The Badlands to Cody

Today was a driving day and man was it long (but not as long as some of the other drives so something to look forward to).  But we made it and arriving at Buffalo Bill State Park was well worth it.  No rain here and just a great camp site with the snow capped mountains in the background. 

Update on the family truckster:
Total miles driven: 774
Total gallons of gas: 91

It made it over our first mountain pass taking HWY 16 over the big horn mountains.  The truckster only managed 35mph on a few uphill climbs but for the most part it handled it well.  The first climb in complete fog cloud cover was the worst but once it cleared up and we were heading down it was smooth sailing. 



Here's some photo's I took today:

Scenic Overlook Big Horn Mountains.

We all enjoyed the snow.

Luke walking the line at our campsite.  He also walked the line with my patience a good portion of the ride.

Frozen pizza never tasted so good.

View from our campsite looking out over the lake and snow capped mountains, oh yeah and a rainbow thrown in for good measure.  Just amazing scenery and this isn't even supposed to be the good stuff yet.

Day 2-driving from 8 am to 6:30 pm

Today's post will likely be a bit random. I jotted down weird things in my journal to cover in tonight's post. And it was a random sort of day. Except for the constant of driving. All ever loving day. It doesn't even seem like the same day now as it was this morning. 

We woke up to rain. And to a blinker that was out (but then magically fixed itself). Then we drove in rain and wind forever. 

First thing this morning I thought I'd try out one of my pre-trip plans. I dreamed about how nice it would be to listen to a book series as a family. I envisioned mutual laughter and suspense and hours of listening. Today we made it through approximately 35 minutes of Narnia. I think if I can persuade the boys to listen some more, that they'll really enjoy it. Heck, if we listened to an hour a day we could be done by the time we get home. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. 

After Narnia, Jason and I made it our personal mission to find the best XM radio station (rest assured we did not pay for this service, but signed up for the free sixty day trial). Anyway, with all those stations we thought we'd have a tough time choosing. But in reality, there are like six stations we could tolerate. All we really wanted was Mix 97.3 without commercials and across the country. We ended up with The Blend, Hits 1, The 90's, 2k, Radio Disney, and Alt Rock. We were really hoping the Alt Rock thing would stick, but we kept flipping back to The Blend. Old habits die hard. 

Meanwhile, in the back of the bus the boys were enthralled with Mary Poppins. They were completely quiet for three hours. THREE HOURS. None of that 90 minute Pixar stuff. What a great movie. 

For lunch we pulled off I-90 at a "parking spot" and ate cold sandwiches in the camper. So, apparently there are not rest areas in Wyoming. At least not where we were at. And let me describe a "parking spot" to you. It has no amenities. Unless you consider pavement an amenity. No garbage cans. Nothing. Ours didn't even have a solid division between the interstate and the location. It was really just a little jut out on the interstate with a couple of lines dividing the two. Seemed legit. And super safe. 

While we're on the subject of legit things on the interstate, I'd like to touch on "exits". There were some bizarre things going on. Like exits that could only be reached from one side of the interstate, veered sharply to the right, then turned into a dirt road ten feet later. Wha? Or exits that where just ninety degree turns into someone's yard. Convienent. Except you could only come into your driveway from the east and leave to the west. Weeiirrdd. 

While I was not studying the exits I noticed several unfamiliar things. There were a lot of sheep. South Dakota does t have sheep like Wyoming. South Dakota also doesnt have a lot of permanent snow fence. Wyoming has miles and miles and miles of it. Who's maintaining this stuff? 

Sometimes I would look up from a map or book and think, "are we even moving? I think I can run faster than this." It was a long day. But just when you thought you couldn't stand one more second something new or unusual would appear and suddenly the wind in your sail was restored. This renewal would also happen every time you ate something. Snacks really are magical. 

You know what I thought would be magical and is really sort of terrifying? Driving in the clouds. Yikes. 

Well, I'm exhausted from sitting on my butt all day. I really wish I had a bed outside, because that's where I want to be: in a bed and outside. We arrived at our campsite just in the nick of time-people were getting hangry. And by people I mean me. We had frozen pizza for supper and all is right with the world. It is amazingly beautiful at our campground. 

Somewhere in the Big Horn Mountains

At our campsite

Campsite

Campsite (can you see the snow capped mountains?) there was a double rainbow too. No joke!

Water water everywhere

The day started with water so it's only fitting that the day ended with water. Lots and lots of water. 

This morning, right before we left, we discovered our bathroom flooding. We cleaned up as quickly as we could, left the dog sitter a text and were on our way to the Badlands.  

