Vlog Recommendation...Rock On Van Life

 

We recently found the Rock On Van Life channel on YouTube and are enjoying a number of the videos. 

The vlogger, Christine, offers a variety of content and we particularly appreciate her videos showcasing various campgrounds and trails. 

Videos also prominently feature Esther, her 1997 Dodge Roadtrek 190. The vlog currently offers over 60 videos and Christine promises more upcoming adventures!

The latest video features Nerstrand Big Woods State Park in south central Minnesota.

Learn How Roadtreks Were Made

Thanks to the Wayback Machine of the Internet Archive, you can step through linked web pages to learn how Roadtreks were made. 

For newer Roadtreks you can view a short video, "The Making of a Roadtrek RV | A Visit to the Roadtrek Manufacturing Facility," posted in June 2014 on the RV Lifestyle YouTube channel.

Some of our Favorite #VanLife or Travel Vloggers

There are many, many people living #vanlife with YouTube channels. I'll pass along links to a couple of vloggers that we enjoy and follow. 

Catherine Gregory is living full time in a pickup camper. She primarily posts videos of her travels in the western United States. 

The quality of her hiking and backpacking videos is impressive.   

Tread for the Globe with Chris, Marianne, and their van, Trudy. They describe themselves as an ordinary couple  on an extraordinary journey as they set out to visit every country in the world either in their van or by backpack. 

We began following their travels around the United Kingdom and as they began their journey around the world by crossing Europe toward the Middle East and beyond. 

They've spent much of the last year or more traveling around Turkey and their twice weekly videos have provided really amazing views of life in a country that most of us know little about. 

Chris and Marianne returned to the U.K. over the holidays to visit family and will be starting off 2022 by driving across the United States.

Do you have your favorite travel or #vanlife vlogger? If so, consider dropping a note and url into a comment below.

Bear Creek Trail

We enjoyed lovely walks on the Bear Creek Trail in Columbia, MO this past weekend.

We drove over in our 1996 210 Popular and it served faithfully as our base for a snack break.

We first headed west from the Creasy Springs Trail Head to the Cosmo Park Trail Head before returning. It was a total of 3.3 miles with 194 feet elevation change.

The AllTrails recording follows, https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/bear-creek-trail-creasy-springs-to-cosmo-park-1fa6269.

After a short break, we then walked east toward the Garth Nature Area Trail Head. This stretch was 2.54 miles and 39 feet of elevation change.

The route includes an impressive elevated boardwalk and a nice loop around a wonderful wetlands. We saw several tree stumps that looked like beavers may've been active.

You can find the AllTrails recording from our walk at https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/bear-creek-trail-6562a2c--4.

You can also read more about the Bear Creek Trail on the City of Columa website.

Walk from Grindstone Creek Nature Area Trailhead

 We enjoyed a very pleasant walk this week starting from the Grindstone Creek Nature Area Trailhead in Columbia, MO.

You can learn more about the Grindstone Nature Area at https://www.como.gov/parks/grindstone-nature-area/. The Columbia, MO Convention & Visitors Bureau offers web pages with links to more information on various trails, https://www.visitcolumbiamo.com/section/parks-trails/. You can also find a map of our route on AllTrails, https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/afternoon-hike-c0d5868--205.

Short Walk on the Fern Ridge Trail

We finished off our first weekend of camping in our new to us 1996 Roadtrek with a lovely walk on the Fern Ridge Trail at Graham Cave State Park.

We drove from the campground down to the parking lot below Graham Cave. We enjoyed lunch after our walk and then returned home. You can view a short YouTube video, Sunday Walk on the Fern Ridge Trail.

You can also view our route on Alltrails, Fern Ridge Trail.

Overview of our YouTube Channel

We started a YouTube channel several months ago as a way to share videos from some of our trips.  These adventures range from local hikes to cross country trips and some international travel.

We are currently using a GoPro 8 for most videos and supplement with our cell phones. Many of the uploaded videos up to this point have been GoPro edits using their Quick app. I am also now using Wondershare Filmora X for editing and will likely use the software more over time.

I also try when posting on YouTube to include links to AllTrails when hikes are featured so those interested can see the routes we followed. 

Our most recent upload offers video from an afternoon hike on trails at nearby Graham Cave State Park. 

The videos are currently organized into the following linked playlists:

• Roadtrek
• Missouri Walks
• Missouri Camping
• Iowa
• Missouri to Maine & Return
• Starved Rock State Park 2021
• Road Scholar
• Trip to Lake Tahoe and Oregon 2021
• Northwest U.S.
• International Travel