Erickson Road Trip 2019 Week 2

As promised from my last post, pictures of Witches Gulch at the Wisconsin Dells.  And the family with Uncle Larry and Aunt Barbara, two of the kindest people we know.  We are blessed to call them family. After Wisconsin we camped at the Indiana Dunes State Park, adjacent to the newest National Park in America, Indiana Dunes National Park.  It was just made a NP in February and they still hadn't gotten around to posting the sign, so I made the kids get down to take the picture anyway.  I need my sign pics!  The park is on the Indiana border with Lake Michigan.  We waded around a bit in the lake and Paul taught Darcy how to catch the waves while skipping rocks.  They would skip 8-10 times if you hit it right.  It was a nice place that we wished we had allowed more time to visit and swim.  Maybe next trip!?

 We camped in Indiana and backtracked the next day into Chicago to spend the day sightseeing.  And we saw a lot of sites!  We started out at the underwhelming Navy Pier and walked the River Walk through the city, all the way to Willis (Sears) Tower, to Millennium Park, and back to the Pier.  7 miles in all, with a few dodges in doors or under overhangs to avoid the sporadic rain showers.  It was a long but very fun day.  Chicago is a beautiful city built on the river, but once again, I give the people of Chicago a big fat "F."  While Bree and I were in line for the bathroom at the tower a woman passed us all by saying, "Hannah?  Hannah?" and then standing by one of the stalls.  I assumed she was waiting for her little daughter until an old lady walked out of the stall and gave the other lady a look like who the heck are you and why are you standing here?  The fake-concerned-mother slipped into the stall!  She totally cheated and bypassed the line and cut in front of my 9 year old little girl!  Just like Chicagoans do when they are driving!  Bree and I loudly expressed our incredulity to each other, hoping the mean lady would hear.  I have never experienced that before.  So yes, you Chicago people need to take some manners lessons or something.  The world does not revolve around you!  Other than that though, we had a great experience in the Tower.  We all stood on the Skydeck Ledge without falling off the building!  The first step out sure makes you pause while your stomach does flip-flops, but once you're out there its pretty cool.  We took all allotted 90 seconds to take pictures!  We also saw the "Bean" in the park which is a metallic reflective weird shaped thing.  Not sure what the purpose of it is other than a cool place to take selfies.  Just an addendum, we learned last trip about all the toll roads in the east and how you needed change on hand and it wasn't always safe to avoid them, so this time we have an E-ZPass transponder which allows us to drive right through the toll booths and feel like we're getting away with something by not stopping.  Until we look at the account and see the exorbitant charges from just one day in Chicago.  How in the world do people around here afford to drive?  And where in the world is this toll money going?  Certainly not to road repair!  I'm convinced someone will become a billionaire if they can come up with a road surface that can withstand the weather in the Midwest.  Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana have the most torn up road systems we have ever experienced.  Its incredibly awful and is enough to deter me from ever moving here.  That, along with the heat, humidity, bugs, rude people, incredible amounts of deer road-kill, and flat landscapes with no variations except the grassed over garbage dump mounds.  Pretty sure if it wasn't for the really, really great Erickson family members who live in the area, I wouldn't vote no if the Midwest wanted to secede from the Union.  A couple of good things though, the Midwest has HUGE flags flying everywhere and seem very patriotic.  Also, the gas has been pretty cheap, averaging in the $2.60's.  So I guess it isn't all bad?

