Week 6 - The Tetons and the Solar Eclipse

On August 17^th we left Lander, Wyoming and drove across to the Grand Teton Mountains. We passed through another small town named Dubois, with the classic western look that made you feel like you were in an old movie. The main road cut right through the center of town, and I regret not stopping and walking around. I was so close to the Tetons though- I couldn’t waste any time! Continuing down the road, it winded in between red rock hills, and I caught myself looking up houses for sale on Zillow J It was just so pretty! (It’s super expensive to live there, go figure)

I hadn’t looked up a picture of the mountains in a long time; I just knew they were spectacular. One of those places you don’t need to remind yourself of why you’re going – and there’s no doubt that you want to go. So when I saw smaller, yet still huge, grey, rocky mountains, I thought I had arrived. My GPS said I was still 45 minutes away, and I knew I was camping on an adjacent mountain, so I thought maybe I was looping around to the other side of them. I was disappointed because there was no snow on the mountain, but it was still incredible. Needless to say, I was totally shocked when we came around a bend and the actual Teton Mountains were towering in front of me. I actually yelled, “HOLY SHIT!” at the sight of them. I had to remind myself to breathe, and pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t sleeping. I have never, ever seen such an incredible sight.

The best part about that sight was that I got to look at it for the next week! I had searched for weeks trying to find the best boon docking site nearby with a view of the mountain, and boy did I find it. It was on public land off of a forest road that wound up a pretty steep hill. (It was really more of a mountain, but compared to the Tetons, it was a tiny, miniscule hill) It was a dirt road, but it was kept in pretty good condition. At the base of the hill, there was a clearing with a good amount of campers set up. I had read about this campsite, but I knew there was a better view up top, so I headed down the narrow, overgrown road. Luckily I did not meet any other cars while towing up, because most of the road was too narrow to fit two cars, and you couldn’t see that far ahead. When I reached the top I found another large group of campers. At first I felt bad parking so close to the RV next to me, but with it being the week of the solar eclipse, I knew I wasn’t that close. Sure enough, over the next few days a ton of campers packed in.

A few of the sites lined the edge of the clearing and had the best views. Luckily everyone camping in those spots were incredibly friendly and welcomed me to sit with them and soak in the view. We were right across from the Teton’s and I couldn’t have asked for a better location. I just can’t emphasize enough how amazing the mountain range was. There had been forest fires burning in Idaho and Montana, causing the mountains to have a smoky haze to them. Sitting there, watching the sun set behind them, it seemed like it wasn’t real. It really felt like heaven.

That is, besides the heat. There were sites off in the woods with good shade, but the only way to get the view was to be out in the field, soaking up the sun. There wasn’t any electricity, so AC wasn’t an option. I had a sun visor for my windshield that I had never used, so I cut it into pieces and put them over the windows inside the camper. Then I cut pieces of cardboard and covered all of the remaining windows. At night it got very cold, so I took advantage of that and pumped in the cold air all night, before closing everything up the next morning. It was still hot, but manageable.

The first day that I arrived I drove into Jackson. (It also might be Jackson Hole… on the map it is named Jackson, but most signs and souvenirs say Jackson Hole, so who really knows.) Jackson was expecting about 50,000+ people to come into town for the eclipse, as we were right in the path of totality, and even a few days out it was extremely packed. I would love to go back to visit without the crowds, because the town seemed very cute. When I got back to my site, there was a tent hanging on to the ground by two corners, ready to blow away. I went over and weighed it down with rocks but couldn’t find who was staying there.  Later that night I did finally meet the tent owner, Susan, who quickly became my friend over the next few days.

Susan had lived in California before subletting her apartment for the summer and taking her own cross country trip. She had spent a month at a spiritual retreat in Virginia (I think), practicing meditation and simpilier living. It sounded wonderful, just the kind of thing I’ve always wanted to do. She was also at a bit of a cross roads, trying to figure out what she wanted out of life.  The next day her and I rented out a canoe together and went across Jenny Lake to the Hidden Waterfalls. The water in the Lake was so clear, you could see all the way to the bottom even when we far from the edge. Susan had been on a tour the day before and told me all about what she had learned. Apparently there wasn’t just snow on the mountains; most of them were glaciers!


The next few days I spent relaxing and enjoying the freedom of not going anywhere. For the most part of the trip I had been driving 3-6 hours a day, staying a night or two, and then repeating. I hadn't minded it, and had originally been annoyed knowing I had to get to this site so early in order to have a spot for the eclipse. Once I was settled in though I realized how nice it was to just sit still! I had no where to go, and nothing to do but relax. I had my rug set up outside and spent most of my time sitting there, looking at the mountains.


On one day I drove to Yellowstone National Park. My GPS said it was a little over an hour to the park, so I took my time and left later in the day. When I arrived to the pay station, I learned that Old Faithful was still an hour past there! I wish I had known this because I ended up needing to leave earlier than I wanted to in order to get back to feed Coop Dog. I arrived at Old Faithful 30 minutes before the next predicted time, so I walked around and looked at the geysers. They were amazing, despite the strong smell of sulphor they gave off. Each geyser was a different color, though most of them were a shade of blue or orange, and they bubbled and steamed from the heat. There was a wooden bridge-path that wound around the geysers, and signs that warned of the delicate ground below. You could feel the heat coming off of the geysers even from feet away. From there, I walked back to find a spot to watch Old Faithful. It seemed everyone in the park had came to circle around, so I watched from afar before beating the traffic out. I wish I had more time to explore Yellowstone; hopefully one day I'll get to go back and really take my time there.


August 20th marked 4 years since my dad passed away. None of my trip would have been possible without him, starting with his encouragement years ago when I first came up with the idea, and ending with the settlement from his accident giving me the funds to go. That has been the hardest part of this.. Knowing that I wouldn't have been able to afford to go if he was still alive tears me apart every day, particularly on this day. I hadn't cried so hard in so long. Cooper heard me crying and jumped into my bed for the first time, insisting on smothering me for comfort.


The rest of the day was a lazy one. I brought Moxie over to the group of campers on the edge of the field and shared it with them in a toast to my dad. Moxie was his favorite soda, and can only be found in New England. I stocked up before my trip and still had about 20-30 cans left.


The next day was the day of the eclipse!! Everyone set up chairs together and brought food for a pot luck. It was a really cool experience, eclipse aside, being a part of a temporary camper community, made up of people from all over the world. There were a few full time RVers, otherwise most everyone there had only been traveling for the eclipse. There were 4 people from the UK who had rented RVs and had been traveling the US leading up to meeting here to see the eclipse together. Another group was made up of people from a few different countries who had met in college, one of which was going to school for astronomy and had a telescope set up. Susan had a friend drive from Arizona who joined us as well. We had mimosas and cocktails, all eagerly counting down to the eclipse. One of the guys from the UK had made his own lens protector using a piece of film and a toilet paper roll, and was getting amazing shots of the sun with his camera. The girl with the telescope had it set on the sun as well. It was tough to see through it, and you had to catch it at just the right spot, but when you did, you could see the sun as a little red ball with the fire rings shooting out of it.


