The Taos Vanlife Gathering (co-hosted by Vanlife Diaries and Idle Theory Bus) is taking place August 16-18 at Hotel Luna Mystica. This event is open to anyone and everyone is welcome, including all rigs, ages, tents, campers, and vans! Tickets are $50 for the entire weekend, which includes two nights camping, showers, a Saturday evening concert, workshops, panels, happy hours, and more.
“This summer, we’re circling our modern-day covered wagons on the high mesas of Taos, New Mexico for a weekend-long campout at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains,” said Kit Whistler, one half of Idle Theory Bus. “The Taos Vanlife Gathering is a meeting of rambling minds, a place where wanderers, weekend warriors, and vanlifers can gather for a good spell of face-to-face community, for music, real honest conversation, and of course fun! This weekend is our time. We’ll exchange stories and ideas and philosophy around a campfire, share food in a community potluck, enjoy beverages at sunset. We’ll tour each other’s campers, we’ll make new friends and squeeze old friends and commune under New Mexico’s Milky Way skies.”
New to this year’s event, fellow vanlife and singer-songwriter Ira Wolf will be performing an intimate show Saturday night featuring songs written from the road and from the heart. Although Ira continues to make Nashville her home-base, she maintains a life on the road when she’s not recording and has been a part of the growing vanlife community since 2016. She released her highly anticipated third album ‘The Closest Thing To Home’ in 2017 and spent the majority of 2018 touring the U.S. Ira has no plans to slow down anytime soon and continues writing and performing both inside the states and overseas. She recently partnered with GoWesty for the second time and continues traveling in her beloved 1988 VW Westfalia (Ruby) full-time. 
Outside of the musical act, attendees can choose from a variety of workshops on wide-ranging topics, from the philosophy of engine repair, to how to find camp (and do so responsibly), to panel discussions that focus on the meaning of vanlife and the purpose of this community.
Ten percent of ticket proceeds will be donated to Conservation Lands Association—but that’s not all. The Conservation Lands team will also be presenting workshops at the Taos Vanlife Gathering. 
“We hope to cover a variety of pertinent topics, including tips on how to navigate the complex world of Public Land designations as well as tactical advice for how we, as lovers and users of these wild places, can become involved in protecting them for future generations,” said JR Switchgrass, partner to Kit of Idle Theory Bus. “Conservation Lands Foundation is grassroots-run, and they believe that our vanlife community can truly make a difference in the world of public lands.”
Sunday afternoon, before departing the gathering, attendees will head next door to the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument to volunteer through trail maintenance, invasive plant species removal, trash pickup, and campground upkeep.
“We look forward to seeing you in the desert next month to share stories, music, laughter and foster community,” said Kathleen Morton, co-founder of Vanlife Diaries.
Get Tickets at vanlife.com.au/vanlife-gatherings/taos.
Learn more about Vanlife Diaries and the 2019 tour: vanlife.com.au/tour. Follow along on @vanlifediaries.
Learn more about Kit Whistler and JR Switchgrass of Idle Theory Bus: idletheorybus.com. Follow along on @idletheorybus.
Learn more about singer/songwriter and vanlifer Ira Wolf: irawolfmusic.com. Follow along on @irawolfmusic.
Learn more about Conservation Lands Association.
