How to Feel at Home Anywhere
Some tips for getting to know the Land… personally.
There is one big caveat in this whole article so we might as well mention it before we get started. People. There aren’t too many ways you can prepare for the effect of human beings on the campsite you’ve just pulled into. It’s disappointing, but most people haven’t learned Leave No Trace ethics or worse, carry prejudice or privilege that aim to prevent you from living your best life. And so, it’s always worth getting a good sense for your surroundings, including your neighbors if you have any, and staying in touch with friends or family about your location before you fully settle in if you are at all worried. Otherwise, this article is about you and the Land.
What is Home for a nomad? In many ways we bring our sense of home with us, but for many of us, a constantly changing view out our door can lead us to turn in toward our vans and away from the Nature outside. When we move quickly, our home stays inside, but when we slow down, we can let our sense of home move outward onto the Land around us.
Look beyond the campsite and begin to familiarize yourself with the topography and geography of the area. Taking a quick look at one of these apps can give you a quick and easy baseline understanding of your new, yet temporary home.
Bring curiosity to your Vanlife experience and your time at your camp! Having a desire to learn and an intention to observe to the details around you can set you on a path towards comfort, resilience, and a sense of connection to the Land; to our shared Home.
Here are some tips for getting to know, and maybe even falling in love with the land you’re on right now.
Walk without Direction
Walking/jogging/rolling long distances is in our DNA. Many of our ancestors lived nomadically, following the seasons and the other animals. Human-powered-travel allows us time to process information and remember what we’ve seen.
If there are any established trails nearby, consider taking an evening stroll on one and ignoring the time as you walk, instead let the fading light be your only guide for when to return. Or, give yourself the human freedom to wander off trail where allowed, being careful to stay away from crypto-soil, small creatures, and respecting the land and the things that grow on it. We’re here to observe and live with the Land, and the spontaneity of unguided wandering cab be luxuriously human.
Whether you go on or off trail, or you’re walking a city sidewalk, consider walking without direction, letting your eyes fall upon whatever they see and choosing your next direction when you are physically or mentally presented with a choice. Let curiosity direct you, or let your furry companion decide where to go next!
By letting go of a plan, and leaning into the unknown, we are normalizing change and building our resiliency by observing our surroundings as the natural world ebbs and flows over the Land.
Look up that Plant you Keep Seeing
Can you smell that? You should always stop and smell the roses, and every other flower for that mater too! Scents are more than pleasant. Terpenes and other scent compounds can actually have an effect on your mood and physiology! In another study, green light wavelengths (as in the color of most plants) were found to be physically beneficial to humans even when they couldn’t see it with their eyes! The plants and fungi around us are building and maintaining our ecosystem, and as soon as we enter the system, they begin to affect us!
Learn about that flowering bush that smells so nice, or that flower that looks like a little firework. There are some apps for that, but it’s also fun to take a picture with your phone, your pen and notebook, or your mind, and bring that information to a field guide, wikipedia, or google image search to see if that flower you’re smelling has an important role in the ecosystem and who the plant is trying to attract. What about for local and Native people — how have humans connected with this plant before you?
Just Stay There
Could this really be a tip? Yes! Spending open-ended, indefinite time in a place can provide you with a deeper sense of Home just about anywhere you are. Many public lands in the United States allow 14 days of free camping, or more. Without a plan to leave, we can mentally settle into our campsite and familiarize ourselves with the roads and trails, learn the names of the plants, the direction the sun travels, and observe the flow of nearby day hikers. The more we become an observer of our ecosystem — the ‘home’ system — the more comfortable we will feel.
Learn the Name, or Name Something Yourself!
You can search the web or the NativeLand app for information about the local Tribal Nation and the names that the People have for their land. Remember: You are always on stolen Native Land.
You can also search the web or stop by a local ranger office for free public land maps from the US Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management or other state or national department to look up the colonial names of the features around where you are.
Can you see a peak in the distance, which one is it? Can you imagine what you might be able see from the peak by looking at the map? Where are you in relation to this ancient mountain range and who else might have camped where you are now?
Inevitably there will be a peak, or a valley, or wash, or friendly-looking boulder near your camp which to it’s great sadness has never been named. Do it the great pleasure of being observed, considered, and named for the benefit of your memory and the memory of all those you tell stories to. ;)