We all had our solar glasses, continuously checking to see how close we were to the full eclipse. The sun was opposite of the mountain, and since I didn't have a lens protector for my GoPro, I set it up to watch the mountain as the sun went away. Slowly it got darker, and colder, and soon we all were bundled in sweatshirts. Finally we reached totality and everyone cheered, taking off our solar glasses and looking at the ring of light in the sky. You could see all the stars and it truly felt like it was night time. A short few minutes later, the moon uncovered a sliver of the sun, and the birds started to chirp as if it was dawn. Even though only a little bit of the sun was peaking through, and it was still noticeably dark, you could no longer look at the sun without the solar glasses. It was such an amazing experience, I am so glad I was able to witness it.


We spent the rest of the day drinking and just celebrating the occasion. Susan's friend from Arizona wanted to go swimming in a glacier lake, so we took off in his car to find a spot. He was Turkish, and was playing Turkish hip-hop on the radio. I didn't understand a thing they were saying, and with a pretty good Fireball buzz, I felt like I had been transported into another dimension. The day was just so strange; first watching the sun disappear, now sitting in the back seat of this strange car, cruising along in a Turkish daze. We got to the lake and at first we didn't want to go in - it was freezing! Though once we were in it was amazingly refreshing. I floated along on my back, looking up at the mountains towering over the water. Of all the moments I would like to go back to, this would be pretty close to the top of the list. I could have floated there for hours, in awe with the day, with the world, with life.


Later on that day the kid from Turkey left and Susan ended up sleeping on my couch with how cold it was outside. In the middle of the night I woke up to find a mouse inside! I had thought I had heard a mouse the night before, but I wasn't really sure and couldn't find it. But that night I heard it loud and clear. Milo had heard it too and was running around trying to catch it. I woke up Susan who then helped me in catching it. The people in the RV next to us had to have woken up from our screams, but eventually we got it out! (With no help from Milo)


The next day Susan left to make her way back home to California. The person subletting her apartment was moving out, and she had to go back and figure out what she was going to do next. I was originally planning on leaving that day as well, but ended up hanging out for another day. My plan was to head to Alaska after the eclipse, but I was getting really short on money, and cutting it close to the start of the Alaskan winter. A couple who were full time RVers had told me of a service in South Dakota that took care of your mail while you were on the road, so I decided to back track to get my license and become a resident there. The service is called America's Mailbox, located in Box Elder, SD. To sum it up, if you stay in South Dakota one night every 5 years, you can be a legal resident. Once you stay your night, and you set up a Personal Mail Box with America's Mailbox, you take that address to the DMV to get your license, and then off you go! Where ever you are, you can request your mail to be sent to you. Seeing that the biggest issue I had ran into with moving into my camper was not having a mailing address, this was a huge solution for me. Two other big perks were that you didn't get your vehicle inspected every year, so I wouldn't have to drive back to PA, and the state also didn't have an income tax. My end goal right now is to find a job I can have on the road, so this would be a huge bonus.


So on August 23rd, I hit the road again, heading back across Wyoming. Continue reading about it in week 7!

Week 5, Part 2 - Colorado

Remember the promise I made at the end of Week 4, that I wouldn’t let it go another 23 days without updating this blog again? Well it’s been almost a month and a half, so I am sorry! To be fair, I also said I wouldn’t leave Wyoming before catching up, and I am still here!




On Tuesday August 15th I finally reached a lifelong goal - going to Colorado and seeing the Rocky Mountains! This is been the longest dream I've kept, one that I don't think of often because I've always known it would happen. I just didn't know when, and when I saw the Rockies I remembered just how long I had wanted that exact moment to come true. My animals probably thought I was crazy because I was actually screaming in joy when I saw them! Almost immediately after seeing the “Welcome to Colorado” sign, I saw the Rockies off in the distance.  I could see white patches of snow, but it just didn't seem real - I had to stop at the visitor center. I'm confident that I am probably the most excited person they have ever had stop into that building. There was nothing I could've done to hold back my excitement when I led the woman over to the window and pointed at the mountain off in the distance, "Is that snow!?!?!?" I was completely beside myself with joy. When I got back in my truck, I actually started crying with happiness. I was finally in the moment I had dreamt of, long before I ever dreamt of this road trip. I had finally reached the Rocky Mountains!


Seeing them off in the distance was no match to driving up them though! I had to pass through a canyon to climb the mountain peaks to get to my site in Peaceful Valley. The road wound alongside a river, with the mountains towering on either side of me. Every turn revealed a more spectacular sight - I was in complete awe.  From my campsite I was surrounded by wooded mountains, though I couldn't see any of the other peaks. Later on I took the road up further through the mountains and was able to get some really amazing views of them, including the ones with some snow on it! The highest peak had clouds hugging it, with snow in between it and the other peaks. It was incredible!


After I set up camp I left to head to Boulder. On the way back down the mountains a weather alert came over the radio. Up to this point I think I have only ever heard it as a test, but this time it was a real alert, warning for severe winds and hail damage, and to take cover indoors! I didn't even know where I was, let alone if I was in the area it was warning! The skies didn't look that dark, but I had already seen signs on my way up warning of flash floods (and to leave your car and climb to safety!), so I knew the weather could change quickly at this elevation. Luckily I got out of the mountains and away from dark clouds, so just another weather scare!


I was on the phone with Amber when I arrived to Boulder (as I usually am), and was absolutely ecstatic to go into a Marijuana store. Judge away, but I was in Colorado, where it is legal and practically a norm - how could I not!? I got into more than my fair share of trouble as a kid, and now I could just walk right in and buy it? From a store? I felt high just with excitement! I was so intrigued and had so many questions - I was in a whole new world! When I finally got to a store it was both exactly as I expected and at the same time totally unexpected. Each customer had their own employee, who had their own glass case of weed, and jars of it sitting on top. Behind them hung edibles and wrapping papers. I asked every question I could think of, realizing that I probably sounded insane, but I didn't care! I wanted to know everything! Was he high right now? Was it even legal to smoke at work? (No and no) Is it normal for people to be high in public? Could you smoke in public? (Yes and no-but people do). He was extremely patient with all my questions, and then even suggested which type I should get based off of what I was looking for.


From there I went to walk around downtown Boulder and stumbled upon a store that was below street level, named the "Mile High Club". Of course I had to go in.. Have you ever walked into a tobacco store that featured a few cases of glass pipes? Or even a hippie store that had a room, dedicated to glass pipes? This was a mall version. I have never seen so many before, all in brightly lit showcases. Everywhere that I have ever been in, there are signs telling you that if you refer to them for any other use than tobacco you will get kicked out. I've been kicked out before. Here, you could just openly talk about it! Everyone knew what they were for, and there were no laws to keep you from talking about the truth! I may or may not have spent too much money on things in that store... things that I will probably never use. What can I say, Colorado makes you want to be a pot head! I don't know what it is! (Maybe the hundreds of stores selling it???)


