Traveling for some people isn’t an inconvenience. It isn’t bothersome or something to dread. For some people, the journey is more important than the destination. The feeling of the open road, the freedom to go anywhere you choose. That is what many people, including myself, get out of traveling. I love experiencing new places, especially with the people who are important to me. There is nothing quite like a road trip with some of your best friends. Especially when they are as like-minded as my friends are. Pulling over on the side of the road to camp for a night isn’t something we dread, it’s something we hope we get to do. When Travis Burke‘s grandma died, he decided to take her old camper van and turn it into the ultimate adventure vehicle. The American photographer travels around in his “adventure mobile,” which started out as his grandma’s old van before he converted it into a fully habitable home. He funds his travels via a combination of photography, product testing, writing reviews, and general freelancing work, and as he writes on his website, “I really hope to inspire people to get out and explore their own backyard. He has spent the past year and a half traveling around the country and documenting the entire adventure of a lifetime!
Looking for dinosaur prints in the The Wave in Arizona sounds like a great way to start of the trip!
Some roads were just made to skate, like Highway 101 in Oregon.
Spots like this one where you can see the Milky Way are some of my favorite to camp. This gorgeous view is courtesy of The Lost Coast Trail in California.
The danger was definitely worth the reward when exploring these ice caves in Washington.
Beautiful waterfalls like this are in abundance in the back country of Washington.
I don’t know if I would ever want to leave this spot along the Oregon coastline. This view is absolutely perfect.
Here is the original poster and his lady friend standing beneath Twin Falls, Idaho.
This old abandoned ship was photographed along the California coast.
The stairway to heaven hike in Hawaii is illegal and dangerous.
The reward at the end is worth everything you have to go through though.
The city of San Diego is seems to be set ablaze from the heights of this campsite.
This is one that my friends I are going to tackle this summer. Relaxing in the crystal blue waters of Havasupai in Arizona.
Getting down some back roads is essential. This amazing shot is courtesy of back woods of Vermont.
This is grandma’s old van, with a lift and some all terrain tires, this thing is ready to head anywhere.
This is what the inside of the van looks like. You can’t ask for much more than this with a life on the road.
Alright, the California coast is just showing off at this point. I would love to experience this view.
Lake Louise, Alberta Canada looks like it came straight out of a movie set.
The upper northwest is littered with natural beauty such as Proxy Falls, Oregon.
Sunrises looking over San Diego wouldn’t be the worst way to wake up, I’ll tell ya that.
This is one of my favorite places in the entire world. The Narrows in Zion National Park, Utah. You won’t find many place cooler than this.
Amazing views from the Appalachian Trail, Virginia.
Scuba diving with sea turtles is never a bad way to spend the day.
Time for a little mudding with some majestic peaks in sight in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Sometimes leaving the van behind and living out of a back pack is the way to go. Escalante, Utah is a place where this is an absolute must.
It was a challenge just to get to go to bed while camping on the beach in Oahu, Hawaii.
I honestly don’t know if life could get better than this.
These are the views you get down in southern Utah. This is the camp site from the backpacking adventure in Escalante, Utah.
I really need one of these floating tents…oh, and to take a trip to Oahu, Hawaii.
An absolutely spectacular view from Smith Rock State Park, Oregon.
More info: Travis Burke
This trip is something that I would encourage more and more young people to take. We have become so set in a timeline after high school of go to college, get married, buy a house and have some kids. There is so much more to life then what society thinks is the path for everyone however. Traveling can reveal things about yourself that nothing else can. It can help develop a self-reliance and self-confidence that can be invaluable later on in life. Take a look out your window right now. There is so much for you to see and experience right outside there, go and do it.