Van life with Scout: June 2023 Recap
Here’s a high level of what we’ve been up to in June! (More detailed regular sharing always happens on our Instagram.)
Way back when we put down our deposit for our van conversion, Sean started dreaming about going to Alaska. This month we finally made that fantasy a reality and drove through Washington, British Columbia, and the Yukon to visit the 49th state.
TLDR: Top June highlights
We arrived in the PNW at the end of May and got to visit Sean’s brother — and see some natural wonders like Olympic National Park.
Then we crossed the border into Canada (which was a breeze, thankfully!) and enjoyed a ton of dispersed camping in British Columbia and the Yukon.
Midway through the month we reached Alaska and had a few days at Denali National Park, where the weather was clear enough for us to catch a few bright glimpses of the famous peak (though clouds prevented us from fully enjoying the midnight sun on the actual solstice). Plus we spent a few hours with the sled dogs!
Next up was driving to Anchorage and then making our way to Kenai Fjords National Park, where we hiked to Exit Glacier and have a boat tour (!!) planned.
We’ll still be in the Last Frontier for a while, slowing down our travel pace and exploring.
Van life: A long way from home
We’ve kept up a pretty intense travel pace in Hermes for a while now. Our lithium ion battery issues last month only made things feel more chaotic (resulting in an unplanned 20+ hour drive across the country over two days). I was itching for some relaxation — heck, even just to stay parked in the same spot for more than a twelve-hour period — and finally got it once we made it to Denali National Park. Even just the drive up through Canada proved good for the soul, with several nights alone in the beauty of the backcountry where Scout could run while we breathed more deeply.
Hermes has been holding steady with all systems go. We did get a small rock stuck in our brake guard that made the most horrible squealing sound, but we were able to get it our ourselves just after crossing the Alaska border.
Some favorite June destinations included:
Spending a few days in Seattle with Sean’s older brother, where Scout got to have a taste of city dog life (and we also did many humans-only outings)
Frolicking along the coast of Olympic National Park, playing tug and reading in the soft sun as a family before Sean and I scoped out early-morning tide pools the next day
Sleeping at one of the prettiest free dispersed campsites I’d ever seen — right on the shore of a beautiful lake in British Columbia where I got to take cold dips and feel so alive
Visiting a local farmer’s market in Whitehorse and getting a tiny taste of civilization after several days straight in the backcountry
Seeing more wildlife than seemed possible throughout British Columbia and the Yukon, including several black bears, moose, and one grizzly just a few feet from our van
Soaking in natural hot springs north of Fairbanks
Hanging out with the sled dogs at Denali National Park! This was an absolute dream come true for me
Exploring the rest of Denali open to visitors, including a few hikes and some much-needed chill days at our campground as far down the single road as vehicles are allowed to stay
Staring in awe at all of Alaska’s natural beauty — like the incredible Reflections Lake trail (bottom right post) that was just off the highway and the Harding Icefield Trail in Kenai Fjords
A full roundup of where we slept:
11 nights in national forest land / backcountry boondocking spots
8 nights at traditional designated campgrounds
7 nights in public parking lots (like Cracker Barrel, rest areas, parks without overnight restrictions)
2 nights at Harvest Hosts
2 nights visiting Sean’s brother
Successful Canada border crossings!
My heart was beating out of my chest as we pulled up to the checkpoint between northern Washington and British Columbia, Canada for the first time. (I texted my mom to say I’d be the worst criminal — if I was this nervous when we hadn’t done a single thing wrong, imagine how messed up I’d be if we actually did have something to hide?! )
Thankfully it was super anticlimactic. Our agent wasn’t friendly, per se, but she was professional and to the point. We spent about three minutes parked at her drive-up window before being sent on our way.
Crossing back into the United States in Alaska was even easier. We didn’t even have to show Scout’s vaccination records the second time around or answer any questions about food (though we still had her rabies certificate ready on my lap and had eaten all of our fresh produce beforehand just in case).
What’s new with Scout specifically this month
Our cattle dog is more of a fresh air fiend than ever before
Scout continues to grow more feral. Kidding, kidding, she’s still the softest submissive sweetheart I’ve known — but she is more thrilled than ever to spend every possible second outside! She loves our backcountry time and is content to lie just a few feet away from the van when we park, alternating between keeping a very-heeler watch, dozing off, and initiating play.
It’s hard to remember the first few times I walked this dog on a nature trail near my parents’ house. She was so scared and shut down and hesitant — a far cry from the way she throws herself over boulders and shoves her entire face into underbrush to retrieve lost toys today. It’s a joy to behold.
We’ve encountered fewer dogs and busy public situations
I think there’s a chance Scout’s fear-based dog reactivity is becoming worse again after several months (two-ish years?) of holding steady.
We’ve spent a lot of time on our own in the past month, either staying in completely secluded forest spots or just small-town free campgrounds that don’t see many visitors. This means she’s had more exposure to nature as mentioned above… but less to other dogs, people, and crowds. We’ve also had a few surprising incidents where dogs have ambushed us right when we step out of the van (and once as we walked by a parked car). Alaska’s off-leash dog culture has only added to our collective sense of wariness.
I’m not letting myself be too worried considering we still have navigated hiking trails and the like — but I want to be intentional about setting our heeler up for greater success moving forward. We love the introverted van life we share! But Scout still needs to be able to function in busier environments, too. We won’t always be in the middle of nowhere
Currently I’m planning to prioritize:
Sitting in more public parks where we can just watch the world go by
Playing in a greater number of busy city environments instead of opting for the outskirts each time
June reading
I got back into some animal-related reading this month after a big fiction kick (some 50 psychological thrillers) since we moved into the van. I have a running list of books I’ve read as a dog owner in this article, if you want to look further back!
A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans. I didn’t choose this book primarily for educational purposes — mostly I just thought there was no better time to read a memoir about an Alaskan wolf than while we were actually in Alaska — but I was really pleased with both the emotional and knowledge throughout.
Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire. Pests reminded me a lot of Hal Herzog’s Some We Love. If you were only going to read one book on the topic, I’d recommend the latter, but this one was a worthwhile (and more recent) exploration too.
The Other Family Doctor by Karen Fine. This was an reflective read written by a house-call veterinarian. I enjoyed it more than I even thought I would!