Our Boondocking Bucket List: 9 Places We Want to Stay on Our Skoolie

Hello friends! Since purchasing our school bus in September of 2020, we’ve done a lot of dreaming. We’re dreaming about all the things we’re going to put in it; how we’re going to make it look; and all of the places we want to park it once we’ve finished the build. My personal favorite daydream is the latter, I’m just so excited to get on the road and start driving! 

So even though we haven’t even started on our bus yet, I want to list off some of the places that are on our skoolie bucket list: a handful of places we want to travel to and explore as much of as possible. 

The Grand Canyon

When I think about places that I want to visit before I die, my mind immediately goes to The Grand Canyon. I’ve just always wanted to see it in person. In 2019, Levi and I went to Dead Horse State Park in Moab, Utah and even though I recognize that the Grand Canyon is much bigger, just seeing a canyon of that magnitude was so awe-inspiring. I can’t even describe what it felt like to stand in front of a massive geological wonder at sunset, with no one else around, and just take it all in. If I felt all that while looking inside a tiny canyon—how will I feel when exploring the Grand Canyon? 

British Columbia

Levi and I have talked about taking trips to BC, Canada for years. Vancouver, Whistler, Yoho, the Okanagan Valley, etc, etc, etc. It’s just so gorgeous there and we’d love to spend as much time there as possible—especially if we don’t have to pay the high rent prices! 

Sequoia National Park

When we first started talking about converting a school bus, we toyed with the idea of visiting every National Park in the country. While that dream isn’t exactly possible anymore—our bus is longer than some of the parks will allow—I’d still like to visit as many as we can. We’ve been to Yellowstone, The Grant Tetons and The Great Smoky Mountains National Parks before (I’d love to visit again, though!) but I’d love to finally explore Sequoia in California, home to the tallest trees in the world.

Oregon

I know that just putting “Oregon” on this list is a little vague, but when I though about trying to pick a specific spot in that gorgeous state, I just couldn’t! I want to spend MONTHS exploring Oregon. Cannon Beach, Portland, Crater Lake, The Columbia River Gorge, Mount Hood, Thor’s Well, the sand dunes, the tunnels. I honestly can’t wait to see it all.

Franklin, North Carolina

Franklin is a tiny town on the western part of North Carolina, nestled along the Georgia border and one of the stops along the Appalachian Trail. It’s only home to about 3,000 people and one of the prettiest places in the country. It’s also where we grew up, met and got married and where I went to college! While we currently live in Denver (and will soon be moving to Illinois) our roots and some of our favorite people still live in WNC and we’d love to take a trip to see them on the bus. 

New England

I’m being vague again, but I have always wanted to spend a few weeks seeing everything New England has to offer. I have visited New England before, when I was in high school and on a road trip with my mom, brother and grandmother. We took a handful of weeks driving along the East Coast and visiting Connecticut, Delaware, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. That trip happened when I was only 16 and definitely didn’t appreciate it enough, so I’d love to go again and spend a few weeks exploring the area with my husband, who has never been. 

The Black Hills, South Dakota

I have always wanted to visit Mount Rushmore. Now, I’d love to go into the politics of it, the racist sculptor and all that, but I don’t currently have the time. (I do recommend looking into it though, here’s a good article.) However, I don’t really care about seeing past presidents’ faces. I’m much more interested in the hike, the scenery and the general beauty of South Dakota’s Black Hills. 

Rachel, Nevada

Some of the places we want to visit have to do with the beauty and our love of nature. Other places are on this list for the picture possibilities—like me (Rachel) taking a photo in front of a sign saying “Welcome to Rachel, Nevada. Population: Humans YES, Aliens ?” I mean, can you blame me?

Anchorage, Alaska

For years, Levi has tried to convince me to move to Alaska. It’s never been the cold that bothers me, but the sheer distance from family. However, because of the bus, we don’t have to live there permanently! Eventually, we’d love to spend a few weeks exploring some of Alaska’s cities, specifically Anchorage and Juneau and some of the state’s incredible remote areas.

Where would you go? 

If you could go anywhere in North America on a skoolie, where would you go? Tell us all about it in the comments below!