From Indiana we headed north into Michigan to spend some time at the family farm which has been in the family since 1925.  In order to find this place on a map, you do as Michiganders do and hold your left hand up with fingers together and thumb a little apart - its shaped like Michigan sans the UP.  Then, you point to a place on your knuckle or back of your hand to explain just where something is located on your "map."  I love it!  What a fun way to relate to your state.  So the farm is on the lower part of your ring finger or there-abouts.  We stayed 3 nights and had 2.5 days full of fun.  The 4-wheelers are always a hit and all 4 kids tried their hand at driving this time.  The 3 oldest loved it but Bree wasn't too thrilled about it.  She drove with me behind her helping and she only drove about 100 yards.  At least she can say she drove.  The stargazing was AMAZING and so were the fireflies!  Oh how I love fireflies!  Since Michigan is on the very western edge of the eastern time zone it didn't get fully dark till about 11:30 so we had late nights but it was so worth the lost sleep.  Gorgeous stars meeting up with fields full of fireflies.  Probably my best memory of the trip so far.  The second day we played a mean game of cut-throat croquet and went to the Amish store, Yoders, for lunch and a bunch of delicious baked goods.  The Amish have created a large presence in the area in recent years and we watched horse carts with families driving by and waving quite often.  That was a neat experience too.  I love when the kids get to see all these different people doing their best to get by, living life their way, even though its very different from ours.  Except for the Chicagoans of course.  The second day Paul's Aunt Merrie and Uncle Arnie came to visit with us.  Cousin Laurie and her 2 boys Logan and Brady were there too.  That was fun hanging out with them all.  Once again, Paul's family is amazing.  They are all so kind and great to spend time with.  I married into a wonderful family.  We had fun visiting, playing baseball in the searing heat, and fishing with some of the kids, once again in the searing heat.  Darcy caught her first fish and was so happy she actually kissed it!  Mason caught a couple, too, in the same pond he caught his first fish 6 years ago on the best day of his life!  It was all catch and release and I noticed the kids caught and the parents released.  None of the kids wanted to touch the slimy fish!  We visited with a bunch of cousins who live in the area too.  It was a very nice family time.  Paul took some amazing drone footage of the farm and surrounding area at sunrise that he has on his YouTube channel.  It can be found at https://youtu.be/qyYv6M7AWUY Its a beautiful area but once again I had to convince myself there were mountains behind clouds so I could catch my bearings.  The wide open land does a number on my mind.  I feel landlocked or something?  Not sure what it is but I need some mountains or beaches nearby for my sanity.  We had a little gopher in the lawn who was very interested in our comings and goings and we decided to name him Bob.  By the end of the stay he had disappeared, probably because his home had been run over one too many times by 4-wheelers.  Sorry Bob!  We were sorry to say goodbye to family yesterday as we packed up and moved on a bit further east in Michigan for one more night.

Yesterday we visited the Henry Ford complex in Dearborn, MI.  We got there a little too late to see both the assembly line and museum so we just went to the assembly line to watch them put together F150's.  That was an interesting place.  The assembly lines are pretty cool to experience.  I guess I never really thought of all the tiny little details that go into putting vehicles together but there were so many workers working on their individual tasks.  My favorite part was watching them install the center console.  It was neat to watch.

 And then today, of course, we stopped in Ann Arbor to visit the University of Michigan!  We love the Wolverines!  There was a flag football tournament going on so the nice ticket taker let us run in to look at the stadium without paying as long as we came right back out.  OK!  That's a great place to watch a football game.  We loaded up on U of M gear and made our way to our spot for the night in Streetsboro, OH.  The kids wanted a KOA because of their amenities but it is 10,000 degrees out with 10,000% humidity and all the amenities cost extra so we're pretty much holed up in our air conditioned trailer for the night.   I am ready to get out of the Midwest!

 Things I have learned from week 2:

1.  Google takes away all the fun conversations we used to have speculating about so many questions on our trips.  Now we just google the answers and its not quite as engaging.  And I lost my job as the walking encyclopedia since Google usually knows better than I and is less long-winded.

2.  So far we haven't had too many misdirections from our GPS system, but she must have steered us wrong a time or two that I can't remember because we have officially dubbed her Beans - as in "full of beans."  Paul has 3 GPS systems set up in the car, plus my phone and the over-sized travel atlas I have on my lap at all times.  Usually we can get a consensus on which is the right road to take.  But I'll take the good old paper atlas any day.

