Yellowstone is the oldest national park in the U.S. and spans nearly 3,500 square miles. Interestingly, it sits on top of a supervolcano which still powers the geothermal activity in the park. The park has been high on my list of “must-sees” during this trip – i.e. I was not about to leave Montana and Wyoming before getting to see Yellowstone. I have had my heart set on seeing a buffalo (American bison) since we decided to come out here. With only one day to see the sights of Yellowstone,, my plan was:

1. Mammoth Hot Springs
2. See a buffalo
3. Old Faithful
4. Spot a grizzly bear
5. See more buffalo

Knowing my time limits, I wanted to leave super early in the morning to make the most of the day.

So, naturally, we left around 10:00.

Yellowstone is about an hour away from Livingston, but we still stopped a few times for gas (at the Sinclair station – their mascot is a cartoon dinosaur… get it? Dino juice.) and milkshakes. Taking the toad felt INCREDIBLE after hauling Kevin for the past few days. Nothing feels as free as flying down open road in sport mode with nothing but mountains and blue sky before you.

Driving along, we admired the scenery. Traffic was jamming on the Yellowstone with rafters, kayakers, and fly fishermen. Of course, cows dotted the pastures and we spotted the occasional horse… and then… BUFFALO. OK, they were behind a fence, clearly part of a ranch’s herd, but still buffalo. Not quite what I expected. Smaller, less shaggy. Nevertheless, we pulled a u-turn and snapped a few pictures before moving on.

To get to the North entrance of Yellowstone, you must drive through Gardiner, Montana, a quaint little town with various shops and restaurants (none of which are open at regular times – ugh). The town is a throwback to the Old West with locales with names like The Iron Horse Bar & Grill and the Tumbleweed Bookstore and Cafe. Charming and teeming with tourists.

Entering Yellowstone on a seven-day pass it’s the smallest pass you can buy), we headed right for Mammoth Hot Springs, stopping along the route to jump out of the car to snap a few photos or to touch the water – really not sure if that’s allowed, but you are pretty much permitted to go anywhere in the park unless a sign specifically tells you NOT to go there. It is an “at-your-own-risk” kind of a situation. Hikers are recommended (rather, commanded) to carry bear spray. I always wonder what kind of fools think they can get really close to wild animals and remain out of danger. Today, I saw them. Lots of them. I understand why the National Park Service puts out these warnings. There are a LOT of animals in the park and not a lot of people with common sense.

Mammoth Hot Springs are one of Yellowstone’s most famous attractions. You can smell them before you can see them (sulfur wafts through the air). Sometimes described as an “inside out cave” they are bizarre looking, almost like what you would imagine seeing on Mars. The hot springs were formed (very basic explanation coming here) from volcanic acids dissolving limestone as they push up to the earth’s surface. When the solution reaches the surface, some gasses are released into the air, leaving the limestone to create deposits called travertines. Since limestone is soft, the formations change rapidly (in geological terms).

Below you can see many of the different formations that make up the hot springs. You can actually see steam escaping from holes in the ground and the water that runs in rivulets is warm to the touch. Geothermal energy is cool (or hot – lol). When you think about it, the earth is turning itself inside out. We have no less than 400 photos of Mammoth Hot Springs taken at various points along the boardwalk. There are a LOT of steps, to climb up (thanks Peloton, for the quad and hamstring strength) but the almost alien landscape makes the effort worth it.

While Mammoth Hot Springs were a hit, the best was yet to come.

I. SAW. THREE. BUFFALO.

These were actual, wild buffalo, not the fenced in tiny-headed domesticated buffalo along the highway outside Livingston. The Yellowstone kind: big, beefy, hairy, loping buffalo (OK, American bison)

Just wandering in and out of the woods along the road that cuts through the park, they began grazing and rolling around in the dirt to cool off.

These animals are majestic. To think they were nearly hunted to extinction is unfathomable. Still losing some of their winter coats, they were shaggy and sort of adorable (for a 2,000 pound beast). I probably could have watched them for hours as they meandered through the field. We were incredibly close (more than 25 meters away, as directed by the National Park Service) and all of us stood silently in awe. The feeling I had seeing these animals in person is indescribable.

Everything else in Yellowstone was a complete let down.

Just kidding. We had an amazing day! There are geothermal springs all over the park and we pulled over to see most of them. I mean, who doesn’t marvel at steam hissing out of the earth?

