Our RV is built on a Dodge Sprinter van chassis. As it happened, in the ENTIRE state of Montana, there was only one Dodge Sprinter dealer…ONE!! The good news was that we weren’t too far away from it. The bad news was that it was in the opposite direction of Butte. I was sooo disappointed. So naturally that day I didn’t feel like blogging that day either because I had planned to say, “Thanks for the suggestion, we had a great time! We did this, this, and this, etc.”

So we park at Wal-Mart and drive the last 20 miles or so to the dealer. The owner was a really nice guy. Unfortunately, he tells us that it’s going to 4 days to get the broken part in. There was no way we could camp in his parking lot in that small town for 4 days. We called the Winnebago factory (since that was our next big stop) and they suggested another Dodge dealer for us in Iowa. This guy told us that we might be able to make it Iowa if we didn’t have to go through any more hills, so CM and I decided to take our chances.

We made it to Yosemite the next day and we only had to restart the car a handful of times. There’s only one word to describe our time there: Crazy!

He was middle-aged and had this Indiana Jones like hat and he was very very tan with a mustache and a beard. He was wearing hiking boots and a fleece sweater, and his eyes were strikingly blue. I also noticed that he was missing a finger on one of his hands. This guy seemed like he was right off the pages of a book on exploring. He could have been an extra in “3:10 to Yuma”.

Anyhoo, we got off at our stop and I never even glanced back at the stranger. Once we got on the trail, CM jumped and made a little noise. I realized that he was standing 3 feet away from a deer! We all scrambled to get our cameras out. I got one shot of him and I think CM got some video. The kids were so giddy.

We knew this was the start to a great hike. (Mind you, we didn’t know at that time that we would be out there for 4 hours.) About 10 minutes later we turned a curve and we saw the guy from the bus. He was sitting down in the forest eating something. To my horror, Widget asked him what he was eating. He said he was picking huckleberries and eating them.

Huckleberries. I don’t know about you, but I have never eaten anything that just happened to be growing along side of a trail. I didn’t know what to say when he offered Widget a handful, but I decided to throw caution to the wind. This guy looked like he’d done this before and if he said they were okay to eat, he was probably right. (I mean, I know that huckleberries are edible, but my concern was that he had misidentified the plant.)

So I totally broke Rule #1 in my “Parental Playbook” — Don’t take food from strangers! This entire experience, from the day that I listed all of our stuff for sale on Craigslist, has really changed the way I view strangers. I have met so many new and interesting people. People that I would have never met had I would have stayed in that little box of an apartment. I walked through a forest and I stopped every now and then to eat friggin wild huckleberries! Yeah, “Old KJ” would have been terrified at the idea and that makes me happy and let’s me know that all of this was worth it.

After we left Glacier Park, disaster struck. I’ll tell you about it next time.

At one point on the trail, we started thinking about turning back. We had been out there with no end in sight and the last shuttle bus left our trail area in 3 hours. CM wanted to continue on for 45 minutes and if we didn’t see a sign he thought we should turn around. At this point trail curved steeply upward and Widget decided that he wanted to turn around. I couldn’t breathe after carrying Midget for ten paces, so I wanted to turn around. I think that when we finally saw some other hikers. They told us we only had a mile and a half to go. I was happy and PO’d at the same time. I thought this thing was only a mile and a half to begin with!

When we finally reached the road we were all so excited. We had this feeling of “We did it and not only did we do it, but we did it as a family!” I don’t think even Midget will forget that day. When I was writing that post the other day I had to go through photos to find one to post. As soon as she saw the pics she said, “Mommy, I don’t want to go to the forest.” CM & I both laughed.

Unfortunately, the kids missed a lot of the scenery because we started driving before they woke up, but they seemed pretty in to it once they started looking out of their windows.

The roads are so curvy and most of the buildings we saw were either farm houses, Ma and Pa groceries, or gas stations. Every town we drove through seemed so quaint and full of character. Widget took plenty of pictures. Seeing all of the farmland made me want to get out and try my hand at growing something.

