End of the road

Hello All!  It's been 9 months, 10 countries, 23 states, 10,000 miles driven in the U.S., and finally we're done.

Today, after scooting through the ranches of Montana, over the imposing Rockies, and wheat fields of eastern Washington, we finally reached our final destination: Home. And it was fitting that our final night in the van was a bit of an adventure/ridiculous event. The choice was to backtrack a bit to Spokane (from the casino where we won $45!!) or keep heading west to the small town of Davenport where Sarah "knew" there was an RV park. So we headed west and found a motel/RV park that made the Bates Motel look inviting. Luckily there was a sign for a campground 20 miles away so off we went into the darkest of nights. Turns out, the campground was completely empty, eerily silent, and a raging wildfire was burning across the lake. Then Sarah "definitely heard" a bear so we jump back in the van and drive all the way back out - 20 more miles. Now it's late and dark and we have no destination.

New plan = drive all night. On and on, up and down, through the rolling hills, fields of blackness, and then like an oasis in the desert, like a beacon of light in a scary storm, we find Wilbur, Washington and the Bell RV Park. And here, on the side of the road, sandwiched between a couple of mobile homes for a whopping $15 we spend our very last night of our three month road trip and nine month travel experience. Perfect.

But what a trip we had! It has been an amazing experience. People often want to know about our favorite places. But really, every place was our favorite because in every place we learned and saw something new and met somebody new, too. We cannot stress how nice and helpful people have been to us as we moved around the country, and what a delight it was to chitchat with all of them. The scenery has been astounding with every state having something unique to offer. And living in the van...well...it was definitely memorable... check out the video we made below.

So THANK YOU to all of you for following us around the USA and the world. We hope you enjoyed our blatherings. We both feel we could not have completed the trip without so much love and support from home (thanks for the supportive/fun/funny comments on the blog, for loaning us clothes and books, for listening to us whine when things got tough, for letting us stay in your homes, for always being there when we needed you).

For the next month, we'll be living in Winthrop, Washington where we'll be stationary for a bit until we can move back home in July. We look forward to catching up with all of you when we return or seeing you up in the Methow Valley this June!

Love,
Sarah and Vanessa

SoDak!

Most of you know that I (V) was born in South Dakota and that my grandparents and extended family still live there.  I have not driven through the state in over a decade  so this seemed like great opportunity to not only visit my grandparents but also re-discover this part of the country so important in my family history.Our first stop was Vermillion in far southeast corner of the state.  Surrounded by farmland, it's a real all-American town where you can ride your bike to the pool and buy breakfast for $2.  

Each day we visited with various family members over an artery-clogging meal of broasted chicken, fried cheeseballs and/or mushrooms and thoroughly enjoyed every minute.  The special treat to our visit was the time we spent in the Dakota Gardens senior living center where my grandparents now reside.  We went to coffee in the afternoon and visited with the other residents who were very much interested in our trip.  One evening, we played dominos in the tv lounge with

Blanche, Julie, Eileen, Leone, Joann and Minnie (desperately trying to catch some election results between plays).  But the most fun was the slideshow we created of pictures from our travels abroad.   

What fun it was!  We took them around the world showing them homes, clothes, towns and most importantly food (hot topic!) from around the globe.  Afterwards, everyone stayed and soon were sharing their own travel stories---men shared military stories, women told of their own Rosie the Riveter moments. And in the end we received thanks and smiles, but I think we were the lucky ones to have shared time with them.

Next we headed west to the Badlands National Park and then to the Black Hills and Rapid City

 where I was born.  This is a truly magical part of the country where fascinating landscapes and an abundance of activities lie all within such a small area, it's easy to do everything.  In Rapid City we headed to the local high school to see Bill Clinton.  

We stood only a few rows back and Sarah even shook his hand.  (Note the black-haired beauty close to Clinton) It was interesting to hear the locals talk politics.  Many commented how 'closeted' they were in this faithfully red state and how surprising it was to see so many Democrats (1500 showed up:). 

 

We enjoyed a wonderful drive through the barren, crumbling, conical shapes of pink and orange - or the Badlands.  Our favorite bit was stopping to watch birds, prairie dogs and

 pronghorn on the high prairie.  To spice it up, Sarah convinced one of the park workers that they were once called the 'Good' Lands!  In the Black Hills, we were pleasantly surprised by the beauty and the number of things to do.  We gambled in the saloons 0f Deadwood and then got snowed out. We saw bison and goats in our campground in Custer park.   The heads of Mt.Rushmore and Crazy Horse mesmerized us both in their beauty and scope.  