We've been to the Badlands several times so the drive was nothing new. Actually it felt longer than normal. That's right it was longer, because our top speed now is 55. Sixty if we're lucky. Cars were passing is like we were standing still. And the trailer-she was swaying. Not only from the passing cars but also from the moderate winds. At one point Jason said, "I think I'm getting car sick. And I'm driving." I agreed. 

Meanwhile, the boys played and got their toys taken away and ate a quart of orange melon. And we all had ring pops. I gave them all a sheet of aluminum foil to play with. I have no clue where I got this idea. 

As we ventured further west river. The rain came. The sky's turned dark gray and ominous blue. We drove in and out of rain as we waited for the Badlands. 

About an hour out Marcus asked a simple question, "what number is our spot?". I looked. It was spot 22. Then I noticed it was spot 22 for the 29th. Today is the 28th. Craptastic. I called the hotline, got transferred, and explained the situation. They couldn't book anything for tonight so we'd have to chance it with first come first serve. Now to get the charge from the 29th refunded (we would have to pay for tonight's stay in the morning). We hung up. She called back. There seemed to be a problem getting the charge back on the card. Ohh. Yeah. That's because that card was comprised last week and we had to get new ones. Well she did not know how to handle this one. Not something you have to do everyday. We'd have to stop at the lodge and get this squared away. The gray clouds were now a special shade of angry. And I was beginning to get hangry (only I didn't know because that's how the hanger gets you). 

At the lodge I suggested maybe we just slide the charge for tomorrow to today and call it good. She cheerfully agreed. We just needed to go find a spot and let her know the number so she could put it on the invoice. Okee-dokee. 

Round the loop we drove. I was worried we wouldn't find a spot so we grabbed the first one available. It was a side pull off type of deal. We scribbled our name on an old grocery list and hung it on the clip. Back to the lodge, camper in tow.  This is when the deluge began. 

I told the nice young lady at the lodge that we had picked number 17. "Oh I'm sorry but that's a tent only site." I told her we fit just fine, but she could not would not with a fox. Back to the loop. It was raining so hard we could barely make out the badlands right in front of our faces. 

Ah-ha. There's a site! Get out the notebook paper and let's visit Jody at the lodge again. 

This time we had stuck gold. The site was paid for. Now we just. Had to go setup in the pouring rain. 

Even though it was a side pull in thingy, I still had to get out and help back. My hanger had now reached a fever-pitch as I stood in the rain. 

We were parked. I got the inside set up while Jason worked outside. I ate some cookies. Right after I poured a jar of sauce in a pot, Jason declared that we were too far away from the water and would have to put everything back to pull forward 15 feet, then back up 15 feet and reset everything. I blew a gasket (my cookies had not yet entered my bloodstream). I slammed everything back into place and told the kids to hang on. We got the water, backed up (again) and set everything up (again). 

My cookies had finally reached my brain and I was behaving better. That's when Jason swung open the door and demanded a picture. He was soaked from head to toe. 

I also lit a post it note on fire while I was cooking. So there's day one. 

nobody in my family ever overreacts: The Great Expectations

nobody in my family ever overreacts: The Great Expectations

The Great Expectations

This trip is going to be epic. According to Merriam Webster, epic means: very great or large and usually difficult or impressive. I don't understand the "or". Because this trip is definitely going to be "and". Here are my great expectations:

1. We have plans in place for each day, guaranteeing maximum enjoyment.
2. Plans may change. We will still enjoy the trip.
3. With multiple checklists, everything has it's spot in the camper and it will all be there when we leave.
4. We will forget something. Check that. Lots of somethings. We will buy those things on the road.
5. We will all be content on our long car rides with games, puzzles, art supplies, worksheets, movies, the scenery, books, and more.
6. We will loose our minds during long stretches of highway. We will get through it and on to the next.
7. We will see, hear, smell, touch, taste and experience great and amazing things together.
8. We will not all agree on what we want to experience all of the time. We will compromise.
9. We will happily laugh ourselves silly.
10. We will be angry/frustrated and may cry ourselves to sleep. We will get over it.
11. The car and trailer have been thoroughly checked over and in shape to make the journey.
12. Something will break down. We will fix it.
13. We have a food plan which will keep us nourished throughout the trip.
14. We will become hangry. Several times. We'll eat something and feel better.
15. We will be rested and relaxed.
16. We will be tired. We'll sleep.
17. We will be safe and careful.
18. Somebody will end up hurt. Hopefully not badly. We'll fix him up and keep going.
19. We will be kind and loving.
20. We will be mean and grumpy. We will apologize and hug.
21. This trip will be Epic. Difficult at times, but impressive and very great. 

