Van life with Scout: May 2023 recap
Last fall I started doing a monthly recap to keep track of what we’ve been up to at a high level here on our blog (alongside our regular sharing on Instagram). Here’s our May overview!
This was the month of lithium ion battery issues, an unplanned trip across the country, returning to our college town for all the nostalgia, and getting to visit family.
TLDR: Top May highlights
This is really a “low”light, but our van’s li-ion batteries burst open due to overcharging because of a faulty part controlling our second alternator.
Once that was taken care of we managed to enjoy a few days in Madison, Wisconsin, revisiting our college campus with Scout and catching up with some great friends.
Then we went to each of our hometowns, first to see Sean’s little brother graduate from college and next to hang out with my baby niece.
Finally we started our trek towards Alaska, which we’ve been planning for ages!
Van life: We survived a battery explosion fiasco
Our van’s “house” batteries, 12.8 volt lithium ion blocks, burst open while in the cabinet beneath our bed between Wednesday May 3rd and Thursday the 4th. That was the weekend of a guys’ trip Sean and his college friends had been planning for months… meaning Scout and I were alone and the logistics of the whole thing were not very fun.
TLDR: Everyone is okay and we got it all fixed! You can read more details here. We were able to disconnect the batteries and safely store them in airtight containers before they caught fire and without breathing in too many of the fumes, and then we drove the 21 hours to Colorado so our van conversion company could help us figure out what was going on.
After that we managed to still have a pretty good month, though it was certainly busier than we expected—and without as much backcountry time as I would have preferred.
Some favorite May destinations included:
Sean still getting to enjoy his time in Pittsburgh with his best friends despite the van’s electrical problems
Making the most of our unplanned visit to Denver and having a delightful dinner with two of our college friends
Finding an incredible free campsite in the middle of Nebraska and getting to spread out & recover from the van’s battery issues
Spending almost a week in our college town reliving memories together and enjoying the perfect early summer weather
Staying in our home state for a while to watch Sean’s brother graduate from college in Milwaukee and then spend time with my family (notably baby niece Olive) in the Wausau area
Thoroughly enjoying space to spread out and relax while traveling through North Dakota and Montana
A full roundup of where we slept:
10 nights in public parking lots (like Cracker Barrel, rest areas, parks without overnight restrictions)
8 nights at traditional designated campgrounds
2 nights in national forest land / backcountry boondocking spots
1 night in a hotel while the van got fixed
2 nights outside a friend’s apartment
3 nights at Sean’s parents’ house
3 nights at my parents’ house
2 nights at Harvest Hosts
Alaska here we come
We are officially on our way to Alaska!
Sean has been planning this trip for over a year—it was one of the destinations he was most excited about when imagining moving into a van. From Wisconsin we started driving straight west through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho to visit my brother-in-law in Seattle. It’s been incredible to have some more relaxing moments where we camp in remote places with room to spread out (even if we’ve been driving an average of 3-4 hours a day too).
We’ll reach the PNW tomorrow, stay for a few days, and then head north into Canada!
This will be Scout’s first time out of the country. Crossing the canadian border isn’t a big deal from all we’ve researched—but we have extra copies of her vaccination records on hand just in case. She’ll stay secured in her crate (the norm when we’re driving) as we pass through the checkpoint.
What’s new with Scout specifically this month
Navigating extra stress pretty well
May has been A Month. And Scout has definitely been affected by the extra stress.
From the absolute chaos of our battery issues in an unfamiliar city without Sean around, to a really sporadic schedule as we trekked across the country unexpectedly, to being in houses full of our family members, to finally comforting me after a family friend’s funeral… Our sensitive dog has had her self-regulation work cut out for her.
While she’s had more reactions to other dogs and surprising situations (think sudden environmental contrast) this month than many previous, I’m ultimately pleased with how we’ve handled everything as a team. Given the collective circumstances—and my baby niece’s increasing mobility—I’m not concerned that this family visit wasn’t quite as seamless as our last one in March. She spent more time resting on her own in the basement during any commotion and came out to play regularly in calmer moments.
We’re really looking forward to being on the road again, just the three of us, doing our thing, for a while.
Expressing more pickiness about physical affection
Since we moved into the van I’ve talked about how Scout seems more “introverted” in the sense that she’s not as keen to say hi to people she doesn’t know. I’m also noticing her continuing to become less tolerant of certain types of touch from new folks. Sean and I can still handle her as usual—we have a lot of trust built up on that front—but our cattle dog is more willing than ever to tell someone off if they grab her in a way she doesn’t like.
Her corrections have been reasonable (intensity matching the situation) and she seeks to reconcile immediately afterward. In my head I know this isn’t a problem: It’s great that she feels she can communicate instead of shutting down, and setting boundaries in direct interactions is quite different than being indiscriminately reactive to people!
In my heart I’m feeling a little mixed about it, though, because it does mean we need to do some more up front work to set everyone up for success—and I still struggle with some of my people pleasing tendencies / worries that I’ve somehow failed her / insecurity that others won’t think we’re good enough owners / all that poisonous stuff. I’ll continue to reflect on that.