The scenic drives took us past the most amazing rock formations and beautiful pine forests and our hearts got pumping when driving the van through tunnels just big enough to fit. Finally at Devils Tower (actually in Wyoming but still part of the Black Hills Forest) we marveled at its mysticism camping in its shadow.   This is one area that we know we want to return.  Truly amazing and easy to enjoy.

Overall I'd say our trip to SoDak was a hit.  In a place where so many think there is nothing, there is truly so much.  From farmland to badland, to prairie to mountains, from history to gambling, from wild west to wildlife - South Dakota is a spectacular state - even if I'm a little biased.  But best of all - as with so many places - were the friendly people we met.  

Frank Lloyd Wright

Architects may come and 

Architects may go and 

Never change your point of view.  ----Simon & Garfunkel

How much do you know about Frank Lloyd Wright?  If you're like me (Sarah), you know he was the topic of this Simon and Garfunkel tune, you think he designed the Guggenheim Museum, and your 90% sure he was American - (apologies to our dearest architect friend Leann for my ignorance).  Turns out he's even more interesting than all that as we learned during our visit to Cedar Rock - a home he designed and built for a weathy Iowan, Lowell Walter and his wife.

To put it simply - Frankie was a bit of a weirdo - a real control freak, and frankly (ha ha), a poor builder.  Wright only signed the homes he built when everything about the building, and I mean ever

ything right down to the silverware, was according to his standards.  For the poor Lowells, that also meant sleeping in separate beds which he claimed would lead to better sleep (Mrs. Lowell wanted a double bed but he nixed that), having no storage space (no garage!) to prevent clutter of the mind, choosing all the interior decorations - even building all of the furniture, and oking the dishware.  He even had to approve items brought into the home years after completion.  And he would "drop by" over the years to make sure things were up to snuff!  

But apparently he wasn't too anal about functionality.  The roof, which was sort of upturned and 'unique' in various ways, leaked like a sieve, and they've now covered it with modern roofing material.  And the fireplaces, purposely sunken for better fire viewing, filled the house up with so much smoke that old Lowell could never use them.  So there you go - that's what you get 

for $1500,00 in 1950.

You might think the design was so cool that maybe it outweighed Wright's eternal presence and the damp, smokey carpets.  Well, Vanessa thought it looked like an old community center - dark brick, low roof, no windows (on the driveway side anyway) - very institutional.  But to me, the light-filled living room made up for almost all flaws.  Completely encased in window walls, it was like living outside.  Plus, he's got a point about the clutter and good sleep.  I give Frank a B+ (A+ for creativity, C- for practicality, B for use of horizontal lines).  It's amazing what you can learn in the middle of nowhere in Iowa.  

America's Heartland

As you can see from the map, we have travelled a great distance in just a few days thanks to the existence of America's Heartland.  The breadbasket of our nation provides very straight, flat roads.  Now some books suggest there is nothing to see in this part of the country and maybe that is partly true in that there are no grand national parks or areas normally considered "scenic", but compared to the rest of the country, isn't the midwest unique?

We've been up and down the peaks and valleys, traversed through deserts, forests, and swamps, but where else is it flat to the horizon day after day, and if you really think about it - aren't all those farms kind of amazing?  Miles and miles of farms in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois - think of the work to create and maintain all of that land for all of these years.  And what about all that food? So much of what we eat, what the world eats, comes right from this very land.  Although now many corn fields market ethanol rather than corn on the cob.

And the towns, too, are different from what we have seen thus far.  You hear about those tired towns where industry has come and gone, the places where people might be "bitter".  And then you actually see those towns on the Ohio River - where the houses aren't remodeled and sold for $1 million, where the brick buildings are crumbling in empty downtowns, and factories block all the views. You can't help but realize how lucky you are to live in a vibrant place.  

So much of our nation's history runs through these fields and townships.  On the Historic National Road -  the first federally funded highway built in 1806 - we saw lots of smaller farms with farmhouses intact, and the weathered brick storefronts of middle America type towns complete with lamppost and billowing flag lined mainstreets.  It's like Leave it to Beaver - oozing with goodness and simplicity.  You really could feel the making of America in these little towns, even if we were eating fried mushrooms at a Frosty Boy.

