Custer, Glacier and Flathead, OH MY!

Custer first.  Was he basically the first American Rock Star?  When he died, they said the "flower of the army" had been killed.  How charismatic must he have been to be a celebrity without Entertainment Tonight or Facebook?  My overall impression of the Battle of Little Big Horn is that it was so wasteful.  The US Government should not have been there at all.  Breaking a treaty after less than a decade should be the story, right?  Yet, in many history books, it's the ambush and the spectacular battle that takes center stage.  Oh well.  At least my kids know the real story now, and what a lesson it was.  If the chance arises to visit, do.  The bus tour, the talk by a ranger, all of it. It's impressive and moving.

Next was the Beartooth Mountains. Yes, it really does look like this.

Beartooth was an unexpected trip.  We had to stop for repairs (go figure) in Billings.  Man, what a difference an excellent mechanic makes. I was tempted to invite the guys at Top Tech along on our trip.  While we did have to hang out for three days, they gave us a car to use and lots of advice on what to see. We would never have gone to chipmunk paradise without their recommendation.  It was absolutely crazy.  Several, nay dozens, of fat little chipmunks swarm the humans at a vista pullover. We were forewarned: Bring sunflower seeds or be bereft.  Better advice, my daughter has never received.  She would have stayed there all day as the fat little beggars took the seeds straight from her hand.  These are not wild chipmunks any longer. We have spoilt them silly.  Their little cheeks were so full that they would vanish into holes, undoubtedly to spit some out, before running back for more.

The repairs done(ish), we moved on to Glacier National Park.  It's such a cliche, but around every curve was another breathtaking view.  If you're into scenery, this is your heaven.

It's just one spectacular view after another.  We attempted the shuttle to the top, but it was overcast and 40 degrees.  Yeah, not so much.  Back down the mountain we went.  And now we're at Flathead Lake.  I wish the beauty were easy to describe, but of course it isn't.  I don't have enough adjectives.  We will be in this adorable campground (Rollins, by the way - I highly recommend it) until Saturday when it's on to Idaho.  We have to cut Banff out of our journey this summer due to the time constraints.  We are Seattle-bound, after all. I don't have the slightest idea how it will feel after that, to have no further deadlines on our schedule.  I can't even grasp it.

So - are we adventuring now?  I think so, yes.   The kids are fighting.  I am using my Instant Pot, but we're still eating out more than we'd like.  We are homeschooling, more effectively when we have internet access.  And we are starting to see some really beautiful things.  We have made an appointment in Bellingham, WA for the RV, poor old thing.  I don't believe the previous owners did a thing toward maintaining her.  So she's getting the works with us.  Everywhere we stop, she gets a little TLC.  A new exhaust manifold in Shakopee. A new steering suspension in Alexandria.  New brake pads and axel in Billings.  And an air conditioning tune up in Bellingham.  Clever girl, choosing us as her new owners. 

Maintenance, Mustangs and Mud!

Well, we made it this far, but barely! The repairs on a 1998 RV are extensive and expensive!  Good thing we no longer have a house payment! hahaha  Yes, one must laugh or one would be loony tunes.  Both our house and one of the town homes we owned have officially closed.  We are no longer residents of Minnesota. We signed on with Good Sam RV Club and got a Florida address through them.  The mail forwarding service should work...I say should because for the last several weeks, I've been writing 7/ on all of the documents I've been filling out instead of 6/.  Why, you ask?  Because I'm numerically challenged, that's why.  Someone else had to tell me recently that I was 48 years old this year, not 49.  Hey, I'm really good at cooking pasta al dente, okay?  We all have our strengths.  So, anyway, our mail might have to be sorted by the new owners at Old Brick Yard Road for a few weeks.  

We're currently camping out in Medora, North Dakota at the southern edge of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The weeks of goodbyes to family and friends has come to an end, and now we're on our own. I really hope I like these people. Don't let this picture fool you.  This was a brief moment of happiness in a day filled with whining and crabbiness about so much walking and how hot it is! Ethan actually expressed a desire for winter.  I can not relate.