The park itself was amazing. As it turned out, they had 10 waterfalls! We hiked to 3 of them. We were even able to walk through caves that went behind the falls. They were so beautiful. At the end of the day Widget said he really liked hiking. I was happy. Finally, something he didn’t cry about doing!

Today we are heading to Glacier National Park. That reminds me of something we didn’t anticipate in Oregon — No Cellphone Signal! So much for more bars in more places! I’m guessing we won’t get much of a signal in Montana either.

We’ll see.

**Note: I tried to include a pic, but I couldn’t with my on again off again signal!

We are now in northern California and the first campground we stopped at wanted $40. I just don’t understand it. I am bringing the room with me so why do I have to pay the same price as a hotel?

All I need is a place to park. I can park cheaper in the city than some people want at these places. After searching we found a place for $25. It got horrible reviews on a website, but it had what we needed.

We don’t have a $300,000 rig and we are not rich. I just can’t fathom paying the price of a nice apartment in Brooklyn for one night in the middle of nowhere.

KJ says it is supply and demand and I know she is right. I do feel there should be something more reasonable.

Overall, the Petrified Forest was alright. We were nearly out the door before we saw our first glimpse of petrified wood. You could see where the trees had fallen, but when you touched them the were stone. The kids really enjoyed running along the hiking trails.

At night we looked for a place to camp. Everywhere was pretty much too expensive. Either the site was expensive, but really nice, or expensive and really creepy. The pic at the top is of an RV campground we checked out last night. They wrote the price on the door and gave instructions to put the money in an envelope and slide it under the door. They didn’t ask for license plate numbers or give you any kind of receipt.

As we drove through the camp to check it out a guy kept staring at us and we were creeped out so we ended up boondocking for free at a Flying J gas station.

Yesterday we went to the White Sands National Monument. I had hoped to go early in the morning before it hit 100˚, but CM had read that it is best at night. So we ended up entering the park at around 7pm and we stayed until 10pm. Last night was perfect and I’m sure I will never forget it.

Although you can hike through the park on foot, we chose to drive through it. There are several pull-offs along the route that you can park at and wander off on foot. As it turned out, the first pull-off was the most isolated. The rest always had a lot of people, but there were still amazing views.

We saw the sun set and that’s when things really got interesting. It was almost a full moon and the white sands really reflected the moon’s light. As a result, even though it was dark we could still see for miles. CM and I sat at the top of a dune and let the kids run around. Widget drew pictures in the sand while Midget tried to build a “snow man”.

It was a great night. By 9pm we couldn’t see anyone else on the dunes and the air just howled in our ears. At 9:30 the park ranger stopped by with a friendly reminder that we needed to be out of the park by 10. He was a nice guy and we promised that we’d follow the posted speed limits. We took a little video when we got back to the RV and then we headed home.

Midget and Widget fell asleep instantly. We drove back to the camp site and parked. Everyone was so sleepy that we didn’t even plug in or put out the slideout. We put the kids in their sleeping bags, sand and all.

This morning everyone woke up in a good mood and there’s a layer of sand over everything in the RV. I don’t mind, though. It was a great experience.

No post for a few days. Sorry it has just been really busy. So here is a long update.

We went to the lower ninth ward and then on to the French quarter while in New Orleans. There was a very stark contrast between the two areas. I am sure this has been true throughout most of New Orleans history, but today it is extreme.

The lower ninth is in shambles. Overgrowth covers many streets, and there are not that many signs that it is inhabited. As you have probably seen on TV there is an x in spray paint telling the story of what the rescuers found in the house 3 years ago. There are a few people there getting on with their life. I think they are very resilient to get through a disaster like this and come back to live. Their condition is not the greatest, it seems a poor existence, but they should be proud for not giving up on a part of the city that many would like to forget.