Besides the wildlife and the hot springs, the scenery was absolute perfection. Even within the 40 miles of the park that we traveled, the landscape changed at least a dozen times. From sheer cliffs, to roaring brooks, open plains, to dense forests. The kids were game to stop and see it all! The number of times we stopped the car and hopped out, could have frustrated even the most seasoned traveler, but Amaya, Kai, Alyssa, and Marlie were thrilled to take it all in, to gawk at the beauty surrounding them, and to take ALL the pictures.

And so ended our first day in Yellowstone.

You may be thinking, but, Jenn, you didn’t make it to Old Faithful. Wasn’t that on your Yellowstone “to-do” list?

Nope. We did not.

We had such an amazing time that we decided to take the route all the way through Yellowstone out the Southern entrance and into the Grand Tetons to our next destination in DuBois, Wyoming. We will be back tomorrow, trying to see more wildlife, and more breathtaking vistas. and Old Faithful But tomorrow, instead of driving the toad, we will be taking Kevin.

Yikes!

“Once a year, go somewhere you’ve never been.”

~Anonymous

It should come as no surprise to you that I now want to live in Montana.  There, I’ve said it.  I know I fall head over heels in love with pretty much every place I visit, but this time I mean it.  Being a beach and lake enthusiast, I didn’t think I could picture myself living here, but the Yellowstone River, which flows behind the campground, and the majestic mountains have truly changed my mind. We are already thinking about booking sites here for next summer.

With Kevin comfortably tucked into a spacious site with a patio and a fire pit, we will be experiencing Livingston’s finest offerings over the next few days (more time out and about and less time to write – which is how it should be!). Everyone slept in this morning… I’m not sure if an air horn would have woken these kids up.  I love when Rob and I can slip away for an hour or so on these early mornings, and get a little precious time to ourselves.  Leaving a note saying we were going for “coffee”, we headed into the sweet little center of Livingston (population 7,575) where it looks like you stepped back in time.  From the false Western storefronts to the retro movie theater and the vintage little shops and cafes, it has that warm, small-town feel to it.  For several blocks behind the main drag, you can find municipal buildings and homes neatly landscaped, all set with the backdrop of these incredible mountains!  It’s picture-perfect.  

After picking up a coffee from Coffee Crossing, a quirky little coffee shop next to the Empire Movie Theater (two screens), we headed to the Town & Country grocery store.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I love visiting a local grocery store.  Finding all sorts of local treats is one of my favorite things to do when we visit a new area and no place is better than the shop where the locals do their shopping.  We picked up a few bottles of Montana wines (I don’t know how good they will be, but the names were interesting.  Don’t you pick your wines by their names?), a Montana New England I.P.A. (weird, right?  We thought so too!), local huckleberry honey (which is purple), Montana grass-fed beef burgers, and Montana bacon.

Back at camp, everyone was in various stages of breakfast and getting dressed.  Rob, Alyssa, and Marlie headed to Bear Paw horseback riding while I gave Amaya and Kai a little independent time to explore Livingston.  Every single day of this trip, I am so grateful that BOTH of my kids are with me, but I also appreciate their need for space.  After three full days cooped up in Kevin, I knew Amaya and Kai would come back rejuvenated if they could just slip away for an hour or so (it took me so long to learn this lesson) and clear their minds.  Would you believe that Amaya took the exact photo I took of the Empire Movie Theater earlier that day?  Sometimes coincidences like that give me the shivers.  It also reminds me that she is, in fact, my kid, and likes oddities in much the same way I do.

Horseback riding was a smashing success!  Both girls and Rob were able to ride out into the mountains and over streams with their guide.  Seeing the landscape from atop a horse is an entirely different experience.  Not only did they venture off the beaten path, but they got up-close and personal with white-tailed deer and gophers.  This is the way to see the land.  This is how you learn to appreciate the Earth and all its wildlife.

After a dip in the pool and a quick dinner of those Montana grass-fed burgers (delicious, incidentally), we headed out for a sunset, scenic raft ride down the Yellowstone River.  I didn’t think it was going to happen since I called so late in the day (i.e. two hours before we took off), but Rowdy from Rowdy River Guides was able to set us up with Tyler who took us on a three hour float.  Just bring a light jacket, he said.

This activity was my pick and it was EPIC.  Who gets to take a private rafting trip down the Yellowstone watching the sunset over the Crazies?  If you think you would get tired of seeing mountains, rocks, a river, cows, deer and grassland, I am here to tell you that you are wrong.  I will never get tired of the majestic scenery. 

