Over the last three years, Jennifer Madsen has clocked more than 60,000 miles on her odometer.
She’s traveled everywhere from Boston to Los Angeles, slept in the Grand Canyon National Park, camped near the Golden Gate Bridge and dug her feet in the powdery sand of beaches on both coasts of the United States.
She’s seen everything from the grasslands of the Midwest to the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains, the dramatic headlands of the West to the meandering valleys of Appalachia.
“I’ve done a lot of sightseeing,” Jennifer Madsen told The Salt Lake Tribune. “That’s part of what this journey has been, and it’s just been so cathartic in that way.”
Three years ago, Jennifer bought a motorhome so she could travel to her son’s college basketball games. Both Gabe and Mason Madsen started at Cincinnati, then went their separate ways before ultimately ending up together again as Runnin' Utes in Salt Lake City.
(Jennifer Madsen) Jennifer Madsen's Ford E-350 Coachmen Cross Trail Class motorhome parked outside.
Jennifer has watched every home game from the stands of Huntsman Center. And, for the most part, she has driven to every road game, outside of a few occasions when she’s flown due to the weather.
This week, Jennifer drove 1,076 miles from Salt Lake City to the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City for the Big 12 Conference tournament and a chance to watch what could be Mason and Gabe’s final game playing together.
“It’s kind of like basketball and family are synonymous,” Mason said. “For her to be able to come to every single game this year is something that I think we appreciate now, but I think especially looking back on it in the future, it’s something we’ll always be able to appreciate.”
Through quality time, 1,000-mile road trips, transfers and new conference destinations, Jennifer’s journey has been special for everyone involved— especially her two sons.
“I think it gave her a lot of purpose throughout this year,” Gabe said. “So it’s been cool to just have her around. And, I mean, it’s probably the last time we’ll be able to spend this amount of time together as mother and son, so it’s been fun.”
The start of a journey
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jennifer Madsen congratulates her twin boys, Utah Utes guards Gabe Madsen (55), center, and Mason Madsen (45) following their win over Queens at the Huntsman Center on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024.
Before joining the estimated 140,000 Americans living the “van life” in November of 2022, Jennifer was a technological integrationist teacher for fifth and sixth graders at an intermediate school in Austin, Minnesota.
She had talked about traveling the country in an RV for years, but after getting divorced while Gabe and Mason were playing at different schools, the opportunity arose.
“With my life kind of being upended and changed completely,” Jennifer said, “I was just at a point where I was like, ‘If I don’t do this, I’m going to regret it.’”
After weighing over a few RV options, she bought a brand-new 2022 Coachmen Cross Trail Class C motorhome. It runs 25 feet in length, has a Ford E350 chassis and is powered by a 7.3 liter V8 engine.
Inside, she has an oven, fridge, small bathroom and a microwave. There’s also a table area that can be converted into a bed and an overhang that can sleep two people.
“I would have loved that smaller version, just for economic reasons,” Jennifer said. “But, I’m not going to lie, this has been nice because it’s a little bit bigger. When I have time, there’s space to move.”
By Thanksgiving of 2022, Jennifer was on the road, splitting time with Gabe in the West and Mason in the East. She attended home games and long road trips alongside both the Runnin’ Utes and Mason’s Boston College Eagles.
“I just made a spreadsheet of the boys' schedules,” she said. “I kind of divided it up by six weeks at a time, and I tried to attend about half of each of their games.”
(Jennifer Madsen) The inside of the 2022 Coachmen Cross Trail Class C motorhome that Jennifer Madsen, mother of Utah basketball players Gabe and Mason Madsen, has called home for the past three years.
Soon enough, one year turned into three. The miles began ticking up on each trek across the country. At that point, it was becoming a natural part of her lifestyle.
“I only thought I would do it for a year,” Jennifer said. “I just wanted to try it out for the experience. When I finished, I understood that I was able to long-term sub and work summer school. ... The boys especially, were like, ‘Just do it again, follow us for another season.’”
That she did.
And then a year after that, her sons made her life a little easier, deciding to play together at Utah.
