My best friend lives in a van. She’s a bad influence. 😉 She never did succeed in convincing me to move to Arizona, but she’s easily convinced me of other adventures, including buying a motorcycle when I didn’t even know how to ride! So while I have no desire for full-time van life, her influence has made me think about traveling by this means. So I decided I’d test it out! I rented a van. Planned it over her 40th birthday. Of course, took the beast. We drank some interesting beers. And definitely hit up some amazing mountain biking.
40th Birthday!!
How we are 40, I do not know. Pretty sure I’m still 28. But at least Kristen is now 40 with me. We spent the day as any 40 year old would, chilling in a field with 2 pitties and 1 golden, drinking beers, and watching wildlife with our vans as the backdrop. That’s normal. It was great!
Beers!
Very important to celebrate any summer birthday with beers. Or any birthday, period, with beers. Or any summer event with beers. Just always have beers. Let me give you the scoop on the beer we tried. Some good, some eh.
Apollo from Sixpoint Brewery was my (our) least favorite. It was okay. Drinkable, but would not buy again. I thought it would be a great summer drinker as a mildly fruity wheat beer, but it just had this odd aftertaste that I was not loving.
I had high hopes for Blueberry Dive from Modist Brewing Co. I really like this brewery and have loved the beer (especially the sours) I’ve had there. This one is a fruited gose and was decent, but underwhelming. Maybe it’s because I’ve had some really incredible blueberry beers that just set the bar so high. Maybe it didn’t even stand a chance.
I definitely liked Rainbow Colored Glasses. A sour Berliner Weisse with raspberry, lime, orange, and lactose. Seeing my theme here? Gimme all the fruits and sours!! Lots of flavor and deliciousness in this beer. A fun can and a yummy summer drink. However!!! Do not, I repeat, do not, drink after eating grapes! Whoooooo! That was unpleasant. They do not play well together.
The clear favorite of the week was Haterade! A fruit punch inspired Berliner Weisse by J. Wakefield Brewing. I mean, if fruit punch and summer don’t go hand in hand, I don’t know what does! Super tasty. Not overly sour. Quite refreshing!
Beasts
Kristen has two amazing pitbulls, Cool Whip and Hercules. Cool Whip is the princess of all princesses. Hercules might look intimidating, but he really just wants to lick your face off. If you want to follow along on their adventures, or get good tips for traveling with dogs, check her out here, Dogs and Detours, and find her blog in her bio! My pup, Joey, is one of the goofiest Goldens that roams this earth. He’s quite special with his many quirks, but is also greatly adored by anyone that meets him.
CW and Herc have gotten very used to country life and showed Joey the ropes. They would romp through the grassy fields and tear down the paths following good sniffs. Herc and CW have honed in on every creature’s distinctive sound and bolt at astonishing speeds when there is a noise that interests them, leaving Joey in the dust wondering what in the world is going on. He’ll trot along after, usually oblivious to what the other two are up to, but wanting to check it out as well!
This was far more activity and stimulus than Joey gets in a typical day at home, so he played hard and crashed even harder each night. He gladly hopped back into our van and flopped onto his bed, typically passing out within a matter of minutes! Happy pup! Dog owners, you know – it just fills your heart!
Class B Van
If I were to venture into the van world as an owner, I have my eye on the Winnebago Solis or Winnebago Travato, two very different layouts. So I was able to rent the Thor Sequence through Pleasureland RV, which was a similar layout to the Solis. The van was really easy to drive. It had a shockingly tight turning radius. The backup camera and mirrors took out any worries of me backing this thing into the campground I stayed at for a couple nights. Speaking of, I met an amazing couple, Mark and Holly and their pup, Brooklyn, at the site next door that were SUPER helpful to a newb setting up van camp for the first time. So grateful for awesome people like that! Overall, quite pleased with driving the van and hooking up at the campground!
However, there were troubles…oh, were there troubles. The tank sensors were not accurate. The generator did not stay on more than a few minutes at a time. The coach battery completely died the second night, leaving me without power to the van. That means no charging, no fridge, no water, nothing. The van did start at least! The tablet that controlled all the functions of the van locked up as well. Later, there was a voltage surge that caused the van to act as if it were possessed! And the help from the rental company was less than stellar. Not impressed. It was rather stressful and frustrating. Plus, it delayed my trip to Redhead Mountain Bike Park! Top that off with the lack of sleep from the not-so-awesome bed cushions, and I was not a happy camper. (Ha, haha.)
