Water Log

Remember that scene in the film Cast Away where Tom Hanks is waving a blazing palm frond in the air yelling “I HAVE CREATED FIIIIIRE”? Yes? Well, that is how I felt recently upon discovering my first Glacier water vending machine in a Publix supermarket. I’m sure everyone at the cash registers wondered why I was dancing around with my Igloo water cooler yelling “I HAVE DISCOVERED CLEAN TASTING WATER FOR 50 CENTS A GALLON”.

Preparing for the road has meant reading and researching a ton. Mostly, though, I have discovered so much I didn’t know I even needed to know by reading the experiences of those who have pioneered ahead. Some things were easy to test out beforehand from the relative safety of home and some had to wait until I was in the field, so to speak. Storing and finding clean drinking water was, of course, a primary consideration.

I have spent agonizing hours reading product reviews and blog posts for everything from portable toilets to solar lanterns. Water storage, though, fell into an entirely different category – absolute survival. Seriously, I can poop in the dark pretty much anywhere if I have a shovel (Okay not anywhere), but clean drinking water that can see me through a few days is not something I can piecemeal together at the last minute. My primary considerations were the space and interior design of my vehicle and sturdiness and material of the container. In addition, in my quest to reduce waste, water bottles were not an option.

Water storage containers range in shape and size from bulky and round, to cube-shaped, to flat, skinny and tall. I started my search for the perfectly sized container early on, and lucky I did. My initial purchase was the WaterBrick – a square, 3.5 gallon container that I thought would fit in the far back of my vehicle. It took forever to arrive and was just slightly too large and bulky for the space I had in mind (plus it had animal hair stuck to it). Back to Amazon it went.

Before settling on the Rotopax two gallon military grade containers (the tall, skinny ones), I picked up a one gallon Igloo water container on a whim at Walmart. With my purchase of two Rotopax and the Igloo (and various water bottles etc), I would now have more than five gallons of drinking water with me at all times. That is, if I could find water!

Enter SUV/Car camping fb group and the collective hive. Dozens of responses to my cry for newbie-help gave me a great deal of information (see below). And yet, since knowing is not doing, I felt uneasy until I actually did it. From a long-time filtered faucet drinker, I’m hear to tell you – you can find clean drinking water on the road. And, you don’t even need to bring your own filtration system. Although I still do have my EHM pitcher, just in case. Keep in mind that you definitely don’t have to pay for clean drinking water, as some of the sources below indicate. For me, however, even after filtering the potable water at my first campground, I was not comfortable with the taste.

Info from the hive

Finding Water

App: Water-Map Created by NGO European Water Project. Provides latitude/longitude for sites with free public water fountains in U.S. and abroad.

Website: Findaspring.com “An environmental conservation foundation committed to ensuring the earth’s precious waters are appreciated and protected.” Search their map to find natural springs near you.

Website: shop.water.com Provides Primo (& Glacier) Refill Locations.

Website: freshpure.com Provides locations of fresh pure water vending machines. Common in whole food markets. Provides alkaline and reverse osmosis options.

Website: watermillexpress.com Gives locations of Watermill Express water vending stations.

Other ideas for finding free drinking water: libraries, public parks, boat launches, city/county/state office buildings, cemeteries Filtering/Purifying Water on the Road Zero water pitcher Berkey filter UV wand GoSun Flow

Epilogue This being week two of my full-time SUV life, I had thus far only stopped to fill up the one gallon Igloo (refer to above Cast Away register dance of glee scenario). My second campground advertised potable water, so I wasn’t too worried about filling up the Rotopax. Enroute yesterday, I felt a niggling voice telling me to stop and fill up both Rotopax containers, which I did at a Primo station along the way. When I arrived at the campground and inquired about the water, the manager said that no one there really drinks it, it can be rusty at times. And...the nearest water vending machine? Nineteen miles away!

Note to reader: This is not intended as a comprehensive or definitive post, so please do leave a comment on ways you ensure clean drinking water in your daily life – either on or off the road.

State forest somewhere in Central Florida

Why the Nomadic Lifestyle?

As you can guess, the answer to this question isn’t universal. Some people hit the road to avoid spending money on traditional housing costs, some have no choice due to economic circumstances, and others are leaving, or running away from, a painful past. And then there are those who just feel a deep yearning to live life on the fly with few possessions and a thirst for travel. Those who know me well know it’s been a bad couple of years. And, those who know me the best know I’ve been dreaming of this life for a very long time. When I finally decided to take the plunge, I wanted to be sure my motivation was not muddied by the desire to run away from a crappy end to a (mostly) beautiful career. In fact, I sat through an extra winter of seasonal depression in upstate New York just to give myself time to reflect that this decision was based on true wanderlust and not the desire to delay facing my demons.

It can be an affront to hear how American society is so driven by work and consumerism, bookended and manipulated by the constructs of time and permanence. After all, it’s how most of us have been raised to interact with the world. How can it be wrong? As my perceptions have changed over the past two years (with much gratitude to my meditation teachers), I have begun to understand that my own innate desire to live life ever so simply with few (OK fewer) attachments is natural. It does not go against the grain – it is the grain.

I grew up in an affluent suburb of Buffalo, NY, a child of “the wrong side of the tracks” syndrome that pervades so many childhoods. In addition to our modest home, my parents also owned 20 acres of land in the rolling hills of Chautauqua County, NY where we would spend much of our summers exploring the creek beds, woods and fields. Humble living indeed - a one room cabin with no running water or electricity a good quarter mile from the road. It was predictable, then, that when I came into possession of a copy of The Whole Earth Catalog at the age of 12 I would begin to plot out my future off-grid life. Over the years my love of travel and camping has grown, as has my inclination to mesh my own life with the rhythm of the natural world.

