In mid January, we organized our first official van jamboree with our fellow van friends, Jennifer and Mike, and Angela and Nate, and our soon-to-be-van-owner friend, Captain Sanden.  But instead of making it just a single destination, we decided to make it a complete journey in of itself.  The adventure started with a trip over to Oregon, then down the coast to California, then over to Arizona, then up to Utah.  The adventure lasted nearly a month, and it was absolutely packed with action from start to finish.  I’ll do my best to capture the highlights of the loop here, but I certainly can’t make any guarantees that I will remember it all some six months later.  I need to get better about blogging in real time, but I’m fairly certain that everyone reading this understands that by now.  After all, adventuring is hard work, but someone has to do it.  Let’s see how the capturing goes…

The trip started with a swing through Boise for beer replenishments, a stop on the John Day River, and a visit with Jenn and Mike in Bend, Oregon.  One of the primary drivers for the entire trip in general was our decision to have a more permanent bed installed in Tall Boy.  We decided to have the boys at Action Van in Bend do the work, and we have not been disappointed.  It’s been a great update to our home, and it sort of sparked the whole concept behind making this van jamboree a reality.  And when a bed installation turns into a month-long odyssey of fishing, beer drinking, mountain biking, and playoff football, what could go wrong?  We stopped in Boise and hung with our good friends at Barbarian Brewing, Bre, James, Christy, and Keaton.  Guys, we are still trying to find a brewery that brews beer that is on par with your beer, but still nothing yet.  We will continue to try, but it’s becoming clear that your beer is the best on the planet, so congratulations, again, and thanks for all you do for us. 

The Chesneys somehow agreed to let us stay with them again at their beautiful home in Bend.  Hanging with the Chesneys and having fun in Bend never seems to get old, so it served as an excellent springboard for the work we were having done on our van.  Per usual, we ripped it up with the Chesneys during our stay, cooking, eating, and drinking like a bunch of animals.  I worked on perfecting my decade-old recipe of smoked wings with white BBQ sauce (a recipe still trying to be copied by others today) and Mike worked on perfecting his world-famous Italian pizza.  The recipes came out great, as did the bed, and our visit to Bend was extraordinary.  And after the visit was complete, we fired up our Sprinter vans and headed west to the coast,  initiating the start of the van jamboree.  It was the inaugural journey for the Chesney’s new Revel, and we were pleased to be a part of it.

We toured the coast of Oregon with the Chesneys, from north to south, starting in Newport.  We sampled the beers, cider, and seafood along the way, as we stayed in several of our favorite Oregon state parks along the coast.  We even had the chance to watch our New England Patriots make another run for a Superbowl berth.  We had an especially good time watching the Pats put an end to the Chiefs season in front of a bunch of “rabid” Chiefs fans in Newport at the Wolf Tree Brewery.  The Wolf Tree has excellent sour beers in a small neighborhood setting, so it was a great spot to watch the conference championship, and it was especially gratifying shutting up the ignorant Chiefs fans in the room.  As one fine, young lady said repeatedly in the room, “nobody wants to see Tom Brady and the Patriots go to another Superbowl”, in a loud, whiny voice.  Wrong, Missy.  We do, and we will see the Patriots go to another Superbowl as you and your Chiefs schedule their tee times for their off-season.  Better luck next year, the Pats are moving on…again.

The Sprinters hauled ass south along the coast and into the California Republic.  We were fortunate enough to enter into California before the Agricultural Police woke up, thus avoiding another long, arduous, and unnecessary conversation with people that think their jobs are the most important on the planet.  We made a beeline to Napa County to drink some wine, ride bikes, and enjoy some camping in the quaint little town of Calistoga.  We acted like sophisticates and visited Silver Oak (again), as well as Coppola, as we toasted to Mike’s 19th birthday.  He looks great, especially after a few glasses of wine.

After we soiled Calistoga, we headed southeast toward Arizona to catch up with fellow van peeps, Angela and Nate, and also with Solo Captain Sanden.  I don’t actually recall why Carmen didn’t make the trip south, but I vaguely remember it having something to do with work.  How silly, Carmen.  All of us connected in Cottonwood, AZ,  camping for free on our great government lands in Cottonwood and in Sedona.  We drank beer, made some great camp food, and rode bikes in a number of places.  The January weather was fantastic, and we took full advantage of the summer-like temps in the middle of winter.  Man, we could sure get used to the Arizona winters (hint, hint).

The van jamboree ended when the working folk peeled out of Sedona and headed north to Park City, while the Chesneys headed south to visit family.  MJ and I were content to hang around Sedona, so we dialed up our good friend, Dave Anjos, to extend our trip.  After all, we really don’t have anything to do, so a trip extension is always possible.  We hung out with Dave, drank some more beer, and logged some fairly substantial miles on our mountain bikes.   Dave even forced us to risk our lives crossing a raging river right out of the blocks on one of our rides…it was epic.  We probably would have stayed longer, but Dave’s a little slow in the beer and biking departments.  Waiting around for him to catch up sort of gets old after a couple days.  Thanks again, Dave, for making me feel fast.  By the way, what are you doing this winter?

When the calendars turned to February and when Sedona ran out of beer, MJ and I headed north to St. George, Utah.  Maybe I’m confused with another year, or another story, but it seems as though our New England Patriots were playing in another Superbowl Championship, and it was time to dig our heels in and support the team.  We rented a small condo at the beautiful Entrada Resort in SG, and immediately set up shop for game day.  The Traeger found its way to the patio, as did the Patriots flag, and we enjoyed buffalo wings as we watched our team grind out a great defensive win and a 6th Superbowl Championship.  It’s really unbelievable, and we are fortunate to be part of this unprecedented run.  I will say it again…winning never gets old, and apparently, neither does Tom Brady.  And although TB12 didn’t physically win this game like he did against Atlanta in SB51, he is still the common denominator in all of the team’s success, as are Coach Belichick and Robert Kraft.  Anyway, all the Patriot haters have another victory to add to their bowl of hatred, and let’s hope they get yet another helping this year.  So, cheers to the whiny Chiefs fan in Oregon, and cheers to the Montana brewery with the “Shady Brady” on tap.  GFY, as they say here in New England.

After we were done with the Rams, we headed northeast to Moab before heading back to Park City.  We rode the famous Slick Rock Trail and visited Arches National Park.  The off-season treated us well, as we were seemingly the only people on the trail and one of only a few vehicles in the park.  Maybe it had something to do with the snowflakes that greeted us on the trail?  Or maybe all the Patriot haters were home licking their wounds?  Regardless, we ripped it up and had a blast, and it felt great to be back in Utah with another victory under our belts.  Thanks to the GOAT for making all of us feel younger, and thanks to the entire Patriot organization for doing what they do best…win.