Our First Day as Full-Time Car Campers Started with Snow

Our first day as full-time car campers did not begin with sunshine, an open desert, or anything resembling an easy transition. It began with snow in Arizona.

Riven and I had car camped together before, and I had spent years doing it part-time. We knew how to pack the 4Runner and settle in for a trip. February 2023 changed one important detail: when this trip ended, there was no house waiting for us. The 4Runner was home.

We knew the storm was coming. The forecast gave us time to prepare, but our plans were already in motion. So we began this new chapter in a place where snow was settling over the vehicle and the desert around it.

The First Morning Looked Different

By morning, the 4Runner wore a layer of snow. The road, the plants, and the ground around us had changed overnight. Arizona still looked like Arizona beneath it all, but I had to look a little harder to find it

I had imagined plenty of things about starting full-time car camping. A snow-covered 4Runner was not the picture I kept coming back to.

The weather did make one thing clear right away. This was no longer a weekend when we could head home, unpack, and wait for better conditions. We had to work with the day in front of us, just as we would on every other day of life on the road.

Riven Had His Own Plans

Riven had his own plans. I put his jacket on, and we walked through the snow-covered desert. He inspected the bushes and cactus while I took in the sight of a place I knew looking completely different. He had no reason to treat that morning as a major life transition. There was new ground to investigate, and that was enough for him.

We weren’t going to spend our days sitting inside the 4Runner. It held our bed, food, gear, and everything we needed to bring along, but getting outside gave us space to move and helped us begin finding a daily rhythm.

The Snow Didn’t Last

A few days later, the snow was gone. We kept adjusting the layout, figuring out our routines, and moving forward.

I don’t remember that first storm as a survival test. We had seen it coming, packed for the conditions, and carried on with our day. What stayed with me was the contrast: I had spent years preparing for full-time car camping, and on the first morning, Riven and I stepped out into an Arizona desert covered in snow.

More than two years later, we’re still sharing the 4Runner. Our setup has changed along the way, but I can still picture Riven in his jacket, checking the bushes while I looked at our snow-covered home.

More Adventures With Riven

That snowy first day was the beginning of a lot of miles together. Follow Riven’s adventures from the 4Runner, from ordinary camp days to the places he made more memorable.