Although it can be, for the most part the nomadic lifestyle is not off-grid living. However, the two do share the desire to be unmoored from standardized societal anchors. My own particular brand of nomadism includes spending as much time outdoors and living as harmoniously with the earth as is possible. For me, it is a knowingness that contentment just simply is. It is not dependent on a place, a person, or a thing. By creating space to just be without the distractions of a brick and mortar house or traditional job, I am allowing each moment to unfold in a way that illuminates the clarity and peace that is already present in our lives. Life moves slower. The basic activities of daily life become life’s activities rather than things to rush through to get to the next task we must accomplish. Each meal or brush of the teeth is done in thoughtful concentration. And through this, I notice my mind slow its anxious pace and begin to rest.

It’s true – I am just beginning to live this life. But, I feel I have always been preparing for it. In relative terms, what can I say? – I love the challenge of organizing such a small space and living with only the essentials. Indeed, the sun heals me, both mentally and physically and I am blessed to be able to travel and see some very beautiful places. Sure, I will go without a shower for days, get stuck in an SUV during an all-day rain, and accidentally pee on the floor. But, ultimately it is all just each moment going by and I celebrate my good fortune to live life in this way. In my heart, I know it will make me a better mother, friend, and traveler to those I meet along the way.

There are many ways to find our peace. This is mine.

Safety First or Surviving the Buffalo Blizzard

December 23, 2022: As I sit here nice and toasty in my daughter’s Buffalo apartment listening to the blizzardy winds blowing between the houses, I can’t help but wonder about the countless people who are houseless today trying to ride out this storm in their vehicles. This first leg of my journey keeps me relatively safe while still up north with family. And, this epic weather can’t help but be the exclamation point on why I want to head for sunnier skies. I must say, though, my awareness of and empathy toward those who don’t choose to live without a house has increased. Finding and connecting with others who value the nomadic life has been a gift. These groups, though, highlight two very different realities – the reality of many who desire the houseless lifestyle and the reality of so very many others who have no choice.

Overall, my family and friends, and most importantly my daughter, have been encouraging and enthusiastic about my lifestyle change. There is one overriding theme I am hearing, though – “just be safe”. As you might imagine, much of the past four months has been spent researching what goes into living life out of a car. I’ve come up with a few safety measures and it will be interesting to see how they work, or don’t, as time goes by.

Keeping Safe on the Road

#1 Maintain stability of mind and do not panic no matter the safety issue. Respond to situations rather than react to them.

#2 Stay indoors or drive away from area if there is a weather-related emergency.

#3 Be aware of surroundings at all times (no looking down at phone while walking through parking lots!).

#4 Carry a fire extinguisher and carbon monoxide detector in vehicle.

#5 Be informed about carbon monoxide. Fight the urge to use a lot of appliances, including those run on propane or butane, inside a vehicle

#6 Don’t unlock vehicle until hand is on door handle; lock car immediately upon getting in. Every. Time.

#7 Hang solar motion detector flood lights from windows.

#8 Keep safety whistle, stun gun & pepper spray (not sold everywhere) at hand at all times.

#9 Share location with at least one family member on phone (difficult for those of us who value privacy).

#10 Provide family members with itinerary.

#11 Don’t stay at truck stops.

#12 Carry a purse or bag that has external hard drive, passwords, wallet, phone, extra car key. Hide extra credit card in car.

#13 Put up privacy window coverings so no one can see inside vehicle, even when in a parking lot.

#14 Do not exit vehicle at any time if parking overnight in a place that is not a campground.

#15 Stay primarily at campgrounds.

UPDATE: December 26, 2022: I began writing this column during the early stages of the storm (Blizzard of 2022) on Friday, thinking it was a clever way to tie in nomadic safety to the current weather crises here in Western New York. I can tell you now, reader, that I have never been as frightened by weather as I was Friday night listening to the wind outside my daughter’s apartment. The wind was fierce, unrelenting, and hurricane fast, shaking the house so hard I thought it would just fly away. An old, midcentury window had iced over on the inside by early evening, and with every crack and blast of bitter cold breathing into the room, I anticipated the window exploding. How it didn’t, I will never know. By 4 a.m. I had put on my noise cancelling headphones to get a few hours of sleep.

The power had been out since 3:30 p.m. Friday and we had draped the living room windows and doorway with blankets. By early Saturday we had moved our living quarters into my daughter’s bedroom. Our downstairs neighbors brought us a warm breakfast, although we were all cautious about using our gas ranges. My off-grid portable battery of 1000 watt hours kept phones charged for us all, and other camping gear came in handy. We did try the heater…but…too many watts! Using our pets and one another for warmth, we made it until Sunday around 2 – it was a Christmas miracle to have heat again.

We are now hearing the stories of folks who were not lucky enough to be indoors during this blizzard. So many lost power. So many got trapped. The storm came fast with its fury. As Buffalonians, we usually believe with any storm we’ll have at least an hour or two leeway. If the storm starts at 7 a.m., we figure we can still run out and get some groceries. Not so, this time.

Two of the Facebook groups I belong to are for women travelers who live or camp frequently in their vehicles. As the arctic cold surged across the country this past week, a great many sisters reached out to the tens of thousands of women who are members of these groups. Strangers offered homes, bedrooms, driveways with electric, warm meals and more. There are other stories locally of heroic rescues and small kindnesses that make every difference. Indeed, a warm breakfast made a huge difference in our lives. So now, I offer tip #16…

#16 Don’t forget, we are a community, all of us, everywhere.