And this is the Land of Lincoln for pete's sake!  Where else are you going to find the world's largest Lincoln statue or "finger Lincoln good" chicken wings?

Proud Sister

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to post a 30-second video of my brother Mike. He just got a new job at the museum, and I think he's really talented. Take a look. More from the road soon...

Buster's Twin!

While camping at the KOA in Richmond, Indiana, we met Shelby, Buster's long lost cousin.  Can you see the resemblance?  

We've added a few more photos to our Flickr site---the link is on the right side of this page.

 

Headin' Home

As you can see gas prices are increasing, and living in a van is getting a little cramped, so we've decided to cut short the mileage and head for home.  We would have loved to continue sightseeing east coast attractions and will sorely miss not meeting up with friends Sue & Dan in Ottawa and Bob & Loretta in New Jersey.  Asheville was our turnaround spot and now we're in a KOA in Richmond, Indiana conveniently located right beside the freeway.  And I mean RIGHT BESIDE the freeway!

We'll keep blogging until we get home.  Thanks for all the love and support along the way!

S, V & B

Great Smoky Mountains and Puke

Vanessa and I spent the past week in the Great Smoky Mountains.  In the end we had a wonderful time but our arrival was not as relaxing as we had hoped.  First, we discovered that the Smokies are actually somewhat mountainous and Appalachians do not believe in switchbacks.  Our cabin was perched on the top of steepest driveway known to man - at least 20% grade!  Big Brown made it up, but coming down was a different story.  On one of the turns, our bike rack started scraping along the pavement, and we had to disassemble the rack MID-HILL just to out of the driveway.  So we ditched that cabin and began searching for another.

Fortunately we did find another which was still on an incline, but manageable.  Things were looking up until, when reaching into the cupboard to a glass, a cockroach scurried up the side of the cabinet.  I must be mellowing because I only let out a scream, not a blood-curdling shriek as I would have in the past.  That aside, the cabin was peaceful and we enjoyed several days of relaxation.  The spring colors were starting to take shape around the cabin, so it seemed appropriate to take Buster's senior photos.  Take a look:

We also found out that our brakepads needed replacing thanks to some friendly Ford

 mechanics who did our oil change.  Two days later we had new brakes and an invitation to a luncheon in the garage.  Vanessa enjoyed chicken casserole and butterscotch pie while hanging with two Ford guys and two guys from Napa autoparts who came across the street for some home cookin'.

After a few days of hot tub soaking, we headed to Elkmont campground in the Smokies. We snagged a riverside campsite, and met a couple of nice people.  One guy even left all his wood for us (score!), enough to burn a fire from 2pm to 9pm the following day.  The weather was perfect for an all-day fire, and we did in fact sit around it for seven hours.  The next day we took a six-mile hike through along a picture perfect river lined with blooming wildflowers and winding through a colorful leafy forest.  The Smokies are truly beautiful!

Now we're on the road again, and just in case you're wondering what we talk about for the hours and hours and hours we spend on the road, here are a couple of snippets:

Indecision:  

S:  Hey, Vanessa.  Do you think we should get gas?

V:  I don’t know.  Are we out?

S:  No, we’ve got a tank and a half, but it’s only $3.23; that’s a good deal.

V:  But we only need 1/2 a tank.

S:  So you don’t want to stop?

V:  If you think we should.

S:  Oh, crap, we just missed the exit.  Never mind.

Buster:  Endlessly fascinating discussions.

S/V:  “Buster!  How are you today”

B:  Blank look.

S/V:  “What are you thinkin’ little buddy?  Want to go to Tennessee?”

B:  Scatching of ear.

S/V:  “Yeah you wanna go to Tennessee!” 

B:  Licking.

S/V: “Whose the best dog in Tennessee?”

B:  More licking.

S/V:  “That’s right!  Buster Brown!  You da dog!  You da man!”

B:  Body flop and eyes close.

Genius Debates:

S:  Which do you think is more indispensable:  the fork or the spoon?

V:  Uh, I don’t know.

S:  But if you were forced to decide.

V:  Probably the fork.

S:  No Way!  The spoon.  Unquestionably the spoon!  You could no longer be 

able to eat any liquids.  How would you eat ice cream?  Soup would be impossible.  The fork?  Ridiculous.

V:  Whatever.

Misunderstandings.

S:  We’re going to take Interstate 40 to Asheville, right?

V:  Yes, it should be the next exit.

S:  We might have passed it.

V:  #@!#&%$!

S:  Relax, I can take the next exit.