From there we went to the French quarter. There where tourist, hipsters, and other people all milling around. It seems to have recovered well; business is open and the trolley whizzes by Canal street. I would not have known about the destruction in N.O. if I had only visited there.

From there it was a trip to Dallas. The night before we tried to boondock on the Texas Louisiana border. Not a great idea. The night was like spending a night in a sauna. The air was so thick with humidity that it was very difficult to get comfortable. As soon as we woke up we turned on the RV and the AC. I am so spoiled by AC and I can’t imagine what it was like for people in this part of the country to grow up with no AC only a generation ago. Another thing about the border; It is not nice to give miles on a sign post saying that there is a city in the same state that is 890 miles away if you stay on this road. Seeing that it seems as if it will take forever to get through Texas.

The kids got to see their grandparents in Dallas. That was great for them, they really enjoyed it and now they keep playing monster with the new monster teeth they acquired. . We had dinner there and talked. The next morning we got up early to continue our journey.

We made it to the desert yesterday. What a difference. The trees are gone and there is sand and small bushes everywhere. In some places you can see so far it looks like you can see the curve of the Earth. The desert takes a toll on everything made by man. Anything more than a year old is sun-bleached. Everything looks worn and old. There are new things of course, but anything more than a few years old shows it’s age. The desert is so quiet, all you hear is the wind. It is both spooky and spiritual at the same time. The desert here is more green than I have seen desert in the past. I guess that it must be the time of year for this part of the desert to get rain.

We stopped in Midland Odessa Texas to camp. We stopped at a place with a pool so the kids could swim. They loved it; It was a great day for them. Swimming is great when it is over 100 degrees. It was a great time to rest for us while they played. They also enjoyed eating dinner outside. Us not so much because the flies attacked our food at every opportunity. I probably would do the same if food was as scarce as they have to deal with, but it was a lesson in why we will be eating inside while in the desert. I guess there is a trick to keep them at bay, but I don’t know it.

Next we are off to see White Sands New Mexico. I have never seen it and I think it will make for a great place to stop. The desert seems like an endless places to see. There is route 66, the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Monument Valley, and the list just goes on and on. There are just too many places for us to visit in a few months that we have before we have to be back in the city. What would you see?

Maybe boondocking (camping without electricity) isn’t as awesome as I originally thought it was. It was a long night and it made today more difficult. After leaving the truck stop we drove to Dallas to have dinner with CM’s family. It was short notice but everyone came to his dad’s house and they made a big dinner for us.

Tomorrow we are heading for White Sands, New Mexico. I promise to fill you in on what I saw at New Orleans tomorrow. For now I’m going to get some rest.

You would think that 30 days would be enough time to get out of an apartment right? Well for us it wasn’t. It was so much more complicated to get rid of enough stuff to fit in a RV than we expected. We are making progress though and we hope to be finished today. Then the trip really begins.

We have been living in the RV. It is a little cramped; mostly because of all the extra stuff in bins on the floor though. Every move throughout the RV has been like going through an obstacle course. If we need to cook everything has to move, then to eat move it agin, and if it’s time to sleep we move stuff again. The madness has to stop!

Overall it has not been bad though. Getting past the obstacle course, it is quite nice. Even though we are only a few hours from the city it is pretty much like being in the country to me. There are stars! It is the first time my kids have seen them, too many lights in the city. They are amazed at every little thing they see: bugs, frogs, pine cones, gravel, and even dirt. Over the last two days they have had lots of fun with dirt.

We have let them play since the kids are in such a new environment. They have had tons of fun. Being grown sometimes I have forgotten how much fun they can have with the simplest things. I’m glad they have enjoyed themselves. I hope to play with them more once we finish unpacking the RV to our travel size.

I also can’t wait for the rest of our trip. I know there are so many beautiful things to see in the next few months. I am very glad that we have this opportunity to take this trip and doing something completely out of our normal routine. There have been some sacrifices, but I believe it will have been well worth it when all is said and done.