Backroading in our Tacoma Across the United States | 35 mm film

written by Carson Hope

From Washington to Idaho to Montana to Wyoming to Colorado to New Mexico, Texas, and finally Arkansas, then heading back north to Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and home to Washington… our first cross country expedition in our lovely Tacoma rig (that Logan hand-built, may I add) was SO exhausting, but also beyond fulfilling. Our sleepy eyes saw the golden sunrise and cotton candy sunset every single day. One night while camping under the stars, the full moon was so bright and the nature around us was so dark that our shadows came out. All tallied up, we backroaded on gravel for at least 650 miles and never paid for a campsite once; exploring public land for the perfect sleep spot each evening (props to Logan for his map reading skills). We woke up to golden fields, rolling hills of sage, desert canyons, and spent time with some of our amazing friends & family along the way. With Logan’s aunt’s old film camera in our glove box and our thrifted Polaroid, we captured so many grainy and genuine memories. Needless to say, we’re pretty hooked on the truck life. Although I have to admit… sleeping in our own bed again rather than the 2-inch mattress topper we *thought* would properly pad our carpet lined wooden platform (rookie mistake) felt amazing.