On our way

Finally on the road. I am simply in awe of the adventure that is before us. First stop, this evening, Badlands National Park. 

Oh. In true Munsch style, Jason discovered that the second floor bathroom was actively flooding moments before we were about to leave. Somebody failed to snake the drain which had been blocked for months and then somebody else left the water running. I was in no way Involved. Awesomeness. These are the types of things that happen to us. We also almost hit the mailbox on the way out. I'd say we're off to a perfect start.

Here comes the sun

One of my pet projects on our trailer was installing a solar battery charging system. We'll be dry docking it (camping lingo for staying at a campsite without power or water hookups) for 10 days on our trip west so wanted to make sure we'd have enough battery power for lights, water pump, refrigerator (even on propane it uses some juice), and maybe even run the heater for a bit.

So I installed a Renogy 100 Watt Solar Panel. I started with one panel and after practice camping a few times seemed like we'd probably be ok with one if we had decent sun but with two we should be good even if its cloudy out.  Also all the hard work was already done so just plugging in another panel and screwing it down was a piece of cake.

Here's a couple of shots of the panels on top of the trailer.  I screwed them down with 1 inch multi material screws and lots of Dicor Sealant.

Overall project wasn't very hard just a pain to find a way to get the wires down to the controller and the battery.  But there was tons to learn about the electrical system and batteries of the camper.

Charge controller for the system took some time to decide which one to get,. I ended up getting a Renogy 30 amp charge controller. Deciding factor was a decent price and it had a digital display. Looks like there are a lot of different brands that all probably come from the same factory so went with Renogy brand to keep it in the family with the panels.  

 

The trailer has two 12 volt Interstate SRM-24 batteries. They were new when we bought the camper so we're sticking with them even though the marine/rv deep cycle batteries aren't all that highly recommended. They are 84 amp hour batteries so with 2 of them we can, in theory, get 84 amp hours (shouldn't ever take the batteries down below a 50% charge to avoid damaging them). But like most things in reality it'll likely be quite a bit less than the 84. We thought about adding another battery but with the solar system (especially adding two panels) I think we should be fine. Guess we'll find out soon.

rvsolar101.blogspot.com is a good site I ran across that walks through most of what you need to know if you're interested in learning more about rv solar systems.

 

The paper house

Our camper has affectionately been nicknamed the paper house. I don't recall who coined it but it was used to describe to the boys to tread lightly on our new travel trailer. We tend to be hard on things.

Here's a quick tour of the paper house we'll be calling home for 33 days.

She's a 22 foot travel trailer with a rear slide out (the Master Bedroom)

Each of the Boys has their own bunk. There is also a spare bunk which
 holds all Jason and Becky's clothes.

Becky made window curtains and bunk curtains for each of the boys.
The bottom of the bunk curtains are glow in the dark Star Wars material.

Becky also made bunk ladders (none came with the camper) and book caddys for each bunk.

We added a magnetic knife strip, utensil bar (both from IKEA),  and a wall mounted paper towel holder (not pictured).

Dinette area. Storage under each bench.

Couch, with storage and could sleep two, pantry, and frig/freezer.

 We installed a TV, and in the background you can see all the coat hooks we installed

.

We bought a new mattress and hung a book caddy.

nobody in my family ever overreacts: So You Want To Buy A Camper

nobody in my family ever overreacts: So You Want To Buy A Camper

So You Want To Buy A Camper

Thankfully Jason's vacation time was approved. Now on to the next little hiccup. We did not own a camper with which to travel the country. Just a minor detail. No biggie. (A cost analysis had already determined that staying in a hotel was not cost effective... excluding the cost of *buying* a camper. Which would be amortized over the course of at least three major vacations. Plus all the other fun family times we would spend in our camper. Therefore making it not as costly as one might think. Please note: One of my strengths is that I can rationalize anything given enough determination.)

So I know there are some of you who are undoubtedly thinking, "Why do you need a camper? What's wrong with a tent?". No. No. Nope. No. Before our stay-cation, during which this entire plot was hatched, we stayed in a tent for three nights in the Black Hills. Another one of Jason's dreams. He's got a lot of dreams. Let it suffice to say that I did not enjoy staying in a tent. Or setting up a tent. Or tearing down a tent. Or when the tent leaked in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm. Or that the tent was like a sauna. I could honestly go on and on. There will be no tent on this trip.

