Survival Basics: Food, Shelter, and Coffee
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There are many wonderful things about living in Texas. But much like Hotel California, it often feels like you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. Simply getting out of the state took us over 10 hours. And unfortunately, the midway point in our drive to Rocky Mountain National Park, our first stop, was not exactly the most scenic place in the world (apologies to my readers in Amarillo).
We knew that this was going to be an issue on this trip. Sometimes our day’s travel will end halfway between two destinations. Other times, we will be arriving too late in the day to get a campsite and will need a place to crash for the night. Rather than spending a lot of money on hotels, we decided to sleep in our car.
After all, converting a giant van into a tiny home complete with shiplap and a full-sized kitchen is every millennial’s dream, right? Unfortunately, we don’t have a giant van. We have my Mazda CX-5, which is a mid-size crossover.
Minimalist challenge, accepted.
If you want to see Jared in action building our sleeping platform, you can check out the vlog .
Generally speaking, it’s a PVC frame, with a plywood platform on top. The frame can be partially disassembled to make room for our cooler, which sleeps in the front seat. Our 4-inch thick memory foam mattress topper actually makes a surprisingly comfortable surface to sleep on.
Is it the most comfortable sleeping arrangement? No, it’s 6 inches shorter than a queen sized bed, but luckily Jared and I both prefer to sleep on our sides. But is it free (after about $120 in materials)? Yes. Can you use it pretty much anywhere? Yes. Is it likely to trigger latent claustrophobia from sleeping with your face two feet from the roof of your car?... No comment.
Shower opportunities will be limited, but we have a Planet Fitness membership, so hopefully we can grab a shower there on travel days. That will only be every few days though, so wet wipe bath, here we come! The good thing is, if we both stink, maybe we won’t notice?
We also had to figure out what we were going to eat on this trip. I have the distinct pleasure of having the ultimate hat trick of food intolerances: dairy, gluten, and soy. So most traditional dehydrated backpacking foods are a no-go for me. We have a great cooler, so we can carry some chilled ingredients with us. Our recommendations (with recipe links!) are below.
For Hiking
Good-To-Go Dehydrated Backpacking Meals (expensive, but good in a pinch or for overnight hikes when pack weight is a concern. Get the double-portion)
Bell pepper strips or plantain chips and guacamole packs
Baby carrots and hummus packs
Prosciutto (it’s the least processed deli meat we’ve found. Just pork and salt!)
Lara Bars (classic)
RX Bars
Nuts (we prefer cashews)
Baby food pouches (get the fruit and veggie mix for some extra nutrients!)
Orgain Plant-Based Protein Shakes (No dairy, gluten, soy, or processed sugars!)
At the Campground
Eggs
Bacon
Aidell’s Chicken Apple Sausages
Chili (make it before you go, then freeze and keep it in your cooler. Just heat it up and throw it in a bag of Fritos. Boom! Dinner!)
Most importantly: Coffee. We have a stainless steel French press so Jared can coax me out of the tent each morning at the ridiculous hour that seems to be the norm for campers and hikers.