18 Nov Rollin’ with Karma #1: Denver to San Diego

Sunday Nov 14

We are loving the honeymoon phase on our first trip in the van. We rushed our move out an additional day earlier to give us more time on our 1200 mile journey. We had just barely enough time over the first week of ownership to get to know some of the mechanical ins & outs, get a fresh oil change, throw all our shit inside and hit the road!

First order of business was entertainment: the van has a nice Boss bluetooth audio system with 4 speakers installed in the driver & passenger doors and on the side walls. I thought it’d be best to deep dive into the year of Karma’s creation: 1975. While I drove that first shift, Aaron looked up top albums released in 1975 and started dumping them into a playlist. We cruised that night to Dylan, Zeppelin, Queen, Neil Young, Springstein, and Aerosmith — a perfect vibe for getting to know our 1975 van.

We made it to a free camping spot beneath Blanca Peak Sunday night – 230 miles, including 20 miles on a (surprise!) dirt road outside Pueblo and up over La Veta Pass (9,400ft). No issues or causes for concern, despite us being hyper-vigilant every little bump or noise might be the end of this good fortune wave.

Monday Nov 15

The next morning, we woke to clear skies and massive peaks. The day began with killer smoothies from a juice bar in Alamosa for breakfast (16oz for only $5 each!), and a long leisurely drive through the southern mountain towns of Colorado along highway 160. Our two original pilot & copilot chairs are really comfy and I love my new desk view! Monday’s soundtrack included Fleetwood Mac, Bowie, Dylan & the Band, Eagles, Elton John, and Parliament!

The mountains turned to mesas turned to a lot of nothing through northern Arizona. We successfully pulled into our parking spot for the night at 7p that day, 450 smooth and easy miles.

Some guidelines for Best Karma Life:

1. Karma drives 55 mph. R E L A X. Other fast drivers will go around. Take the state / county roads over the interstate. She’s a time machine – not a speed machine. It’s not gonna be quick but it will be memorable. 
2. Keep the double 22 gallon tanks above a 1/8-1/4 full.
3. Turn up the radio and roll down the windows.
4. Brake early and often. Karma does not like to stop on a dime.

Patience is not one of my strong suits. But this car is a gift to truly slow down. To take the long way, give myself extra time & enjoy the ride. Oh – and to take lots and lots of photos out the windows 🙂