Day… Day… I’ve lost track of the days…

I’m sitting at the public library in Custer, South Dakota which is about 12 miles from the Bluebell Campground in Custer State Park. I biked here, which just about wore me out. About halfway into the bike ride I remembered that we were in the Black HILLS. I’m not looking forward to the return trip. On the other hand, I did bike right next to a running herd of buffalo and around a mountain pass with a view across the Great Plains. To allow me the pleasure of biking to to Custer, Jen has taken the kids fishing to Stockade Lake. Hopefully, I won’t get the kid-has-a-fish-hook-in-the-eye cell phone call.

Since the last post, we spent a night in Cedar Pass Campground in the Badlands National Park (see picture on left) . The Badlands are stunning. It’s a lot like Bryce National Park but with greater contrast with the flat Plains and less color. We all took a 3 mile hike into the peaks and spires. Very cool.

After the Badlands, we took a travel day through Rapid City to pick up a rental car and then to Custer State Park which is just south of Mt. Rushmore. Yesterday, we spelunked in Wind Cave National Park, lunched next to Crazy Horse monument, visited Mt. Rushmore and then drove home on Needles Highway. Today is fishing, biking and hiking day. Tomorrow, horesback riding in the morning and then off to Wyoming.

I think the kids realize that this is a seldom-in-a-lifetime experience about 20% of the time. About 60% of the time they are just having a good time. The remaining 20% of the time they are totally oblivious. For instance, while driving through the scenic loop of the Badlands, Quin and Zachary passed the time battling each other’s cut-out Transformers that they learned about after watching the video. While the kids may have missed out on the Badlands scenery, Optimus Prime and Megatron sure enjoyed it. However, any wildlife, even the 300th deer that we’ve passed, always elicits a shout of “Deer!” or “Rabbit!” Also, anything that involves climbing is very well received.

Frankly, the RV camping routine is a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of work. Basic things like meals, showers, cleaning up, bedtime and other routines are not routine. This is compounded by the inevitable unpredictable RV item. For instance, yesterday we had to move our campsite three sites over because of reservation logistics. While that is only about 300 feet, it requires us to move the RV, re-hook it into electricity and re-level it. For the uninitiated, "leveling" requires that you jack up various of the four corners of the vehicle to make it level so you can extend the "side-outs" which doubles the living space. For our RV, we have an automatic leveling system which analyzes the level and then sends down any of four hydraulic jacks to raise the RV to the appropriate height. With particularly unlevel camp sites, it is not uncommon to have one or more RV tires off of the ground. This does not inspire confidence, particularly not in Jen. For really unlevel surfaces, like the one we moved to, the necessary jacking up can be greater than the jack's extension. When this happens a light on the auto-leveling system says "Air Dump." These words are usually followed or preceded by other words unmentionable in a family blog.

We solved the problem by adjusting our RV such that it sits crossways across the parking pad to reduce the angle. The RV and the pad now look like the criss-cross of airplane runways. Whatever, it works. It's time to end this blog as my guilt at leaving Jen with the kids has finally overcome my reluctance to bike 12 miles of mountains. Until the next post...

First Day in South Dakota

We just spent our first night in South Dakota. I’m not quite sure where, though I see a lot of trailers, propane tanks and tractors. We pulled off around midnight to park in the Ponderosa Motel and RV Park. It’s cold, rainy, and windy. Maybe this is why they call it the Badlands.

Yesterday, we spent the day and previous evening at Blue Mounds State Park in Luverne, Minnesota (pronounced, Laverne like “Laverne and Shirley”). That park was about our speed. Not too crowded, and fun biking and hiking trails for the kids. There was a herd of fenced in buffalo for the kids to get excited about, even though they were too far away to really see.

We left around dinner time so that we could do most of our driving at night. We stopped at the Corn Palace in Mitchell South Dakota for dinner. Places like the Corn Palace and Wall Drug are a testament to South Dakotan ingenuity. There is absolutely no reason to visit Mitchell or Wall except that the Corn Palace and Wall Drug have been so heavily marketed that they become a destination unto themselves – not unlike Paris Hilton.

