Missing CONKSO

I knew that John, Dakotah and my first road trip together through Baja would test our compatibility as a family.  It required daily interactions with primarily each other over three-weeks of driving and remote camping.  We're either gonna get along or not.  There would be no technology available to dig our noses into and we had to rely on each other to work as a team if things were going to go well.

Our roles came easy for us.  John is mainly responsible for the vehicle and the driving.  Dakotah helps out with the meals and cleaning.  I am responsible for packing all our necessities, including food, toiletries, bedding, clothes, toys and supplies.  My obsessive-compulsive behavior has led me to be an organization freak, with the ability to maximize the use of space. 

On our long trips we would read books, hang out at the beach swimming, fishing or simply hanging out at camp.  I shouldn’t be surprised that John and Dakotah got along amazingly well.  What I enjoyed most was our daily rituals of spending some time together around the bonfire before we crammed into the back of the Callen camper, lying side-by-side on the tundra bed talking about everything and anything.

We affectionately named our truck CONKSO, a silly name that John and I randomly conjured up one afternoon.  We have traveled five years with CONKSO.  It has been transformed from year to year as we learned through each trip what we needed and didn’t need and found innovative ways to live out of a truck comfortably.  We eventually created a home on wheels that we could literally live out of for weeks.  We were so proud of what CONKSO has become.  But as it is, John and I are always snooping around at the newest and latest in camping, which has led us to a new endeavor-- to create ELMUCHO (which you’ll hear more about soon).  It was tough to part ways with CONKSO.  It was like having a family member move away.  We have had so many good memories with CONKSO.  We’ll especially miss the sounds of laughter from those who read the license plate for the first time—the same reaction we had we when we came up with the name!