98 days on the Road

98 days on the road

When we started I had no idea what this trip would turn into. 50-90% of me figured we would make it a few weeks and say forget it, we are going to bear lake until our renters leave, or we would have massive mechanical issues and be unable to financially have this trip make sense. I certainly didn't think that I would gain as much perspective on life and grow as a human. 

Life is hard, and change is really hard. Sometimes though when the secret sauce is just right, life is just hard enough it starts to bend and change you. I feel that way about this trip. In no way was this an easy trip. It's complicated to travel for long periods of time and it takes a ridiculous amount of work to keep all of our life spheres revolving. I have to work, the kids need to be kids, Sarah needs to breath in nature and sometimes it felt like all of these were competing with one another. Eventually though all of our needs were meet. Maybe not everyday. Somedays work didn't get done, turns out maybe I was just doing busy work to be busy sometimes and I don't need to stress about work as much as I thought. Somedays the kids were basket cases because we didn't just let them explore and be kids. And Somedays we were cramped and camped out next to 50 year old rv's that hadn't moved in 20 years and Sarah could feel the walls closing in. The good thing was that usually all those terrible feelings happened on separate days and we made it through them separately. 

Some days everything was golden a and we were able to bask in the magnificence of seeing the world and meeting new friends. Just like life, Somedays were mundane, but the sweet ones were oh so sweet because of the struggle it took to achieve them. 

We are on our second to last night and are camped in a rV park in Yellowstone. And no, it is not as glamorous as it sounds. We are surrounded by 350 other campers and I can hear a police siren off in the distance, but we are doing it man. We saw the geyser, we went to the old faithful inn and it was hard and overcrowded but we did it and life is good. 

Not having internet is more of a drag then it really should be. Honestly that was one of the parts we struggled with the most. Having internet access keeps me connected to work, but it also distracts me from life happening around me. I struggle with that. I want and need to be connected, but life can continue whether there is internet access or not. Tonight there is no internet, so there will be no work emails and internet browsing, but I might finish reading my book and watching 3 men and a baby on VHS. ($0.50 in Joshua Tree). 

Kamloops BC

Right from the get go I knew it was going to be a hard day. Emory Creek was a bit short lived but we feel pressure to be somewhere that Ty can work. Provincial parks in Canada, although the most desirable to us, simply don't work. Ty needs his phone and computer to work so he can make his phone calls and respond to emails. Monday morning came around and we needed to get to a camp spot that offered Internet. Next on the map.... Kamloops BC. The drive there was long and we were all grumpy and tired. It was one of those days that we were all just happy to have survived. 

The plan was for Ty to take it easy with us on Tuesday, leave to work the norther portion of his BC territory on Wednesday, return to us on Friday and then as a family make our way towards Banff. The RV park was a bit run down but on the river, met all our needs and we were able to ride our bikes across a bridge and be downtown within 5 minutes. Not bad! Something bad was in the air though. We were all in such terrible moods and little things seemed to keep going wrong. After the kids and I returned home from riding the bucket bike to the farmers market and story hour at the library I saw a note on the table from Ty saying his phone basically started sparking and hissing and wouldn't turn back on. He was out on a bike ride to try and figure things out in his head. Oh no! 

So then the stupid cell phone fiasco began. Things went from bad to worse. Ty started by taking both our phones to a cell phone repair shop. The man thought it was possibly Tys battery so he disassembled both our phones to try my battery in his phone. Didn't work. His phone is fried. Second step, find an unlocked phone on Craigslist. Great! I find one and call to see if it is available only to find that the disassemblement of my phone caused it so I can't hear anything. But! The new phone ends up being available so Ty shows up at 7'11 with $200 and buys the iPhone 4. He tried to put his SIM card in it to make sure it was unlocked but his iPhone 6 SIM card was to big so he took a leap of faith and believed the seller when she promised it was unlocked. Turns out the damn thing isn't unlocked. So here we are! 3 phones that don't work, $200 pretty much thrown away, hundreds of miles from the US and Ty is supposed to work. He couldn't leave us to work without either of us having a working phone. Apparently it wasn't meant to be. All of this crap took a few days and before we knew it it was Thursday, we were still in Kamloops and not really liking the town at all. We needed to get the hell out of there with a quick change of plans. 

Instead of Ty working norther BC right now and him taking a week off work so we could meander our way down through Banff we just need to get to the US as quickly as possible. It's unfortunate that we are so dependent on the Internet and phones. But Tys job is what allows us to travel. Without a phone and Internet his job isn't possible. We will figure all this out for the next time we come spend a long period of time in Canada but for now we just have to leave. I set the map to Kalispell Montana. It should take us 4 days. We will arrive back in the US on Memorial Day. Ty can go to an AT&T store on Tuesday, spend the rest of the week trying to get caught up and then work Montana the following week. We finally have a plan again! Phew! That alone changes our spirits and we are back in this! We plan to stay in Revelstoke tomorrow. 