V:  No, I’m not talking about that.  Buster just puked on me!! ( This really happened and was disgusting.)

Patriotism:

S:  Let’s sing America songs because we’re traveling across America.  

V:  Ok, how about God Bless America?

S:  Great.

S & V:  God bless America, land that I love.  Stand beside her, and guide her to the ...mumble, mumble, unintelligible...sound trailing off...

V:  Um, how about that other one with the purple mountains?

S:  Oh yeah - uh - what is it called?  Purple mountains majesties...

V:  Yeah yeah and amber waves of grain..

S & V:  AMERICA! AMERICA! God shed his grace on thee!!!!  And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!!!!

Walkin' in Memphis

Memphis is a great city:  full of life, history, and music.  Our first stop was the Lorraine Motel, site of the National Civil Rights museum, and the site where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.  Having taught the Civil Rights movement to 8th graders for the past several years (this is Sarah writing), I was excited to see this famous spot and to learn more.  The museum turned out to be overwhelming, a visual explosion of pictures, old tv clips, placards, timelines and memorabilia.  The main focus is African Americans' struggle for equal rights (little mention of the struggle for latino, women, or gay rights).  The best part was seeing the room in which Dr. King stayed the last night of his life.  Half-filled coffee cups, ashtrays littered with cigarettes, that day's newspaper on the bed made the hotel room come to life.  It was an odd juxtaposition:  the normalcy of the room contrasted with the larger-than-life exhibit in the museum. The worst part was struggling with the question of how a site like this should be commemorated.  A protester outside told us the $11 million spent to build and maintain the museum should have instead gone to fund low-income housing for the poor in Memphis.  Tough call.  Do you preserve a historical site to teach future generations or help the current generation live better?  We walked by the numerous vacant and dilapidated buildings of Memphis and wondered if our $12 entry fee would have been better spent contributing to the food bank.

The next part of our visit was much easier:  Beale Street.  We enjoyed lunch while listening to the Lousiana Mojo Queen belt out soul music and flirt with the men.  When Vanessa walked up to put some money in her tip jar, she said, "Thank you, dahrling.  Well, now that you've fed momma's tip jar, I need to sing my song."  She proceeded to sing a provocative, "Feed My Kitty" which prompted everyone else in the place to follow Vanessa's lead and drop some money into her 5-gallon tip bucket.  

Next, we visited Graceland.  I'm not sure, but I think it's one of the most visited sites in the world.  The staff clearly understands this and ushers you through the exhibits with the precision of a military operation.  Graceland is smaller than I imagined.  The house is homey, drips in 70's style, and houses most of Elvis's gold/platinum records as well as his famous pantsuits. 

 Visitors can tour the mansion, walk through the Lisa Marie Airplane, and gawk at his fabulous car collection.  I also tried Elvis's favorite treat:  fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.  Tasty, but a bit too sweet. Elvis was a legend, and despite the gaudiness of his home or the circus-like atmosphere that surrounds it now, you can't help but look at the his video clips and not love the guy.

We also dropped by Sun Records, famous for producing Johnny Cash, and dipped into the Gibson Guitar Company.  As you can see, I don't need a real instrument as I play a mean air guitar on my own.

We're in Chattanooga tonight and then head off to the Smoky Mountains soon.  Thanks for continuing our journey with us!

Happy Birthday, Vanessa!!!

April 10 is Vanessa's 29th birthday. I'm going to treat her to the best steak dinner in Little Rock, Arkansas. Send your best wishes to this beautiful, generous, positive, smart and caring person. I LOVE YOU, V! xoxo

South-Central USA

The southern-central USA is not a place that one would generally choose as a vacation destination - right? All those jokes about Texas or the south - rednecks, hillbillies, sauna like humidity and on and on - some of that must be true, yes?  Well, some of it is true of course, but those are the same reasons why you might come - to find the truth and to find what these places are really like.  And of course when you come in with low expectations, you often leave pleasantly surprised.  So here are a few of the reasons we'd come back to the south-central USA:

Hill Country, TX:   This area is covered in rolling hills of pasture and stubby pine trees, cute towns with historic buildings selling art, antiques, and dog treats, 

and Lyndon B Johnson museums and hometown.

Austin, TX:  Fabulous city full of great bars, great food, great live music.  Plus

 the UT campus is there with interesting exhibits and festivals (we saw a “Beat” generation exhibit and Indian Holi festival).  And there is a river front trail for walking and biking - right downtown.

