Luella on the precipice at our first stop in the Badlands. She could walk right up to the edge and take in the expansiveness without the intervention of a fence or hovering parents.
Photographer: Floto+Warner
Traveling With Kids Can Change Your World
We chose van life for our children’s sake, but it was my partner and I who learned to lighten our load.
My girls were 5 and 9 when we set out to explore the American West in an RV for two months. The pressures of established routines and societal expectations had taken their toll, and it was time to shrink external distractions and practice living small—whatever-fits-in-a-backpack small.
When you have young children, you feel you need to plan and organize and constantly shuffle them around or you’re somehow putting them in danger. Here, they were capable and independent, appreciating each moment without comparing it to the last. Kids, it turns out, understand their place in the universe intuitively, without getting lost in our ego-driven games. They don’t need fluffy towels or a constant flow of new clothes to be happy. For us parents, needing less means working less; it buys us independence, instead of weight.