A good thing in trying out this specific van, verified that Thor does not seem to be terribly great quality, which aligns with what I’ve read and heard. Also, hugely important, we figured out that this layout does not work for us! The only space somewhat big enough for Joey’s bed, was way up front and my bed was way in the back. Neither of us liked that as he often sleeps right by my bedside. The layout also made for a very narrow walkway from the middle to back of the van. It felt a little tight and tunnel-like. Joey would walk down the “hall,” and it was so narrow he couldn’t actually turn around. He’d have to back his way out! Granted, he is a 75 pound dog, but still. I’d like a bit more comfortable space for the both of us. So that was good to learn!
I also kept my bike in the van in the back of the hall. Not the most convenient, but also not awful. The van did have a bike rack on the back, but I wasn’t a fan of that style rack, and I also just like the security and protection of having it inside. So that will be something to navigate a better option if I do consider this further. Also, the bike rack crosses the doors, thereby sticking out beyond the door it’s mounted on when they are open. It makes for a wicked head banger, which I managed to avoid all the way until the last day when I whacked my head on it.
Speaking of Biking
I love my girl Kristen and all, but Redhead Mountain Bike Park was the highlight of the trip! I’ve been seeing pictures and hearing adventures of other riders going here and really wanted to check it out myself. Last year I spent a few days at Cuyuna and loved it, so really wanted to ride more of the trails along the Iron Range! Gorgeous as expected!! Wow!!
I was there during the week, so there were a handful of other groups there, but not crowded at all! Enough people that we crossed paths every once in a while, but pretty much had the trail to myself!
The trail starts at the Minnesota Discovery Center. There are 32 miles of trail ranging from beginner to expert. The thought going into building this trail was great! Right from the start I was impressed as it was so fun to ride. There are a fair amount of rocks, but are formed in such a way that it is usually a very clear path and a simple ride over them. I stayed on quite a few trails right around the lake, which is a rainwater filled mine pit. Stunning red rock cliff walls diving into shockingly blue water. I was definitely not out to set any Strava segment PRs here as I was constantly stopping to take it all in and snap pictures!
The signage is excellent! They often have maps at the major intersections and there is clear signage for trail splits and turns. There was only one spot down by Zen and Tough Mama that I got a bit turned around. But being directionally challenged is not unusual for me, so if that was my only hiccup, you know they have good signage!
I may have been getting a bit too excited and had a pretty stellar wipeout hitting some loose rock on the edge of a hill. One of those where you sit up and check yourself for a minute to make sure all appendages are still functioning as they should. And of course check the bike! It somehow made it out alive with only the brake lever flipped forward, which easily flipped right back. It was in better shape than me as I had some gnarly road rash all up my right leg and right arm. Didn’t even realize how bad it was until after a shower, as the layer of red dirt that was now a part of me camouflaged the blood! And grateful for my helmet as I came out of bonking my head with only sore neck muscles! Currently as I write this, I’m morphing from road rash into some sweet green bruises on my forearm and hip. It’s very attractive.
Thankfully, that occurred fairly close to the end of the trail. I rested, fueled up on some snacks, and really wanted to get out for a bit more. So hit up more of the North Star Loop that I had skipped to stick by the lake. So. Much. Fun. I highly recommend this park! I didn’t hit up any expert trails. Intermediate was sufficient for me! And you’ve got the green (easy) trails that, from what I did, were pretty mellow. Such a great variety for anyone to get out there and enjoy!
If a trek north to Redhead is too much for you, check out some of my favorite local trails!
Another Venture in the Books!
It was quite a rollercoaster of a vacation! From great company to a frustrating van experience. From chilling and chatting to adrenaline rushes of mountain biking. Just threw in a little bit of everything! Joey and I were completely exhausted heading home and both very happy to be back in our regular sleeping structures and configurations. We had a day to reflect and recover before the next week began. And now on to the next venture…!
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