Tyler was the perfect Montana rafting guide, very knowledgeable about the area and extremely personable.  He took us rock hunting for agates on a few of the rocky shores.  Marlie ended up with the only agate, and sadly, she dropped it into the river cleaning it off – a bit of a bummer.  Good thing she collected at least 50 other rocks, the heaviest of which strangely ended up in my backpack.  In fact, all the kids picked up some beautiful rocks, weighing down their pockets.  We now have an embarrassingly large rock collection underneath the camper… it sure would be a shame if some disappeared before we leave on Saturday…

Besides the gorgeous scenery surrounding us, our trip down the river yielded a few fun surprises:

• A baby skunk following us along the shoreline, paddling in the water
• A baby racoon scampering up the riverbank
• Whitetail deer hiding in the shrubbery on the bank of the river
• Cows grazing near little offshoots of the river
• a  glimpse of John Mayer’s house (you read that right… THE John Mayer… apparently he is very good to the Livingston community, holding concerts and pouring all the proceeds into local organizations)

• Tiny rapids that soaked Amaya (poor girl, she was frozen for the last half hour of the trip)
• Fish flipping and flopping out of the water

Overall, we all loved this little adventure, but would have loved it more had we brought something more substantial than a light jacket.  By the end of the journey, we were all incredibly punchy, chilled to the bone, and a little nervous since a summer storm rolled in and caught us while we were still a good quarter mile from shore.  Poor Tyler rowed with all his might.  There’s nothing like being afloat on the river on a raft when a bolt of lightning slashes open the sky!  Eventually, we hightailed it to the car, cranked the heat and headed back to the safety of Kevin.  

I think about days like these and wonder if the kids will remember everything we’ve done on the trip together. Probably not. They will most likely remember thawing out inside the RV while rain hammered the roof, playing MadLibs and eating popcorn with Rob’s sister and her family. I will remember for all of us because these are the best days. And even if they don’t remember how many deer we saw on the riverbank or the color of the sun as it disappeared behind the mountains, they will remember how they felt when all of us were together.

Thumbs up for our first full day in Montana.  I give it an A-… but only because I still haven’t seen a buffalo.

“Oh Montana, give this child a home

Give him the love of a good family and a woman of his own

Give him a fire in his heart, give him a light in his eyes

Give him the wild wind for a brother and the wild Montana skies”

~John Denver

Warning: this post contains a LOT of scenic photos and very few people.  

I have been slack-jawed all day looking out the window at the scenery.  The United States is breathtaking.  I feel almost swallowed up by the land which is so incredibly vast and seemingly immeasurable.  It’s humbling.

Today was the day I had been waiting for… our arrival in Montana. Rob and I got an early start – the kids were neither awake when we parked last night nor this morning when we took off for the last seven hours to Livingston, Montana.  With two steaming cups of coffee in our Hydroflask mugs (Thanks, Gander!) and Steve Miller on the radio, we set out through South Dakota.  We passed Rapid City and Sturgis where preparations are already underway for Bike Week 2021.  Rob and his buddy rode through last year’s event.  He nostalgically recounted the camaraderie, the vendors, the spirit of the bikers that define the annual event.  Some of the businesses around Sturgis make ALL of their money FOR THE YEAR during the two weeks of bike week.  That is insane!   Certainly, the number of bikers has been steadily increasing as we move westward.  The landscape in South Dakota changes rapidly.  From lush green hills to drier, flatter expanses, it goes on and on and on.  Little hamlets and villages of just a few hundred people line the sides of the highway and there are enormous cattle ranches with farmhouses set far back into the hills.  On our way back home, we will probably take a more southern route and ride through the Badlands and Black Hills area.  You could easily spend a month out here and never see it all.

Passing through several Native American reservations, we were reminded of the poverty that  affects so many of the people, but also the incredible culture of the tribes that continue to inhabit this land.  We passed through Sioux and Cheyenne reservations in South Dakota, briefly passed to Wyoming and entered Montana and drove onto the Crow Reservation in Montana.  As we continue to travel, we will look for more opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of the people who have lived here for thousands of years.   

The Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument, right outside Billings, MT, is situated on the Crow Reservation.  On a whim, we decided to take Kevin (and the toad) and drive through the battlefield – because, why not?  When are we ever going to be passing this way again?  Naturally, the children were thrilled to see a 240-year old battlefield (actually they were pretty agreeable and we didn’t make them get out of the car because we couldn’t park Kevin anywhere, and also, it was HOT.  Frankly, I’m surprised we were allowed to take our show through this somber memorial – I mean, we look ridiculous.)  Along the curvy, hilly road that cuts through the fields, you can see white and red markers indicating where U.S. and Native Americans fell during the battle.  The site commemorates those lost on both sides of the battle. The Last Stand area, where Custer and the 7th Cavalry were finally defeated by the Native Americans (several tribes united for this battle) led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, has the most white grave markers, but you can see stones scattered throughout the expansive battlefield.  Driving through the battlefield was like a four-mile game of chicken.  Theoretically, it is two-way road, but if two giant RVs try to pass one another going in the opposite directions, someone has to pull over before someone loses a mirror.  My upper arms and shoulders are sore from the death-grip I had on the steering wheel.  

By the time we were an hour outside Livingston, it had become clear how Monanta got its name.  Livingston is situated in a valley between the Absoroka and Crazy Mountain Ranges (part of the northern Rocky Mountains), right on the Yellowstone River.  When you get out of your vehicle and just stand out in the open surrounded by mountains, some with snow-capped peaks, all you feel is small and speechless.  How have I stayed away from here for so long?  Montana is also called Big Sky country because of all the open spaces and the lack of tall buildings that obstruct the skyline.  Nothing but mountains and sky.

Hallelujah!  Around 5:00 PM on Wednesday, we reached our first major destination: the KOA Paradise Valley/Holliday.  Turns out we lost a hubcap somewhere along the way. Whoops!

‘The campground is packed with motorcyclists, tent campers, trailers and RVs.  Also, the view from our camper is SPECTACULAR!  We’ve barely parked and the kids have already spilled out of the camper and are headed to explore our home for the next four days.  Time to kick back, see Rob’s sister, brother-in-law, and nephew and think about tomorrow’s adventures!

Thanks for coming on the road with us!  Tomorrow… more photos of people now that we have all showered and feel like human beings again!

“The mountains are calling and I must go.”

~John Muir

Hello, from the open road!  We continue to trek across this great nation, barrelling down I-90 West at record speeds of 65 mph.  Kevin is heavy, and, if I’m being honest, she’s a little rattly.  Between the squeaky front door and the rumbling of five axles, we all spend a lot of time saying, “What?” and yelling, “I can’t hear you” to one another.

Dawn broke gloriously over the Walmart in Janesville, Wisconsin. All kidding aside, RV traveling is made so much more convenient by places like travel plazas, Walmarts, and RV dealerships that provide (sometimes for a small fee) a safe place to park for the night.  

Wisconsin and Minnesota are stunningly beautiful and so open. 

I’m happy to report that the corn crops are looking good and should definitely be knee high by the fourth of July – not quite ready to harvest as it is not yet as high as an elephant’s eye.  Connecticut is full of farms, but nothing quite like the vast tracts of land out here.  Rolling hills covered with green as far as the eye can see.  And the barns – they are incredible – so many unique styles.  Interestingly, we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an Amish farm with several men plowing the fields with teams of horses.  We even passed a huge wind farm in Minnesota with turbines as far as the eye can see – giants lined up on the horizon.  This is definitely the way to see the country.

One of my favorite observations over the past few days has been learning what makes each of Kevin’s passengers “ooh” and “ahhh”.  Most of the time, it’s just Rob and me who are looking out the windows, but the kids like to point out unique billboards: The Spam Museum (I’m assuming this is right near Hormel HQ), Humbird Cheese Mart, Wizard’s Quest, Wall Drug (pictures coming as we get closer).   Rob never fails to point out the large number of RV dealerships and manufacturers, the Jeep Cherokee factory, Caterpillar, Harley Davidson, and other places with heavy machinery.  As for me, I am a “Look, brown cows!”, “Look!  Black and white cows!”, “Look!  A building painted like a black and white cow!” kind of girl.  I will never not point out a cow when I see one.  Needless to say, I have been very busy in Wisconsin and Minnesota. **After reviewing all my photos, I am sorely disappointed that not ONE cow picture exists.

We have now crossed eight(ish) states and I am shocked at the amount of roadkill we have seen.  I commute on the highway to work each and every day, where I see a fair number of unlucky chipmunks and squirrels, the occasional possum, but the butchery on the interstate is astounding. It’s one grisly scene after another, a wide variety of creatures in various states of decay.  Many are deer, and judging by the size of the corpses, they had to have made some major damage to the vehicle that struck them.  It seems like such an inhumane way to go, just laid out in the breakdown lane.  Carnage in America’s Heartland – yikes!

