Corey lives in L.A. and was just in Joshua Tree for the weekend, but has owned his van for 6 years and taken it on various extended road trips. He’s worked in the music industry and has toured with bands on and off for the past 10 years, so he’s no stranger to life on the road. He took a 2 month road trip from Seattle to L.A. in 2012 and wrote a blog about his travels called “Escape from Seattle.” You can check out his adventures here: corewanderer.blogspot.com

He named his van “Bubbet” and worked on it for about 2 years before it was fine tuned for life on the road. He had a bed and stove inside, and a heater for encountering colder weather. He said he used to bring more possessions on the road like extra shoes, clothes, and gear, but whittled it down quickly years ago and doesn’t travel with much excess belongings.

The sentimental objects he had in his van were some pendants, rocks, and pictures. He had some homemade pendants that were gifted to him during his 2 month trip from Seattle to L.A. from other travelers that he met. They were dangling from his rear view mirror. He also had a few rocks on his dashboard that were gifts, and some posters and pictures pinned up in the back of the van. One picture was of him and his dog on the road from the Seattle road trip. He also informed me that he enjoyed collecting “grandma blankets” and had several stacked up inside.

He said he was also in town for a heavy metal van show up at Pappy and Harriet’s. I was really bummed that I missed the opportunity to see a bunch of vans in one spot. People came from all over for the van show and heavy metal concert. He told me about a magazine called Rolling Heavy that’s all about heavy metal and van culture. Here’s a link the event that was at Pappy’s: http://rollingheavymagazine.com/#!/desert-generator-2016-pioneertown-ca-they-came-they-saw-they-vanned/