Week 3: Off to Vermont -

Oct 31, 2020

We almost made it. It was close. We left the house even. And then realized there was a crack in our RV water tank. So our adventure has taken us here. Chilling at the RV place with our cats. Still in Utah.

3 hours later…

Finally on the road! We won’t get far out of Utah tonight but are adventure has begun!

As a teenager, I was fascinated with stories of people on the Oregon trail. I read numerous diaries written by women on the trail, wanting to know what it was like to just pick up and travel across the country into unknown lands, searching for a new life. Never would I have guessed that we would someday be modern day pioneers, traveling with the bare necessities in our own “covered wagon”, seeking that fresh start.

I have no idea what lies in our future (especially after that problematic sequence of events it took to get this far) but I’m excited to see what awaits us.

Nov 1, 2020

Day 1: after a 3 hour wait at the RV shop and dropping our car off to be shipped, we were on our way. We had a later start than planned so we had to adjust our plans for the day.

Wyoming is mostly dry and brown. Mountains and interesting and similar to East Utah mountains. The night sky was crystal clear last night and the blue moon was huge and gorgeous. Our ring device told us we had one trick or treater group ring our bell last night despite our house being completely dark. Two older kids with no costumes or masks. I’m glad I wasn’t home because I imagine it would have made me sad to see so few out.

Stopped at a rest stop just outside of the Wyoming border to make dinner (hot dogs) and made it to Rock Springs, WY KOA where we grabbed one of the last 2 spots. Below freezing temps last night but we slept warm enough. Boys are taking turns sleeping in the bunk and table bed.

I woke this morning to try out the shower for the first time only to find the cold water nozzle broken. But that’s okay because the scorching hot water only lasted about 5 minutes and then it only took about another 2 minutes to go to freezing cold. So the shower process will need perfecting.

RV life is going to take some getting used to. I feel like I’m at organizing and moving things around constantly. And we are on top of each other a lot. But it will take sometime to get into a system.

Had a breakfast of pancakes and we were on our way! Today is Nebraska!

Nov 2, 2020

Day 2: I’m gonna say on a success rate of 1-10, I’ll give this one a solid 5, which is way better than our past days!

We set off early, all excited to have gained an hour due to daylight savings and made a stop at Saratoga hot springs for a quick dip. These hot springs consist of two man made pools and a river containing the springs. It is free and open 24/7. Trying to avoid people, we found ourselves in the warmest pool of the river. We sat in the warm water, trying to figure out why there was so much sludge floating around. We soon realized we were in the drainage pool from the actual pools and when a fish floated past me belly up, we quickly moved to the actual bathing pools. Luckily there were very few people to encounter. The first pool was probably somewhere around 105 degrees and we didn’t last long. So we moved to the second which was much more comfortable but we only sat a couple minutes before we decided our trip to the hot springs was over. We waddled back to the Happy Glamper, covered in sludge and smelling a bit like rotten eggs. Grossness aside, I actually found it pretty fun! Although there are much better hot springs in Utah.

We made a lunch of leftovers in the hot springs parking lot after showering (which we are starting to master) and were on our way. It was at that point that my cat (not the one that ran away) poked her head out from inside the dashboard where she had somehow crawled into. I tried to pull her out when I realized she had somehow gotten herself wrapped in a cord and was in all ways stuck. Hanging with a cord around her belly, just looking at me like “well, how are you going to get me out of this?” It was a desperate 10 minutes trying to figure out how to maneuver her out but we were able to lift her while slowly inching her backwards to get her out of her predicament.

Moving on, we got gas and were finally on our way again…. until our fridge exploded.

Okay, it wasn’t an explosion for reals but it sounded like one. Apparently the fridge did not get fully latched and at this point, it flew open and the contents of our fridge emptied itself onto our RV floor. Several eggs were sacrificed to the 2020 gods but I’m going to say we got lucky because everything else remained in tact.

After that, other than a violent encounter with a traffic cone that never saw it coming, we were incident free. We swung by the Lincoln Monument (not to be confused with the Lincoln Memorial) and the giant head of Lincoln looked down on us, wondering why his body was now a giant rock.