Of course I walked out of the store, only to find myself facing another store. I probably could've resisted going in, but it was raining, so why not get out of the rain?? This store was even cooler than the first one I went to, and it turns out they were the largest distributor in the country. The set up was the same personable care, and the guy I had was really cool. All my unanswered questions came out, and then he even answered ones I didn't know I had. I had noticed at the first store that he had talked about processing my credit card as an ATM transaction, but hadn't thought anything of it until this guy mentioned the same thing. Apparently all of these businesses essentially run as ATM's, because we were breaking federal law and therefore the federal banks wouldn't take the money generated. He said there was just a large stack of cash in an undisclosed location, guarded by ex-military and other highly trained men. I thought he was joking, and then realized that he was completely serious! Being that I used to work at a bank, I asked him how they 'ship out' their money if they don't work with Diebold or any armored carrier service. He explained that some of the men mentioned before would come in, with 4 guns each, in a heavily armored car with even more guns inside. "Ready for a 4 hour shootout at any moment," is how he described it. Absolutely crazy!


After leaving there, I got a slice of pizza down the street and then headed back up the mountain to my site. My GPS took me off the main road, on a windy road that cut through the mountains, alternating between dirt and pavement. It was a little unsettling because at this point it was pitch black and I could tell I really was in the "thick of the woods", but the stars were amazing! I continuously stopped in the middle of the road to lean my head out of my window and stare up at them. I couldn't believe how bright they were! Add in the high elevation, and it felt like they were only just out of reach.


The next morning I got up early and drove into Lyons, the town at the very base of the mountain. I had lost cell service almost immediately as I climbed the mountain, and I had to figure out where I was going that night! It had become a very spur of the moment trip, and at this point I really wasn't concerned anymore with where I would stay next; it always seemed to work itself out.


I found a cute coffee shop called The Stone Cup, one of those places I would love to add to my imaginary perfect town. It was a cozy café with free wifi and outdoor seating, and the best Hazelnut Iced Latte I've ever had. (I actually wanted French Vanilla, and they offered me the Hazelnut, starting my newest addiction). After settling down with my laptop outside, I started mapping out where I would stop next. I knew I wanted to be at the Grand Teton Mountains the following night, and had a lot of ground to cover to get there. I finally found a campground on Passport America located in Lander, Wyoming called Mountain View Campground. I had about a 6.5 drive to get there, not including stops, but it would leave me with only 3 hours to get to the Teton's. The woman who answered was extremely worried about me arriving past dark, but told me if I could make it before sundown, then she had a site for me. So, I headed back up the mountain, packed up, and hit the road!


Driving into Wyoming I started to notice these strange fences along the road.. They were just short rows of fences, staggered behind each other in sets of two or threes. There was nothing else around for miles and they didn't seem to have any purpose! Fences are supposed to fence things IN, these just looked like they were mistakenly placed, like a SIMS game error! So I Googled, "Strange Wyoming Fences" and was surprised to find a lot of hits. Turns out they are there to break up snow drifts and keep the snow off the road!


Another bizarre thing that happened once crossing into Wyoming was losing all cell data. I could still make phone calls, but my GPS stopped working. I was trying to get ahold of Amber, to ask her to send me directions, but I couldn't remember the name of the campground I was going to! I stopped to get gas and a girl at the pump next to me gave me directions to the town I was going to. Luckily there really aren’t too many roads, so all I had to remember was one turn! She even told me where she lived, and offered for me to stop there if I needed anything else. At the time I thought it was very strange, but I just hadn't learned about the unconditional hospitality that everyone possesses in Wyoming.


She had described her house as an old café, and I thought there was no way I would be able to find it, even if I wanted to stop in! But, I also hadn't yet learned just how empty Wyoming was either! About an hour later I passed by the old café, and with absolutely nothing else around, and no other roads, it really was very easy to find! As I continued to drive I started to really notice just how empty the area was. I would pass through a town that looked totally abandoned, all of the shops neglected and the gas stations overgrown with weeds.


When I finally made it into Lander, the sun was just starting to set. I pulled over to call the campground for better directions and to make sure they would still take me in. The same woman answered again and continued on to give me extremely detailed instructions, down to the mile markers that I would be turning at. After just being in an extremely remote location in the Rockies, I was expecting about the same, especially with the extent of the directions I received. Needless to say, I was very surprised to find the very obvious, in-plain-site campground. I mean, you could see the other campers from the road, there was no way you would miss it.


Turning onto the road I saw this little old lady, maybe 4 1/2 feet tall, probably 80-90 years old, jumping and wailing her arms all about. Once I pulled up, she showed me the campsite that I would be at, and again it was an extremely obvious site. With one look I knew exactly how to get to it (the sites were in a line with a path behind them to pull your camper through), but she insisted on getting me an escort. A man from one of the permanent sites rode up on a 3-wheeler, and lead the way around the loop to show me just where to go. Yes, everything from the directions to them plugging in my electricity cord for me was excessive, but this woman was the cutest, friendliest person I have ever met. If I am ever back in the area, I will make sure to stop in, even if just to say hi!


The next day I left and finally made it to my solar eclipse destination - the Teton Mountains!

Week 5, Part 1 - The Dakotas!

Week 5, Part 1

Leaving Windom, MN on the 10th was our longest day driving up to that point - 6 hours = 8/9 car hours! I stopped and bought Milo a bigger crate, hoping it would get him to stop meowing. Nope. Just changed the frequency from every 2 seconds to every minute. I'll take it. We were now in North Dakota, and officially in the Great Plains! I saw buffalo from the highway, and a sunflower field! I had known I would see buffalo, but the sunflower field was a great surprise! Turns out that North Dakota was covered in sunflower fields, and that I had arrived just as they were opening up!! That night we arrived at a tiny park in Medina and I got my first taste of the dark night skies.

On the 11th we finished the drive along the boring, flat, straight road that cut across North Dakota, finally making it to the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It was $25 for a week pass into the park, and another $14 a night for a site with no hookups, but who cares! I was in the Badlands, and they were incredible! I'm not even sure how to describe them... it was like driving in to a mountainous canyon, painted in so many different colors of rock, with a mix of prairie lands and trees. Soon after entering the park I passed a sign warning that Buffalo were dangerous and to stay at a distance, causing me to squeal in delight and eagerly scan my surroundings for one! I had read reviews for Juniper campground where the buffalo walked within the sites, and it was the reason I was staying inside the park grounds. I was so excited! While I didn't end up seeing one in the camping area, I did see a lot!
Later than afternoon I was walking on a trail when I first saw one, about 75 feet away from me. I watched him roll around, kicking dirt onto himself like he was giving himself a dirt bath 😃Afterwards, he stood up and took a step towards me and I booked it out of there! Before seeing him I had hiked to a "Prairie Dog Town" about a mile into the Badlands. I had seen the ranger on my way in who had warned me of a bunch of bison cakes, or something. Once I started walking I soon realized he was talking about their poop! It's huge! Easily 3 times the size of my foot! So avoiding those, I wound my way along the rocky path. I actually heard the prairie dogs squeaking before I got to their "town"! When I did get there, they got very quiet, and ran into their holes. As I walked further, the ones I had passed would pop back out of the ground and call out to the others. At one point about 5 or 6 of them came out and stood on their hind legs, all facing the same direction, frozen still and staring dead ahead, almost like a nighttime prayer.
Anyways, after I left them, and after I saw my first buffalo, I drove to the first overlook. It didn't matter where you were; high, low, where ever - it was beautiful from every perspective. At the overlook the ranger was there again, talking to a group of men in animal costumes.. At first I thought they were doing something for the park guests, but found out that they were from the UK and were taking pictures at parks, dressed in $2000 animal suits, for fun. Just for something to do! Only one of them took his head piece off to talk to us, while the others stayed masked; the animal eyes watching you from every angle. It was really unsettling! A storm was off in the distance, so I left that odd situation to finish the drive to the last overlook.
On the way there was a herd of buffalo, right on the side of the road!! 3 other cars were stopped, so I got out and took some awesome photos! I even walked with one, about 10 feet away, until he noticed and I got freaked out. They are so incredibly big!!! On my way back from the overlook they were blocking the road!! Who cares about traffic when it is caused by a herd of buffalo setting the speed limit!? It was amazing. They were only feet away from me, not even caring that I was slowly following behind and beside them! It was, without a doubt, one of the coolest experiences I have ever had.
When I finally made it back to my site, the storm that had been lurking had finally caught up to me. I had driven out to this specific area to see the meteor shower happening that night, and only afterwards learned about the wandering buffalo. It wasn't until I got there that I realized what an amazing place the badlands were, so needless to say, I was hardly upset that I missed the shower.

