A Summer Adrift with Bound For Nowhere

This year has been a challenge for us, as it has been for so many.

At the beginning of the year, I would have told you that we’re fiercely independent travelers who hardly rely on anything but ourselves. Then in March at the onset of COVID-19 here in the US, we quickly realized how vulnerable we really are out here on the road. It was a matter of days before we lost access to water, reliable groceries, and other basic necessities. The loss of those resources gave us no option other than to find a way to get off the road so we could go into quarantine.

bound for nowhere on overlanding rig - a summer adrift

Thankfully our kind and generous friends Karissa and Linhbergh (known as @gondirtin on the internet) generously offered us a parking spot in their backyard for as long as we needed it. We were quick to accept and tucked our truck into their beautiful backyard in Long Beach, California.

We lived with Karissa and Linhbergh for two and a half months. We did everything we could to keep spirits high while we waited for the storm to pass.

When things warmed up around the country and travel restrictions started to lift, we all felt that it was time for us all to get back on the road. Instead of going solo, we decided to travel in a small group of our friends as we all simultaneously left our respective quarantines. The idea was that it would make life easier if we combined our resources so we could go further out for longer. We all had plans to head up to either Canada or Alaska as soon as the borders opened, so we saw traveling together as a good way to kill time while we waited and enjoying our friends’ company.

mak and owen of bound for nowhere - a summer adrift

As the summer went on it became clear that the borders weren’t going to open, but we started to realize that in these tough times, it was better to focus on what we can do and not what we can’t. That realization made the dark cloud over the year start to dissipate. Yes, 2020 has been a dumpster fire of a year, but we can still make something of it. Having our friends Karissa and Linhbergh, Peter and Shruthi (@holidayatsee), and Chase and Aimee (@tightloopsfly) along for the ride kept our thirst for adventure alive.