Happy October y’all! It’s officially pumpkin season and I’m all about that life. I know 2020 has been a bit crazy but I hope every single one of you is in good health and good spirits. I just got back from a two month long road trip with a couple of two week ones thrown in there for good measure and wanted to share some tips from my experience road tripping during a pandemic.
1. Choose nature over cities
While most people love visiting cities when they travel, I love hanging out in nature. Not only is it incredibly beautiful but there are way less people to interact with so it’s a kind of a good trade-off. Also, studies have shown that being outdoors can help reduce stress, boost your immune system and increase feelings of happiness. Whether it be going on a hike, hanging out in a hammock, having a picnic or swimming in a lake, nature is always my go-to option!
2. Cook all of your food
I cooked a lot of my own food during the road trip because of the Rona. Invest in a camp stove, cooler and storage box to store all of your non-perishable food and to keep little critters out of your car. I love going to grocery stores in new places because they usually have cool locally made products like kombucha! Not to mention, making all your food is way cheaper than going out to eat every day.
3. Camp or sleep in your car
I have been social distancing before it was a thing and camping is the best way to socially distance yourself from people. Downloading iOverlander or Free Campsites onto you phone can help you find places with free dispersed campsites. I literally only paid $6 for a campsite for the three months I was on the road because I wanted to camp at Craters of the Moon in Idaho.
During the two month lockdown in California, I converted my Chevy Volt into a camper with better gas mileage! I bought a memory foam topper, bamboo sheets and made blackout shades because I knew I would be sleeping in my car. I even bought these solar string lights to make it even more fun and homey. I seriously looked forward to sleeping in my car every night because it was the most comfortable thing ever.
4. Get an early start
I hate crowds so I always start early when I know I’m going to see or do something I know is pretty popular. This way, I usually get the entire place to myself and can take some pretty epic pictures without anyone in them! The same goes for when I know the weather will be hot later in the day. I don’t know about you but I don’t like hiking in the heat! It’s so crazy to see people starting a hike as I’m finishing and it’s already super hot out.
5. Make a portable shower
A lot of people think my hygiene suffered during my road trip but I actually made a portable shower during lockdown so I was able to shower, wash my face, brush my teeth and actually feel like a real human being! All of the materials were under $20 and you can get everything at your local hardware store. I used a two gallon weed sprayer, a kitchen sink sprayer and this little attachment piece to hook them together. It was such a great feeling to shower especially after a long day of hiking.
Have you been thinking about going on a road trip this year?