So far, South Dakota is pretty great. I mean, sure, there’s a lot of nothing here. Grassy prairies stretching as far as the eye can see, without even a tree or ramshackle old barn to break the horizon between land and sky. But we’ve also discovered a lot of something here… and some of that …
Continue reading ‘Michelangelos, Missiles, and Mauvaises Terres’ »
For the part of this trip when we weren’t supposed to be doing much, we sure did a lot. We spent a full week in Iowa, and I do mean a full week. Honestly, at this point I can’t even remember what happened when—so rather than trying to sum it all up chronologically (in what …
On the afternoon that a bunch of white supremacist idiots marched in Virginia and murdered a young woman named Heather Heyer, I found myself crossing from New Mexico into Oklahoma, the state where a smaller group of white supremacist idiots killed 168 people in 1995. From a forensic perspective, there’s no direct connection between these …
Continue reading ‘Santa Fe to Des Moines, via Charlottesville’ »
NOTE: This post was written on May 13, but was “embargoed” for a few days to preserve the surprise of a birthday visit to Maureen’s sister in Santa Cruz. More on that soon… It’s a cool morning in Joshua Tree National Park and I’m savoring the chill, aware that it won’t last long. By 8 …
Three weeks ago, we pulled out of Moss Beach and shifted this trip into drive. We return our rental trailer at 2:00pm tomorrow, bringing our “R-podyssey” to an end. If you’ve read our previous posts, you’re aware that things haven’t exactly gone as planned. The big headaches–Zora’s gastrointestinal issues, the recurring “check engine” light, Maureen’s …
When it comes to travel, I’m a planner. I spend months researching destinations and accommodations, secure reservations far in advance, and generally am most relaxed when sticking to an itinerary. In the immortal words of Colonel “Hannibal” Smith, “I love it when a plan comes together.” So this trip has pushed me wayyyyy outside my …
Just a quick update on our increasingly erratic progress: We decided to keep north of the Heat Dome™, and are currently at a KOA campground near Craters of the Moon National Monument. This is our first real commercial RV park since night one of our trip. And it’s kind of awesome. Don’t get me wrong: …
This was supposed to be the post where we talk about our adventures in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. And our original itinerary had us in Utah tonight and for the next 4 days. But our trip has taken another turn, and we’ve had to turn with it. Zora’s tummy issues have persisted to the point …
NOTE: This post is now almost two days behind “real-time.” We did finally make it to Yellowstone and then Grand Teton, where we are camping for the next few nights. Details on that in our next post, but first here’s yesterday’s news… We just spent a restless night in the parking lot of Randy’s Auto …
Instead of Madison Campground in the park, we’re camping in the parking lot of a repair shop in West Yellowstone. I’m not sure how to review that on Yelp! So far I’d give the mechanic high marks for skills and service, but as a campsite they leave something to be desired.
In West Yellowstone trying to find a mechanic who can see us. Oh, and the dog has explosive diarrhea. Awesome!
I never thought I’d be missing the 100-degree heat at the start of this trip. But it’s 45 degrees and raining sideways here in Deer Lodge, MT. Good weather for truck stop coffee and pie. (Bonus: our waitress is named Bobbi Jo and calls me “hon.”)
It was sunny while it was raining. Mike drank a lot of coffee. Everyone under 40 was vaping and wore flannel and beards (even some of the women). We saw guys throw fish at each other. We really liked Seattle. People were friendly and there were so many interesting things to see and do. The …
There’s nothing quite like the first time dumping your RV sewage tank to motivate you to use the campground bathrooms more often.
The consensus among RVers is that Oregon has some of the nicest state park campgrounds in the country. As temporary members of the RV community, we’ve now camped in three Oregon parks and I think it’s safe to say that we’ve jumped on the Beaver State bandwagon. While researching this trip, I became obsessed with …
This post is brought to you by C&M Auto in Yuba City, CA Everything was running like clockwork. Until it wasn’t. We left Mike’s parents’ house in Napa at 8:15—as scheduled. We got to the trailer rental place in Placerville at 10:15—as scheduled. And we pulled out for points northward before noon—as scheduled. And then …
Stuck in Yuba City with the check engine blues again.
A wise man once wrote that “the most important ingredient in any successful endeavor is preparation.” OK, so that wise man was me. But I’m sure a quick Google search would reveal that many more celebrated and better documented wise men have said something similar—especially when you consider that it’s a pretty bland sentiment. Preparing …
Maureen, Zora, and I are about to become canned goods. Tomorrow we start a 3-week camping trip, driving our truck and towing a rented travel trailer. That means 300+ pounds of human and 85 pounds of canine sharing 144 square feet of living space for 3,000 miles and most of June. Talk about family bonding. …
Um, so sorry we missed your birthday America. And maybe this is an awkward time to tell you that we’ve kinda been seeing other countries for a couple months. But you really look great, and it just feels so natural to be with you again. P.S., Got any decent beer in the fridge?