Header photo: [Image/gif descriptions: An panoramic shot of Turtle Shuttle during a sunrise time-lapse in a deserted grassland.]
Two Nature & Forest Therapy guides living the bus life talk about how we can ask the land for permission and integrate reciprocity. We share ideas and examples of how it can be done, whether you are traveling through for work, vacation, and/or living life on the road.
“As we travel through communities, stop in the local shops or have lunch in the small town you considered driving through, spark conversation with someone rather than picking up your phone. These moments are so crucial for our instinctual need for connection. Taking a moment off the phone at a lookout, taking a pen and journal out to savor moments, or even taking 5 seconds to breathe deeply. These are all ways to slow down amongst the rush. In what ways can we give back to the communities we are traveling, the natural environments we benefit, and the human connections that are reminders of our interconnectedness. ” — Madison Traviss, @secondhandskoolie / @refhygge
When we travel through sacred lands, being “nomadic” in vans or buses, it can be easy to get caught in temporary “Instagram” perfect bubbles, then uproot and move on. We need to be conscious of the appropriation that a lot of #vanlifers and #buslifers do. Here, we share examples of the possible harm and impact of modern Van/Bus Life Travels, and offer tips on what conscious traveling should involve.
How to become a conscious traveler
I was once asked, “So you’re going to travel and do forest / nature therapy in different places around the country? How do you find time to get to know the land, learn how to spell the names of each indigenous tribe, and make sure the tea plants you harvest are 110% safe to drink, and run a business? That seems like a lot.” Ruminating on this question, is exactly why I refer to my home on wheels as the Turtle Shuttle. Not only is this a fun way to pay tribute to the turtles of my Florida swamp home, but a way to promise myself and the Forest that I would do this travel deliberately, with the intention of honoring the land, and connecting by slow travel.
Slow travel is travel at a slower pace rather than a rushed attempt to check off your “bucket list”. Traveling slowly, spending months in a place and living as locals do, incorporates heightened awareness of journeying, a more “authentic” way of seeing the world.
For that reason, it made sense to call my “home on wheels” the Turtle Shuttle – as a reminder to go slow. In the past 5 months, we’ve passed historic museums and tourist centers. I don’t care too much for them nor for big cities. I may occasionally get a delightful cup of iced joe from a local coffee shop downtown and use their wi-fi, but then I get back on the road so that I can catch the sunsets and find my home back in the Forest. So often, I see tourists flock the scenic overlook, take quick photos, and get back on the road. I grapple with my intentions, am I a tourist or am I a traveler?
“Traveling nomadically, life can feel fleeting, pausing to ask permission of our land is a practice to extend our home in self to home wherever we find ourselves. Root wherever you are, even if it seems momentary, I promise you it isn’t.” — Madison Traviss, @secondhandskoolie / @refhygge
[Image/gif descriptions: A slow moving overhead bird’s-eye
view shot of a group of humans going through a forested path]
BEING MINDFUL & INTENTIONAL ON DIVERSITY, INCLUSION
Before you travel or guide, think about what you have done to include everyone with different abilities. Some people need to have more time to get to places. Perhaps if the group has fast paced energy, slow them down with breathing exercises, slow Earth walks, or having talking sticks (or stones) to help with turn-taking. If you are guiding a group where one or more people have disabilities, have you asked them about their access needs? Be mindful that someone may need accommodations, but may not want to ask for it because they don’t want to be a burden.
EDUCATE YOURSELF AND HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHERS ON THE SAME “MISSION”
Taking time to fill your cup with other individuals who are on a similar journey can create a conversational approach to traveling rather than a “highlight reel” we can also experience. Conversational experiences can heighten awareness about indigenous cultures, diverse ethic backgrounds as a way to learn more about ancestral trauma, cultural appropriation, and lack of “land back” movements. These can help understanding and be enlightening conversations, so you may want to offer donations or gifts for their time. Be aware of how your outreach may be extractive. Furthermore, start to dissect what your respect for land looks like, do you know whose land you occupy? Stepping further, how do you ask for permission to be on the land, and in what ways can you model this behavior for others who may not contemplate this reciprocal relationship building with the land? This conversation isn’t a one and done situation, there are ways to continue to ensure we participate in responsible ecotourism, practice eco-consciousness, and explore how these concepts align with social justice to create healing spaces.
BECOMING MINDFUL ABOUT CONSUMPTION
“I’d like to think that each item that we find along the road and invite into our space with intention comes with a story, what life did it live before it came aboard? Our lives are a constant ad for what we “need” and priorities being set for us, how powerful is it to make that decision for ourselves? While in Arizona, we had neighbors that were headed to their next destination and rather than trashing their items they no longer needed, asked us and now we’re two lawn chairs and an outdoor mat richer. Trading our small mini fridge from college for a larger more efficient model, and being gifted Navajo tea all brought so much joy and makes it easier parting with items we no longer use knowing it will find a home and continue its life cycle.” – Madison Traviss, @secondhandskoolie / @refhygge
[Image/gif descriptions: A glass jar showing a sun-tea of pine leaves, a hand is shaking
the jar in slow motion. It is a sunny day and the Turtle Shuttle is shown in the background]
INCREASED AWARENESS OF NATURAL RESOURCES & MESSAGES FROM OUR ENVIRONMENT
Slow Travel has also made me very aware of the weather. Because I plan my route following the seasons, I learn what I need for comfort and adapt to the weather along the way, saving energy by rarely needing to use my mini split AC or refrigerator.
While staying in Colorado for a full month, I was able to find the time to go on the most beautiful 48-hour hike with a friend. This was a great moment of deep wandering at a human powered pace, a great re-set from traveling on a machine. It felt slow at first, but the slight variations felt while moving through the landscape are what help to develop a deeper connection to the earth. The ability to move at a human pace, even after moving in my slow shuttle, was even more special.
INCREASED TRUST IN NATURE & MORE THAN HUMAN WORLD
In a short time, with each guided session in different regions of the US, I become connected to the plants. They are no longer strangers to me as I’m able to witness the changes of each tea plant species geographically. The Spanish nettle, the dandelions, the yarrows, and mullein greet me like old friends. This “total immersion” in the plant world reminds me of a time where I lived in Costa Rica for half a year, learning Spanish and LESCO (the sign language of Costa Rica). I was so immersed in the language & culture that I even dreamt and signed in Spanish. Lately, because I study the language of plants… I’ve been dreaming of plants. This anthropomorphizing, or “becoming the same species”, is what “trusting the forest” feels like. I now understand that I’m not that much different from migrating geese, and my ways of slow-traveling honor the first human nomads.
Between campsites, Harvest Hosts, BLMs, driveways of my friends, I enter the bus and am home. I was afraid that I would give up— from loneliness, from travel anxiety, from road-side problems, or bad weather— but because I’ve prepared myself well for this trip…. I’m loving this, loving this pace, and advise those who are contemplating it to stay grounded even when you’re moving across the United States.
The Turtle Shuttle
A simple overlooked way of being slow and deliberate is to travel grounded in trust. A trust in self, community, and the interconnectedness of our worlds. After just 5 months on the road, I have a heightened awareness of the stars’ and moon’s behavior and have learned how to study clouds to predict weather. Yet my journey is not over, I still have so many animal tracks, plants, and communities to learn about. I am filled with gratitude. It takes slow travel to recognize and really believe in its importance.
[Image/gif descriptions: A human hand is pressed against a
stone wall and being washed by a slow moving waterfall]