 As of tomorrow, we'll be in uncharted territory (for us).  Obviously, a bunch of people charted it before we got here, so this is pretty easy stuff.  Google tells us where to stop for new shock absorbers (we desperately need these - I'm losing fillings by the hour), and Roadtrippers points out all of the sites to see along the way.  Good Sam gets us the rest of the way.  It's a much smaller world than it used to be.  No one should hesitate to strike out.  The infrastructure in the US is here for you.

I can't say I'm feeling the adventure yet. I'm still very comfortable. All of this is so familiar. I went to high school in Bismarck, so it's not my first trip to TRNP.  I've been here at least a dozen times.  It's awe-inspiring in its beauty. And I got a special treat today.  It's not every visit that you get to see wild horses, and even rarer to see them with their babies. 

Our next scheduled stop is Custer's Last Stand in Montana. I've never been there, so maybe then this will sort of sink in a bit more, that this is actually our life now.  So far, it still kind of feels like a long road trip vacation.  Except for the repairs. That part definitely hits the reality bone. 

Speaking of sinking in (ha! Segue alert!), I am not known for my love of filth. But if you ever get the chance to sink your toes into the mud of the Little Missouri River banks, do it!  It feels delightful...to a point, of course.  And then you just want to wash off your feet.   I wonder if RVing will be similar.

A very eventful month

Wow!  If I think back to the last blog entry, it seems like it should have been months and months ago. That's what happens when events crowd together in rapid succession.  After the Wisconsin tour, we spent the weekend visiting friends and catching up on the house business.  Monday, we took the RV in to the shop for what we thought would be a couple of days.  We didn't get it back until Friday, the day we were to leave the Twin Cities.  In the interim, we saw friends, closed on the house and the townhouse, finished cleaning out the house and wasting a lot of time in a hotel room.  Finally, Friday arrived and we picked up the RV just as rush hour was starting. Now, if you haven't tried to get out of Minneapolis on a Friday afternoon, allow me to explain.  There are two and sometimes three lanes of traffic.  Everyone is trying to get to their cabins or simply home from work so that they can go to their cabins.  The maximum speed from 2:30pm until about 8pm is 30 miles per hour.  There might be a trickster stretch of 65, but that's an anomaly and soon corrected.

As we maneuvered through this maze in our newly fixed RV, we resigned ourselves to a long drive.  We braked for a particularly slow section and the rig started to shudder.  Hard.  It stopped and we resumed, though a little more cautiously this time.  It happened again.  And then again.  And we were now the people on the side of the road that others look at and say, "Wow, that would suck."  The thing is, though, it really didn't. Not really. I mean, we were at home, after all. We had a side of the road sing along and hastily packed a bag before calling my mom to come and rescue us (along with a really big tow truck).  Funny, we had just signed up for Roadside Assistance at the hotel a couple of days before.  We made it through Wisconsin without issue, but suddenly 60 miles from home we needed the tow truck.

It's hard to feel too sorry for us.

So, what's next?  Well, this until we hear from the new shop.  They have tested the RV and found nothing wrong with it.  You'd think this would be happy news, but I'd actually rather they pinpoint the issue and fix it.  I don't really want to be driving up a mountain pass in Montana when this happens again. Meanwhile, my mom's place is pretty amazing.  There's food, a place to sleep and a free view.  Thinking that we have to be somewhere is going to be a hard habit to give up.  We're working on it this week.

Whirlwind Tour of Wisconsin - Check!

Our first major test of the RV is at an end and it performed.  It didn't perform well, but it did get us home safely. I give credit where credit is due.  It goes in on Monday for a complete tune up and not a moment too soon.  Apparently, if you let it sit somewhere for a couple of days, it is reluctant to get moving again...kind of like me that way.  I can definitely get into the habit of lazing about.   But it did eventually get us back to Minnesota.  We covered over 800 miles on this trip, so I think the guts of this rig are A-Ok. 

There was a tremendous amount of socializing and this coming week looks to be much of the same. We'll be saying goodbye to many dear friends.  But our hope is that with technology, we can stay in touch.  With so much chatting, I'll admit to longing for some down time.  I do wonder.  How many days and nights with just the four of us does it take for me to long for a chat with a friend?  I guess we're going to find out. 