Around the 28 hour mark of the trip, you need to take care of some serious camper business.  Friends, we have arrived at the dark side of camping: the pump out.  We left CT with a half tank of fresh water.  The water we use goes into our gray and black water tank.  Gray water is shower water, dish water, hand washing water and black water is: sewer. You do not want to overflow the black water tank in your RV.  There will be a mess and a stench you cannot recover from.  There is no amount of bleach that will fix a black water tank overflow.  That said, we found a Gander Camping Center where we promptly paid to become “Good Sam” members to get perks such as free pump outs and discounts on camping gear.  We poked around the store for a bit – it is a cross between Walmart (if you know me at all, you know my love for a good Walmart supercenter) and Cabela’s if both of those stores only sold camping swag.  A-MAZING.  And the bonus is that you can also pump out your gray and black tanks and fill up the fresh water.  Rob is usually in charge of this job – not because I can’t do it (but partially because I don’t want to do it), but because he is pretty good at getting it done quickly.  Of course, every time we pump out the black water tank, one of us utters the classic phrase, “Sh!*#er’s full!”.  It’s become a tradition and if we have to deal with this nastiness, we are at least going to have a good chuckle.  It never gets old.

We are ending our day in South Dakota.  From flat plains to rolling hills, the landscape changes dramatically as you drive across the state.  Passing through Chamberlain, population 2,500, you marvel at the sheer amount of wide open spaces here.  So much land and so few people.  It’s a fascinating terrain dotted with cattle herds, more turbines, and fields of grain.  At 9:00 PM, the sun was just setting and we pulled into the Dignity sculpture rest area to stretch out and eat a late supper before the last leg of the day.  The 50-foot tall Native American woman stands in front of the Missouri River representing the Dakota and Lakota Tribes of South Dakota.  It is a graceful and calming image despite its immense size and she captured all our attention.  What also captured our attention was the warning sign that there might be poisonous snakes in the area.  (Alyssa has corrected this sign – the snakes are venomous.  Poisonous refers to items you ingest, while venom is injected into the body.  Now you know.)  

After a much needed rest, we loaded up Kevin and here we are, plugging long in the dark, marveling at the silhouettes of hills that lie on either side of the highway.  It’s peaceful now as we drive toward tonight’s Walmart parking lot.

Today’s big takeaways:

• I am feeling more confident and comfortable behind the wheel. I did accidentally take us to an abandoned gas station to fill up, but I can’t be held responsible for mismarked travel signs.  

• The kids continue to amaze me with how easygoing they are at this whole traveling thing. I mean, what more do they really need besides a full fridge, a comfy place to lay their head, and their iPads? Earphones. I suppose they need earphones to drown out the grown-ups’ music. Whatever.  Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive is one of the greatest songs of all time.  Change my mind.
• Kai has just informed me he doesn’t eat orange lifesavers because he doesn’t like the “carrot” flavor.  Ummm… since when are orange lifesavers flavored “carrot”?  I’m floored.  I’m questioning my every parenting move over the last 12 years.  Where did I go wrong?  Carrot?  Carrot. Ugh.
• Travel plazas are a welcome break from driving.  They sell all kinds of wonders such as sleeveless collared shirts, knives, and a giant rag doll, among other local treats and the usual junk-food offerings.  So fun to look around when you’re punchy from 12-plus hours of travel.  I narrowly avoided a truly idiotic purchase around 12:30 this morning –  It never hurts to remind yourself, “You do not need to purchase clothing from a travel plaza.”

• We have so much to see and so little time to do it.  I am doing my best to be present, to see this trip through the kids’ eyes, to slow down, to go with the flow, to throw the “plan” out the window (teacher friends –  this is so hard because we are major control freaks) and to remember we are making memories at every turn in the road.  We are so very  fortunate to have this opportunity to experience this all together.

Until tomorrow…

“Into the great wide open. Under them skies of blue. Out in the great wide open. A rebel without a clue.”

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Operation Leave for Epic Road Trip to Montana commenced yesterday at around 5:30 PM when we rolled into the driveway from Father’s Day weekend.  The list of things to do included:

• Wash all the clothes and bedding that smells like campfire (so… all of it)
• Grocery shop for fresh foods (Aldi to the rescue)
• Make a few meals ahead (meatballs, taco meat)
• Gather all the things we didn’t remember on our practice run: whisk, the good spatula, meat thermometer, flip flops
• Prepare instructions and money for the pet sitters
• Protect Defend the furniture from pets who like to nap where they are not allowed 
• Real showers for all since we can’t say for certain when the next real shower will be

Rob wanted us to be ready by 10:00 PM.  Adorable.

