Vanlife: Stationary Living

I love being back in the van! It’s so cozy and homey, plus we’re in the perfect time of year temperature-wise. Even Pancake seems to know the drill; she didn’t throw the tantrum she normally does the first few days back in the van. 

For the first time ever, we’re experiencing stationary van life. We’ve booked a spot at Taos Valley RV Park for the month of April to confirm Taos is the place for us and to start house hunting (more on that in a later blog). Normally our vanlife routine involves driving 3 hours per day, which doesn’t leave much time for other routines to develop. Suddenly, I’m left with much more time in my day that I need to fill.

The RV Park is nice. It’s probably less than half full, it has a small playground, a short nature trail, a $2/load laundry room, and of course bathrooms and showers. We elected a site with water and electricity hook ups, but we have not needed to use either yet. We don’t have a sewer line, but we use the communal dump station when we need to drain the urine or gray tanks. (Yes, even though there is a nice restroom available, we still pee in the van at night and when we don’t want to walk outside.) A true treat is the option to order things online, which can be picked up from the front office when it arrives. All of these amenities add up to the low low cost of $800, which is more than we’ve had to pay for rent all year, but probably pretty equivalent to our monthly gas costs.

There’s a short hiking trail (less than 2 miles round trip from the RV park), but other than that it’s not a particularly nice place to walk or run from. It’s only 4 miles to the downtown plaza, but that’s too far for an afternoon treck. On the one occasion that I needed to go into town for a should-be-solo trip, I had to bring Cameron and the house with me. To avoid that situation in the future, I  got my bike tire fixed today (shoutout to Rift Cycles in Taos), so I’m expecting to become a regular after-work cyclist soon.

Soon might start tomorrow. I have returned to Bumble BFF in an attempt to make friends in the area, and I’m meeting someone at a brewery tomorrow afternoon. She is one of four women who the app recommended for me, so if it doesn’t work out I’ll likely have to start looking beyond technology for friends. I’d be curious to learn more about my fellow RVers, but there hasn’t been any opportunities to yet. There is a decent chance that if we see a particular van parked there again tonight Cameron will knock on their door to ask about their wiring pass-throughs. 

I was expecting more of the RVing culture we got glimpses of last summer: tricked out mega-vehicles, a full patio setup complete with reclining chairs and fairy lights, and lots of barbecuing. Maybe it’s the time of year, or maybe it’s the location, but most rigs here are pretty modest and their owners are more of the keep-to-themselves types. Nonetheless, if we don’t find a house immediately, I’d be willing to spend another month or more here (says Aisha after only 6 days). 

“Do not dump Porta-potties, thunder mugs, etc. in restrooms.” I had never heard of a thunder mug before. 

Bunny could care less. We got back into the van and she went straight to sleep. 

We made a stop at my sister’s house on the way to Taos – Pancake loves Auntie Cara. 

First meal at the RV Park – instant ramen. 

We have great views of the mountains. Maybe we should just live at the RV park the rest of our lives. 

We’ve made use of the playground equipment.

Say hello to our neighbors. Taos has great sky views. 

Until next time, I hope you sleep as comfortably as this rabbit.