 3.  Never leave a bunch of bananas on the stove while driving in Wisconsin.  Up until that point, that's where we kept them.  Until we pulled into the church parking lot last Sunday with our gas alarm going off in the trailer.  After a thorough investigation, we found the bananas on the floor with a gash and bruise that looked like it had bounced off the stove and hit the burner switch and turned the gas on while we were traveling the horrible roads.  The propane tanks had emptied into the trailer but we were able to air it out while at church.  Darn Wisconsin roads.

4.  Bree gives amazing massages!  She sits right behind me and every once in a while her little hands steal up onto my shoulders and give me a very nice massage.  She's a sweetheart, always trying to please.  She seems to be the most homesick, wishing she could sleep in her own bed.  I think everyone else is doing fine.  I hardly even remember St Helens during the course of the day.  I'm pretty sure I could be a full-time RVer.

Road Trip Summer 2019 Week 1 3/7

On the road again!  (Cue the Willie Nelson)  Its sabbatical time again and we are hitting the road for another epic Erickson road trip!  I decided to revive the blog to keep track of the finer points of the trip, but I totally forgot how to format this program so it may turn out to be a mess.  Oh well, the memories are what count and they are real!  So over a year ago we bought a new trailer and a new Expedition to pull said trailer with the expectation we could actually take our road trip without breaking down.  Knock on wood!  So far so good, though its only been 10 days.  We fit pretty well, even though bodies have grown quite a bit since 2013.  And if you're interested in our 2013 trip then you can search this blog and find it.  I don't remember how to link it :)  We left on this trip June 14th, the day after school got out.  Kids weren't thrilled with the timing but I think they've come around now.  This will be our last huge trip as a family as kids are getting older and have responsibilities and activities they are committed to.  So we have to make it a good one!  Drew has 49 states, Mason has 48, and Darcy and Bree started the trip with 38.  By the time we're done they will all have 49, with Hawaii the only one they are all missing.  They are on their own for that one. 

For the first three days we had LONG stretches of driving.  Our first night was spent in Spokane, WA.  My home state.  So I won't say anything bad about it.  But just a warning, I have definite opinions on the states we traveled to and I don't mean to offend but there are some pretty wonky things going on out here in America!  I'll call it as I see it, with my own Pacific Northwest bias backing me up.  This beautiful river was along our site in Spokane.  We saw some guys crossing the footbridge with a guitar and some equipment and then saw them on the ridge above us after we had crossed over.  One guy started singing and we guessed a music video?  Nope!  Another guy was spreading flowers on the ground and it was a setup for a marriage proposal!  So cool!  I'd never witnessed one, other than my own, and it was a good one!  She said yes and all of us on the bank of the river clapped and whistled.

From Washington, we traveled to Montana.  A couple observations on Montana:  They don't leave their garbage cans outside and they don't travel with pets.  How do we know?  Our Rubber-Neckers game challenged us to find both for 5 points and it took FOREVER to find either one!  I always thought I remembered central/eastern Montana as brown and ugly.  I think we were there at the perfect time because it was neither.  Gorgeous rolling green scenery escorted us to North Dakota.  We had a killer thunderstorm that broke right over us that night in Bozeman too.  It was awesome!

The next night was spent in Bowman, ND so Bree and Darcy could pick up a state.   That was a nice area, too.  That is a hard state to get to and we took quite a round about way to Wyoming to get there for them.  And I'm not totally sure they care how many states they have been too.  It might just be me :)  They are so lucky to have me for a mom!  I've been pleasantly surprised at how many places have recycling along the way this time.  The last trip I felt horrible about all the water bottles we were throwing in the trash.  Well, ND must not have gotten the memo about saving the planet.  We had neighbors in our campground who were actually starting huge conflagrations with their Styrofoam.  Not an impressive moment to say the least.