We were not ready at 10:00 PM.

Still not ready at 11:00 PM

Then it was 12:00 AM.  And we were ready.  Two adults, four kids, zero dogs, 6 i-Pads, 12 pillows, eight blankets, half a tank of fresh water, one giant rainbow poop emoji, one x-Box, one U.S. map with scratch off states to mark where we’ve been, one Keurig and ALL the coffee in the world!  If you have been camping with us, you know we do not pack light!

I said four kids!  My heart is so full of joy… Amaya is going with us and I love that we are all taking this trip together.  It’s been months since we were all under the same roof and it is wonderful.  Forced family fun at its finest.

We rolled out of our neighborhood in the dark, Kevin and the “toad” groaning under the weight of all our gear.  The thrill of leaving on an epic adventure in the middle of the night only added to the excitement.  Alyssa and Marlie, tucked in their bunks, played on their i-Pads quietly.  Kai settled on the couch to play a video game, and Amaya put on her headphones and climbed up to the bunk over the cab.

In order to make efficient use of two drivers, Rob suggested the “You sleep, I’ll drive/ I sleep, you drive” strategy.  He would take the first leg of the trip and we would continue alternating sleeping and driving for the next 30.  Yes, 3-0, Hours.  That is how long it takes to get to Livingston, Montana.  And really, that is a conservative estimate.  

All I know is that I went to sleep around 1:30 AM and woke up around 6:30 AM in a Walmart parking lot somewhere near Scranton, Pennsylvania.  I knew I was supposed to initiate the next leg of the trip, but I was terrified I would do something incorrectly, like leave the stabilizers down and drag them behind us, or get lost leaving the parking lot and have to detach the “toad” (you can NOT back up while flat towing a car).  Turns out, I was paying attention (mostly) and was able to get us on the highway pretty quickly.

So. Much. Pressure.  How am I even allowed to drive an RV?  Rob didn’t seem at all worried about me driving Kevin.  He really should have been.  I can only assume, he was delirious from lack of sleep and his judgement was severely impaired. 

It took me a good two-hours to really get my bearings.  My apologies to the good people of central Pennsylvania who drove behind me today at 40 miles an hour on I-80W.  My hands actually hurt right now from white-knuckling my way across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.  

During the time that Rob slept today, I found myself enjoying the ride.  I listened to my book (currently listening to The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – so good!) and a playlist of songs I curated especially for this trip.  The highways were open and landscapes changed dramatically from Pennsylvania through Ohio and Indiana. This is the farthest west I have ever driven, and I wish I could have taken photos.  I called for the kids to look several times, but they were… busy. LOL

As we drive through Chicago on our way to, yet another Walmart parking lot for the night, I am reminded of today’s big takeaways:

1. The GPS is fickle.  It will say that you only have 25 hours left in your trip.  Then, when you stop for gas and start back up, it will say you have 26 hours left in your trip.  We drove all day and we still have 20 hours left to drive.  Ugh. How is this even possible?
2. You need to remember to shut the blinds in the camper at night when you want to change your clothes or you risk flashing the drivers behind you. 
3. Pennsylvania is seriously the longest state in the world.  I feel like we drove through it for a hundred hours. When you enter it, beware because you will spend half your life driving across it,
4. Ohio is full of flat farmland.  Most of it looks like a scene out of Twister.
5. Although you can hang out in the back of the RV,which is great, if you need to walk around, you will look like Bambi when he tries to cross the frozen pond.  Teachers, it’s like walking the aisle of a moving school bus when you are on a field trip.  You know the feeling.
6. I can function on three hours of sleep and I will go into any gas station or rest stop without a drop of makeup on and camper hair.  I must have lost my shame somewhere in Pennsylvania.

Today’s greatest accomplishment:  cooking a full dinner while waiting in standstill traffic (bad tractor trailer accident).  Cheese, chicken, and black bean quesadillas with salsa and avocado.  No one needs to eat like savages just because we’re RV’ing it!

Until tomorrow! With one day under our belts and just 36 hours to make it to our first actual campground, we will need to make really good time and cover a LOT of distance. Whatever happens, it’ll be an adventure, for sure!

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”

~Lewis Carroll

So, our practice run went really well. 

And what I mean by this is that a bunch of things went slightly amiss and that is a good thing because we were able to fix them before heading on the long trip. 

