July Issue of Sunset Magazine

I love Sunset Magazine.

It's one of the magazines that I keep around to refer back to for design or trip ideas.  After I tagged "sunset camps" to one of my instagram photos I took of myself in Death Valley, they contacted me to license the image to place next to the editor's note in the July edition of the magazine.  If you're on instagram, you can see this photo along with others at @alisontravels

Thank you Sunset Magazine!

Alumapalooza 2013

This marks my 4th year of photographing Alumapalooza for Airstream.  Each time, I meet someone new and instantly connect with them.  It's not hard to bond with other people who have the same love of travel, and these campers do it in style!
I love photographing candid moments and portraits of the people who attend the event each year.  Photographing Sandy and Ed with their wedding photograph to celebrate their 30th year together, was inspiring. Also, I enjoyed listening to stories of each person who stepped foot in front of my lens.  All of you are amazing and inspiring to me.

I have to say that the best part of the trip for me was what Kirk said to me.  He's pictured below holding a copy of a photograph I took of him at Alumapalooza two years ago.  Last year at Alumapalooza, he decided to quit drinking. He knew that I didn't drink and said to me, "if you can do it, I can do it!"  He did just that.  June 1st was his year anniversary of not drinking!  He told me that I was his inspiration to quit.  What an honor it is to be an inspiration to someone just by trying to live the best life that I can.  I share my story here (good and bad) so that other people can relate and understand that they are not alone in whatever it is that they are going through.  Congratulations Kirk!

Needless to say, this year was a memorable one.  Thank you to Airstream, Inc. for having me back another year to capture the faces of the people who love Airstream. If you have an airstream, be sure to tell your story on the newly launched LiveRiveted.com website!  I'm excited to be a part of it...even though I don't own an Airstream, I know a thing or two about living on the road.  In fact, we are back in the van for another go around.

Yellowstone National Park With My iphone

As much as I would like to upload several beautiful images from my big camera, I left my card reader in Spokane and I haven't been on my computer in weeks. The last few posts were done with my iPhone and for me, it doesn't matter what equipment you use to get an image, as long as you are able to tell a story. I post photographs from my journey each day on instagram if you have that app in your iPhone, you can find me there.

Yellowstone is my favorite National Park by far. Everytime I go, I discover something new and this trip was no exception. In fact, I think this was my favorite visit yet!

I was lucky enough to get three nights of camping by a last minute cancellation since the park was completely sold out.

Here are photographs I took with my phone. I hope it gives you an idea of what my experience was like. If you've never been to Yellowstone, I would highly recommend a visit.

French Marie Claire Magazine Feature

I was honored to receive an email from a photographer researching women who travel the "American open road." He found me online and read my story and thought French women would be interested in an American who quits her job to wander around the country.  That pretty much sums up my life for the past few years.  At first, I thought it was a joke.  I researched the photographer to see if he was the real deal and then wondered why he would be looking for me instead of a writer?  I pushed the doubts aside and kept an open mind.  He asked me if I knew of other women doing similar things and I immediately thought of my friend, Kristiana Spaulding!  She designs beautiful jewelry and knows a thing or two about Airstream trailers.  In fact, she towed her trailer up this steep hill in Big Sur for this photo!

I don't know what the article says since it's in French, but I am sure it has something to do with women taking it upon themselves to travel solo.  For that, I am happy to participate to hopefully inspire other women to do the same!  The photographer and writer kept referring to Kristiana and I as "Thelma and Louise" so we started fighting on who was Thelma and who was Louise.  I suppose you can call us that without the breaking the law and suicide part.  I know... spoiler alert!  Because I love camping so much, I started a facebook camping page a while ago just for women who enjoy camping.  You can participate in the conversation HERE.

Kristiana and I met in Big Sur to camp three days before the actual photo shoot to give us time to hang out and relax.  Well, little did we know that there wouldn't be a shower in sight.  One night we drove for miles to find one with no luck.  So what you see here is the real deal... three days of camping with no shower.  Not the best way to get ready for a photo shoot but that's how we camping girls do it! 

If you are in France or by a fancy news stand that carries the French version of Marie Claire, it's out now...the August edition.  The image here is a screen shot of the website. There's a preview online but will not show the entire article and I have yet to figure out how to translate it.  You can see it HERE

I am honored to be featured in this article and it makes it even sweeter that I get to share it with my good friend, Kristiana!  She makes beautiful jewelry that you can buy on her website www.SilverTrailer.com

More photos I took during our Big Sur adventure can be found on my Big Sur blog post.