Southwestern, LA:  This is Cajun country where all the signs are in French and the food tasted like heaven - crawfish, shrimp, fried, fried, fried and cafe au laits!  The entire area is infiltrated with water - you are on the bayou - and it has created beautiful wildlife refuges where you can walk and drive and see amazing birds and alligators up close. The culture and history is easy to access with exhibits and music at museums and street parties in small towns.  These people love a party!

North/Central Arkansas:   This area is a postcard perfect scenic area.  You can drive through small backroads winding up and over the Ozark, through quaint towns and farms, and capturing excellent views of river valleys or you can hike through leafy forests, along landscaped looking creeks tumbling over sandstone slabs.  Stay in a cabin built by the CCC in the 30's and then visit early 20th century hotspring bathhouses - maybe even take one and enjoy the old time opulence yourself.  We savored secret BBQ recipe at a local diner and wandered through art galleries (did you know Hot Springs, AR is the #4 best art town?)

And another plus to all of these places is 70-80 degree temps in March and that southern hospitality is really true!  So you see - there are some fun places to visit in this great country that you might not expect.  From these experiences I know we're going to infuse our future vacations with "odd" places because it's there that we always learn the most!

Fine Print - Ok so there are some less desirable things about these places which should be mentioned:  West Texas smells like oil and is littered with the world's highest density of roadkill,  Louisiana has nasty, make you want to hurl ticks and little green inchworms that fall from the sky, and Arkansas has dry counties and no alcohol sales on Sunday.  There are some Confederate flags about - just a few - and you can't find too much health food. Oh and it's tornado season apparently and thunderstorms with inch sized hail are expected.  We're off to find shelter.  More soon...

No Foolin'!

I wish I could say that the following events are my attempt at an April Fool's joke, but unfortunately everything is true.

Our day started out lovely, packing up from a delightful stay in Chicot State Park near Ville Platte, Louisiana. Despite being invaded by inchworms, we cooked over the fire, went on nature trail walks, and took mountain bike rides. Southern Louisiana is swampy, lush, humid, and littered with crawfish shacks waiting to serve "Cajun home cookin'".

Then the day took a turn for worse. We were driving along Interstate 30 from Shreveport to Hot Springs, AR, when we heard a "whap whap whap". "What the “heck” is that?" I asked Vanessa who just looked out the window and said, "Pull over, the tire is shredding." We made it to the side of the road and called AAA. I-30’s could be “Semi Speedway” as almost every vehicle that barreled by was a giant 18-wheeler doing 70mph (the speed limit). Arkansas has had a recent road safety promotion reminding people it is the law to move over to the next lane when there is a vehicle with flashing lights. To their credit, every driver who could moved over, but some were going so fast that they couldn't merge into the left lane fast enough which meant speeding semi in the left lane, speeding semi in the right lane and little brown van on the side of the road with two shivering girls and a surprisingly oblivious chihuahua. It was at this point Vanessa discovered a blood-engorged tick on Buster's neck. I admit to a little vomit coming up into my mouth.

Eventually, the tow truck did arrive and a very kind gentleman changed our tire, not seeming to notice the dangers telling us about his wife who didn't know how to drive a standard transmission. Arkansas people have guts!

Tire changed, we limped to the nearest hotel and checked in. At that point a thunderstorm struck with a vengeance. The distance from the van to the hotel entrance was about 20 feet, and in that moment of sprinting to the door my clothes under my shirt, I was completely drenched. I've never experienced that much water coming down in that short of time. Now, we were wet, tired, dirty and just wanting to relax in a clean comfortable room. I plopped down on the bed (before removing the bedcover of course---we've all seen that bugmite 20/20, haven't we?) and immediately realized I had left a window open in top part of the van! I jumped up, grabbed the keys and bolted from the room. I use the word bolted because when I opened the door too quickly, the silver latching lock swung over and I smacked my forehead into with such force it knocked me to the ground. Dazed but still panicked about the lake forming in the van, I ran outside, again getting soaked from head to toe, only to find out I had indeed closed the window.

Needless to say spending the next day at Arkadelphia's Tire Store was not a highlight of the trip. But we survived, we're still smiling, and we've got four new tires to take us down the road...wherever that might be. Hope your April started off on a better note.