“I am literally ticking up to 60,000 right now,” Jennifer said. “That’s about 20,000 miles a year. But, thankfully, this year’s been significantly less.”
Winnebago
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes guard Gabe Madsen (55) and Utah Utes guard Mason Madsen (45) are joined by their parents Luke and Jennifer Madsen and their girlfriends Autumn Busse, left, and Sierra Schenck during a celebration of senior night, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
As Jennifer’s motorhome hauled down a highway in Texas one day, the sound of scraping metal filled her cabin.
She panicked and immediately pulled over to the side of the road to inspect her vehicle, only to find a 6-foot heat shield dangling from the bottom of her RV.
“I was panicked, because I was pretty new at it then,” Jennifer said. “I called for a tow truck to come get my camper. Then I called the place where I bought the RV, and they said, ‘Well, we’re not sure we can help you much.’”
So, as Jennifer waited for the tow truck, she took to Reddit in search of answers.
“Somebody on Reddit that I eventually found had a similar situation,” she said “It basically said you just have to climb under your camper and yank on it.”
Jennifer then crawled under the RV and ripped off the metal sheet herself. She describes it as one of her first “big incidents” in the van she’s called home for three years.
“These vehicles are not meant to be lived in at this capacity,” Jennifer said. “Not many people live in them for three years. So, yeah, it’s been an experience, for sure.”
Another challenge she’s faced is finding parking. When she first started, she paid for an app called “Harvest Hosts,” which allows and directs long-term van lifers to open church, winery and golf course parking lots.
She was surprised to find out that most Walmart parking lots weren’t accessible to camper vans, due to overnight regulations implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In turn, she took to Cracker Barrel and Cabela’s lots across the country.
“I did a lot of boon docking, which in the camping world is parking for free,” Jennifer said.
Where she’s found parking spots, she’s also learned what routes to avoid and when.
Jennifer typically dislikes traveling on I-80 through Cheyenne, Wyoming, due to the gusty winds blowing off the Laramie Mountains.
“It is so windy,” Jennifer said, “and I have been averted several times on that highway where I had to stop and wait for the weather to change.”
She’s also had some run-ins with the Sierra Nevadas in Northern California.
“That was a rude awakening,” she said. “Because it was like ‘Time to put your chains on your wheels.’ I really had to learn to watch the weather closer than I ever thought.”
But at every stop — and every challenge along the way — Jennifer can always brag about one thing.
“I have never missed a game because of the weather,” she boasted.
‘What an amazing opportunity’
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes guard Mason Madsen (45) is embraced by his mother Jennifer Madsen following a tough 69-71 loss to West Virginia in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
This season has been extra special for Jennifer.
She’s been able to stay with Mason and Gabe in their rented house in Utah, meaning she hasn’t had to live completely out of her RV in 2025.
Jennifer’s also traveled less due to them both playing for the Runnin’ Utes.
“I just thought I would be street parking or staying at the Cracker Barrel down in Provo,” Jennifer said, while laughing. “ This year, I have been so spoiled.”
She’s also had close friends and extended family visit her at home and away games.
(Jennifer Madsen) With two sons playing college basketball, Jennifer Madsen decided to buy an RV in 2022 and travel the country to watch her boys play.
Her favorite part, however, has been watching Gabe and Mason play together this season.
“What an amazing opportunity these boys have provided me as a mom,” Jennifer said. “I think it’s just been such a blessing to have them be able to have this experience together, as far as closure goes for their college career.”
Gabe and Mason feel that way, too.
“That’s been really special,” Mason said. “It’s maybe just as cool as being able to play together by having her at the game.
Gabe added: “I think it provides that closure in life a little bit. Just being able to do that all this year, I think, was kind of the thing that I think both of us were kind of looking forward to.”
On Tuesday, for maybe one final time, Jennifer will arrive in her RV and watch her sons play in Kansas City.
Sure, it could be the end of a three-year chapter. But that doesn’t mean she’s done traveling.
It might just take on a different meaning in the future.
“I don’t think travel will ever stop for me,” Jennifer said. “It just really brings me joy.”
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