On the 12th I ended up in Medora, a tourist town near the South Unit. I was looking for a rodeo when I stumbled upon the town, lined with Saloons and gift shops, all in the classic Western design. So being that I'm more into bars than rodeos (even more so when they're called Saloons!!), I decided to stop in. The one I went to even had the swinging doors to enter! Inside there was a big bar, wooden tables, and a velvet dining room. Seriously, the walls were lined with red velvet, and there were big, heavy, red velvet drapes pulled to either side. On the ceiling there were hundreds, if not thousands, of one dollar bills tacked to the beams, accompanied by old cowboy hats. Some of the bills were written on but not easy to read, and some of the hats were dated. The service and the food sucked, but the place was awesome! I also met these 2 older guys who bought me a beer for my travels! Afterwards I went to get ice cream and it had started pouring which quickly turned to hail! In August! That night the skies cleared up pretty well, so I woke up at 3am and walked into the dark to watch the second night of the meteor shower. I saw maybe 15-20 before heading back to bed.

I only slept a few more hours before waking up Sunday morning to leave for South Dakota. It was a long drive, through a whole lot of the same. I took the Enchanted Highway, a road otherwise so small and unimportant that it had never been named until a local artist began making large sculptures to bring tourists along and into their town. They were interesting, and certainly broke up the otherwise plain scenery, but also a little creepy. In fact, they got weirder the further I drove, until it ended with a tin family sculpture. But I'm sure it accomplished what he had sought out to do - bring tourists down that road - because there I was, driving along just to see the sculptures!
It was a really long drive, and when I realized I only had about 100 miles left on my tank, I found out that the closest gas station was 80 miles away. When I got down to 30 left and 20 to go, I started getting nervous. When I hit 15 miles left on my tank, I was hardly using any gas at all! Downhill or uphill, I didn't change. Every mile that went by I watched to see if I got a full mile out of it for what it said I had left, thinking I was surely going to end up walking a few miles! Luckily we rolled into the gas station with 5 miles left! Being in the middle of nowhere, the gas was $3 a gallon, but I didn't care. I filled up all $98 worth, not wanting to get stuck like that again!
Finally we made it to Whitetail Campground, only to find the review online of it being free was false, and in fact they even charged $2 per pet! (I left Milo out of it!) Not expecting this, I had to backtrack to Hill City to get cash, but luckily the camp host let me leave the camper on a site. I had traveled up a mountain to get to the site, and did not want to tow all the way back down, and back up again! Hill City was a very cute town, just one strip, again in the classic Western styles. I got dinner at a saloon and listened to a group of bikers with the thickest Texan accents talk about Sturgis, a week long biker convention in Sturgis, SD. It had ended that day, and we actually drove through the town but everything was closing up, so we hadn't seen much.

On Monday, the 14th, I got up early to go see Mount Rushmore. It really wasn't that impressive, just looked like every picture I've ever seen, except now I was the one taking the picture! I drove up to see Crazy Horse as well, but didn't pay to go into the park area. I had to be off our site by 1pm and had been planning on driving an hour to a free site, but I had already seen everything I had came for! So instead I packed up and hit the road for Nebraska, stopping at Carhenge along the way. Basically it is a bunch of old cars, painted gray, sticking in the ground by their front or end. Not something I would drive to Nebraska to see, but it was cool!
I had some trouble finding our site in Bayard, it was only 5 electric and water boxes near the city park, but I got there just before a storm hit. The other camper came over and started pointing to the sky, saying how bad it looked, pointing to swirls in a greenish cloud, talking about tornadoes! He told me I would hear the siren, and when I did I needed to go lay in a ditch! As soon as he left I called Amber, rattling off my location like a crazy person feeling like I was about to die. Luckily there was no tornado! Actually there was hardly a storm and it was clear in 10-15 minutes... When I called Amber back, she said, "Yeah, I figured there wouldn't be". As if that's something she could've "figured" from Connecticut!

The next day I drove to Colorado, a bonus that I had acquired from skipping out on my second night in South Dakota. Check out Week 5, Part 2 to read about it!

Week 4!

Wow! I knew I had been slacking on updating this, but I didn’t realize so much time had gone by! A lot of the places I stay I don’t have cell service, so I never think to pull out my laptop, and the other times I’m just too busy exploring that I don’t save time to write about it! But I am now in a remote boondocking site in Wyoming with an amazing view, and cell service, and I am going to get this caught up! There really isn’t much else to do but sit in this awesome new chair I found yesterday and soak up the view, so it’s finally the perfect spot to just veg out and write about it all!

August 3^rd I had decided last minute that I wanted a break. The campsite I was at thought I was staying a night longer than I had actually planned, so I figured it was a good enough reason to just not leave! Cooper had been acting a little strange and had been to the vets the day before (turns out he’s fine, just tired of being in the truck!), so I thought it would be a nice bonus day for the pets! That was until I was checking my bank statement and saw a charge for a place in Missouri. I hadn’t been to Missouri yet, and as far as I could remember I had absolutely nothing planned out for places to stay. And then I remembered a campground that I had left a voicemail for, and an email, and a request for a site on their website… All of that, and when they called to tell me I could have a site, I never wrote it down! I still had to do my laundry, and wasn’t ready to drive, so I headed into town and took my time leaving. Of course this made me get to our site for the first time after dark, but luckily it was a pull-thru spot so I had no trouble. I heard people in the pool next to my site, and by the time I had set up the camper they had left so I got it all to myself! I was staying near the Lake of the Ozarks, and there is a new show named ‘Ozark’ that just came out on Netflix. It looks really creepy, so I purposely haven’t watched it, knowing I was coming here! So because of that, I didn’t stay in the water for long! All I could hear were really loud bugs, and couldn’t shake the feeling that I was going to be murdered in the pool!

The next day I went to check out the lake and realized just how wrong I was about the area! I was nowhere near the middle of nowhere! I’m assuming because there are no nearby beaches that they built up the lake to have their ‘beach’ scene – every spot on the lake was built up with resorts, bars, and yacht clubs! They even had a strip with the generic t-shirt and towel stores you would find at the shore. After exploring for a bit I went to Ha Ha Tonka State Park, which is the remains of an old castle. It was pretty neat, but it looked like they had recently put up fences to keep visitors away from the ruins. That night I went to my first concert by myself! One of the resorts was hosting 2 local country bands with no cover charge, and though it wasn’t really my type of music, I had a great time!

