a truly life-changing road trip
My van life enthusiasm began in 2002, when I went on a truly life-changing road trip with three other German women in a Volkswagen Vanagon camper. I had moved to the U.S. from Germany just one year earlier and found myself in a difficult place. I wasn’t allowed to work as a physical therapist, I was undergoing unsuccessful infertility treatments, and my former husband was deeply immersed in a demanding IT startup job.
So when a German friend invited me to join her and two of her girlfriends for a three-week camper trip around the U.S., I jumped at the opportunity without hesitation. Up until then, I had barely traveled within the United States and had no idea what to expect. That three-week journey turned out to be one of the most wonderful trips of my life—certainly one that changed me forever.
As a team of four, we set off one morning in May 2002. We were completely overpacked, with gear even stored under the roof. We had to find our rhythm: agreeing on what to cook, when to take breaks, what music to listen to on cassette tapes, and—most importantly—where this trip would take us. We had a rough idea, but we made decisions spontaneously, one day at a time. Each day truly felt like a new adventure.
To make a long story short, we traveled from San Jose to Lake Tahoe, continued through the Nevada desert to Salt Lake City, stopped at Bear Lake, and then headed farther north to Grand Teton National Park and Glacier National Park. Hands down, these were some of the most beautiful places on Earth I had ever seen. We encountered bears, wolves, bison, moose, and so much other fascinating wildlife.
On our way south from Glacier National Park, we passed through Coeur d’Alene. This was the very first time I set foot in this beautiful city in northern Idaho, and it has stayed on my mind ever since. Continuing on toward Seattle—where the women dropped me off so I could meet my former husband and mother-in-law for another trip to Vancouver Island—we also passed through Leavenworth and visited the Grand Coulee Dam.
In the years that followed, I dreamed of more travel, more camping, and more van life. For a period of time, my family rented the very flashy Jucy Camper, a New Zealand–based company that took off in the U.S. and catered especially to European travelers who love to travel light, fast, and adventurously.
With these Jucy campers, my family experienced several unforgettable trips. One spring break, the four of us flew to Las Vegas, rented a camper, and explored the national parks of Utah. On another occasion, my young daughter planned an entire trip from San Jose to Mount Rushmore and back—just the two of us, on a special mother-daughter adventure. We visited Yellowstone National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, and the Badlands National Park.
In 2013, a German girlfriend and I rented two Jucy campers—she traveled with her three kids, and I brought my ten-year-old twins. Together, we retraced much of my original route, all the way up to Glacier National Park and back to San Jose. To this day, my kids and I still talk about that trip, and I am always amazed at how many details they remember.
During these years of traveling in minivan campers, I explored the idea of owning my own van. Financially, it wasn’t quite possible, and my former husband didn’t share my enthusiasm. At one point, I considered purchasing a used Jucy camper when the company went bankrupt in the U.S. due to COVID travel restrictions and began selling off its fleet. Jucy’s primary audience had been European travelers—especially Germans—who were suddenly unable to enter the U.S. during that time. Sadly, this forced the company to shut down its U.S. operations.
Ironically, during the COVID pandemic, camping—especially in vans and RVs—became more popular than ever, as flying was restricted. I continued searching and eventually found a basic ProMaster work van, which I had converted into a camper by a wonderful builder in Oregon.
A friend had recommended this builder to me. After visiting him and discussing the project, I added my name to his waitlist. By then, I had nearly two decades of dreaming, planning, and saving behind me, along with a very impressive album of ideas and lists of features I wanted to include. It took about half a day to go through everything with Kevin, the builder, and to come up with my desired layout.
When I drove up to Bend and picked up the camper after the three-month build, I was completely blown away. It exceeded my expectations in every way.
Since then, I have enjoyed traveling extensively, especially throughout the Pacific Northwest. I’ve returned to Glacier National Park several times, including my first solo van trip there last September. I’ve driven from San Jose to Seattle multiple times to drop off my son at the University of Washington, enjoying stops like Crater Lake along the way. I’ve visited friends in Montana and Washington and explored beautiful places like Orcas Island, the North Cascades, and the Selkirk Loop—a stunning and well-known road trip that winds from North Idaho into British Columbia, along Kootenay Lake, past Ainsworth Hot Springs, and back through Washington and Idaho. The closest access point to this loop is just 30 minutes north of me, in Sandpoint.
During the winter months, my van is stored in a neighbor’s hangar. I look forward to taking shorter trips around the area in 2026, as my busy farm schedule allows. In the meantime, I am excited to welcome and host fellow van-life enthusiasts here on the farm at my peaceful Pine Cone Grove Campground, as they explore the beautiful Panhandle of North Idaho.
I look forward to meeting you on the homestead!