I hope you take the time to get out and explore, ladies!

Yosemite National Park

I am now living full time in my van with my dog, Max.  I don't like good bye's and it was especially difficult this time around since I really don't know when I will return.  Even at this point, I don't know exactly what I will do, where I will go, or when I will get there.  I like it that way.

A few days ago, I left my home and decided to try to beat the heat and get up in the mountains so the first destination was Yosemite National Park.  Most people told me how crazy busy it would be and I was pleasantly surprised when there were several campsites to choose from.  Max and I chose a site and took it easy the first day.  

It was so beautiful waking up in the forest however, "campy" will take some getting used to where sleep is concerned.  Max growled at every sound and he wasn't too happy when deer would pass through our campsite.  I agree that it was a bit rude of them to walk right through, but since they most likely were there first, I let it slide.  As I sipped my coffee in the morning inside of the van, I watched my neighbors fold up their tent and then it hit me... I have become one of "those" people.  For years, I camped in a tent and it was a bit annoying when people in RV's would sit in comfort and watch me and now, there I was watching the tenters.  Let me tell you... it was NICE!  

We explored the park for the day and didn't stay too long.  I love all of our National Parks and I look forward to visiting them throughout my journey.  

I am glad to be on the road and I look forward to what adventures await Max and I.

Where are you going?

When someone learns of my plans to live in my van and travel around the USA, the first question I get is, "where are you going to go?"  My answer is "I don't know" or "everywhere!"  I wish I could be more specific but I really never know.  I tend to have a general direction on where I will go and depending on the weather and circumstances, it determines the next day and so on.

I admit that it's not the best way to travel, but it's worked for me so far.  I would like to see Marfa, TX and perhaps make it out to the salt flats but other than that, it's a blank canvas.  I am assuming I will travel with the weather so that usually means I will head North during the hot months and South in the Fall.  I always enjoy being on the East coast in late summer.

I will be making goals along the way and sharing photographs, including portraits of people I meet on the road.  If you know of a place I shouldn't miss, please let me know.

You can always follow me here:
Instagram - user name is alisontravels
Facebook
Twitter - @alisontravels
Photos

Also, to help fund the trip, I am thinking of publishing small books in limited numbers to sell with portraits and travel photos. Once that is completed I update that here.

Thank you for your support!

Getting Ready To Live On The Road Again, For the 4th Year...

It's the time of year where I start thinking about goals and what I want to do when I grow up.  I just had a birthday and now I'm diving into my (cough) um, later years and I think  time, all of a sudden started going by faster.  Like, really fast.

This past year I decided to stay in one place and go to school.  My year is up soon so now it's time to get out and see the country again.  I toured around the first year in a teardrop trailer, the next two years in a tent and now I am going to roam around in a van.  I am pretty excited about it.  It's really the little things like waking up and making coffee without anyone seeing me. What a luxury! Usually it's me slowly getting off of the ground in the tent to an upright position and walking in slow motion to a bench to put water in a pot to boil for coffee.  I can barely see out of my eyes and during this time you will usually see an early morning camper already cooking breakfast after their morning run waving to me across the way yelling, "good morning."  Thank god I will escape that torture in the future by not being seen.  Ok, I am really not that groggy in the morning but sometimes this is how I feel in the morning when I try to sleep cozy in a tent in 28 degree weather.

The other luxury is saving money by sneak parking to sleep somewhere and not having to pay the hefty fees some campsites are charging these days. Needless to say, I am looking forward to the adventure.

As with years past, I plan to document my travels here and write about the people and places I come across, including any tips that I might have to share.  I hope to capture even more people in photographs than I have in the past.  I don't know how long I will be living in the van, but it will be a while since I can go pretty much anywhere with it in about any weather.

If you are new to the blog, below are some links to topics that might be of interest to you about my travels.  I can't wait to get going and I will be sure to let you know when I do!  As always, any suggestions of places or people to meet are appreciated.

I wasn't sure what to name the van.  My teardrop was named "trailie" and for some reason, "Campy" came to mind so it's going to be me, max and Campy!

xo Alison and Max

Click on topic to learn more about:

My story on quitting my job to live on the road that was published on Salon.com
How you can do it too!
What I did in 2009
What I did in 2010
What I did in 2011
Tips on Traveling with your Dog