Here we are on the eve of our departure, still suited up for a last day of work, standing in front of our Adventurewagen. It's a 1999 Ford Econoline van, which we had converted in California in 2001 and then drove home from coast to coast, beginning on the trail of Lewis and Clark's return journey of 1806. Now we're almost ready for its second cross-country expedition. 

The cooking area of our camper contains a two-burner propane stove, an electric refrigerator powered by a solar panel on the roof, a hot-water heater (the tea kettle, sitting on an insulated gravity-feed tank), and a sink .

The back seat unfolds into a very comfortable standard-size double bed. Before you can do that, however, you have to move the chemical toilet from beneath the table to the front part of the van and fold up the table. So you can't eat and sleep at the same time, but who would want to do that anyway? And what the van lacks in luxurious inner space, it more than makes up for with fuel economy and the ability to go anywhere a normal car can, except into a parking garage.