Wyoming goes on and on. And on. We were 3/4 through the state before we saw any actual trees. Although the “wind break chapel” made us giggle a bit. We are still waiting on getting to know Nebraska since it was getting dark when we entered. I’ll have to keep you posted on that.

Our goal was to make it to Omaha, NE because it contained the only available KOA in Nebraska but evaded up 2 hours short at north butte. Found a self serve campsite called the 1-80 lakeside campsite which is lacking in WiFi, much to the boys’ dismay but it was a place to stop and we happily made it through the night. Also, we lost the hour we gained by crossing into a new time zone.

Which is very surreal.

Miles traveled: 770

Nov 3, 2020

Day 3: an almost completely successful day!

Tyler finds driving the RV more tiring than the car. He thinks it’s the vibrations mixed with the long monotonous landscape but he gets sleepy very quickly and we have to stop for longer so he can take cat naps.

The Nebraska campsite we found turned out to be quite nice in the daytime. With a nice lake to walk around. So we took a morning stroll.

We finished off Nebraska and got to see it in the daytime. It can only be described as flat and yellow. No mountains or hills and about 95% wheat fields. Except Omaha. Which totally doesn’t look like it belongs.

Iowa was a hilly version of Nebraska except instead of wheat, it was corn. I adore the little farm houses scattered throughout these crops and they paint a picture of quiet, picturesque life.

In Iowa we stopped at the Danish Windmill. This is an authentic windmill built by the danish and there were other fun things to see like a mini chapel, a hobbit like home and the bust of Hans Christian Anderson. We went at closing and there wasn’t anyone in site so we had the whole place to ourselves to explore.

Then we stopped by Freedom Rock. This is a large rock that a local artist paints every year to depict a different illustration honoring veterans. This year had a special side for our brave medical workers during these hard times.

At this point, everything was going quite smoothly. We had IP cinnamon rolls for breakfast, frozen mini pizzas for lunch and spagetti for dinner. That was when somebody (okay it was me) said “wow! We haven’t had any problems today!”

And it all fell apart.

We were driving late to get to our next koa, which was just over the Iowa/Illinois border. The website said it had 7 available spots so we were pushing for it. We crawled in at around midnight, all half asleep, when we discovered it was completely full. Still determined, we took to our googles and discovered several other campsites in the area. We went to 3 more, crossing back and forth over the border and the Mississippi River multiple times only to find none of the sites took night registration. Apparently we’ve been lucky up until now to find so many that take late night registration. So we were stuck without a place to stay.

We ended up pushing ourselves another hour and pulled into the nearest rest stop at about 2 in the morning and we became one of THOSE people. The ones who sleep at rest stops. Because it’s technically illegal to spend the night at a rest stop, we grabbed a few hours, woke at 5 and moved to the next stop an hour away for another couple hours of sleep. The boys were troopers through it all!

Bad night aside, we are on our way again!

Miles traveled: 1400

Nov 4, 2020

Day 4: we are ALMOST figuring this out!

After our rough night, I made some homemade granola for breakfast and Tyler experienced the shower. He was actually able to “fix” the cold water by removing the handle completely. Not a permanent fix but it works! We are low on fresh water because all the water stations are shut down for the season. Hoping to find some here at the koa before we leave but for now, we have a sink full of dishes and a house of stinky people.

Yesterday was mostly about distance more than anything. To get as far as we could so we could make it to Vermont today. So stops were limited.

Illinois treated us with a spectacular morning sunrise and we discovered we have our own street, but Indiana won favorite state of the day. Once we got out of the busier areas, the road opened up to a breathtaking natural view of trees and color. It almost seemed like the state held onto its fall colors just for us and I was greatful since we missed Utah fall due to the move.

Despite the plethora of toll roads in this area that caused an expensive road trap, making it hard to explore off the road, we were able to find a lovely county park to stop for lunch. Upon entering, we were met by a park ranger who informed us that our “flap” was opened. We have no idea how he noticed this embarrassing RV faux pas as he was on the opposite side of the truck, but one glance in the side mirror showed that yes, our insides were exposed. And to make it worse, it was our trunk that was exposing itself to the world. Upon inspection, we were happy to discover that it must have just recently happened due to it accidentally being latched but not locked and we lost no more than a couple mountain dews. Which is tragic but not life threatening.

