Van life with Scout: September 2023 recap
A high level of what we’ve been up to in September! (More detailed daily sharing usually happens on our Instagram stories.)
I am a shameless fall fanatic, so in my world autum began on September 1st. The weather didn’t exactly know this… but I happily sweat while eating my homemade soup—sharing with Scout of course—during some very hot days in lower Michigan.
Thankfully once we made our way to New York there was a chill in the air and a few changing leaves to boot! Now we’re in New England experiencing what might be my new favorite part of the country.
TLDR: Top September highlights
Sean got to meet my paternal grandparents for the very first time at my dad’s childhood home.
One of our best college friends welcomed us to Ann Arbor for a visit. Scout did a fabulous job relaxing on her own in the van while we enjoyed several humans-only outings.
We fell in love with upstate New York, especially the Finger Lakes region. And we drank wine. A lot of wine.
In New Hampshire Scout & I got to walk with an Instagram friend we hadn’t met before—and get a little confidence boost after some not-so-great hiking trail and campground experiences with other dogs out of control.
I tackled a hike I found pretty scary (Precipice Trail in Acadia) without any issues!
Everything New England for a “classic fall” including campfires, family-run apple orchards, and lots of hiking to catch a glimpse of the first colors.
Van life: Welcome to the northeast!
We left our midwest nostalgia behind to head towards the Atlantic. Hermes is running smoothly, laundromats have been easy to find, potable water is plentiful, and although we’ve had to sleep in quite a few parking lots… I’m starting to think New England is paradise even for those of us who live on the road. (I’m going to keep these rose-colored glasses on as long as I can.)
Some favorite September destinations included:
Gallivanting about the Finger Lakes in Upstate New York and visiting so many (mostly dog friendly!) wineries
Exploring the Adirondack Mountains, which are exactly as beautiful as I had dreamed
Picking apples at a family-run orchard in Vermont (that was playing Noah Kahan!) and then learning how to make a very simple version of apple crisp in the van that Scout loves to share with me
Tasting the best cinnamon roll of my entire life (sorry to the Talkeetna Roadhouse in Alaska, you have officially been surpassed) at Vintage Baking Company in new Hampshire
Going on so many hikes—and balancing dog-friendly excursions with giving Scout opportunities to rest up in the van while we humans tackled more difficult routes
Visiting a massive Sniffspot in Maine for some off-leash time
Breathing in the ocean air and getting our steps in at Acadia, one of the most dog-friendly national parks
A full roundup of where we slept:
13 nights on some sort of public land (national forests, Maine state public land)
7 nights in parking lots (like viewpoints without overnight restrictions, Walmarts, etc)
4 nights at campgrounds (traditional developed loops or free primitive spots)
4 nights at Harvest Hosts
2 nights stealthy (ish, as much as a yellow van with an air conditioning unit on top can be 🤪) street parking
Van logistics in September:
Drove just over 1,300 miles in total
Got an oil change
Went through our freshwater tank 6 times
Dmped our gray tank 16 times (some dump station visits happened at a time it wasn’t completely full, but we empty & rinse it every chance we get to keep it clean)
Dumped our pee jug 24 times (in dump stations whenever possible, in public outhouses or porta-potties when needed & appropriate)
Visited a laundromat 3 times (one trip was everything including backup blankets, towels, etc—the others were clothes only)
What’s new with Scout specifically this month
A little “by the numbers” glance
Somewhere around 20 off-leash walks or runs
One Sniffspot visit
About 10 on-leash hikes
3 patio visits
3 nail trims
20 or so times left alone in the van (usually for only an hour or two; longer on a few occasions)
Too many rounds of tug and fetch to count!
Rocking the extra physical activity
Scout had some weird days in August where she seemed physically uncomfortable and I was worried (all over again) about her joints, muscles, and overall structure. While she still isn’t a marathon runner—and won’t ever be given that she’s not getting any younger—she has had a really great month.
We’ve gone running on forest land, thrown ourselves over boulders, climbed fire towers, and played so many rounds of tug. I’m feeling pretty happy with our baseline activity, joint supplement, and massage routine.
That said: I’m also looking into different canine conditioning programs. I think I can do a much better job of helping Scout support her body as she ages, and I wish I’d been more serious about simple things like warm ups & cool downs earlier on. Here’s to many many more adventures.
Walked with a brand new dog
Scout has been able to go on “neutral walks” (near each other but not directly interacting) with other dogs for a long time now. More than three years with minimal management!
But we hadn’t actually done it in quite a while when we got to meet up with my friend Nicole this month… and I was pretty nervous. Just all of the old emotions coming back—the worry and uncertainty and concern I’m letting my dog down somehow—plus the added social anxiety of hanging out with someone I really admire for the first time.
I shouldn’t have been so concerned. Scout did wonderfully all in all!
She was surprised when Nicole first came around the side of the van, but then politely sniffed her and fell into her “hi I’m totally neutral, it’s fine that you’re here but I don’t really care” vibe I’ve come to expect when she’s around people who aren’t me and Sean.
When Nicole’s incredible dog, Roe, first got out of the car Scout needed some verbal help from me to keep it together (saying her name to help her look away)—but within maybe two or three minutes she was completely neutral as usual, and we walked for over an hour without a single issue.
It was exactly what we both needed for our confidence, I think. And a good reminder that while I love love love our slightly hermit-esque life in the van… meeting up with folks we can trust is a great thing to prioritize.
Continuing to navigate van life challenges (and campground neighbors…)
Sometimes it’s weird to look at life with Scout and realize how… relaxed so many things are.
In our early days, everything was about training. I mean everything. Every waking moment we spent together. And while my goal was always to just “live well” as a team, a lot of that training was still very nitty gritty (and admittedly sometimes rather arbitrary).
Today, though? Sean and I just live with Scout. Truly just live. We might ask her for an obedience command if we need to pass someone on a narrow hiking trail, and we rely on the cooperation we’ve built to get through things like weekly nail trims, but we almost never have “active training sessions” besides continuing to work impulse control into play.
It is both strange and delightful to feel like we know each other this well. Like we have a reasonably seamless level of family teamwork going on (without too much overthinking).
But it’s also not perfect.
Living on the road has been great for us—I stand by Hermes being my favorite house of all time ever, and I think Scout would say the same!—but van life continues to have its own brand of challenges. This month in particular we had a few difficult hiking moments where fellow dog owners let their dogs get right up to us even as we stepped off of the trail to make some space, and some campground neighbors have thought it was a good idea to let their canine companions head all the way into our sites without permission.
Scout sometimes still reacts in these situations. She might growl under her breath when another dog starts to veer into our site (very reasonable low-level communication, something I’m happy to respond to). If things are more intense, like when we’re cornered with a dog on its hind legs intent on saying hello to us, she might let out a few barks. There was one tight steep-trail situation where she reacted fully—kinda like the “old days” of her most intense reactivity—for about five seconds or so. I almost let it ruin my entire hike. (My cattle dog, for her part, shook it off almost immediately.)
All these rambles to say a few things. First, I love living with this dog and feel like I understand her better than ever… but I never want to misrepresent that things are flawless. Second, even the lifestyles we love best have their challenges. Third, the most important thing is how we respond to difficulties (as opposed to trying to prevent them from ever occurring in the first place).
