Four more “mods” [Updated: Red Light]

Mods are how you fine tune your van, sometimes correcting small oversights of the manufacturing, and sometimes optimizing the van for your own preferences. Here we have two of each. Of the four, one is priced at about $50, one…

Mono Lake (Photo Gallery)

No matter how many times you have visited Mono Lake, it is worth another visit. Located at Lee Vining in the Eastern Sierras’ Owens Valley, the lake sits at the beginning of the road up Tioga Pass and on into…

A Japanese Garden in a concentration camp

Your constitutional rights are only as good as the ability and willingness of the citizens to stand up for them during those times when those rights are most under threat. A National Historic Site just north of Lone Pine makes…

Travel Library (Book #1): The Art of Travel

This post is the first in a series on travel books. Alain de Botton, a British writer, born in Switzerland and educated to be a philosopher before he turned to writing books for a more general audience, sets out his…

Photo Gallery: Alabama Hills

Alabama Hills is like a mini-Arches National Park, placed in the very shadow of Mount Whitney and the Sierra Mountains. Like Valley of Fire, it is a small area, but it offers a wealth of hiking and scenic driving all…

A better way to carry traction boards

You probably need to carry a traction board on your van but how should you attach it?. They are sold and carried as pairs, though in practice often one will do, and they need to be mounted somewhere on the…

Anti-communism in the desert

Just outside of Barstow, in tiny Yermo, California, is Eddie World. Adorned with a giant ice cream sundae, it seems more in the spirit of something along Route 66 rather than in this somewhat bleak desert. Even more out of…

Small van mods (that make a big difference)

Some van mods require a ton of research. Some van mods are crazy expensive. And then there are the mod mods: Mods that are modest in their demands upon your time and modest in their demands upon your cash.  I…

Back to Valley of Fire (Photo Album)

The campsites at Valley of Fire, a state park in Nevada, have a reputation for being hard to get, as they are often booked out many weeks in advance. But like the National Parks, cancellations are common, and with a…