The Week I Put My Entire Storage Unit Into My Van

This Week:

I finally moved out of my storage unit! Can I still live in my van though???
Is this supposed to be the pinnacle of society?
Road trippppppp! Where am I headed first?

July 2023

Su	M	T	W	Th	F	S
25	26	27	28	29	30	7/1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31	8/1	2	3	4	5

Where In The World Was I?

Denver / Arvada / Westminster, CO
Cheyenne, WY

I Finally Moved Out!

Monday of this week I quickly realized that the end was approaching quicker that I expected.

I figured out that if I didn’t leave my storage unit before the 1st, I’d end up paying for the entire next month…

So I figured, well, I think I can just barely fit everything in the van, so I decided to use that push as my nudge to move my stuff out of my storage unit and hit the road.

Here’s the final breakdown of the big stuff:

Dresser – sold
Standing desk – sold
Instant pot – sold
Mattress – 1800 Got Junk
Yellow wooden table – 1800 Got Junk
Sofa – never sold
Printer – never sold
Ski roof rack – never sold
Toaster oven – kept
Air fryer – kept
Bar chairs – kept

Before (also here’s what my messy home looks like 🤪):

After:

Honestly I’m surprised everything fits! I have to move the sofa cushions every night, but I have a clear walkway!

Positive Life Experiences

So in the wake of reading Die With Zero by Bill Perkins, this week I thought about how I wanted to remember the last week in Denver.

I decided to go out for some special occasions because it’d be worth the memories.

Colorado Mighty Burger and truffle fries (WOW this was good):

Himchuli salmon tikka masala & Sweet Cow ice cream:

Scrumptious ice cream in downtown Arvada (also WOW that was good):

And lastly, a celebratory road trip burrito from Snooze Eatery. The last time I had a burrito from here was as I was leaving for my first ever road trip to Zion National Park in this van, so it felt appropriate.

Spectacular Sunsets

We’ve had some incredible sunsets lately… I threw the drone up a couple times to capture them and posted some new photos to the website, including a little timelapse.

Check them all out on my Photography page!

Hazy Mountain Layers

Heavenly Sweep (Timelapse)

Rocky Mountain Sunset

Is This The Pinnacle Of Society?

So on Saturday before leaving, I stopped by the Shops At Northfield, a little plaza and shopping mall area. It seemed like the “hub” of the Central Park neighborhood/town/city northeast of Denver. Like a place where you’d spend your Saturday morning/evening, go shopping, stroll around, etc.

But as I walked around, it didn’t seem like that was the case…

For mid-morning on a Saturday on the fourth of July weekend, it seemed… completely empty.

It was a cool area to walk around, I got some boba while I walked, but where was everyone? There was even an event with music playing and people selling locally made jewelry and clothing.

I know it’s wrong to compare this downtown area with something like Denver’s downtown or a European city, but I couldn’t help but compare this other downtowns like Arvada or what I imagine Europe will be like.

Oh and it was all surrounded by miles of asphalt parking lots.

This whole area of northeast Denver is pretty new within the last 10 years, so I couldn’t help thinking… is this supposed to be the pinnacle of American suburbia? This town/city had an absolute blank slate to work with and this was the result. This was the best that we can do to create a place where people like to spend their time and that benefits the businesses in the best way possible?

I say all this not to complain, but to try to understand the world. Let me explain.

I love little neighborhood commercial areas, walkable downtowns, and “third spaces” – parks, coffee shops, town centers. I love the hustle and bustle of people eating outside on patios, of dogs playing fetch in the parks, of kids jumping and screaming in the park water features.

These places have energy.

And over the last 2 years really, I’ve discovered my pull towards these places – to work in coffee shops, get ice cream and walk around, to hang out at the parks, etc.

So as I’ve discovered this pull, I’ve tried to find where in the country (or world) these places are.

And that question has brought me to people like Not Just Bikes on YouTube who talk about walkable and pedestrian friendly cities.

And the more I look into where these third spaces are and the more I road trip around the U.S., the more I question if the U.S. really has done the best at cultivating these places.

And THAT is one of the reasons I’m traveling abroad.

What does life look like in a place that centers their entire city around places that cultivate energy, greenery, and walkability? Instead of sitting in traffic at red lights to park your car in miles of asphalt parking lots.

Again, it’s unfair to compare this little downtown to Europe, but it was just the perfect encapsulation of the last year of trying to understand the world and my thread of curiosity.