It's not surprising that a star of his caliber doesn't have a moment of peace. Just this morning, he had these pests digging through his garbage and banging on his front door.

Matthew McConaughey is not talking about the paparazzi.

"Today, I woke up at sunrise to the sound of a little sparrow tapping on my window," says McConaughey. "Soon, he was joined by a woodpecker. Five deer were right by my door going through the garbage. I looked at these animals and realized that they had the one thing most of us long for our entire lives: freedom."

These days, McConaughey knows a thing or two about freedom.

For the past month, the muscular star has taken his act on the road -- literally. McConaughey has been living in an Airstream trailer, traveling more than 2,000 miles across America, including a recent stop in Chicago to spread the word about his new movie "Sahara" opening Friday.

His girlfriend, Penelope Cruz, isn't exactly the outdoorsy type, which means the 35-year-old McConaughey is living the life of a macho monk on the road.

Catch up with him in the woods of Lake Platt, Mo., and he's not waiting for a four-star chef to make his dinner for the night. There's no white linen tablecloth, either.

"I have a great dinner cooking. Two big steaks. Now, if I just had a little steak sauce," he says.

His days in the woods are occupied with working out, meeting neighbors, watching TV, checking e-mail and "shutting the door if I don't want to meet anyone.

"I miss my dog. She passed away on the last trip, so now I'm really alone," he says. "But I'm the kind of person who has always liked his alone time. I like hanging out with myself, writing things down and doing nothing. You clean out your head that way."

"Sahara" is based on the novel by Clive Cussler. McConaughey stars as Dirk Pitt, a man in search of an ancient treasure in Africa, which leads him to some sandy and violent terrain.

Pitt is helped by his right-hand man (Steve Zahn) and a beautiful doctor (Cruz). She's traveling the land trying to find out who is poisoning the local water supply and killing entire tribes.

Settling down again in his Airstream, McConaughey begins by explaining the basic logic of this adventure yarn, which he also produced through his company JK Living (Just Keep Living).

The actor, who grew up in Longview, Texas, has been working steadily since making his acting debut in "Dazed and Confused" (1993). He says that playing an adventurer was a dream come true.

"I'm the type of guy who likes to chase the unknown," he says.

To prepare, McConaughey began by bulking up at the gym for nine months. He also made a trip to Africa to hike and explore the local terrain.

"I walked about 10 miles a day," he says. "I did some boxing and running. I knew that I had to be in the best shape of my life for this one and I'm not just talking about my body. I wanted my head and my spirit to be in the best possible shape because I'd love to turn this character into a franchise of films."

McConaughey needed the physical stamina for stunts that include him getting shot at in a river.

"We're talking ice cold water to the point where your entire body was numb," he recalls. "It's one of my best acting jobs because it's 88 degrees in the script. It wasn't 88 degrees on my torso."

He also got cozy with a certain co-star, and he's not talking about Cruz. At least not yet.

"That's me riding a camel," he says. "It was a rocky relationship because the camel didn't give a damn that I was a star. He loved to put his head down and watch me slide off."

He says Cruz had better luck with her camel.

"I thought coming from Texas that I'd ride the fastest, but Penelope just blew me away. I couldn't catch up with her," he says. "She would look back at me and laugh."

McConaughey, who has dated Ashley Judd and Sandra Bullock in the past, began dating Cruz when shooting wrapped.

"We became friends and then just kept hanging out," McConaughey says. "We have fun. She's such a joy in my life."

The only hardship is finding time to see each other.

"The goal is to make the most of the time you do have together because both of us have very busy lives," he says.

Despite the schedule juggling, McConaughey says that dating an actress is no tougher than going out with a store clerk.

"My friends will say, 'Matthew, don't date an actress again. It never works.' I just say, 'Should I date a farmer? Should I date someone where we have nothing in common?' You date the people you enjoy," he says.

He denies persistent engagement rumors.

"It's completely not true," he says. "But that one is going around the globe. You could clear it up for me."

McConaughey and Cruz are regularly hunted down by the paparazzi.

"You laugh at all of the hoopla, but at the same time, you don't get stupid and offer up too much. Your words are taken out of context, too. These days the truth isn't good enough. Reporters just invent stories about your life. I guess that's more entertaining."

McConaughey doesn't let it get him down.

"I just do my best to lead the best life I can. I'm not perfect by any means," he says. "But I have learned when to shut my mouth."

Next up is "2 for the Money" with Al Pacino, which just wrapped. He's slated to star opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in "Failure to Launch, and also will reteam with Cruz in the romantic comedy "The Loop."