging, driving a diesel van for tens of thousands of miles in a year or adding an extra human to the world. Uh oh, driving a Sprinter van 100,000 miles equates to about twice as big of a carbon footprint as an American does in their lifetime.

That's a nervous driver if I've ever seen one.

It fits! So long as you pull in exactly center.

Wool stuffing.

By the end of this, we'll have 400 square feet of wool stuffed into our van.

We get at least one van-related box delivered every day. Some are more exciting than others.

Cardboard models. 

Tracing around the wheel wells so we will be able to get exact cuts for the flooring layers.

Exact measurements and perfect cuts are more in Cameron's jurisdiction than mine.

We Have a Van!

We put in a request to purchase our van on March 27, 2021. After patiently waiting 7 months, it's finally here. We picked up Vanjie Meriwether (name is still a work in process) on Friday and we're ecstatic!

Buying a brand new custom Mercedes Sprinter is rather expensive, even if you take out a lot of the standard luxuries (like floors and passenger seats). Because neither of us had ever made a purchase this big (I think our Toyota RAV4 was the closest, and that was less than a third the cost of the Sprinter), Mercedes required we put down a large downpayment (~40%) and they still gave us a crummy interest rate (4.6%). 

Despite the cost, we decided buying new made the most sense for us. For one, finding a used vehicle that can be easily converted or is already converted is pretty expensive. Just doing a quick search on Craigslist right now, I found an empty 2018 sprinter with 190,000 miles listed for $45,000, and a built out Winnebago (milage not given) for $101,000. We expect that the brand new van, plus the buildout costs, will be less than $100k.

Other benefits of a new vehicle are the reliability and warranties. We will be driving the van many many miles in its first two years, and it would really put a damper on our trip to sit stranded on the side of the road with a broken down vehicle. I will feel much more confident taking this ambitious trip with a brand new car.

The timing is also more controlled with a new vehicle (or so we initially thought). If we planned on buying used, we would be up to the whim of the market, and would have had to be very active on used vehicle marketplaces. Finding exactly what we want would have been a Goldilocks Project in its own right and it would have likely not come up in our ideal timeframe. Even though there was a delay with Vanjie, we were at least assured that there would be a van, and we could start planning around the specifications we know we are getting.

As I mentioned, this van was custom ordered. We got the specific camera and interface technology that we wanted, we were able to get extra comfort swivel seats pre-installed, we paid extra for four wheel drive, and there is nothing that we don't need (i.e. the floors and seats I had listed above). The interior buildout will be fully custom as well. While many people pay many thousands of dollars to have a company do their interiors, we are planning on doing it fully ourselves. We are consulting many Youtube videos for inspiration, but the layout and look will be bespoke. We also have much more agility to change plans if we come up with a new idea after seeing the space start to fill out, which we wouldn't have if the van was pre-designed.

It's true, doing our own buildout will mean a lot of learning and physical work. At times the entirety of the project seems rather overwhelming, but I feel quite confident in our abilities. Leading up to the pickup date, we had already ordered a heating system, insulation, a collapsable table, cell booster, internet hotspot, and a storage canopy. We've been stockpiling cardboard, which will be repurposed for a model buildout so we can test out the interior space allocation. Our garage is slowly turning into a well-stocked workshop. 

Having the physical van makes the whole project much more real. Both the excitement and apprehension are more pronounced; with the van in hand, it will be much harder to back out. I've seen many of these vans in the wild, but actually standing inside of it (and trying to park it) make it seem like a behemoth. Surely, we will be quite appreciative for all of that interior space once we start filling it in, especially since a decent margin will be unusable as it will be filled with wiring and instillation, but driving it will take a little getting used to.

