HMS Beangle

Welcome aboard! We're sailing across North America in our Bean Stalker teardrop trailer. Come share our journey.

Category: Teardrop Trailer

  • Fancy Pants Florida – Part 1

    Grab a snack, this is a long one. The company that Jeff used to work for has an office in West Palm Beach so he wanted to make sure that we stopped there long enough for him to say hello to some of his former colleagues. Now that coastal community is rather $$$Fancy$$$ so we…

  • The Casual Coast

    After a few days at a rather lackluster north Florida RV park that had weekend availability, our free and easy lack of reservations travel style was beginning to become an issue. Heading down the western coast, we were very lucky to grab two nights at Little Manatee River State Park outside of Bradenton. Considering its…

  • Rest and then rush

    We’ve been to some really lovely State Parks over the years, and one of the things I value most about them is that they tend to be spots of respite from a chaotic world. Since they don’t get the press of the National Parks, they tend to be quieter overall. And without The Big List…

  • After leaving Deadwood, we decided to head east instead of sticking around for the night. I saw that Badlands National Park had a free dry campground on the north portion of the park, so we decided to give a it go. It wasn’t quite boondocking as there were vault toilets, formal parking spots, and picnic…

  • Wind Cave National Park

    “It’s windy and there’s a cave,” as quipped by our tour guide, Ranger Franny. Wind Cave National Park’s claim to fame is the fact that the cave system ‘breathes’ in and out of a small helmet-sized hole in the ground, adjusting the internal barometric pressure of the cave throughout the days and seasons. Winds in…

  • Solar panel physics (or maybe it’s chemistry?)

    Solar panels are wonderful. They’re also picky. Our panel has a curve to it, to fit it to the front of the Bean trailers. This means we don’t get 100% of the sun unless it’s very bright, but it also means that it can get some sun most of the time if it’s points in…

  • I couldn’t remember the date today

    One of the things we decided to do early on when planning this adventure was to save the bulk of The Boy’s ashes so that we could release them at special places we find along the way. Cherish. Embrace. Let go. The past year and a half has been an exercise in living those words.…

  • Last weekend, the amazing Miss Carmen personalized the HMS Beangle and it turned out just as were hoping. She made us some cozies for the propane tanks, too. That will keep the tanks out of direct sunlight, which reduces the chance of hot, heat-expanded gas leaking out. They’re just so adorable. Let’s talk nuts and…

  • Murphy’s Law in the Mountains

    Our campsite last weekend had a lot less shade than most in the Blue Mountain Campground, but that’s okay, its eastern orientation was perfect for sucking up the solar rays. And we had an excellent reason to set up our 180° awning for the entire four days. It handled the light breezes and stronger wind…

  • Not quite according to plan

    Back before we even arrived at the National Forest Service’s fee station on our last camping trip, we stopped for breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants, The Shaggy Sheep. After helping us sop up the coffee that I carelessly slopped across the table, our waitress mentioned that her friend says she’s never failed to…