A Vanlife Retreat in Valley of Fire
Living in a van means spending countless hours of just the two of us together. Even though we enjoy each other’s company, it is always exciting to interact with new people. Usually we are the ones visiting other people and their home but this time around, company came to us. Our friends Kristin, Chris, and their pup are also living in van so the three of them loaded up and spent the weekend with us in Valley of Fire.
Valley of Fire is a state park located about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas featuring lots of red sandstone formations that appear to be on fire when reflecting sunlight. Because it is the largest state park in Nevada and the fact that it was spring break, it was packed and the campgrounds were full. Fortunately, there was BLM land outside of the park that we spent the first night on. As we entered the park the following morning, we were surrounded by a herd of desert bighorn sheep. Grant spent the next hour photographing these beautiful creatures. When he was done, we made our way over to the campground in hopes of reserving a spot. However, Grant turned down a different road when he thought there might be a possible rainbow to photograph. After driving looking for this “rainbow” we decided we should go and try to find a campsite. As we arrived at the campground, it was full of cars circling the campground like vultures, waiting for someone to leave their spot. Luckily for Grant, a gentleman let us know that he was planning on leaving and we got the last site in the campground. Grant would never have heard the end of it if we missed out on an epic campsite for a rainbow that never existed.
It is always fun to hike and explore new terrain. However, it’s not often that we have company and can enjoy our van together. The four of us and our dogs hiked through the park checking out slot canyons, washes, and arches. We spent the evening parked with our sliding doors wide open facing each other as we cooked and carried on good conversations. The dogs even seemed to enjoy the company of another four-legged friend. They kept trying to sneak each other’s food and check out their respective digs. Lhotse sadly realized that Bailey has a much more comfy bed than him.
One of the many questions we get is, “Doesn’t it get crowded in the van?” Well with four people and two large pups we had a movie night in our van with plenty of space! It was a blast. With our iPad on the dash and popcorn in reach, we all curled up and enjoyed the recent Oscar winning documentary, Free Solo.
We had a great weekend sharing our vanlife experience with some dear friends. And now you are all welcomed for a movie night in the van! Hurry though because space is limited.