Based on the tent trip I had a short list of things I required in a camper. 1-Separate space for everyone. Full-time separate spaces. None of this, "Marcus sleeps on the table that converts to a bed." Because what happens in the middle of dinner when Marcus has a grand mal trantrum and needs to be alone? I suppose he could sit in the tub. But that's not very practical. One thing that I've learned over the last several years is that little boys need their own space. Plus I'm not making beds up every day. All beds will remain operational and made at all times. 2-Climate control is necessary. I do not do well if I'm too hot. Or too cold. Or feeling sticky with humidity. I understand that all of these things will happen in nature, but I'm more concerned with the *after* nature portion of our days. Over the course of this trip we will be going from needing heat in Glacier to being in the sweltering desert at a place called Valley of Fire. And obviously needing air conditioning. 3-A bathroom. Specifically a toilet. I hope this is self explanatory. 4- Not hideous finishes. I understand that the upholstery won't affect the actual trip. But I don't want to be trapped in 100 square feet with a bunch of ugly for 30 days. I just don't.

And so it began. It was like a full-time job. Thankfully I was recovering from surgery and the kids had all started school so I could truly devote an inordinate amount of time to being on the internet.  I had to check Craigslist, a half-dozen camper dealers, and sites devoted especially to used campers, several times a day.

I knew our budget. I knew we needed four beds and curtains that weren't ugly. So to me, our options were virtually unlimited. Turns out there a lot of things to consider when buying a camper. None of which I was remotely interested in. All of which were, in actuality, critical. Length adds to weight and can make it harder to control. And we HAD to stay under some weight number printed in the engine of the Yukon. But not just under that number. Under that number with the camper FULLY loaded. There's something about tongue weight and weight distributing hitches and sway bars. And lots of numbers. So many weights that had to be just so. Jason slowly but surely made it through all the internet had to offer on the various subjects and a few more restrictions were added to my search. This whittled down our options significantly. We looked at several campers locally but none of them were quite what Jason now had in his mind as acceptable. We were suddenly considering driving to Michigan or Kentucky to get just the right camper, at just the right price. Things had clearly escalated quickly. We were obsessed. I cried at least twice over campers that "slipped through our fingers". Yeah.

Finally a camper came available that met all our expectations including price. And we only had to drive to Omaha. Phew. I don't know if I would have actually gotten into the car to drive to Kentucky. Jason definitely would have. He has dreams you know.

So we were off to Omaha on a day trip fully expecting to be dragging a camper back with us. We checked out the camper. Made a list of things that needed to be fixed and made an appointment to go back in a couple weeks to do a final walk through/around. The excitement was palpable. We were going to buy a camper! WE WERE GOING TO BUY A CAMPER AND DRIVE AROUND THE UNITED STATES FOR 30 DAYS! Oh man. Wait. What?! Things just got real. We needed to figure out how to camp.   

nobody in my family ever overreacts: My Dream... 33 Days in a Camper/Car with 3 Smelly Little Boys*

nobody in my family ever overreacts: My Dream... 33 Days in a Camper/Car with 3 Smelly Little Boys*

My Dream... 33 Days in a Camper/Car with 3 Smelly Little Boys*

Isn't that everyone's dream? Apparently not. When we tell people what we're doing, the responses vary only slightly. They usually start out with some version of, "Oh." Like wide-eyed, fake smile, you must be bleeping insane, oh. Followed by, "You're very brave/adventurous/crazy." Crazy usually has at least a cameo in the conversation. But they always end with, "That will be a trip to remember! You'll have fun!" Heavy emphasis on YOU-not me. I would never do something so Griswold like. Occasionally, someone will squeak in a, "I'm jealous". But not really. Because you're mental.

So, now that we're closing in on the trip's sail date, things are getting a little kooky around the Munsch house. First, an inordinate amount of time and money is being spent on little things we need in order to have a successful trip. Sunglasses that aren't from the dollar store, the biggest box of baby wipes you can buy, the perfect knife for Jason, a little tiny pot for Jason to keep in his backpack in case we are stranded and he has to boil us water (I'm certain he secretly hopes this will actually happen), more skorts and tank tops than I can possibly wear in a reasonable amount of time, flashlights (we have so many flashlights we could open a store), and the list seems to grow daily. 

Second, we "practice camp" every weekend. Because wouldn't you want to practice camping for 15 days before you went on a 33 day camping trip? Obviously! But honestly, we are working out some kinks on the practice trips. Backing the trailer into place and leveling the trailer (we are now yelling at each other a little less than before). Gauging our water consumption (no 45 second showers (this is not an exaggeration) that vacillate between luke warm and scalding (all in 45 seconds) until the night before we leave). And most importantly, determining just how much electricity we can use on just our battery power and the solar panel Jason installed. Because we will be camping for a total of 10 days without electrical hookups. Fancy right? Turns out you can't use very much electricity. At all. 

