Sin Topes Oaxaca: The Equality State, or Cold River Scrubbing!

10. 2. and 6. These are the times I woke up last night to a farting and desperate dog needing to be let out of the van. Poor Ruka. Living in the van for these last few weeks has overall been easier than I thought it would originally, but then again, we are only a couple weeks in. Each time she would start whining and pacing, I would put on my sweater, flip flops and head lamp and step out into the silent night, the cool air rushing around me, taking my initial crankiness and frown with it. While Ruka poked around, looking for the perfect spot in the grass lining the Horsetooth reservoir in Fort Collins, Colorado, I stood thinking about the days behind and the days to come. They have been very good to us.

Wyoming. When entering a new state, if service is readily available for the iphone, the van "first mate" ie, the co-pilot will find interesting factoids about our new temporary home. Did you know, Wyoming, the majority of the state being extraordinarily flat and filled with mostly antelope, cattle, cowboys and tumbleweeds was the first state to provide women the right to vote and had the first woman governor? While the state started with a progressive edge and tough as nails women, some areas of the state have taken an interesting turn. The well known banjo chords from the movie Deliverance were sung out loud by us more than a few times. Children squealing like pigs running across busy streets, toothless grocery store clerks hollering at their coworkers while we stand awkwardly waiting, and pretty much anyone who walked through the laundromat doors as we read and listened to our now clean clothes tumbling in the $2.00 a load dryer. Wyomingites. Good people. Gotta love em.

With the help of an app that has paid for itself many times over called "All-Stays Camp and Tent" we have been super lucky finding cheap and free campsites. I dont really know what we would do without it. It identifies campgrounds and public lands by map, with pretty darn specific directions and information about the sites. If you like to travel or camp, check it out! Two nights ago it found us a very remote site, where I was able to start my day with a refreshing, although mighty cold wash in a river. Sorry folks, those pictures aren't exactly internet appropriate... but my hair was clean!!

From here, at a little coffee shop (PS, happy national coffee day!) in who-knows-where Colorado, we head to Denver to kidnap my little sister from college to take her camping for a night in Vail. Mom and Dad; I promise not to make the vagabond lifestyle too enticing! Haha