13,027 miles. That’s how far we drove Brucie on an epic journey stretching from the flatwoods of the Southeast, across the great plains, down the Pacific coast, and back again through the Southwest. Along the way we visited twenty-two national parks and took a full measure of this country’s amazing public lands. In the last six and a half months, we’ve seen a lifetime’s worth of natural wonders, camped in some amazing places, and met many lovely and fascinating people.
The backlog of stories and photos is profoundly massive, and while it is unlikely we’ll ever fully catch up (we find we are far too busy having adventures and rarely take the time to settle down and properly write about them), there are a few updates yet to come on the blog now that we’ve once again become stationary for more than a week at a time.
Floor finishing: day 1
Today I sanded the floor and applied the first coat of oil.
Before oil (after sanding) Starting the application. Huge difference in color between oiled and dry wood Application complete. Only two more coats to go before waxing! We had a tremendous thunderstorm this afternoon which brought close to an hour of driving rain. This was the first real test for my window repairs, so I planted myself in the bus with a towel in case there were any leaks. There were, and I spent the next hour running around inside the bus trying to keep water off the floor.
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Floor installation
I’ve spent the last few days wrestling sheets of 3/4" plywood, cutting foamboard and playing with fire, all to get the floor installed.
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Floor prep and windows
Jade and Reuben came out for the day on the 23rd of June to assist with floor removal. (Thanks guys!) Even with three of us and an air hammer I’d borrowed from Lucas, it took most of the day to get the floor down to metal.
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Roof sealing, racking, and how not to mount fans
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve finished coating the roof, installed the racking for the solar array, pulled apart the dashboard, deep cleaned the interior, started rebuilding the heater and ventilation system, and started assembling the heart of the off-grid electrical system.
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Stripping, scrubbing and shelter
The past two weeks have been largely dedicated to stripping the inside of the bus down to the shell, cleaning years of accumulated detritus and filth, and collecting parts and supplies necessary to install the electrical and plumbing systems.
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We bought a bus!
As some of you may know, we have been making plans to travel the states for a time after we get married. The where and for how long still isn’t entirely nailed down, but the how is pretty much settled as of last week.
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The Adventure Begins!
On Thursday, December 21st, 2017 I proposed to the love of my life atop Haytor, high on the windswept expanse of Dartmoor.
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