Start Here
What is Nomad Without a Country About and Is It for You?
Start Here
(If you’re still not living the life that you should be, this blog is for you…)
Hi. I’m the guy who bought a campervan, ran away from home in his 60s, got a dog, drove off on a six-month trip, and never came back.
That was four years and 120,000 miles ago. I became a full-time van lifer. After six months on the road, I became a nomad, and got rid of my old possessions.
Welcome!
Who am I?
I didn’t start out as a nomad.
I grew up in the Midwest in the ‘60s. After college, I flew off to Morocco to join the Peace Corps, then spent most of my adult life working in Africa, living in and working in 27 countries on the continent.
In Morocco, I met and married the love of my life, Aisha, then lost her to cancer. That broke me. I thought my life was over. But life continues. I kept working.
Decades passed.
In 2020, COVID shut down my career in Africa. At 60, I found myself back in America, too old for the job market, but unable to sit at home.
I had to decide: Accept a normal, boring life, or choose another path?
So, I rebelled.
I wrote a book about my life and work in Africa, then hit the road in a van to promote it. I gave myself six to visit bookstores in the lower 48 states, then fate intervened.
My Quest Begins (You Should Try One!)
One day, I woke up and had an epiphany. “I’m home free.” I realized I had become a nomad. My fate, henceforth, would be on the road. I was on some sort of quest!
Do you believe there is more to life than sitting at home staring at four walls? Do you think some of us—yourself--are meant to be nomads? It may be your quest.
What is This Blog About? That Van Life Mystique?
This is not the Instagram version of van life. Instead of Eat, Pray, Love, it’s more like Drive, Find a Camp, Eat, Sleep, Repeat. The nitty-gritty.
This blog is about what happens if you won’t settle for less.
I write about the dream and majesty of living life on the road, but also the reality—day after day, month after month, season after season, country after country.
This is not a DIY blog on how to build your van, or a how-to-live-the-van-life guide. There are a million of those. The one thing missing was a blog that explains WHY.
Why leave home, hit the road, and try to reinvent yourself late in life, with very little money, and limited time to start over? There is no safety net out here. The price of failure is high.
Because I knew I had to. I did not choose the road; the road chose me.
What to Call the Blog?
A ton of blogs mine the themes of van life and nomadism. I was searching for the ultimate symbol of freedom and roaming.
One day, out on the Western Plains, I finally saw buffalo grazing in the wild. They are majestic creatures, built to roam. For most of our history, we humans roamed, too.
I broke out of the corral, reclaiming my right to roam.
Do you want to reclaim yours?
Why I Write
Becoming a nomad led to an amazing transformation—a rebirth.
I had spent my life living indoors, dealing with anxiety and depression. All of that faded away as soon as I started roaming. Maybe the problem wasn’t me; was it living indoors?
I write to share the idea of roaming, in hopes it works wonders for you, too.
What You’ll Find Here
A rarity - honest travel writing (mostly humorous). No fluff. No what-to-pack or where-to-stay or which café or restaurant is a hot spot this season.
Observations about the reality of life on the road. Stuff you need to know. It’s not all fun and games. But it’s doable.
Things go from OK to sketchy really fast out there. Learn to be alert and aware at all times.
Where to Start?
Here are a few blogs to explore first:
How To Become a Nomad – Learn how it changes you
Where the Road Might Take You -- You’re not in charge; the road is
Or, read the stories of others who reinvented themselves:
Reinvention on the Run: The Murrays – The first couple I met on the road
Whiskey and Wellness in West Texas – A doctor who owns a liquor store
Get Hip and Take a Trip -- The woman who pioneered car camping in the ‘70s
And if you want to know more about my dog:
Paws for Thought by Mr. Bones
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