But, the main kink is that after 36 hours together, we're all pretty much over each other. Some people in this family need personal space and quiet every once in a while or they get cranky. Like barbarian cranky. Not to mention that most of us are delicate orchids who need the exact ratio of water, food, exercise, and sleep to function properly. Or we get barbarian cranky. Let's just suffice it to say, that we are all gong to have to mellow out if we want any chance of surviving this thing.

And, truthfully, I'd like not just to survive, but to thrive! We are going to see and do amazing things. Things that are on my bucket list. Things I can't wait to see my boys experience. National Parks galore: Yellowstone, Glacier, Zion, Arches, Rocky. Cities to explore: Seattle, San Francisco. Play time: Aquariums, boat tours, Disneyland, Legoland, the Ocean, white water rafting, Science center. And so much more.

I know there are people who think we're crazy, or that we won't make the whole trip (thanks for the support dad), or that it's a recipe for disaster. But I'm excited. I'm hopeful. I can't wait to start our adventure. 


*If you plan to use our absence to rob us blind, please cancel your plans because 1) we own literally nothing of value, 2) we have a full-time house sitter who is trained in the art of Jiujitsu, 3) if you get past the Jiujitsu master, Comic will eat you. Jilly will likely join in because she's a follower.

The beginning

Read Becky's post about how this crazy idea got started.
The Journey of Six Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Week Staycation

The Journey of Six Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Week Staycation

In 2014, we decided to save money on our yearly adults-only vacation. Well, we really didn't "decide" to save money, it was more like we spent thousands of dollars on a dying dog the entire previous year and had literally no vacation money. So instead of enjoying a beautiful, restful, week in Mexico, like the two previous years, in steps the glorious stay-cation. Now I'm sorry if you hate that word and are ready to quit reading right now because of it. But I don't know how else you sum up sending the kids (not the dogs) to the parents for an entire week and staying home. Together. With just the dogs. And 3000 projects none of which you intend to start but have listed on a notebook with little boxes for checking at completion. In retrospect stay-cation is really the nicest way to say, "we over estimated our ability to do nothing with each other for such a long time in our quiet, dilapidated house." Sure, we went to movies and ate out and watched PG-13 rated television during the day. But that stuff can only take you so far. By mid-week we were losing steam and gaining weight. It was now glaringly obvious that all those home improvement projects were not going to get started let alone finished. We had had A LOT of screen time. And we were all caught up on conversation. So naturally I was ready to plan the 2015 summer vacation.

Our modus-operandi had been to take a week in the hills as a family followed by a week of adults only in Mexico. Having been to Mexico the past two years I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to go back. Plus we'd gone to the hills four years in a row. There had to be some other arrangement. Once Jason caught on to what I was doing, he was adamant that we were not going back to the hills for a fifth straight year.Then Jason started in on his dream to buy a camper and live on the road for a year, home schooling, working remotely, and seeing all of America. Well hold up ONE MOMENT. I AM NOT homeschooling our children. Not in a house. And certainly not in a camper. And speaking of the house, what are we going to do, rent it out for a year? And throw the dogs in as an added... well I'd sell it as a bonus, but let's be real. I was not having the say dream and proceeded to stomp all over his.

But. I did like the idea of seeing the country. What if we just went for the summer (no home-schooling)? That's still too long a commitment for somebody to take the dogs and care for the house. We went to bed.

What did not go to bed was the crazy seed that had been planted in my head. And the planning I had started as I drifted off to sleep. We could do 30 days. Just a month. Jason could even take the time off so we won't have to worry about him working all the time on the road. Hmmm. This could work. I brought it up again (remember, we were out of things to talk about). Gave the hypothetical of a one month trip. Then we started talking about all the great places we'd want to see. And the things we wanted to share with the kids. I'm pretty sure Jason was still in dream land, but I had moved on. This was now happening for me. My parents could watch the dogs. Jellis could check on the house. I wouldn't plant anything that needed water. Oooo. What kind of camper could we get!? (Yeah. We don't own-and never have owned-a camper at this point.) We continued to talk about the trip in a dreamy way for the rest of the stay-cation.

Then, once Jason went back to work, I spent my days mapping out a route, started researching activities and campgrounds, and put a massive spreadsheet together with a projected timeline. My friends (and husband, and family) will tell you that I'm a bit of an impulsive person. And here it was. All of my impulsiveness on stage! Never mind that we did not own a camper. Or that Jason wasn't sure if he could take the time off work. Or how much this little adventure would cost. I was ready to book campgrounds! My excitement was rising out of control. I decided I'd better let Jason know so that we could cross the first hurdle of getting the time off. Turns out he was more than receptive. Now we were both ready to plan the trip of a lifetime!