The first real stop on our trip was Devils Tower in Wyoming.  Its been a bucket list item of mine for a while now.  It so didn't disappoint!  Its just this pillar of an extremely rare igneous rock (80 % of the world's supply is right there), and scientist aren't quite sure how it got there.  There are 3 main scenarios and I'm not sure which one I buy, but it is a really cool place.  A sacred place, too, to the Native American populations in the area.  Oh, side note, when we got to the campground it was a first come, first served place.  So we dropped a kid or two at one place we liked, moved on, and decided we needed to fill the tank with water before we set up in a spot.  Well, the spot we were in to fill up looked as good as any so we decided to just set up there.  Now this is totally our fault and I totally own that we were in the wrong, but we got all set up and I payed at the kiosk and when I went to put the tag on our post, I discovered there was already a tag for that night but no stuff around.  We were so distracted by the water and looking for a space that we didn't check the post.  About that time I was telling Paul it was already tagged, after we had already completely dropped the trailer and had it all set up.  A van drove up and the middle aged guy driving said it was their spot and the ranger was coming.  OK, couldn't we talk about it without calling in the authorities?  I apologized profusely because it totally was our mistake.  The ranger was nice, though there was no reason to get her involved. It just set kind of an ugly tone.  So I asked the fine gentleman if there was any way we could keep the spot and they move?  His answer? "No.  YOU can move."  Seriously?  They had a van.  No tent.  Two grown people.  No stuff.  And he made us move our massive caravan.  We got hooked up in record time, I was grumbling unrepeatable words, and as I was helping Paul back out, the woman had the gall to say, "My, that's a long one!"  I very passive-aggressively turned my back to her and walked away.  Once again, I own the mistake, but jeez.  What a jerk that guy was.  Fortunately it didn't ruin our experience at America's first National Monument, but it may have ruined theirs.  It was 2 in the afternoon when the incident took place and they never left the site after that.  I like to think I had a hand in scaring them enough that they were afraid to leave again.  Grrrrrr.   We did see some pretty cool prairie dog towns in the area also.  It was a very nice place and a great stop, once we found an unclaimed camping spot.

The next day we made it to Mt Rushmore, one of my favorite places in the nation.  I love South Dakota!  The Black Hills area is so beautiful.  We arrived at the memorial to a bit of rain but it moved out just as we got to the avenue of flags.  It held off the entire time we hiked around the faces and Sylvan Lake, where Cibola, the Lost City of Gold was set in the second National Treasure movie.  It was a stunning lake with another nice hike.  We also drove down to Custer State Park to see the bison and the friendly burros we met 6 years ago.  We drove the Needles Highway where we squeaked through 3 tunnels in the rock.  One was a pretty tight fit as the kids could reach out and touch the walls as we drove through.  Another gorgeous experience in the Black Hills.  As we drove back to the trailer the rain started to come down again.  It was perfect timing.  We had one big crack of thunder that night, too.  I love midwest thunder storms!  The black hills never get old to me.  

We finished off our adventures in SD with a stop at world famous Wall Drug (look it up) and a drive through the Badlands.  Another family favorite.  Once again, it was the perfect time of year to be there because the grass was dark green and there were beautiful wild flowers.  It was such a contrast between the dry rock and the vibrant foliage.  So gorgeous this time of year.  We were lucky to see it.  Its been kind of weird, taking the trip backward of what we did in 2013.  The weather this time has been completely opposite of our last trip.  We were dying of excessive heat from day 1 then, but we've been in pants and sweatshirts for most of this trip.  We're not complaining though!