Saturday, the 5^th, I had planned on leaving, and was actually completely packed up, literally rolling out of my site when the woman from the office came over. I had seen there was a bad storm coming but didn’t think they would have a free site on a Saturday, so I never asked. Always ask!! I didn’t even have to change sites! After unhitching, Amber video called me from my brother’s baby reveal party! So I got to read his birthday card to him, and watch the reveal! They are having a girl! (I was hoping so!!) The rest of the day I just hung out at the camper. The storm wasn’t that bad (she had warned me of a tornado!) but I was happy to not be driving in it!

On the 6^th we drove to Sharp RV Park in St. Joseph Missouri. Don’t camp there. Well, with Passport America it was only $14 for full hook ups, and I had good cell service, just never pay full price! It was more like an RV parking lot, and a lot of the sites were full timers. When I pulled in, I had pulled off the entrance onto a little clearing, only to find out that I had parked at my campsite! Later on a neighboring site had heard I was traveling alone from the owner, and gave me a bottle of wine for my travels! So at least the people were nice!

The following day I was finally able to get an eye appointment in St. Joseph! It turns out that I actually am not blind, I passed every test, but I have a stigmatism so light doesn’t enter my eyes the way that it should. I really thought I was blind… well, blinder than I used to be! I’ve been having trouble with road signs, and will avoid driving at night, so I am very happy I am getting glasses to fix that! (Of course they don’t make them on the spot, so it’s been 18 days and I still am trying to figure out how to get them to me!)

From there we drove to Elkhorn Rec Area, about 30 minutes outside of Omaha. I stopped at Indian Cave State Park along the way which was a pretty neat stop. It would have been nice as a day trip though, not only passing through. The strangest part of the drive was that on all the nearby roads, leaving Missouri and entering Nebraska, there were hundreds of butterflies sunbathing on the pavement! Even on the busy-ish highway, they would lay there until they had just enough time to fly up and die on your windshield…. So that was upsetting.. but they sure looked pretty up close in those final moments! That night a girl, Rachel, pulled up and was camping out of her jeep! Over a few beers and a fire we told each other about our adventures. She was driving across country in just a week to start a sort of internship at a vineyard in Northern California!! She also had recently gotten back from a spur of the moment trip to Europe! So jealous! She told me that while she was there, some days $10 could buy all 3 meals, beer, and ice cream! Also a few of her flights were as low as $15! (Next up, I need to go to Europe!)

On the 7^th she had left before I woke up but left her number on the table which made me really happy! That day I finally found a solar panel kit that was available for in store pickup nearby! For about $250 and some searching for instructions online, I was soon charging my battery with the sun! Yay! Later on I went to Ralston for free town music that I had found on Facebook. I also checked out the Village Bar, a really cool dive bar with arcade games! The only downside was they didn’t have a kitchen. I got talking to 2 locals who filled me in on their tornadoes and other things unique to Nebraska. Apparently, even though Ralston is so close to Omaha, they have an agreement with the city where they can’t increase in size, but they also aren’t included in Omaha’s taxes. So you get this little tiny town, practically attached to the city! Before leaving the bartender gave me a glass with their logo on it as a souvenir!

On the 8^th I packed up and hit the road for Windom, Minnesota. I felt bad that I was only passing through the NW corner of Iowa, so I was happy when I saw a sign for the highest elevation in the state, right off the highway! It was only about 1000ft above sea level, and to add to that it was surrounded by flat farm lands, so it didn’t seem higher than anything else in sight! But I signed Milo, Cooper, and I into the visitor log, so Iowa stop accomplished! Shortly before that I had given into Milo's meowing demands, and had pulled into a gas station to let him do his business. I'm glad I stopped there, because inside I found a local Native American handmade pipe! I don't think I'll ever smoke it, but will probably hang it as an ornament! So Iowa souvenir also a success! When we got to our campsite I went grocery shopping. I've started to get used to not finding everything in small stores, but get totally frustrated when a store is big enough to have what I want, but locally owned and not organized in a "chain store" way that I can relate to! At check out the bagger offered to bring my bags to my car for me, and it seemed I had offended him by declining. After watching for a few minutes, I saw him helping a girl with only 2 bags who was talking on her cell phone, struggling to find her keys in her purse, while he stood there patiently waiting. I suppose maybe that's normal? To me it just seemed rude! Back at my site there was an adult baseball game going on in the park, with probably most of the townspeople attending. It was $6 to watch though, and because I like Netflix more than baseball, I didn't stick around. 

Well the sun is going down here in Wyoming, and it was chilly when it was out, so I will continue on tomorrow with week 5 and 6! I promise I won't leave this site until I am up to date! (And then won't let it go another 23 days in between!) Next up is the Dakotas and the Grand Teton Mountains, hands down two of my favorite experiences yet!

Week 3

So I am finally sitting down, ready to write about Week 3! I've been trying to write this for a few days, and now I just popped off the letter B from my keyboard.. Every time I get to a new site, the first time I open a cabinet I get surprised by whatever has re-positioned itself while bouncing around on the road. 99% of the time I completely forget and am caught off guard but I'm getting used to it. I went to grab my journal from the cabinet above my couch, and it fell out and hit my laptop, somehow stealing the B key. The video on Youtube made it seem so possible to fix it myself, but 30 minutes later I'm just leaving it off!

So here is week 3! It was one of the craziest weeks yet, so enjoy!

On July 27th we were still at Seney State Park and were only driving to an overnight parking spot so I was in no rush to hit the road. I had no groceries, so I headed out to the grocery store. It was just a normal trip to the store, not very interesting, but I wanted to share what a store looks like out in the U.P.. Basically all I'm eating now is chicken and vegetables, but the only chicken I could find was just one entire frozen chicken. There wasn't raw meat in any of the fridges, though there were plenty of choices for sausages and bratwurst. Another thing you can find in any store is cheese curds in a few different flavors. They have their own shelf. Some stores won't have eggs or bread, but you can always buy cheese curds! I went to 3 different "grocery" stores and still did not find chicken except for the frozen one. But I did buy a carton of eggs for $.89 which I was happy about! I also found a frozen Pasty that I quickly snatched up. A Pasty is pronounced "Pass-ty" and its an old staple of the U.P. - they even have pictures and recipes for them on postcards! It is sort of similar to a potpie, but they are made without a pan to shape them, and they don't have a sauce. 

When we finally left Seney State Park, I put our destination in both my phone GPS and my Garmin RV GPS. I always compare the 2 because the RV GPS tends to be a lot longer and sometimes I just use my phone and leave the RV one on as backup. The RV GPS is programmed specifically for my height, weight, and length so that I don't end up going under low bridges, or going over ones that I will fall through.. I'll learn my lesson in a few days, but using my phone this day turned out OK. The point for this day is that the RV GPS was coming up for over an hour later arrival! It finally dawned on me what was happening when I saw that I had 75 miles to go, yet it said I would arrive in about 20 minutes. I was going to pass through my first time zone!

