I set out on a 13-day road trip in a van. One of my biggest mistakes was where I parked on my first night.

The reporter's van parked at the campsite outside Taos, New Mexico.

Monica Humphries/Business Insider

• In the fall of 2022, I left Colorado in a Ram ProMaster to test out van life.
• I headed to Taos, New Mexico, where I spent my first night in a forest I'd camped in before.
• I thought the spot's familiarity would provide comfort, but the lack of cell service was unsettling.

I barreled down New Mexico State Road 150 in a Ram ProMaster.

Just as I reached Taos...