Trading Wheels for Walls: A Holiday Weekend with Friends
After almost a year of living full-time on the road, it felt both strange and luxurious to step into a sticks and bricks house again. Suddenly, we had room to spread out, hot showers that didn’t come with a mental calculation of tank levels, and a fenced in backyard for Kaia to run off leash.
Tight Squeeze
With one more tight squeeze and parking experience to add to the road rash we’re another step removed from rookie status and working toward seasoned veteran.
Sensory Overload
So how in the world did I find myself standing at the base of St. Helens thinking…meh, that’s nice.
Small RV, Big Drama: My war with a winged demon
I killed it. And I meant to do it. I told myself I was protecting the dog but who are we kidding. This flying demon from H-E-double hockey sticks was five feet, I mean inches long with a hornet’s body and a three-inch tail.
Purls of Wisdom
Peals of laughter, screeches of joy, biker gangs (the type with playing cards clothes-pinned to their spokes) roaming enthusiastically … the campground was abuzz with activity. It was actually refreshing as, so far in our journey, most campgrounds have been relatively quiet. All was well until the little outlaws decided to invade our site. Kaia was not impressed, and neither was I.
Together the Whole Way
The hike started off easy on a packed gravel trail. I was second-guessing myself for bringing walking poles and boots as overkill until the gentle slope gave way to a few snappy climbs and more tree roots and rocky obstacles. About a mile into the hike, surrounded by beautiful landscape, my heart rate was higher than I would have liked.
The Road Less Traveled…For a Reason
We left the campground in Washington and headed east toward Idaho to explore the beautiful towns near Lake Pend D’Orielle. It was about an hour drive and we had no trouble navigating to a Home Depot on the north side of the lake. With that mission completed we decided on a nature drive around part of the lake. Fired up by a level gravel road winding through the backwaters and a mountainous backdrop, our first mistake was made.
A Bit of a Learning Curve
So we fled the heat to this current “remote” wilderness outpost. While the nearest metropolitan area is only an hour away, the campground is wild enough that there is no hookup for sewer. That means a finite capacity in the camper to contain what goes down the drains of our shower, sinks and toilet. It also means trekking down a narrow dirt path at all hours to reach the shower house…that a large number of other campers use. Let’s just say that not everyone was raised with the same importance on cleanliness.
From Chaos to Clarity
All of that stuff, all of those scheduled events, took up space and time. It was like I was on one side of the room and Donelle was on the other. We could wave at each other easily enough but it sure was hard to hold hands.