We arrived at Sunday Lake Overnight Parking right before sunset, and I was lucky enough to get a nice, sandy, level spot right on the edge of the lake! Free parking aside, it was the best spot I had had yet! The clouds were blocking the sunset, but it was still an awesome spot with an amazing view. I met two guys there, one was a 62 year old man who was camping out of his car and had been everywhere, and had every story to tell about it! He even once ate an elephants trunk in Africa!! The other guy was a man from Ireland, with the strongest Irish accent I have ever heard, and he was BIKING! He had been on the road for about a month, had started near Vancouver, and was averaging 50-80 miles per day! Absolutely incredible! The three of us sat outside my camper and talked about our travels over drinks while we watched the bright orange crescent moon set over the lake. We were right on the time zone line, so it had been bright out until around 10:30pm, and the moon set very quickly. It was really neat to watch!

On the 28th I started my day with a nice trip around the lake in the kayak, which by the way is a way better energizer than coffee! Shortly after we hit the road again, officially leaving Michigan and headed into Wisconsin! The drive was fairly boring, with the exception that the roads were lettered! Yep, not numbered - lettered! Any letter you could think of there was a road to match, and after that there was double lettered roads, like 'WW'. Weird, but it made the drive fun as I "collected" letters!

Saturday, July 29th, I decided that I needed to try the famous cheese curds! I went to a bar in Merrill called Ballyhoos, ordered a local draft, and read about the strange cheese while I waited for mine to come out. Apparently if they are fresh they will squeak when you bite on them due to their high elasticity, which I thought was pretty bizarre! Mine didn't squeak, I'm thinking because they were fried, but they tasted like they could have! They were very similar to mozzarella sticks, but they had a much tougher chew. From the bar I went to a local fair that I had overheard other people talking about. It was pretty much just like any other fair I have been too, with the addition of cheese curd stands!

Sunday we drove to Illinois, leaving Wisconsin and it's odd lettered roads behind! I wasn't able to find a street address for the campground I was going to, so I was only using my phone GPS. I figured I was practically in trucker country anyways, why would I have any issues? Well I was about 10 minutes from my site when I turned off the "highway" and immediately saw a sign for a 10ft bridge up ahead. I'm 10'6"! The only place to turn around was a county lot that was fenced in, and the drive was gated off as well. I tried backing into it, but immediately realized that I was too long to turn around. On the other side of the road was a steep ditch, leaving me with hardly any wiggle room. With no other exit, I continued to try to spin myself inch by inch, until I was totally stuck with about a foot clearance from the fence parallel to the back of my camper. At this point I was completely blocking the road and luckily enough the first car that came along was an older couple, one of which was a retired trucker! He quickly jumped into the driver seat, reassuring me that he would get me out. And then he hit the fence.. Not his fault, I had gotten myself stuck there to begin with anyways, and was only a few inches from it! Of course the fence won, taking off my awning arm and slicing into the side of the camper 😧Two more cars showed up, and guess what? Two more retired truck drivers! They decided to unhitch the trailer - and it was very much a "they" not a "we" - I was just trying my hardest not to fully panic. I could feel the anxiety quickly building up inside - it looked like I was never going to get out unless someone came and removed the fence! With so much pressure on the hitch (it was practically jackknifed at this point) it took a lot of work to get it off, but it finally came loose. Once they flipped the truck around the trailer moved away from the fence easily. Crisis averted!! (Mostly) Throughout all of this, each person continued to tell me about how many people have hit that bridge, ripping the roof off of their truck or camper. Even at my campsite later on the guys agreed - it is very common to hear of a truck hitting that bridge! So all in all, I think I made it out OK.

The next day I was supposed to drive into Chicago, but had to get my awning arm put back on before hitting the highway again. Every place I called said they couldn't fit me in, until I finally stopped mentioning any damage, just that I needed the damn thing reattached somehow! I drove about an hour and only ended up paying $20 to have it drilled back on! I'll still have to get it repaired down the road, but at least it won't fly off in the meantime! On my way to get it fixed I drove through the countryside of northern Illinois, and it was absolutely gorgeous. You would think that endless roads of corn and farm would be boring, but it wasn't! It was a new kind of beauty unlike anything I've seen before. The rolling hills, vibrant greens and the golden tops of corn rows stretching out as far as you can see, dotted with farms and silos, contrasted against the big, blue, open sky. Every rolling hill we'd pass over would open up a new stretch of farms to see, keeping me smiling in awe. It was a big change from the endless pine trees in Michigan!

With my camper bandaged back up, we left on the 1st to head into southern Illinois. After learning my GPS lesson, I punched the address into my RV GPS and hit the road.Well a few minutes later I found myself at a stop sign, looking at a 10' bridge sign that my GPS wanted me to go under!! Thankfully I was stopped and was able to easily turn away, or I would've been in the same situation all over again! I then recognized the name of the road I was on and realized that I was on the same road but coming from the opposite direction. So I turned, and waited for my stupid GPS to reroute me, only to see that it was having me do a 5 mile circle, back to the bridge! On my phone I could see the other roads also crossed railroad tracks and didn't want to chance driving down them either. I saw someone walking and pulled over to ask them. And once again, he knew exactly what deadly trap of a bridge I was talking about! So at least I feel better about using my phone GPS the other day, because clearly my RV GPS doesn't know what it was doing anyways!

A few hours after finally getting around the bridge we made it to our site on Lake Carlyle, the largest lake in Illinois. I didn't know this when I booked it, I just like being on water! And it was the perfect spot, right on the edge of the lake with an awesome view of the sunset and the passing thunderstorm. Finally I had no mosquitoes, but the flies were HUGE! Thankfully they didn't bite, just annoying!

August 2nd I drove into St. Louis! The first parking lot I pulled into I hit the building trying to get out of traffic 😒 Not very hard, just enough to dent my bumper, but no paint damage so whatever! I've adapted a "shit happens" attitude - I just don't think there's any other way to make it through the bumps of this trip! The attendant wouldn't let me into the garage anyways with my kayak sticking out, so I had to search for awhile to find another lot. I've never seen such low parking garages! Most of them only had 6ft clearances! When I finally did find a spot, I think every other truck in the city was in the same garage! Besides having tiny garages, the city was very clean! The CityGarden was really nice, with kids playing in the water areas and a free band performing in the center. I had booked a tour up the Gateway Arch, so I headed there. They were doing construction, so the walk wasn't very direct, but who cares! The arch was incredible to look at. I learned on the tour that it is as tall as it is wide, and only looks taller because it gets narrower at the top. Regardless, even from the highway you could tell it was the tallest thing in the city. Makes me wonder if they have a rule against building taller than it..

The tour inside was pretty neat, and I got to skip the line when they only had one more spot available - yay for being single 😃 On the flip side, I ended up squished in this tiny capsule with low ceilings and a family of 4. This thing was like a enclosed Ferris wheel seat, and everyone is circled up with your knees almost touching. I would hate to be claustrophobic, especially because nothing informed you of this until you climbed through a 4ft door into it! The view from the top was really cool, and I'm glad to say I've been up it, but I wouldn't go again.