Now that we actually have it, it means it's time to get started on the real work. We've already begun to fill the nooks and crannies with wool insulation, and Cameron began putting that cardboard to use. (Expect a future post concerning the specific buildout steps.) Having a tangible representation of the space makes me realize exactly how confined we may be, but per Cameron "if you need to pace, you have the whole outdoors." Soon we will be able to order all of the pieces that we've been holding off on until we could get exact measurements (sink, stove, bed, toilet, etc.). 

We've estimated a six-month buildout, which would get us on the road in April, 2022. That means we'll be working hard through the snowy Utah winter, but it also means many "test drives" up to the ski area; Cameron envisions waking up early and sitting in our cozy van eating a hot van-cooked breakfast from a primo parking space while we wait for the lifts to open. I must say, it seems we are living the dream!

Who dat? That's me looking back at you from my swiveled chair.

We were allowed to play around in our van while the card dealership people dealt with the paperwork. The dealership was quite sexist; they didn't even consider that I might want to be listed on the title and the banker didn't shake my hand, only Cameron's, even though I was the one signing the check. Ok...sorry for that small rant. I'm still happy with the van.

Signing the paperwork to make it official.

Trying to figure out how a diesel engine works?

A happy Cameron and the slightly manic face of someone who thinks Cameron might crash the van within the first hour of owning it.

Louisville, CO

Louisville, Colorado is about 30 minutes north of Denver, although I heard that can really increase during rush hour. It's a small town, only about 20,000 residents, and the first place we visited without any preexisting knowledge nor any local friends to give us the low-down. 

Starting from the drive there I was pleasantly surprised. Once we were within 15 minutes of town, it felt like we had left the big city and were now in agricultural land. The whole time we continued to move closer to the mountains, which remained in view from town. The public library was really nice, and situated in downtown, which gave me easy walking access once I finished my work tasks. 

I walked along the (surprisingly long) Main Street, and then continued through a neighborhood to Louisville Community Park. From there I followed the Coal Creek Trail for a while before deciding to pop off into a neighborhood. I continued to string along parks and neighborhood streets until I looped back into downtown. Had I wanted to, it would have been quite easy to continue for many miles on well-kept walking and biking trails. We finished the evening with a meal at the cute-but-pricey Por Wine House.

The Good

• Feels distinct from Denver and is close to the mountains (I found a handful of trails within a 15 minute drive).
• Cute and quiet, but not sleepy, downtown with lots of dining options.
• Very friendly; almost everyone I passed shared a wave or a friendly "hello."
• Lots of kids on bikes, on rollerblades, playing soccer, or hanging out sans-adults in the numerous parks.
• Seems safe; I saw a number of over-stuffed mailboxes which made me think people aren't worried about their property being stollen.
• Good size; it felt like one cohesive community.
• Unlike Littleton and Crested Butte, Louisville felt natural. It seemed like the town had grown organically and it just happened to be in a pleasant way.

The Bad

• The surrounding agricultural land is not my ideal town-backdrop.
• Limited housing available. 
• Everyone was white. The only person of color I saw was doing pest control work. 

The Verdict

Sure. You might think from the good-to-bad ratio Louisville would be a whole-hearted "yes!" It was, until it was time to leave the Denver area for good. I-70 is the main road connecting all of the Denver suburbs to the main skiing and other outdoorsy activities, and on a Friday mid-morning it was already very slow traffic to get into the mountains. I realized Denver has nothing appealing to me, and that if I'm going to live in a suburb, then Denver is not the city I want to be near. If I had a reason to be near Denver, I would really love Louisville, but until that day I think I am going to avoid Denver at all costs.

This is how most of Littleton's downtown looked: cute store fronts with ample outdoor seating.

Perhaps my favorite thing in town was this impromptu art. Inside was a spinning flower that played music.

The parks were varied: some were grassy fields, others had bocce ball pits and playgrounds, and this one had a nice picnic space.

Some spots that were marked as green space on the map were actually just private agricultural land. That was a little discouraging until I discovered the expansive public trail system.

One of many trail options. This was less than 10 minutes walk from downtown.

There were little free libraries like this one all over town.