From Truckee to the desert and back again — solo, slow, and semi-scrappy.
4,000 Miles. 6 States. 7 National Parks. 16 Days in a Van.
When I started this trip, I didn’t have a real destination — just a general sense that I wanted to see new corners of Arizona and New Mexico. I’d already been to the Grand Canyon, so this time I was aiming for National Parks that get overlooked: Petrified Forest, Saguaro, White Sands, Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns, Capitol Reef, and Great Basin. If I made it to Sedona or Santa Fe, all the better.
My knees were bugging me. Sitting for long stretches sucks. I didn’t know how far I’d make it — but I loaded up, made my van as road-ready as I could, and decided to just roll with it.
This blog post is the full outline of my route and setup. I’ll link to detailed posts about campsites, national parks, and gear setups etc. If you want ideas for your own van trip, here’s how mine unfolded.
🚐 ROUTE & MILEAGE
- Start: Placerville, CA
- States Covered: CA, AZ, NM, TX, UT, NV
- Total Miles: ~4,000
- Duration: 16 Days
- National Parks Hit:
- Saguaro
- Imperial Sand Dunes Camp
- Colorado River Swim in Yuma Arizona
- Picacho Koa Kamground
- White Sands
- Elephant Butte Lake Camping
- Riverbend Hot Springs
- Guadalupe Mountains
- Cornudas RV Park
- Carlsbad Caverns
- Bottomless Lakes
- Roswell UFO Museum
- Santa Fe
- Petrified Forest
- Valley of the gods
- Monument Valley
- Sedona
- Capitol Reef
- Natural Bridges
- Glen Canyon
- Great Basin
- Saguaro
This is merely a rough outline and doesn’t cover the actual route travelled. Google Maps only lets you show 10 stops. This map is missing more than a few stops.
The Days Before Launch
- Cleared out RV plumbing antifreeze
- Costco stock-up (rotisserie chicken = mandatory)
- Installed Starlink Mini + new TPMS sensors
- Did the 40-gallon fuel tank upgrade at Sierra Adventure Vehicles. You can view the blog on that upgrade HERE
- Bought a $399 electric scooter at Costco (it was a tight fit, but totally worth it)
Organizing beforehand helps with the chaos that happens on the road
🛠️ THE DELAY IN TRUCKEE
I only meant to stay one night in Truckee while getting my van worked on. Turns out the new gas tank had a hiccup and they needed to overnight a new one.
Hot Dam! Actually…it was beautiful but super cold
No biggie (disruptions are part of rolling with the punches of this kind of travel) — I ended up camping at a beautiful dispersed spot near Prosser Dam (GPS: 39°22’49.5″N 120°08’10.7″W). That night was freezing — 27°F — but my diesel heater + RoamRig battery setup held strong.
My camping spot for the night. It was cold but devoid of other campers and very peaceful. After spending the previous night in the parking lot at Sierra Adventure Vehicles, I was glad I listened to TJ who advised me to camp here.
One of the best upgrades ever. I figured out that I can squeeze a small $70 gravity recliner chair from Amazon under my lift bed. This changed my afterhours relax time dramatically. It was way to cold to be outside, and I had the heater cranked and enjoyed watching the last episode of Season 3 Reacher via my Starlink Mini which, I had installed the day before. I know…it felt like a sacrilegious act to have this luxury, but what the hell…we don’t have flying cars right?
After the gas tank fix, I returned to Placerville for final prep:
🧳 FINAL PREP AT THE CABIN
- Froze chopped veggies
- Dialed in van layout for day/night transitions
- Secured the scooter
- Did a full systems check
I didn’t know how far I’d get, but I had the fuel, food, and flexibility to go wherever the road and my knees allowed.
The plan was simple: head towards Arizona and let curiosity lead.
Check out the next leg of this journey:
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