Afterwards I drove to "The Hill", the Italian neighborhood where fried ravioli was first made! My childhood favorite food! (No really, my dad convinced me to change my trade school shop choice with a fried ravioli bribe) There's two places that are rumored to have first made it, but I chose Mama's on the Hill, and I'm glad I did! It was a really cool place and the server, Nate, was really awesome. Not only was he extremely attentive, but once the other tables cleared out we got to talking and he was really cool! (And cute 😏) He told me that he was from Kentucky and was driving the 4 hours home the following day. I didn't even realize I was that close to Kentucky! On my way out the door he caught me and gave me a bottle of their house dressing as a souvenir 😃 If you're ever in St. Louis, go here! Don't expect the free dressing though, but you will have an awesome meal and spectacular service!

Week 4 to come soon!

Week Two

Alright, week 2!

I want to apologize first for not doing this page sooner, and subsequently having to list the last two weeks in a row of days. But there's only two more posts like this one, because tomorrow marks the end of week 3! From there I promise I’ll keep this updated. Can’t promise they will be much quicker reads, but I will be able to go more in depth on each day without feeling like I’m writing a book, or flying by too quickly like I am now!

SO, July 21^st we were still in Who Knows Where, Ohio. I didn’t have much to do besides drive that day, so I didn’t set any alarms. Well of course it was an overcast morning, so with no sun shining in I didn’t get out of bed until around 11:30. But when I did go outside, I was met with the darkest, most menacing sky. I packed up the site so fast, terrified of the dirt road washing out, or a tree falling, or just anything happening that would keep us in bumble**** Ohio! We made it to a paved road just in time to sit and watch the storm pass. And then we drove, and drove, and drove.

A few days earlier, ironically while I was figuring out where the heck I was going to stay in Michigan, one of my old friends, Morgan, suggested we get together. I had gone to middle school with her and her fiancé, Kerry, and they had recently bought a house in Michigan, right on the Indiana border. It wasn’t the original plan to park at their house, but when I told her I was staying at a Walmart nearby, she offered to let me park there instead because of the bad rep from the other town. (Thanks for keeping me alive guys 😊 ) When I finally arrived at their house I showered to become somewhat decent again, and then we headed out to a local bar. The place looked sort of like a rec hall, with wooden walls and a handmade bar. Even the drinks were served in Solo cups, and the server made up the price on the spot, “Let’s call it $5 a piece”. The kitchen was closed so we ended up going to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner, which I also had never been to. I’m glad we stopped in at the bar first though – it was just the kind of local place I wanted to see!

On the 22^nd we left pretty early to head to Michigan’s National Forest and dune area. Adding in a stop to Cabela’s for a new camper battery, as well as a ton of stops for the pets, a 2-3 hour drive turned into a 6-7 hour day in the truck. I had read online about free sites on Green Rd. and when we arrived, all of the free sites that I could’ve fit the camper onto were taken by tents. And of course, all the smaller tent sites were empty… So we drove to the paid camping area nearby, and after driving down every loop, we finally found a site – 2^nd to the last one, so we certainly got lucky! We were a 5-10 minute walk from the shore of Lake Michigan, which Coop Dog and I went to check out. Unfortunately he is scared of water, so after taking in the view we walked back to the site.

The 23^rd was my sisters (Amber/Bams) 20th birthday! Besides walking back to the shore to get service to call her, I didn’t do much else that day! I eventually found a good spot with service at a small lake nearby, and sat at a picnic table with my laptop and planned out my trip up until August 5^th. (Today is the 2^nd and I still haven’t planned past then. Actually I don’t even know where I’m staying Friday night yet 😯 I need to get better at that, but at least there’s always Walmart!)

July 24^th we had another very long day of driving to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, or the U.P. We stopped in Traverse City for lunch, and at a few roadside overlooks along the way, but pretty much just another day in the truck. We arrived at Andrus Lake Campground, in Paradise, MI. I struggled hard with parking, but I finally got parked at this nice site with a lakefront area. Until I noticed this teeny tiny piece of paper on a similarly small lot number sign, saying that the site was reserved… So I had to move again! Luckily I didn’t have any trouble with the next spot, and it also had a little bit of lakefront to it, so it wasn’t a big deal. Just the little things that get to you after a long day on the road! That night I saw a really awesome sunset over the lake, I saw a shooting star, and I heard coyotes howling nearby! I was a happy camper 😃

The next day I drove to Whitefish Point to see Lake Superior, and was surprised to see all the cool rocks that made up the shore! I took a few at first, until later I found out that the locals collect them to find agates. Then I went back and took a whole lot more! (Like 2 buckets full…) Speaking of the locals, they are called Yoopers! I’m not sure where it comes from, or why, but I read that in order to call yourself a true Yooper, you have to have lived in the U.P. for at least 7 full years, and endure the mass amounts of snow they get. THEN you can consider yourself a Yooper! If you own a lake house, and only visit it in the summer, then you’re just a wannabe, no matter how many summers you’ve spent there! And they get a lot of snow! The woman at the grocery store had quickly gestured above her head to describe it when I had asked about the no snowmobile signs posted at their school. There also was one house that had a mock mail box, probably 20 feet high, with “Winter Delivery” written on the side - gave me a good laugh 😊 I think the best part about this area was the vibes that were given off by the locals. Everyone was extremely friendly, no one seemed to care that the groceries were 2x the normal price, and they even thought the water was warm (and it was not warm. I lost feeling in my feet searching for rocks) I wouldn't want to visit in the winter, but it sure was a great place to be in the summer, and once again, I wished I had more time!

On the 26th I woke up early in hopes to see the sunrise at Whitefish Point. It was very cloudy and we were expecting a thunderstorm at any time, but I still decided to drive the 10 minutes. Of course there wasn't even the slightest chance for a sunrise view, but still I sat on the beach until it started to rain. And when it started, the wind picked up fast and it poured! By the time I made it back to my truck I was completely soaked and my umbrella had flipped inside out, so I jammed it in the backseat and took off to the marina to get a view of the water from INSIDE my truck. Of course the rain stopped shortly after I made it there, so I drove through torrential downpours for nothing..

A few hours later we left Andrus Lake and drove to Seney State Park. After setting up I drove to Log Slide Overlook, and it was AMAZING! I am a huge sucker for mountaintop overlooks, and vista views, but I have never seen a view like this one. From the parking lot you walked on a short trail through the woods until it started to open up and become sandy. At this point I had thought that I was going to walk out onto a beach, so when I climbed up the short hill and the view opened up, I was in total shock. In front of me was Lake Superior, the water as blue as the Bahamas. The drop down was incredibly steep, 300 feet descent in 500 feet. The sign said that it only takes a few minutes to reach the bottom, but up to an hour to come back up. There was a young girls soccer team climbing up, up this sheer cliff of sand, carrying rocks with them from the bottom by tossing them every few feet. It was the largest dune I have ever seen. Looking out onto the lake felt like I was looking at the end of the world – just endless water that blurred with the horizon. I finally understood why it was first thought that the world was flat, and I could picture the water falling off the edge. It was so surreal, like looking at a picture, or falling into a dream. I have never seen such an amazing sight. If you ever find yourself in the U.P., forget about the 12 mile beach, or the lighthouses. Go here. (Or just do those first because once you’ve seen this you’ll be unimpressed by the rest like I was)

That night I finally had electricity for the first time since Pennsylvania, so I cranked the AC, caught up on Netflix, and avoided the mosquitoes. I probably will forget to mention those horrible guys going forward, so just know that I have been bitten more times, and in more places, than I thought was possible. I’ve learned that bug spray only has a hope of working if you spray literally every centimeter of your body, and if you miss a spot, or your clothing moves to reveal a missed spot, they will find it. And they will eat you alive.

