Hey, beauties.
So, it has begun. Approximately one month ago, my partner, Aaron, and I left Las Vegas, Nevada. Intriguingly, we only moved there eight months prior. Why were we leaving, then? Well, that’s a loaded question…
Let me start by saying that the reason we moved there was to get a proper introduction to the cannabis industry. We both perceive the herb as a medicine — and a safe one at that — and think it needs to be decriminalized. Because that’s the way the United States is moving, we figured it would be best to halt our plans (college, primarily) and get immersed. (There’s no time like the present, after all!)
One month after we moved to Las Vegas, NV, signed a 13-month lease, and settled in, Aaron got a job with Reef Dispensaries. (Bless his heart) A couple of months later, I got a job there, as well. However, I was making more $$ writing and wasn’t feeling challenged in the lab (the edibles kitchen wasn’t done), so I quit. Aaron, on the other hand, received four promotions in his 6 or so months working there. He worked his way to cultivation and, after a while, felt as if there was little else he could learn, as well.
Before moving to Las Vegas, we both studied through THC University and acquired a handful of certification. This is what helped us get jobs in the industry so quickly. But, after six months, we found ourselves bored out of our minds. This is because aside from hiking, there isn’t really anything in Sin City we enjoy doing (except maybe seeing movies, that’s fun).
If Las Vegas allowed residents to grow marijuana at home, it probably wouldn’t have been so bad, honestly. But, it’s against the law to grow within 25 miles of a dispensary. So, that meant we had little to do but twiddle our thumbs, explore Red Rocks, and play video games.
That’s when we had the bright idea to sublet our apartment (a process in itself), renovate a 1995 Challenger Camper my parents gifted to us, and travel the USA for a bit. We could have moved straight to Colorado and started our business, but we want to wait until November to see if South Dakota legalizes medical marijuana or not. If so, that’s where we will start.
Here’s the camper!
Here’s the Quonset we are renovating it in! (Thanks, dad)
Brrrrr, South Dakota
So… we’re about half-way through renovating the camper and in a couple of weeks, will head out on the road. Our plan is to follow the road trip map outlined by scientists (see below), albeit roughly. We’re probably going to take off from South Dakota, head through Colorado, and visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona before heading east along the coast. We figured this route would be best because it’s still freezing up north and because in summer, it will be toasty as f*ck down south. Can you blame us?
What we’ve been doing the past few weeks:
So far, we’ve turned this:
into this:
We’ve ripped out carpet, stained the cupboards, painted the walls, and painted the trim grey. We are now in the process of buying a truck (something has to pull it!), fixing the broken windows damaged by hail (for a mere $90, thankyouverymuch), putting in the flooring, testing the heating and… setting up solar!
Photos were taken before touch-ups
In all honesty, figuring out solar has been a huge learning curve for both Aaron and me. We have spent probably 12 hours on the internet reading about the best set-ups, how to do it yourself, etc… Because it is a loaded process, I will be making an in-depth post explaining how to set up solar if you or someone you know wants to take life on the road for a while.
Because I won’t have a regular ol’ kitchen for a while, I am going to be blogging healthy yet more creative recipes once we hit the road. I’m guessing chia is going to star in a lot of them. Fortunately, we do have an oven and even a microwave, so it won’t be impossible to bake while traveling.
Still, I’m nervous.
Anyway, this is part 1 of a loooooong series, I’m guessing, that revolves around life on the road. I’m actually very excited to be perpetually traveling with my love, our two cats, and our husky pup. We intend to stay a lot in National parks and I think the ample amount of time in nature will allow for a lot of self-reflection and healing.
Until next time, lovelies.