We spent sometime prancing around the fall leaves and climbing amongst the rocks and logs of what would have been a creek had the season not been so dry. I busied myself making lunch of leftover spagetti which we enjoyed at a nearby picnic table.

Upon arrival in Ohio, is was quickly apparent those fall colors were simply a serendipitous Indiana surprise as they quickly changed to more of a winter grey tone. We passed quickly through the state eager to try to get to New York.

Closer to Pennsylvania, it occurred to us that the New York and Pennsylvania campsites along the north route were closed either for the season or due to covid. So we had a quick change of plans and moved our path across the middle of Pennsylvania. This adds an hour and a half to our trip but we can still make Vermont tonight.

We made one stop to make dinner of IP barbecue chicken sandwiches and finally made it to our campsite around midnight, carefully watching the election to keep us awake. And then settled in for the night.

Todays destination: Vermont!

Miles traveled: 2100

Nov 5, 2020

Day 5: end of the road!

Excited for our last day, we woke to a breakfast of leftover granola and were soon on our way. Turns out our campsite still had water so we were able to fill up!

Pennsylvania was a welcome surprise! So much fall color still around gave us a beautiful drive. I think there must be either a white colored house law or amazing prices on white paint as the majority of houses and buildings appeared to be painted white.

We didn’t get to see the amazing waterfalls we read about in Pennsylvania, but we stopped at the promised land state park which is on a lovely lake and we wandered and ate a lunch of walking tacos.

New York was exciting for me because I’ve only seen New York City which really gives you the idea that New York is all noise and chaos and flashy lights and people people people everywhere. When in fact it’s quite the opposite. Much of New York is beautiful and serene and quite inviting.

On the road we got some good and bad news. The good news is we got an offer on the house! Not a great one, but potential to work with it.

Bad news is, our car is still in Utah! The only shipping truck that would make it up this way can’t pick up until this weekend meaning no car for another week and a half at least. This makes our plan of getting tested 1 week after quarantine difficult and leaves us feeling very stuck.

Night fell as we hit Vermont which disappointed us since we were traveling through more of the state than expected on arrival and would have loved to have actually SEEN the area. But alas, it turns out when that 5 o’clock sun drops down, everything goes dark. And not just dark but DARK dark. The small towns and country roads means they don’t have the lights we are so used to in the city. And it makes everything feel darker than normal at night. But I’m certain we shall get some good stargazing!

We stopped at a grocery store to pick up some supplies to help us get through quarantine. One thing we noticed right away is how well they are handling covid here! The aisles are still one way, there are announcements repeatedly telling people to keep their distance, wear masks, and go in the aisle direction. Hand sanitizer everywhere. And everyone seen was cooperating! It’s no wonder Vermont has consistently stayed at the lowest cases in the country. Hoping it stays that way as more people are doing as we are and escaping to Vermont.

We got to our campsite around 8 and had one snafu when we realized they forgot to put our late arrival information out for us. We called the camp manager and he arrived on scooter and fixed us right up. Our campsite isn’t very “remote” but I’ll be able to assess more now that it’s day time. I tried to dump the garbage last night and couldn’t believe how dark it was in the middle of town. I couldn’t tell what anything was and had to go back for my lantern. Lol

We made pancakes and celebrated with a couple pints of Ben & Jerry’s (of course) and quickly went to bed. Glad to be at our temporary “home”.

And there you have it, traveling across the country during a pandemic with very little people contact. I know many of you wanted us to meet up, or wondered why we didn’t eat anywhere fun, use the camp bathrooms or see more things. But it was extremely important to us to do this trip as safely as possible during the pandemic. It’s obvious to us that the measures being taken across the country aren’t working. Lax restrictions, and people being careless, too confident or just plain uncooperative is taking things out of control. We really didn’t want to risk contact in other states and bring covid to Vermont, helping destroy everything they’ve worked hard to achieve. Now that we have the Happy Glamper though, when times get better we can travel many places and see many people and things and of course eat all the food!

Stay tuned for more updates as we figure out RV quarantine!

We’re in Vermont, baby!!