The Beginning of VanLyf in Twin Lakes, CO

Here we are. As I write this, we have officially been living full time in our van for one week. I still don’t really understand time & how this is possible. Our first official night in Santiago feels like ages ago & at the same time, I feel like a total newbie to this new lyfstyle. 

update: we changed the name of our van from Shasta to Santiago. Shasta was the name given to the van by her previous owner. While we loved this name & intended on keeping it, we faced some challenges moving into the van that were out of our control. Listen to our podcast if you’d like to hear move about our move into the van. We felt like a fresh start was needed. A new identity to let go of & leave behind those memories. Therefore, we decided on the name Santiago—inspired by the main character in Paulo Coelho’s book The Alchemist, which if you haven’t read it, stop reading this right now & go to your nearest local bookstore & buy it (or buy it from your favorite local bookstore online…because, pandemic). I won’t spoil any of the story for you, but it centers around a young shepherd boy named Santiago & his journey in pursing his Personal Legend. This felt very similar to the journey we were embarking on—one of chasing a dream, leaving behind familiarity & comfortability.

We knew we wanted to spend our first week in Santiago near Buena Vista, CO. This is one of our favorite mountain towns that we just can’t seem to get enough of. There are plenty of 14’ers in this area with lots of dispersed camping options available around the trailheads. We found an isolated spot around the base of Mount Antero, which was the first mountain I climbed in Colorado back in high school. As we settled in & moved things around (story of our lives), the sun set & we began to cook the first of many van dinners. As Caleb is an avid gamer, I fell asleep to the beautiful sounds of him playing Zelda on his Nintendo Switch. A familiar soundtrack to fall asleep to in an unfamiliar time of transition.

The next morning we awoke to the sun shining through the back doors of the van. I knew this didn’t feel like a “permanent spot”—whatever that means for vanlyf—& we were out of propane, so we decided to go into Buena Vista to restock on fuel, purchase some new items for the van that we immediately knew we needed after one night, & find a different spot to stay for a couple of days. The spot we ended up in was closer to Twin Lakes, CO. Nestled in a forest of trees with the base of Mount Elbert, the tallest mountain in Colorado, at our backs & the view of the Twin Lakes to our forefront, we knew this would be our home until we needed to leave again to get more supplies. 

This spot would become a healing & grounding spot for me over the next couple of days. I felt very connected to the space around me as I would sit on our meditation rock overlooking the lakes & mountains that surrounded us. We would take a walk with the dogs every morning through the forest, admiring the flowers, the beauty of the water, & the epic-ness of the mountains. We would peacefully watch the shadow from the sun setting behind the mountains grow along the shores of the lakes. 

alas, we began to run out of water, our recycling bin began to fill up, & even though we had been washing our feet every night, a shower was feeling much needed. We needed to leave our haven & head back into Buena Vista for an in town day. This consisted of refilling on water, dropping off our recycle at the local recycling center, hitting up a laundromat which also offered showers, & running errands. There seems to be an endless list of items to get for the van, which feels funny as we are in an active practice of minimalizing, there’s almost always something else we could use to help adapt to this new lyfstyle. Something we really wanted to begin putting into practice with moving into the van was shopping more locally, wherever we were. While we did a pretty good job of this in Denver, we had gotten a little used to amazon & the convenience it offers. So, we took advantage of this & each spent time walking solo around the town of Buena Vista, going in & out of the small local shops there, purchasing what we needed. Supporting them & supporting ourselves.

With the weekend approaching, we knew our sacred spot was probably going to be taken by the time we were done in Buena Vista. Nevertheless, we still drove back to it with hopes that an open campground would remain. Both that spot & every little spot around her were now occupied. She was ready to pass her magic on to another group of humans. We decided to head towards the Mount Huron trailhead & see if we could find something there. This trailhead is the trailhead that is furthest from a paved road, so we figured we probably had a good chance of finding something there, as it’s a long, slow drive down a bumpy, dirt road. We found a spot right off the main county road & made this our home for the night. For the first time, we went out on the roof & star gazed. A dream-like experience with multiple shooting stars, I felt the magic of the world & peacefully fell asleep after this conscious meditation.

We both have been longing for water. With Colorado being a landlocked state & far from any coasts, our souls have been yearning for some sort of beach-like experience for quite some time. We knew we wanted to go down to the shores of Twin Lakes & fulfill this calling. Therefore, we declared Friday as our beach day. I was a little worried that the beaches would be packed with people, but once again, it’s like we were meant to be right there at that exact moment. We had the beach to ourselves, set up a nice shady fort for the dogs, & basked in the sun as we stared in awe at the mountains in front of us. With the perfect playlist going, frisbee breaks with the dogs, walks along the shoreline, & a quick plunge into the cold water, I felt the universe smiling upon me (khruangbin reference :) the consistent sound of the water lapping up against the shore was my constant. I will never forget the mystically beautiful wispy clouds. We stayed in this spot until the sun sank behind the mountain & the chilliness of nighttime approached. Not knowing exactly where we were going to stay, we found a county road not far from the shores of the lake where a lot of campers were. As the sunset began to turn a fiery red, we found a nice spot next to several other groups of campers. As we made a late dinner & I saw a group next to us with a large bonfire, laughing, & playing Red Hot Chili Peppers, my memory immediately went to Bonnaroo & I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

The next day was our first day with a plan. We had known for a couple of months that we had to be in Breckenridge, CO on July 11 for a photoshoot. One of our amazingly talented photographer friends was putting on a styled shoot & asked Caleb and I a few months back if we would model for the shoot. Stopping to fill up on water & empty our recycle along the way, we headed to Breckenridge, excited to be a part of this beautiful vision. After grabbing lunch in Frisco & getting ready at her hotel, we headed up the steep, bumpy dirt road to one of the Blue Lakes. Traveling to this spot was no joke—Caleb is a master driver of Santiago. The beauty of this spot was unreal. Just when I think I’ve seen it all, Colorado outdoes itself. We were surrounded by mountains, greenery, & a waterfall on the shores of the lowest Blue Lake. This was where our photos were about to be taken. As the sunset behind the mountains & reflected into the lake behind us, we engaged in meeting our friends in the creative space of photography—one of my favorite spots to meet people in. Once it got dark, we hung out both in the van & on the roof with our friends until late into the evening. Van hangs with friends has now been added to my list of favorite things.

We decided to stay in this spot for the night—as you can see from how epic this spot is, it was an obvious decision. I woke up the next day with a hunger to explore this area & all it had to offer. We took the dogs & went in every direction we could, soaking in all of the sights of nature around us. 

This first week has felt like facing something new every second. It has felt so full & tiring as each moment is a completely new & blank slate. While embracing this can be a challenge at times, I have felt myself growing in taking each moment as it comes. I feel like there are so many parts of me that are being called forward & given the opportunity to expand. 

xx, amy

all photography by Caleb Clayton Film + Photo