#Vanlife: Travel and Minimalism
It's a romanticized tale of travel and minimalism, the ultimate American road trip mixed with a love for the outdoors. Spread across every social media platform imaginable, vanlife represents the adventurous experiences we all secretly wish we had. This pair of native Georgians took their unique Mercedes Sprinter across the North American continent.
Sarah King is a native Savannahian. Her husband Johnny is from Cumming, Georgia, and together they live in Peachtree Corners, just outside of Atlanta. One summer they decided to take the road trip of a lifetime. Their van of choice? A Freightliner sprinter that used to be an ambulance. It already had insulation, air conditioning, ventilation, and even some usable storage space. A folding bed and an Rtic cooler soon made it a viable option to take across the country. Their goal? To visit as many national parks as possible.
Sarah and Johnny drove straight to Missouri before cruising over to Colorado; then they went north though Montana, going up into Canada and across until they came down into Washington state; they traveled the whole West Coast — and even stepped into Mexico for a day — before looping back east through the Southwestern states until they hit home. “We went to about 29 national parks,” Sarah said. Some of her favorites were Grand Teton, Yosemite, Zion and Glacier — but first prize definitely goes to Banff National Park in Canada.
“We didn’t really plan how long we would stay in each place,” she said. They used roadtrippers.com to create their itinerary, utilizing free camping space — and even casino parking lots — to make their adventure cost effective. They spent the night by the side of the road too, utilizing the flexibility of their van to travel like modern-day gypsies, experiencing the freedom of the open highway as they ventured out across the home of the brave.
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