We left SD and headed across the bottom of Minnesota on I90.  Minnesota has the best state welcome sign, but the very worst roads.  It was amazing how ripped up and pot-holed the freeway was!  We could feel the jarring in our bones every single mile across the state.  It was horrible.  Minnesota ought to be ashamed of itself.  We are training ourselves to gingerly open cupboards when we get back in the trailer after a day on the road because really, the roads have not improved a bit over 4 states now.  I know the midwest weather can do a number on roads but one would think they could come up with some type of surface that would work.  They are just unbelievably awful.  I promise I will never complain about Oregon roads again.   While in MN we stopped at the Spam museum.  It was Paul's idea!  It turned out to be a very friendly, bright, fun place.  I even bought two cans of weird types of Spam, though we haven't been brave enough to open them yet :)

We stayed 2 days in Wisconsin as Paul and his family lived near Milwaukee for a few years when he was young.  He has family in the area and we were treated to a great afternoon with Uncle Larry and Aunt Barbara.   They always take good care of us when we visit.  Its always nice to have someone else to talk to after a week on the road too!  Paul's cousin, Matt, loaned us a parking spot on his driveway and his theater room and laundry facilities for the night, even though he and his family were on vacation.  The Ericksons are great people and we just love them to death!  While in WI we went to Madison to check out the U of Wisconsin, an athletic favorite of some of us.  I tried to convince a kid to go to school there but didn't get any takers.  I can't say Wisconsin is my favorite state ever, though I do love the dairy farms and the squeaky cheese!  The people are pretty great too.  Darcy, Bree, and I ran through the state capitol building.  Now that is one place it would have been nice to spend more time.  It was amazing inside.  We also visited the Wisconsin Dells, the largest concentration of water parks in the US.  Unfortunately the weather was on the cool side for swimming all day so we played mini golf and took a jet boat ride on the Wisconsin River.  That was a ton of fun.  Our captain did all the tricks he could to get us wet!  We got to stop at a cool place called the Witches Gulch that was like nothing I've ever seen.  Paul took pictures of that place and I couldn't get them to load for this post so I'll make sure to get them on the next one.  We have seen some incredible scenery so far and we're only 10 days in!  We also took our own little tour of Lambeau Field in Green Bay.  I may just become a cheesehead!  That stadium was incredible.  I've never seen such a thing. 

Today we finished out our time in WI with church at Paul's old ward in Brookfield.  He didn't recognize any faces but did remember the building.  We also got to see his old schools and house he lived in for a few year.  Fun trip down memory lane.  We drove past Chicago today to camp at Indiana Dunes State Park and we'll go back to the city tomorrow.  Can I just say that Chicago drivers are insane?  Seriously, I've never experienced anything like it.  They drive out into the right shoulder to pass, just so they can get one car ahead.  And they merge at the very last millisecond from three lanes over and expect you to let them in.  It was so stressful getting though there as people were cutting off our huge caravan with no thought as to how we were supposed to slow enough to keep from hitting them.  It was seriously insane and I hope no one else ever has to experience it.  At that moment I was thinking I'd like to return to my little bubble in St Helens, OR.  Yikes!  Tonight we are in Indiana, and the humidity is in overdrive!  I think our fair weather has left us and the suffering is about to begin.  I feel like I'm in a tropical rain forest and should be looking out for alligators.  The rain is pouring too, which probably doesn't help.  I think, and I'm sorry if I offend, that the midwest is probably my least favorite region in the US.  But its nice to visit every 6 years I guess.

Things I've learned on the trip so far:

1.  Traveling with teenagers is quite different than traveling with young kids like the last time.  Not necessarily bad, but different.  We are a lot of big bodies now when we're all together and we take up a lot of space.  Wal Mart is a nightmare when we're all there together!  The kids are having a good time, I think, and going with the flow.  Bree is the most talkative and interested in each stop.  The others mostly like the WiFi.

2.  I can drive the caravan!  I actually drove for a couple of hours in Montana and didn't crash!  I never drove on our last trip.  Hopefully I can spell Paul a few hours here and there so he doesn't get too warn out.

3.  Paul is a rock star, but I already knew that.  He is amazing at how he handles the stress of driving each day, listening to me and my complaints and crazy conversations, and of course, the maneuvering of our trailer through many tight spots.  He's awesome.