Interview with Mike

Hey everyone! I am back in the van with Mike travelling around the southern US for the next 3 weeks. Stayed tuned for more posts. For this one, my goal was to interview Mike about the last few months of his adventures (given that I had mostly been writing about me). So on night 3 of me arriving, Mike and I went to the bar, I bought him a beer, opened my lap top and start asking questions. Here is the interview:

Kim: Back in September, I talked a lot about my struggles being in the van and making the decision to leave. What was me leaving like for you?

Mike: I would say it was kind of bitter sweet. I was sad to see you go and sad to see you leave but I was also curious about how I would do by myself travelling solo. I was curious to see how that experience would be.

Kim: Tell me more about that experience.

Mike: It’s different. You don’t have to compromise on decisions but at the same time, you don’t have anybody to bounce ideas off and work through decisions. Since you leaving was near the end of our “6 months” where we had to get back to Kenora, it wasn’t too bad because I had a plan for the next 3-4 weeks in place - leave Vancouver Island, visit my brother, visit some friends along the way and drive to Kenora.

But yeah, when you are by yourself, you do all the work. When it was you and I, it was like an hour of set up/take down – putting the top up, putting the front cover on, swinging the bike. So initially after you left, I was overwhelmed with how much there was to do. I had to look after 2 dogs, I had to cook all the meals, do the dishes, set up and take down the van by myself. It was a lot of work but then I kind of started cutting out aspects of the set up and take down of camp to try and simplify things and reduce the work load.

Kim: So what are the highlights of those few weeks of finishing touring around BC and heading back to Kenora.

Mike: Biking with my brother (Steve) and his wife (Elaine) [in Golden, BC] was a ton of fun. I had done so much biking on the trip but it is different when you are biking with people who know the trails, know where to go and who are pushing your limits in terms of speed and skill. I really enjoyed hanging out with my brother, and visiting with him hanging out at his property.

Tofino was also super fun. Surf culture is so fascinating and it is something I have not been a part of but it is a fascinating culture and it is crazy how popular it is on Vancouver Island. Seeing all the vehicles driving from Victoria with surf boards on the roof was pretty wild.

Quadtra Island is also super cool. Kind of a typical hippie island (near Vancouver) where everybody is very community minded. They are very independent, almost a quasi self governance and they kind of rebel against capitalist society to some degree. For example, bartering is still a thing.

Kim: And then what was it like for you coming back to “out of the van life” when you got back to Kenora.

Mike: I definitely struggled going back into a regular house and a regular bed. One of the most difficult parts was not having everything I owned close at hand. So when living in a van, if I went for a hike, I would often decide at the trail head what I was going to wear and what I was going to bring. But when I wasn’t living in the van and had my stuff in the house and in the van, I would get to the trail head and think oh why didn’t I bring that or why did I bring this.

And then just not being on the move was hard. Being in one place for so long was kind of challenging. I missed waking up in a new place everyday, checking out new areas. As opposed to you, where you like your routine, I like the unexpected and the unfamiliar and unknown of what is going to happen each day.

Kim: So at the beginning of November, you left Kenora in the van with Dawson to head south. What has it been like travelling solo in the van with only 1 dog?

Mike: It is a little more simplified than travelling with 2 adults and 2 dogs. I don’t put the camper top up. I don’t put the sunshade on the front of the van. My meals are a lot simpler. I don’t clean as often. When you only have 1 person in the van, I have to do everything so I have cut out the unnecessary tasks.

Kim: (Cleaning is so necessary but continue…)

Mike: Well, I clean but having one less person and one less dog means the van doesn’t get as dirty as quickly. Plus I have a higher tolerance for uncleanliness than you do.

Kim: And what has it been like socially being on your own?

Mike: I think that your recommendation of taking Dawson with me has helped quite a bit. So Dawson kind of gives my day of bit of structure. He has to be fed and walked and taken to do his business so it allows me to interact with other dog owners or people who like dogs or miss their dogs because they are travelling and their dogs are at home. Dogs are a good icebreaker.

Kim: What has been some of the highlights of this leg of the journey?

Mike: Biking in Utah and Colorado is ridiculous. It’s a biking mecca. I can’t believe I waited until I was 40 years old to ride these trails. The trails in general are one of the biggest highlights but finally getting to see Arches National Park, Canyonlands, the Peubloan villages in Mesa Verde and Canyons of the Ancients National Monument was really cool. The whole desert environment is fascinating.

Kim: And how is Dawson doing on these biking and hiking trails?

Mike: Dawson is such a good trail dog. He stays close, he listens, he does really well meeting other dogs off leash. And meeting people. He is really chill in the van.

Kim: Does he sleep with you at night?

Mike: Yep, he curls up on the lower bed beside me because I no longer pop the top to sleep in the upper bed . He does really well but on cold nights, I wrap a sleeping bag around him to keep him warm.

Kim: So how cold are we talking about?

Mike: Below -5 Celsius in the van.

Kim: If it is -5 Celsius IN the van, what is the temperature outside the van?

Mike: How would I know? I am inside the van sleeping!!

Kim: Fair enough. So tell me more about that challenge (the cold) and any other challenges you are facing.

Mike: The cold nights when it is below 0 in the van makes it difficult to hang out because you end up just having to crawl into your sleeping bag to stay warm and when it gets dark at 5:00 pm, it can make for a long night in bed.

Decision making can be challenging. I don’t have anybody to bounce ideas off of and Dawson isn’t very good at giving input. But I guess the flip side of that is that I am not compromising with anybody on decisions. I am just doing what I want, when I want to do it.

Kim: Now I am here for the next 3 weeks but what comes next for you after I leave at the end of December?

Mike: It changes daily. So right now the plan is to stay in the van until March mainly in the US but maybe into Mexico. After that, I am not sure. Might go to Nepal to go trekking with a friend. I would like to do a long bike trip like the Continental Divide trail. And I would like to travel around South America at some point either by bike or by motorcycle but all these things depend on how much money I have left. There is still so much stuff I would like to do and time isn’t a constraint but money is. At some point I am going to have to go back to work. Blech!

Kim: Last question. But this one is actually a question you have asked me to ask you so I am thinking you have an answer prepared. What has it been like having me back in the van?

Mike: It has been good to be back together in the van and travel together. I have my partner in crime back again. It has been a bit challenging getting back into the routine and roles. When we started out back in May, we very quickly figured out the tasks we did rolling into camp and leaving. But then after you left, I took on everything. And I had 2 months of me doing everything so it was a bit of challenge splitting the tasks between 2 people again. And I kind of changed up some of the systems and routines in the van as a way to adapt to being by myself in the van so when you came back you had to ask “oh where does this go now, what do you do with this”.

So those are the challenges but it is great to share experiences with you and have somebody to talk to and have somebody to provide input into the decision making and to share the work load. And somebody to keep the van clean.

Mike: So how about you? What has it been like being back.

Kim: Oh don’t you worry. I will write a full length blog post about it and read it to you in 4-5 days.

Kim Mowrey is a wanna be writer who currently blogs at vanbatical.blogspot.ca. She is temporary living in Kenora, ON and is married with 2 dogs. This was her first interview/article style post.