So Many Nice Americans

When we set out on this journey, it was my hope that we would return feeling like we were participating members of this world and of this country.  It seems these days we often feel we have little in common with Americans from other regions, religions, parties and so on - we focus on the differences instead of the similarities.  And it sometimes feels, to me at least, that we have little appreciation for our fellow Americans who live differently than us.  But you know there are a lot of really nice people out there - just friendly people who are happy to listen to your stories and tell you theirs.  So tonight I'd like to give some props to all the nice people out there whom we have met along our way.  Here are a few of them:

Kevin and Dana Lohenry from Glendale, Arizona:  Kevin and Dana were sitting on top of a big, red rock in Sedona when we came upon them during one of our hikes.  Buster, as usual, starts the conversation ("What a cute dog.  Is he a chihuahua?").  They were very interested in our world travels and asked lots of questions while also sharing their experiences.  Kevin is the director of physician's assistant program and wanted to know our thoughts on the quality of medical care for GLBT patients.  An hour later they invited us to the university's alumni dinner at the Hilton Resort and Spa - which we did in fact crash that night.  They introduced us to PA's at the party - some students, some practitioners - and each person wanted to know about our trip.  After the party, they asked us to come out to karaoke.  One student even bought me a tequila shot!  And at the end of the night Kevin told me to feel free to contact him if I had any questions about the PA profession and that if we went to Tucson we should call because they had friends there that could show us around.  Isn't that soooo nice?

Bill Bladt from Sedona, Arizona:  We actually met Bill on the same hike as Kevin and Dana.  He came up to me and told me I looked just like his daughter Allison (Do you see any similarity in this picture?  Hint: not the baby).  I happened to be wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses so I think my headshape must have been the key factor.  Anyway, he was so tickled by this similarity that he asked to take my picture!  

Joe from Demming, New Mexico:  We ran into Joe at the Vietnam Memorial in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.  He was having a coffee break from his weekend motorcycle ride and we had stopped to have lunch.  He was sitting alone so we went over to chat.  Joe was Korean War vet who retired from Minnesota to New Mexico with his wife.  A few months after they arrived, his wife got Alzheimer's.  He took care of her for 11 years before she died and clearly he was of the mind that each day he had was special and to be enjoyed.  We talked about the pointlessness of war and the poverty in America.  He joked that the New Mexico state tree is the telephone pole, and the state flower was a plastic Wal-Mart bag which litter the highways :)  Joe was just a really nice guy who was so pleased to visit with us in the warm sunshine of the desert.  

Angelica from Albuquerque, New Mexico:  Angelica came into the bar where we were listening to our friend Susan's co-worker's band.  That's a mouthful.   She came in near the end of the set and sat down to have a drink.  We started chatting and I told her we were visiting from out of town, that we had been traveling and yada yada.  Well, she was so excited about our trip and wanted to know about all the places we visited and what it was like.  Then she wanted to know what we thought of New Mexico and apologized for the weather being so poor ( it was really really really windy that day).  She said, "Please come back again when the weather is better.  Please!"  And she really meant it.  I felt like we could have asked her to let us stay in her house - she was that warm and friendly.  

Since we miss our friends and family a great deal, it's comforting to share time with such kind people.

Buster has also made new friends and comments that "dogs are also really nice across America.  And their butts smell interesting."  (note:  this is Sarah's contribution to the blog entry)

Off to Louisiana!

Goofus and Doofus Go RVing

Have you ever seen the movie "RV" with Robin Williams?  If you have, then you can skip this entry and just imagine our faces in his place.  For the rest of you who think we are fairly intelligent people, read on, and keep an open mind about remaining friends with us yahoos.

A couple of days ago, we had the RV day from hell.  We woke up to a brilliant dese

rt morning at the OK RV Park in Holbrook, AZ just off old Route 66. Eager to eat breakfast at the famous Joe and Aggie's Cafe, we started our RV shutdown routine.  Now the day before I had decided to do a little organizing and found that our shower - that we use for storage - was partially filled with what appeared to be waste water (I'll leave the liquid description out).  Hmmm...turns out the waste tank monitor doesn't work, and since we're oblivious, we let the tank overflow and back up into the shower.  Yum.  So on this fine day we decided to dump again for safe measure.  First I had to remove the "poop tube" as we call it.  

Idiot move #1:  Bending over to find my rubber gloves, I leaned into the heater

exhaust thingamajig and burned a big hole in my only fleece - a big cigar burn - great.  