You must thoroughly submit to the reality that things on your RV or camper will have to constantly be adjusted, fixed, repaired, or replaced.  No camper, no matter how luxurious, is free from this troubling actuality.

Before the weekend was up, Rob had replaced a fuse for the water heater, re-attached the shade over the dinette and replaced a few random screws that magically appeared on the floor after we arrived onsite at the campground. Thank goodness he is handy and a problem-solver. I am more easily frustrated and grumpy about the things that go wrong with the camper.

Anyhow, pro tip: always pack your tools in the storage bay of the RV. Kevin is full of plastic shoe boxes and bins (my contribution to camper organization) with various tools, screws, adhesives, tape, flashlights and other gadgets and gizmos to keep her running smoothly so we can minimize the time spent finding the right tools to get the job done.

Pine Acres Camping Resort is located in Oakham, Massachusetts and we meet friends there every Father’s Day weekend.   It is one of the nicest family campgrounds we have been to in the northeast.  It has spacious sites with gravel parking at each site (this is super important because it helps keep dirt out of the camper), full hookups (electricity and sewer), a pool/splash pad, dog beach, mini golf, an arcade, a fully stocked camp store, paved bike paths, and a pretty sweet little beach on a pond that is good for swimming, kayaking, and fishing. 

Before you tell me that it sounds more like “glamping” than camping, I will tell you that you are correct and also, I do not care.  I’ve been “dry camping” (no electricity or sewer) and “boondocking” (camping off-the-grid on public land) and it is absolutely great.  For the weekend. Without Kids.  When it’s not hot, steamy, and buggy.  This trip is an annual Father’s Day tradition and we spoil ourselves with indoor plumbing and air conditioning.  I own it.  My days of carrying all my camping gear and trekking through the woods to pitch my tent never existed.  In fact, if you had asked me five years ago if I would even consider camping as more than a bucket list item, I would have responded with a “Hell no”.  I like to spend time outdoors and sleep indoors. 

Theoretically, being outside in nature is relaxing and rejuvenating, but that is not what it is like on Father’s Day weekend.  There are pool reservations to make, an activity schedule to follow, dogs to wear out at the dog beach, and about a dozen people to feed for three meals a day. I usually love camp cooking, and I have my favorite tried and true recipes.  This weekend was a little awkward.   I knew my way around the old trailer, but I’m not exactly where everything is in Kevin.  It was a little awkward and clumsy, but practice makes perfect, so I was glad to use the weekend as a warm-up for the main event (in T-24 hours… I am not freaking out… much).

One of my favorite things about camping is being together.  No other type of vacation will give you the kind of quality together time you get from  living in 270 square feet of RV.  (If 270 square feet for six people and two dogs sounds tiny, just remember that Kevin, at 270 square feet, is an upgrade from the 145 square feet of the last camper we had.)  Granted, we spend 90% of our time outdoors, so we have lots of space to spread out, but it is 100% family fun time.  My heart is full watching the kids tear around on their bikes, taking Lemmy and Finn swim to fetch balls at the dog beach, playing tag in the pool, making s’mores by the campfire and paddling out on tubes to the little island in the middle of the pond.  We are ON 24-7 and it is EXHAUSTING.  

I will let you in on my little secret for keeping myself sane.  Sometimes when we walk up to the pool, I will “forget” something back at the camper.  I hang back for a bit and then walk to the pool ALONE.  I grab a cold seltzer, pop in my AirPods and get five whole rejuvenating minutes to myself.  It’s just enough time to gather my thoughts, gear up for the pool, and get ready to be present for the people who matter most to me.

We had a great Father’s Day  2021 weekend.  I couldn’t have asked for a better trial-run for the Montana trip than this weekend.  Good friends, good food, good times, great memories.  We’ve been practicing the art of camping for a while now, and I can’t think of anything more perfect.

Time to repack Kevin for the next adventure.

Kevin is a Class C 2021 Jayco Greyhawk.  If you don’t know what any of that means, don’t worry.  Neither did I.  To break it down, a Class C RV is a driveable with an overhead bunk above the cab. From the trailer you step down a bit to enter the driving area. It’s different than a Class A bus where the floorplan is all one level. We have two bunks in the back, a master bedroom with a door, (This is a really big deal, you guys. In fact, I would say it’s a game-changer. We can all change clothes without kicking everyone else out of the camper. You can shut the door and take a nap… in short – AMAZING.) and a couch and dinette that also can be converted into sleeping space. There’s a good sized-kitchen and a bathroom with a shower, toilet, and sink.

One of the biggest differences from the travel trailer is the storage (*cue angels singing).