We are planning on being back here next summer. A couple of people thought we should return in time for Christmas.  Ha! First of all, the RV lumbers along at 60 mph maximum.  I think Henry pushes it to 65 sometimes and it whines like a four-year-old.  "Ugh, do I have to?" 

It takes a long time to get anywhere. Also, avoiding Minnesota in the winter is one of the reasons we're doing this, so thanks but no thanks.  However, it's hard to beat the summers here.  This is the Wisconsin State Park we stayed in last night:

Willow River State Park

It's idyllic, no?  I was reminded of a Robert Frost poem Ethan's 5th grade class recited at their Moving Up (to middle school) ceremony a couple of short weeks ago.  

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

You see, most of what we saw and did in Wisconsin was known to us.  The people we visited and the places we stayed were not new.  But at the end of the trip, we stayed here - and explored.  Going forward, most everything we do will be forging into the unknown.   I foresee many beautiful places along the journey, new friends and lots more exploration.

...I hope there will be laundromats.   Exploring, as it turns out, is sweaty business. 

A Whirlwind Tour of Wisconsin

Nine days, eight siblings and spouses/significant others, four towns, and assorted nieces and nephews.  We have been busy, and my brain is numb!  Every day has been full to brimming, and a few things are starting to shake out. 

The RV is plenty big.  Really! We have plenty of space and there are plenty of ways to get away from each other if a break is needed.  The cooking, though we've done very little of it on this trip, is a cinch.  Ethan makes his own eggs with ease, and I'm already used to doing dishes by hand.  In fact, instead of hating it, I find it comforting.  It allows me a sense of accomplishment as well.  

The RV is no fun to drive. Really!  You might think how nice it would be to get up and move around during a long road trip. But the reality, in this RV at least, is that the moment you are released from your seat belt and on your feet you are longing to sit down and put it back on. To say that you are unstable while moving about is a gross understatement.  Sailboats on the ocean are flatter than this beast when moving.  And every bump on the road is shimmying up your spine at 55 miles an hour.  This is not a smooth ride. I'm starting to even question whether it has anything for shock absorption but its own weight.  

A couple of the highlights of the trip!  When we arrived in Hawkins, Wisconsin to see Henry's mother, about the first thing he did was drive it into a soft spot in the yard. I chuckled, though only quietly to myself, (I'm not a complete idiot) because I had suggested asking where to park.  But no no, we don't ask such things.  We simply do!  This is the result:

Five hours later, we were out but not without a lot of elbow grease. Ultimately, it came down to knowing someone with a tractor.   I hate to think what would have happened without Henry's brother. Actually, all of his siblings are amazing.  If one of them needs help, they are on it. And they really don't quit until it's done.  I'm a bit different.  I took one look at the above and reached for my phone to call a towing company.  This, "oh no, we can do it ourselves" thing is foreign to me.  And in case it wasn't already clear, my own elbow grease was nowhere near this disaster.  I was inside with a book.

We have been welcomed everywhere we've been, and I'm so grateful to Henry's family.  Because of them, we have gotten to see the inner workings of a dairy farm, the Wisconsin State Capitol and an amazing greenhouse. Our kids are getting a fun, interactive education.

And then, there was this.

This is why we are doing what we're doing.  A random "overlook" on a highway exit sounded appealing, so we just stopped. And it was spectacular.  If you have wondered why we sold all of our stuff, why we quit our jobs or why we are willing to live in an RV, this sums it up.  We felt like stopping.  So we did. 

A huge weight lifted

We have done it!  We have made it through the school year!  The kids are done with traditional schooling, for as long as we all see fit.  Today was their last day, and I will not miss 6am.  There were days when I thought we wouldn't make it. 

We're getting down to the nitty gritty now. Tomorrow, junk removal guys will take away the big stuff we couldn't get rid of any other way. There's, again, a surprising amount of that.  The carpets in our house will be professionally cleaned, and we will get ourselves out of the second of the three bathrooms in our (former) house.  The process of this rears its head again and again.  This is truly not for the weak of constitution.  There are so many creature comforts to be abandoned. I already miss my dishwasher.  I had forgotten how many dishes a family of four could generate. Just think about it for a moment. Three meals a day for four people.  That's, at a minimum, four plates, a few miscellaneous bowls, whatever pots and pans you use for preparation and the silverware and utensils.  I am beginning what I am sure will be a lengthy love affair with my Instant Pot.  One pot, seven different ways to cook something.  I have passed the oh-my-goodness-it's-going-to-blow-up-and-kill-us-all stage of owning an electric pressure cooker.  Now, I just appreciate that it's only one thing to scrub clean. 

