“Urban” Van Life (kinda)
I arrived in Caldwell, ID, in time to prepare to work from the van the next day. I wanted to be in an area where I had good connectivity and was rested and ready to work. My entire team and department know about this trip, and I want to make clear that work is a priority. I’m taking full advantage of my 100% remote status to do this trip. But 100% remote is still 100% working, and I do NOT take my job for granted!
So I chose Caldwell, ID, outside of Boise, as the location for my first workday on the road. I had reached out via a membership organization called “Boondockers Welcome” to reserve a spot in front of some random stranger’s house. So for my first two days in Caldwell, I parked in the street of a suburban neighborhood. No beautiful views. No putting up my awning and pulling out my 2-person loveseat camping chair. I was in the street of a suburban development of an otherwise fairly rural area outside Boise.
My “hosts” greeted me, gave me a WiFi password, and left me to myself (at my request). I needed it after 3 days of driving. And I needed to be ready for the workday. The WiFi password was most welcome, and I definitely made use of it. However, it felt strange the next day to stay parked until 5:00 pm, without giving any sign of movement from inside my metal box (but that’s the nature of my job: I sit in front of my computer for 8 hours, with very little movement). So mid-day, I took my home office on wheels to a nearby National Wildlife Refuge on a large reservoir.
When I was “off” for the night, I walked around the reservoir a bit and then headed to a bar/restaurant I’d read about on Yelp. It turned out, somewhat surprisingly, to be a speakeasy in the basement of a building in old-town Nampa, ID. When I entered the building, I was directed down some stairs and told to enter through the door marked “Janitor’s Closet.” I did and found a dark and (thankfully) very air-conditioned bar, with live music and custom-crafted cocktails. It was a Tuesday night – and did I mention this is Nampa, ID? Not exactly a nightlife destination – so it was a bit quiet, but I sat at the bar and talked to the bartenders, who were quite happy to tell me about their “own line of syrups.” I was fairly incredulous to have found this place in Nampa, ID, so I asked one of the bartenders if there were many places like this in Nampa. He replied, “There aren’t many places like this anywhere.” Now, of course there are places similar to this in many cities, and certainly in San Francisco. But a part of its uniqueness is that it is easy to walk in and get a seat, eat a delicious meal (I had a cheesy flatbread topped with “candied jalapenos”), order hand-crafted cocktails, and leave having spent $25. Now THAT is rare!
The next day, after work, I headed into the mountains, along a very winding road along a rushing river. It was absolutely spectacular, so I stopped to take pictures, and to fix the first of what I hope will be very few mishaps in the van, so I didn’t arrive at my destination in McCall, ID, until after 9:00.
Next post will include more photos. Until then, here is what I chose to capture in Caldwell.