Also citronella candles are a joke, but they are a great light source, sometimes giving off more light than my usual dying fire!

The First Week

Here it goes, my first blog post! A little late, but better than never!

We have been on the road for 2 weeks and 4 days already, and a lot has happened in that time, so here's a 'quick' run down of the first week.. (I'll do better at keeping this updated so that they won't be such long posts going forward!)

Prelude:
I had already learned a few key lessons, before ever hitting the official DAY ONE of the road trip....

1. Stabilizer bars are just that, they stabilize. They do NOT support weight. I learned this the hard way before learning the proper way to level my camper, and therefore had crushed 2 of them while spending a month at my mom's house in Connecticut. But that's what I was there for, to iron out my mistakes before I hit the open road! (And to see my adorable newborn nephew 😍)
2. Always get your camper inspected before hastily buying it, so that you don't have to spend $1200 on a new suspension the day before you're set to leave to travel the country.
3. Sometimes cabinets open while you're towing. Sometimes those cabinets contain Moxie, and cans of soda can sometimes explode when they fall, spraying every inch possible..
4. When you take off your sway bars, you can make extremely tight turns. If your kayak is sticking out the back end of your truck, it will puncture a hole in your camper when you make that tight turn 😣
(2-4 all happened on the 12th)

We left from Hatfield, PA on July 13th and headed to Happy Acres Resort in Waterville, PA. I foolishly had checked the weather for Hatfield that morning, no where else, and saw a nice clear day for our first day of driving! Well, we got caught in a downpour on the highway, the kind of white rain that you can't see through. If the truck in front of me had driven off the road, I would've followed right along! But we made it through and safely to our site. When we arrived I immediately met with the unofficial welcoming committee- a young boy, maybe 8-10 years old, who lived with his family in one of the neighboring campers. I don't like kids. Especially after a long day of driving, a hectic long day at that - it was my first day on the road! From the moment I got there it was as if I had gained a shadow. No matter what I said he would not leave me alone. In all of his senseless bantering he did let me know that if was bit by a snake, even if it was poisonous, I could not kill it or I would be fined and maybe put in jail. So at least I would've known my punishment had I crossed a snake that I wanted to kill..

July 14th started off as a pretty dreary, rainy day. I had planned on going to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, but instead decided to take a scenic drive. The rain cleared up along the way and it turned out to be a really nice, sunny day! The road wasn't quite my type of "scenic" though - I had thought it would be all mountaintop views, and while it was all on a mountain, there weren't too many good overlooks. So when I saw a sign that said "Overlook → ", I eagerly turned down the dirt road. Well I drove for awhile and when it kept declining I decided I'd better turn around (I only had 34 miles left in gas, and was about 20 miles from the next town). There wasn't really anywhere to turn around, so I backed off the road into the grass...not thinking about all the rain we had just gotten! Yep - I got stuck. In the next 2 hours I tried: 4WD, jacking up my truck with my floor jack to put boards under the tires, carrying gravel in my shirt to lay in the mud, wondering why my front tires weren't moving in FOUR wheel drive, trying to get cell service to call/text my sister, more carrying gravel..I even tried shoveling with a hammer at one point! (Which I realized later on that I left in the mud 😒) Finally, somehow, I got out, with more mud on my body than on my truck. It wasn't until I got enough cell service to call my sister that she reminded me that I had to lock my hubs in order for 4WD to work on my truck. Oh yeah. 2 hours of ridiculousness which could've been a 2 minute fix! Not my brightest moment, but I still felt very proud that I got myself out and never gave up! And it wasn't a boring day after all!

July 15th we packed up and drove to High Pines RV Park in Kane, PA.

July 16th was a day to explore the Alleghany National Forest area. I started off by going to the Kinzua Bridge State Park, which is a set of old railroad tracks that fell over in a tornado. That doesn't really sound that interesting, nor does it make much sense - how can railroad tracks fall over? And why would I want to go look at them? Well these tracks went over the Kinzua gorge, and were the highest tracks in the world when they were built! At the highest point, they're as tall as the Statue of Liberty! The half that is still standing has been made into a walkway, so that you can walk out to the middle of the gorge and see the amazing view. There's even a glass section on the floor at the very end, but I didn't have the guts to walk on it. It's a strange feeling knowing that you are completely safe, yet being so utterly terrified that you aren't. I kept feeling the bridge move underneath me, but of course it wasn't moving. Just my mind playing tricks on me!

From there I headed to the Alleghany Reservoir to explore some overlooks. And there were a ton of them! Every spot that I found was even more amazing than the last, with endless trails and views of the reservoir from the mountains. I drove along the reservoir up to New York, looking for a place to put my kayak in that wasn't as crowded as the rest of the park. With no luck I circled back down and paid $6 for a day pass. Even though I was only in the water about 10 minutes before the ranger caught me without a life jacket, it was worth it! Paddling through the water surrounded by towering, wooded mountains was amazing. I wish I had known how beautiful the area was - I would've made more time to explore!

On the 17th we drove to Uncle John's Elk Creek Campground in Lake City, PA. After getting set up I drove back to Erie which we had passed earlier, and drove out onto Presque Isle Peninsula. I think the driving had finally gotten to me, combined with a little sunburn I got at the reservoir, I just wasn't feeling a beach scene. Lake Erie was really pretty though. Hard to believe it was a lake, I'm so used to being able to see another side! Seemed more like an ocean - it even had waves!

July 18th I drove into Cleveland, OH to be a typical tourist. The most memorable stop was Heinen's grocery store. It used to be a bank, with the vault still in the meat department, though even for a bank this building was immaculate. It looked like something you would find in a castle! I went up to the second floor to get a better view from the balcony rather than disrupt lunchtime traffic while I looked up at the ceiling! It's pretty amazing how they turned such an incredible building into a grocery store instead of a museum. If you're ever in Cleveland make sure you check it out!

July 19th we officially left Pennsylvania and drove into Ohio. I don't know where exactly we were, just a long dirt road that had a bunch of free campsites on it. It was our first night camping totally off the grid with no electricity or water hook ups, and of course it became the hottest days that we had so far! With no AC, and no outlets to plug any fans in, there really wasn't much I could do to cool down the camper.

On the 20th I drove to find a town to get ice cream for Cooper and I (Cookies and Cream for me, and vanilla for him 😋) The town was tiny and even had it's own Mayor's office! Luckily I also found a hardware store! I bought a battery powered fan and a tarp to hopefully cool down the camper, but it was pretty useless. So with nothing else to do, and no one around, I stripped down and soaked up the sun with a book, while Coop Dog tried to stay cool under the camper. I probably could've filled a bucket with how much I sweat that day. It was gross. Later that day the sky started to get a little dark, so I moved to a campsite down the road that was a little more accessible. The site that we had been at was a gravel loop with a steep entrance, probably shouldn't have parked there to begin with but I was determined and made it work!

And that was week 1! I'll post a recap for week 2 soon!