The projects - I mean, good grief!  They seem endless right now. My husband spent a good 90 minutes today putting an under-the-counter magnetic knife block in place.  One must have a certain tenacity and stubborn spirit to make this type of existence work.  I will readily admit that I don't have it.  15 minutes in to the knife thing, I would have called a handyman to come and do it for me.  I could not have chosen a better partner for this adventure.

Ta da!  I mean, it may not look amazing but until you have lived in a tiny space, you can not appreciate the space-saver that this is.  That I no longer have to pull these knives out of their boxes in order to use them is nothing short of Christmas-in-June for me. 

Although my husband did get me an anniversary gift (a battery-operated light that you can put in a wine bottle - and yes, it is super cool), I consider this knife block to be my real gift.  This knife block is the secret to our 14 year marriage.   

In a couple of days, we'll have our farewell picnic hosted by friends.  I truly thought I was okay with all of these "lasts" until I had coffee with a friend this week and almost started weeping in a strip mall Starbucks.  Just the sight of her was enough to send me.  

Sunday we will leave for the first big test of this motor home, on the road. We'll have no more convenient trips to the house for "real" toilets and showers, and no more full garbage bags stowed in the garage for easy pick up on Thursdays.  There will be no more quick trips to the house to do a load of laundry.  I wonder if there's a laundromat locator app...hmmm.

And of course, we begin homeschooling. We're not taking a break for summer.  By Monday, we will be in Rice Lake, Wisconsin where, I'm told, the Onion Factory lives.  They make onion rings there...need I say more? If there is no tour available, I am going to be so disappointed!  Rice Lake, in case you didn't know is also the home of a factory which make Western-style rifles.  How many industries can we learn about on this road trip?  How many subcultures can we discover? We are taking this opportunity to allow our kids to guide their own learning.  What are they interested in?  How do they like to study?  For me, this is the real adventure.   And I think it's finally starting!
 

When does the fun part start?

It has been another grueling couple of weeks of preparation and "lasts".  Ethan has been in dance for 6 years. Last night was his last banquet, and of course there were tears.  His teacher and owner of the studio awarded him a Certificate of Achievement entitled "I'll Miss You Like Crazy".  And I'm questioning everything. Is this going to ruin our childrens' lives?  What have we done? Are we crazy for pulling them away from everything they have ever known?  His tears triggered my own. 

Earlier in the day, my daughter had her last school performance. She was Black Dog in Treasure Island. She hugged her friends and I wondered if she was going to hate me for what we're doing.   She's known these girls since Kindergarten.

The house is not yet empty, so we're cleaning it out while at the same time trying to make the RV as livable as possible.  As I type, my computer is finally functional - for the first time in two weeks.  Meanwhile, we have sold 1 of 2 town homes and are going to leave our renters in 2 for as long as they like.  It's going to be tricky, but their situation is unique. We want to help them in any way that we can. 

This is my pattern. "I'll clean the kitchen. Well, I can't clean that until this stuff is out of here. We can't get this stuff out of here until we're done using the bathrooms in here.  And I can't get this other stuff out of here until so-and-so comes to claim it and pick it up.  And I definitely can't clean the floors until we're done tracking in and out of here carrying stuff out."  It's a helpless feeling.

The countdown is suddenly in the single digits.  I am running out of time, but I am incapable of finishing any single project. For a task-oriented person, this causes actual, physical pain.  I can not finish a single task, and my brain wants an escape.  There had better be a glittering rainbow of check marks at the end of this, or I'm afraid I'm going to dissolve into a blubbering heap.  I found a green Lego in an empty room today and just about lost my tenuous hold on composure. 

I try to console myself with the next thing that will make me glad.  I'll be glad when -
School is over.  We have 2 and half days to go!
The house is empty and clean.
We actually go somewhere instead of hanging out in a camper in our yard!

I'm ready for the fun part.