July 2, 2026 | Gunnison, Colorado
I’m at a campground in Gunnison, part of a network of about 250 sites I belong to. I don’t use them much but moments like this I appreciate them. Rolled in last night at 6:30pm, sat in the hot tub for a while, took a long hot shower. Electricity at my site so I cooked up six pounds of ground beef, three in the fridge and three in the freezer. I might add another night here. It doesn’t cost me anything and I need to coordinate with package deliveries in Telluride anyway. My cooking and music gear table arrived to Mountain Village yesterday and my horse tack organizer arrives to a PO box in Telluride today. I need to pick both up before making the trek out to the yurt. I’ll have been gone a full week by the time I get back. Awesome adventure though.
There’s smoke in the sky and a sense of fires all around, but apparently we’re not in any danger. From what I’m hearing, the amount of fires this year has a lot to do with the lack of snow this past winter.
Yesterday afternoon Shannon and I took a bike ride into Leadville. She introduced me to a store called Melanzana that I gather is famous among backpackers. It’s an unusual place, essentially appointment only, though there’s a small section you can browse if you just walk in. Most of the store is full of people at sewing machines making the clothing. I bought a new hat because I noticed I’ve been wearing the same one in all my photos. Need to mix it up just a hair.
After that I saw a sandwich board advertising a coffee shop called Grateful Day pointing up a side street. A Grateful Dead themed coffee shop sounded like my thing so we rode up. Top notch cappuccino, talked to the owners for a bit. It was their very first day open as a business. Great logo. I bought a sticker, which earned a high value spot on the back of my main laptop.
Shannon made another nice egg scramble breakfast with avocado. Mindi sewed up the big fire damage hole in the crotch of my fuzzy onesie. And I got plenty of time with my current favorite dog in my life, Chewy. He’s a tiny little thing, but when he sees me he comes speeding over, jumps up three or four times his body height, and somehow comes bursting through the magnetic curtain into the van, where he sits right at my feet and pours on the affection. I don’t want a dog, but this is the first one I’ve met since losing mine that I would actually take. I made an offer to his owner Brad. Turns out the price is $175,000, which is more than I’m willing to spend on a dog right now.
I also had a nice visit with Mack, another nomad in the group. He’s an amputee, lost a leg in a work related fall about 20 years ago. He’s got a wheelchair unlike any I’ve seen, with big fat front wheels that extend several inches further than a typical chair, making it more stable on rough terrain. Made by a company called Whirlwind. My mom is due for a new wheelchair and I was curious whether this might help her. Mack is living in a Honda Element he got for $3,000, seats removed, bed and cooking station inside. I asked him a barrage of questions. He’s happy as can be and doesn’t want anything different.
I’m always fascinated by how other nomads work it all out. I’ve since been fantasizing about getting a little Element for Baja and backpacking excursions where I don’t want to risk the van. I could probably trade my car that’s still sitting in Nashville and come close to an even swap.
I also did a quick rig tour on camera with Bread Truck Kelly, who’s living in an old bread delivery truck from the 80s. Mechanically it seems like more of a challenge than I’d be willing to take on, but the living quarters are one of my favorites I’ve seen. You feel like you’re in a cabin in the woods. After that I finally did a rig tour and brief interview with Shannon. I’d been meaning to do that since April.
I rolled out at 4:30pm. They were all getting booted the next day anyway, authorities telling them to move on.
I’m so comfortable and content any time I park the van. These campgrounds add another level because of the little amenities: electricity, laundry, pools, hot tubs, dumpsters, water. I could easily live at these around the country at no additional cost. I always get a lot of work done when I’m here.
More at layng.com.