Arizona and New Mexico Roadtrip
Winter is the perfect time to van camp in the Southwest. In the summer it can be unbearably hot, but in December the days peaked in the 70s; the best temperatures to drive around in a van without working A/C, and to get out and hike around in the desert. The drawback to pleasantly warm winter days is cold winter nights, almost nightly the temperature dropped to freezing. I've come to enjoy camping in the cold, the process of selecting and bundling up in my winter layers. When nights are freezing I'll dress in wool base layers, a warm hoodie and sweats, (when it's extra cold I also sleep in poler napsack) and then we'll sandwich ourselves in a carefully selected pile of wool, down, and miscellaneous blankets. Mornings are always the coldest part of the day, but there's nothing like a 7am Southwest sunrise and a cup of fresh, steaming coffee to warm up your soul.
Photos shot on an assortment of film cameras and film stocks while van camping through the national parks and monuments of Arizona and New Mexico during the last few days of 2017.
Tucson and Saguaro National Park
We drove straight from Los Angeles to Tucson, and parked at a BLM free campsite late that night. In the morning Jason made our coffee and breakfast in the van surrounded by cacti.
Shooting my Canon AE-1 in Saguaro National Park.
Purchased at the Saguaro NP gift shop, this saguaro cactus will from now on be a permanent fixture in the Vanagon.
White Sands National Monument
The night before driving into White Sands we parked and slept the night near Organ Mountain National Recreation Area.
We left our free campsite in the dark in order to make it into White Sands for the 7am opening time and sunrise.
White Sands camoflauge.
Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest NP is home to logs that are millions of years old and have been turned into stone, many cool geological formations, and the Painted Desert.
The perfect overlook to park and make breakfast.
Jason cooking my favorite breakfast: paleo pancakes with coconut syrup and eggs.
Blue Mesa
Overlooking the Painted Desert from the historic Painted Desert Inn.
Relics from the old Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona.
Grand Canyon National Park
The last day of 2017; January 31st we woke up and drove into the park to watch the sun rise from the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