We. Have. Drawers. And. Cabinets.. And. A. Pantry.

Even the bathroom has a tiny medicine cabinet and the bedroom has a little nightstand. It feels so spacious, all 31 feet of it.

Having a drivable camper is great for a couple of reasons:

1. You can all travel together. It was tough finding a vehicle that can seat six of us, plus two dogs and haul the trailer.
2. It keeps everyone entertained. Kids can sleep, sit at the dinette and play games, or watch TV on the couch all while driving. They can also use the bathroom, get a snack, and charge their electronics (yup, we allow electronics – not even sorry).
3. It’s cool.  Well, it’s “campground cool”.  If you’re a regular at campsites, you know what I mean.

Now for the bad news.  

Even though you drive the camper to your destination, you don’t really want to have to move it until you leave.  It is big and slow and tall, which means you have to be careful when going in tunnels and under bridges or around corners.  I absolutely do not want to be the one who shears the AC unit off the roof.

This means if you want to sightsee outside of the campground or even just run out for ice cream, you will need to tow a vehicle.  The vehicle is affectionately known as a “toad” or a “dingy.”  We are flat towing a vehicle, which requires a towbar to be installed in the back of the  camper and a series of no less than 15 steps to prepare the vehicle to be towed.  Also, you need a breakaway cable and this device that steps on the brake in the vehicle in case of a quick stop – there is a monitor on the dashboard to let us know if everything is working properly.  If you are thinking that sounds complicated, you are right.  

In my quest to be able to do all the RV things, I am learning how to not only drive and park Kevin, but also to attach the “toad” to the towbar.  I sit in the front of my Jeep Cherokee (I traded in my go-go-grocery-getter Kia Sorento just to be able to have a vehicle to tow behind the camper. I L-O-V-E this vehicle. Why didn’t I get a Jeep sooner?) with the manual on my lap and read through the steps, shifting, braking, putting the car in the neutral position and testing it to see if it moves on its own.  Rob could definitely do this a lot faster on his own, but it makes me feel useful and more capable to be able to help. It’s a lot like when your toddler wants to “do it herself” and ends up making more work for the mom.  It’s me. I’m the toddler.  But, after all, Kevin is 50 percent mine, so I’d better know what to do, even if I slow us down. Significantly.

So, after a HUGE shopping trip to stock the pantry and adding some small personal touches like a chalkboard, a wall organizer for remotes and charging cables, swapping the horrible RV bedding for a soft and comfortable bedspread and our own pillows, we are pretty ready for this weekend.

What is this weekend, you ask? Well, it’s our annual Father’s Day camping trip to Pine Meadows Camping Resort in Oakham, MA.  

But, Jenn, I thought you were going to Montana?

We are.  This is practice trip – a dress rehearsal, if you will.  Even though we are only an hour from home, we packed up three kiddos and two dogs (and one “toad”) and ALL our gear for two days of fun with friends.  This is where we will see what goes wrong, what needs to be tweaked, what we forgot… 

This is where we get the jitters out because in only 48 hours, we will be on our way to Big Sky Country!

“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.”

~Amelia Earhart

Welcome to our blog, Wandering, but Not Lost. We are Jenn, Rob, Amaya (19), Kai (12), Alyssa (10), and Marlie (9) – a big blended household of mayhem and madness. Rob and I bought a home together (sort of on a whim) right at the beginning of the pandemic, you know, before the cost of homes skyrocketed, and we all moved in together in June 2020!

We are a busy group of people. Between soccer, dance, baseball, skiing, snowboarding, work, and general life chaos, we are always on the go! Don’t be fooled – we kind of thrive on the hustle and bustle and we bring on a lot of our own chaos. Even with the frenetic pace of our day to day life, we love to see new places and camping has been a part of our lives for the past four years. Rob had a 21-foot travel trailer that we all crammed into (3 kids, 2 adults, and 2 dogs – the 19-year old opts out most times) and had a blast. But we knew we needed a change if we wanted to do longer trips with these growing kiddos, so…

… we bought an RV during the pandemic (which was also on a bit of whim, so if you are questioning our fiscal responsibility, you would not be out of line). And then we named it Kevin. (We are huge fans of The Office… and, honestly, the RV basically named itself. LOL)

After being cooped up together in our home for the better part of a year, why not take our show on the road and be cooped up together while seeing America? Let’s go!

We hope you join us on our journey. We have no idea where we are going.

Not all who wander are lost.

J.R.R. Tolkein