Blogiversary

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On February 5, 2015 I started a blog. It had a different name then. I called it Throwing Stories into the Ether because I felt as if I were releasing my writing into the air, never knowing if it was being read or appreciated.  It was a fine name, but difficult for people to remember, and it didn’t say anything about who I am or what I do. Some months into the endeavor, the blog–and I–became the Rubber Tramp Artist.

When I stared the blog, I thought maybe my sibling and a few of my friends would read it. Now the blog has over 600 subscribers. While having 600 subscribers is small potatoes compared to what many bloggers (and now vloggers!) have going on, my numbers continue to grow.

Stalagtites and stalagmites grow in a dark cave.


In the last four years I’ve written a lot, made some new friends, and seen amazing works of people and nature. From Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico to Arches National Park in Utah, I’ve shared my adventures. I’ve shared locations of beautiful free camping spots and told readers where to find fantastic public art. I’ve told stories of my family, both the one I was born into and the one I’ve created for myself.

In the beginning I shared a blog post every day. I kept that up until I got a boyfriend with a dog and my life was more full than it had been in years. I changed my posting schedule to every other day, but even that timetable became too much. Now I share a blog post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with occasional blog extras on days when I want to share a second part of a long story or I’m writing about a holiday that is outside my normal posting schedule.

A saguaro cactus with six arms stands against a light blue sky with whispy clouds.
This saguaro is not just surviving, but also thriving in the desert.

The change I’m most proud of is what I do on Wednesday. At the suggestion of my dear friend and computer guy, every Wednesday I share a post of particular interest to vandwellers, rubber tramps, RVers, vagabonds, drifters, nomads, and travelers of all kinds. From how to get a job as a work camper at a campground to surviving and thriving in the forest, desert, and mountains, I tell readers what I know in hopes of making their lives easier.

While these posts are hopefully helpful to my community, they also take a long time to write. I don’t want to share just my knowledge, bu the knowledge of other folks who have experience with the topic at hand. I do a lot of research for each Wednesday post and include links when possible so readers can easily find the articles I reference and expand their research if they like. A 2,000 word Wednesday post can easily take hours to research and write.

An old blue Dodge van is parked. In the background is a Catholic church.
This was my van home for a time.

A subset of the Wednesday posts are interviews I’ve conducted and published. Each month I share an interview with a current or former vandweller, traveler, nomad, rubber tramp, or RVer. (Sometimes I interview couples too.) I don’t know everything, so I tap into the knowledge of the larger community. It’s fun for me to learn more about people and how they live. From ideas about the superiority of mini vans to lessons learned from being in an accident, I broaden the scope of my blog by sharing the life experiences with others.

Brightly colored handmade hats and copies of the book Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods sit on a table.
At the 2017 RTR, I sold copies of the book I wrote, Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods, as well as hats I made with my own hands.

In the midst of keeping up with my blog, in the fall of 2016 I wrote and self-published my first book. Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods is a collection of short personal essays about my two seasons as a camp host and attendant at the parking lot of a very busy trailhead. During the time covered in the book, I lived in my van on top of a mountain with no running water, no electricity, no internet access, and no phone service. You can say I got comfortable being with myself.

Writing and self-publishing a book is a huge accomplishment. I have ideas for four more books; the trick is finding the time to make them happen while still publishing blog posts three times a week, being in a relationship with my guy, playing ball with a demanding dog, maintaining friendships, creating art (and crafts!), occasionally making money, carrying out the tasks of daily life (cooking, eating, cleaning, doing laundry), and wasting too much time on social media and playing solitaire on my phone. Maybe I’ll need to delete the solitaire app and ban myself from social media for a while.

Stickers are fanned out on a white table. The stickers say Rubber Tramp Artist on the top. The image shows a smiling sun wearing sunglasses sitting behind the wheel of a light blue conversion van. The sun has its head out of the window. The sun has one hand on the steering wheel and the other is waving.
You can get your very own Rubber Tramp Artist sticker.

In the summer of 2018, I commissioned an artist friend of mine, Samantha Adelle, to create a logo for me. I told her what I wanted, and she made my vision a reality. I love that the artist used photos of my actual van to draw the van in the logo. I love that as Blaize Sun, I’m the actual sun, and I’m driving, smiling, and waving. I love that it’s a happy, happy logo. (As you can see from the photo, I had stickers made with my logo on them. By the summer, I hope to have apparel and other merchandise with the logo available for purchase.)

It’s been a busy four years. I’ve grown tremendously as a writer and (hopefully) as a person. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Thank you for reading my words. As long as I have readers, I hope to continue to write.


About Blaize Sun

My name is Blaize Sun. Maybe that's the name my family gave me; maybe it's not. In any case, that's the name I'm using here and now. I've been a rubber tramp for nearly a decade.I like to see places I've never seen before, and I like to visit the places I love again and again. For most of my years on the road, my primary residence was my van. For almost half of the time I was a van dweller, I was going it alone. Now I have a little travel trailer parked in a small RV park in a small desert town. I also have a minivan to travel in. When it gets too hot for me in my desert, I get in my minivan and move up in elevation to find cooler temperatures or I house sit in town in a place with air conditioning I was a work camper in a remote National Forest recreation area on a mountain for four seasons. I was a camp host and parking lot attendant for two seasons and wrote a book about my experiences called Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods. During the last two seasons as a work camper on that mountain, I was a clerk in a campground store. I'm also a house and pet sitter, and I pick up odd jobs when I can. I'm primarily a writer, but I also create beautiful little collages; hand make hemp jewelry and warm, colorful winter hats; and use my creative and artistic skills to decorate my life and brighten the lives of others. My goal (for my writing and my life) is to be real. I don't like fake, and I don't want to share fake. I want to share my authentic thoughts and feelings. I want to give others space and permission to share their authentic selves. Sometimes I think the best way to support others is to leave them alone and allow them to be. I am more than just a rubber tramp artist. I'm fat. I'm funny. I'm flawed. I try to be kind. I'm often grouchy. I am awed by the stars in the dark desert night. I hope my writing moves people. If my writing makes someone laugh or cry or feel angry or happy or troubled or comforted, I have done my job. If my writing makes someone think and question and try a little harder, I've done my job. If my writing opens a door for someone, changes a life, I have done my job well. I hope you enjoy my blog posts, my word and pictures, the work I've done to express myself in a way others will understand. I hope you appreciate the time and energy I put into each post. I hope you will click the like button each time you like what you have read. I hope you will share posts with the people in your life. I hope you'll leave a comment and share your authentic self with me and this blog's other readers. Thank you for reading.  A writer without readers is very sad indeed.

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