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| After a hard, hot day of driving even this cramped and chaotic bed is luxurious. I had to move 3 guitars each evening before we could make music, snoring. |
A good quest is generally aided by a faithful steed. A valiant and reliable workhorse can do wonders when it comes to covering great distances in a short period of time. Our van has been like a faithful steed AND covered wagon all in one.
As we begin to decompress from our continental crossing we are more and more grateful for our van for getting us here safe, sound, and with some gold coins left in our leather pouch.
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| The green containers contained our kitchen and pantry. They slid out from under the bed for use. |
Our bed was made up of 5 large plastic bins. Each one was filled with our stuff, put in place, then all were covered with a plywood base. A 4" custom cut piece of high density foam purchased at an upholstery shop went on top of the platform for a mattress.
Some of the best sleeps we have ever had were in our 'wagon' on this makeshift bed. It had a distinctively gypsy feel to the arrangement. It was simple and it was enough. After a hard day of questing it was divine.
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| We couldn't have completed our quest without our commode. |
Somewhat less conversation-ready is our commode. When it comes to going, the only more basic way to go is to dig a hole in the ground. Since it is often difficult to dig a hole, and since so many washrooms are not accessible (including some with the wheelchair symbol on them), it was crucial for us to have our own facilities.
There is something about using such a simple commode that makes one think of life and waste disposal in a completely different way. Every day we lived in the van we had to find a secure place to dump our waste. It quickly became one of the biggest challenges of our travel routine.
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| Our modern day self-propelled covered wagon made our quest not only possible, but enjoyable. |
Once we got into the groove of living in such a confined space it became more pleasurable than we could imagine. It was spartan, harsh, and void of the everyday comforts most of us take for granted, but we love it.
Or maybe we are whacked out on adrenaline, adventure, freedom and new possibilities. We are also suckers for self-improvement in the vein of 'whatever doesn't kill you…' The trip didn't kill us and we are stronger for it. Or we will be after a week of naps.
Now our faithful steed is having a well-deserved rest after carrying us over 6000 kilometres to our new home. Its next task, after fixing one or two of its well worn shoes, will be when we are ready to forage for furniture.