Idiot move #2:  After successfully dumping the waste into the sewer without making any contact with the poop tube, we start to clean the tube with water using a hose.  Sarah aims the spray down the tube while I hold it upright.  Easy enough, yes?  No.  She says, "Wiggle it around to get the sides."  So I wiggle and the spray hits the edge of the tube and flies up into her face and hair.  I then drop the tube, and it splashes all over my shoes.  

Idiot move #3:  We get cleaned up and head to the Petrified Forest Nat'l Park.  Admittedly I took the turn a little fast and then Crash!  Wincing, we turn around and find a whole saucepan of chicken-water (I had poached chicken the night before and left the pan on the stove) dumped all over the carpet.  So now we're driving in a can of chicken noodle soup.  Buster immediately lapped it up to help. 

 

Fortunately there are places that will shampoo RV carpet (who knew?) which we did in Gallup, NM a couple hours later.  And if these trials and tribulations weren't enough, we also dealt with constant 30-40 mph winds, that had we done any research, we may have learned is the Spring norm in northern AZ and NM.  It followed us all day, whipping sand in our eyes, smacking us in the face.  I guess that was Mother Nature's punishment for being morons.

Southwest Quiz

Well, it's been six months since I've written a pop quiz. So I don't get out of practice, I thought I'd give everyone a video quiz. There are five questions. Can you get 100%?

Wild West WiFi

Now that I have recovered from my long dry journey through the salt flats of DEATH VALLEY in flip flops with no water or sunscreen, I will tell you a little more about the last couple weeks. We are currently in Cameron, AZ just east of the Grand Canyon and are staying in a Navajo Nation hotel that actually has WiFi. Although we enjoyed hunkering down inside the van at night outside a business or standing behind the Motel 6 in the cold to get a connection, it's also nice to sit in a real bed with heat while checking your email. But no purchased connection has ever come close to "lolas motorhome" which has an astounding download rate of 4000 Kbps -  if you stood in the corner of the Quality Inn and RV Park Laundromat in Springdale, Utah. Besides spending significant time stealing WiFi, we've managed to see a great many amazing landscapes of the Western USA. And it really is phenomenal if you think about the diversity that you can cover in a just a few days. We've seen brown dirt, red dirt, orange dirt, green dirt, gray dirt and black dirt. And then there are ridges, mountains, hills, and mesas. We've driven to 9,000 ft and then to -300 ft - all within 2 hours! And you can see all of it - because there aren't any trees for hundreds and hundreds of miles.

People have been really nice as well - helping us unload our RV waste (that's really fun), filling our propane, giving us recommendations and directions. Maybe we're a bit of a novelty - two girls and a chihuahua in big brown van - but whatever. I do have to say that I have a new appreciation for RVers. For one, they are very nice - sometimes a little chatty but it's nice to talk to people after 5 months of talking only to Sarah. And now that we are crammed in that not so big van, I can see why one might buy an entire home on wheels. We're even a little jealous at times - all that space, a full kitchen, March Madness, not having to step on the couch to step onto the counter to crawl up to the bed. And they can be really creative too - like building a yard complete with a fence out of that green astro turf, cinder blocks and 2x4's in front of their RV door in the middle of an RV park behind a motel. That's really neat.

That's enough rambling for now. We're on to more of the southwest in search of cactus and another lola. And don't worry - we're safe with the help of our ferocious dog.

On our way to ???

Well, we've been out of touch for a while due to the lack of internet access. Funny how it was easier to get online in Nepal than in the U.S. I think we were more motivated to let our families know we were alive :)

The Big Brown Van has visited Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona. It's a tight fit at times (I've nicknamed the sleeping area "the coffin"), but overall the van has performed admirably (Thank you, Rudy!).

Quick story: During our drive through Death Valley, we got into an argument which sent Vanessa to the back of van in frustration. We drove in silence for a while and then I stopped to take a picture of the scenery. I informed Vanessa, "I'm going to take a picture," then jumped out of the driver's side, snapped a photo, jumped back in, and drove away. About 10 minutes later I took a turn a bit too fast and a drawer fell out. "Are you going to pick that up?" I asked. No response. "Oh, so now you're not talking to me?" No response. "Fine. I'll pull over and pick it up myself." No response. When I pulled over, I realized Vanessa wasn't in the van. She must have gotten out to stretch her legs when I took my picture. Panicked that she was walking along the desert highway, I turned around and floored it back to her. When we saw each other, we burst out laughing and the fight was over. Fortunately Buster was ignorant of the entire scary episode.

More soon.