Revelstoke BC a day to remember

After a long week we needed a day like today. We woke up with a whole new sense of direction and felt ready for whatever was in store for us. We loaded up right after breakfast with the plan of picking up our laundry (it got locked in the laundry room last night- whoops!), dumping real quick and hitting the road. On the walk to the laundry I spotted a sandy hill that lead straight down to the river. I couldn't stop myself. I had to run and jump in right then and there. Clothes and all. It was amazing. Ty went next and then both kids. Lu took her first two footed jump (ever) off the sandy bank into the water. She couldn't believe it. That she had actually jumped off something like that (she is little miss cautious. It was maybe a 1 foot jump. But huge for her! So exciting to see her grow!) and how much fun it was. She spent the next ten minutes running up and down the hill and jumping into the water. Aki is the complete opposite. He has no fear. He also enjoyed jumping in and splashing around. After trying to catch salmon fry we trudged up the hill, grabbed our laundry, dumped and hit the road. 

Up until today I have laid down with Aki on the bed while he sleeps when we are driving. I feel nervous leaving him back on the bed all by himself while we travel full speed down the highway. I had a feeling that the drive was going to beautiful today though and I didn't want to miss it so I tried something new and laid him down. I checked on him ever 15 minutes or so. Well, two and a half hours later he just walked up front like it was no big whoop. The look on his face was so cute. I was startled to see him. Not only is the bed really high, it takes a tremendous amount of balance to walk in the motorhome when we are moving. But there he was with his twinkling eyes, happy has an old man that just got himself up from a nap. 

I am so glad I didn't miss the drive. It was breath taking. The mountains were giant and rugged. The rivers were fierce. And the lakes in between were absolutely pristine. 

We arrived at the campground and just couldn't believe it. We are tucked right underneath the biggest and snowiest mountains I have ever seen. Oh and it's 85'! The sprinklers were on next to our campsite. You know, the big kind that tick tick tick around in a circle. Again, I couldn't help myself. Before I knew what I was doing I was out the door running through them. Lu and Aki followed me. Another first for both of them. Aki didn't like it to much but Lu! The little Lu that would rather detour around the block than risk being sprayed by a tiny little sprinkler came walking into the motorhome 30 minutes later dripping wet with a huge smile on her face. We had a quick lunch and headed back into Revelstoke. It is a ski town and reminded us much of Bozeman. There were lots of young families and people on bikes. We felt right at home. After walking around on Main Street, getting a few groceries and eating dinner from a Taco Truck we headed back to the motorhome so we could go for a quick swim in the mineral pool. After a full day, Ty and I hesitated going but boy! Are we glad we went! 

The mineral pool itself wasn't anything spectacular. A semi warm pool that felt, well, just like a regular old swimming pool. But with the mountains and trees towering over us, it felt like the most romantic pool you could ever dream of. 

There was something magic in the air today. Our kids came to life. Aki has always loved the water but today it was almost like he was part of the water. He has always loved to blow bubbles but has never really gone under. We couldn't keep the boy up. He was jumping in and going under the water for several seconds at a time. Every time he came up he asked to go under again. By the time we were done swimming he was a wobbly baby full of burps. Akis fearlessness really helps balance Lunas cautiousness. Seeing him go under encouraged her to try it. I showed her how to plug her nose and go under. AND SHE DID IT!!! After 4.5 years of her being absolutely terrified of going under the water she freaking did it all by herself! And then she couldn't stop. She kept practicing and practicing. By the time we were done swimming she was putting her face under the water without plugging her nose. She was so proud of herself. She kept hugging us and squeezing us really tight with the biggest smile on her face. I am telling you! This adventure is changing our family. Each of us as individuals and together as a whole. I am so extremely grateful we have the opportunity to do this. 

Tomorrow we head off to Radium Hot Springs and I can't wait to see these two in the water again. 

Emory Creek BC Canada

We pulled into Emory Creek in the late afternoon. After traveling and feeling exhausted from 10 fun filled days in the city we were ready for some soul cleansing with Mother Nature. We weren't at our spot for long when the thunder began to roll. Sid is terrified of thunder. She completely freaks out and is uncontrollable. She pants and paces and wants someone to hold all 180 pounds of her. As much as we all love a good beautiful thunder storm we were happy when it passed rather quickly so Sid could calm down. We enjoyed a lovely few peaceful minuets and then the fireworks started. Ty and I looked at each other both thinking the same thing. That we needed to get the hell out of this place. Sid started freaking out again. At this point in time we happened to be out on a walk and ran into someone who showed us a little path leading down to the river. Had we been at the motorhome we probably would have packed up right then and there. But we decided to take the path. Through the lush thick forest, over a little hill and down the other side lay one of the most roaring rivers we have ever seen. The Frasier River. It was vast and wide, moving at an astounding speed. Where the trail met the river was a nice little beach. The kids and Sid got straight to business throwing rocks in the water and playing in the sand. Sid went for a swim. Ty and I sat down to let the river help wash away the day. After a few minutes we saw a giant sturgeon. The way it moved the water and the sound it made, had we been near the ocean we would have thought it was a great white shark. It had to have been a thousand pounds. We couldn't believe it. Then we looked up to see two bald eagles fighting for a fish. They soared away as we sat there in awe knowing that we were exactly where we were supposed to be. In the wild.