Now, we’re off to the Badlands to find a campsite (hopefully). We’ll get a rental car tomorrow to tour Mt. Rushmore, Wind Caves National Park, Jewel Cave and others. Now, to find a place for laundry…

P.S. Bill Shank sent us a picture of us in front of the RV just before the trip. Also, here's a picture of a foxy, truck-driving Momma...

Link To Pictures...

Though we aren't able to download our pictures to our computer, Spiro and Christie did and sent us a link.

Days 5 & 6

This is a hurried post, as I finally have access to the Internet. The only problem with emulating Clark and Ellen Griswold is that they had to hold John Candy hostage to be able to ride the Wallyworld rides. Rather than giving our kids to Social Services, we went to Mt. Olympus theme park in Wisconsin Dells yesterday. This is the same Mt. Olympus that mixes ancient civilizations by placing a giant replica of the Coliseum in front of it. Actually, for upper Midwestern schoolchildren, this is a great way to learn about two ancient civilizations in one great tasting bite!

The kids loved the water parks and the roller coasters. Quin went on his first roller coaster as he was able to just get over the height limit by gelling his hair up.

After the park, we packed up and let the kids sleep while we drove to middle Minnesota. We will get to Blue Mounds State Park on the MN and SD border tonight.

One more note, I don’t have the connection between our camera and our computer, so all pictures are from the cell phone!

Days 3 & 4 In Which The Smiths Pimpeth and Un-pimpeth and Re-pimpeth ye olde Vehicle of Pleasure.

So it begins. On Monday we left the friendly and helpful confines of Howell, Michigan to venture to parts unknown. First stop, Indiana Dunes State Park in Chesterton, Indiana where we met with our friends-now-witnesses Spiro and Christie Maroulis. Indiana Dunes is a picturesque state park quaintly nestled between the heavy industry of Gary, Indiana and a nuclear power plant. Of course we swam! Indiana Dunes sported a pleasant beach frequented by fish of unusual size with varying numbers of eyes.

Like all RV newbies, the first thing we did when we arrived in the park was to compare our RV to the rest. It was apparent that we had a larger RV than most, a posher RV than most, and were far less adept at RV preparation. Comedy ensued. To the unititiated, preparing an RV may seem as easy as 1) park and 2) sleep, but ‘tis not so. After parking, the RV must be leveled, the electricity must be attached, the water hooked up, the sewer line screwed in, the side-outs sided-out and the awning unfolded.

Remarkably, RV pimping and un-pimping at Indiana Dunes yielded only awning problems. After struggling for 30 minutes trying to get the damn awning rolled up, Jen batted her eyes at a more experience RVer who quickly fixed the problem. My manhood sunk a little, however I was soon behind the wheel again – yielding another testosterone rush. We were not so lucky in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin – tonight’s stop.

Wisconsin Dells is a water-park themed Jersey Shore for Midwesterners. Driving in, I saw a billboard advertising a year-round magic show. Can’t figure out how he survives in the winter. Directly across the street from our RV park is the Mt. Olympus water park which sports a seemingly full-size replica of the Coliseum. Immediately upon entering the Bonanza RV park, we were banded with fluorescent green bracelets giving us free access (and them free advertising) to Mt. Olympus.

We had planned to swim at the pool or maybe even go to the water park after arriving, but the Vehicle of Pleasure had other plans. Today, we learned a few things. One, a sewer line between the RV and the sewer pipe is best kept short with a noticeable grade. Long sewer lines with minimal grades yield slow-flowing sewage requiring manual lifting of previously un-graded sewer lines. Manual lifting often reveals un-noticed holes which yields leaks and a week’s worth of hilarity for an 8 year-old boy. Two, “plugging” the water in is easier than it sounds. In this case, the hose connection broke under initial water pressure which resulted in a sudden and dramatic soaking of Jen. This yielded a week of hilarity for a 5 year-old boy.

After finally setting everything up, we biked to a restaurant called the House of Embers for dinner. Lacking a car, our local transportation system calls for me to attach a “tag-along” (a one-wheeled “extendo-bike” that attachs to my seat stem) for Quin, Jen to carry Sawyer in a bike seat, and Zach to ride by himself. Today was the first unveiling. It worked OK, though our range is limited. By attaching paniers, it’s also what we’ll use for local errands like grocery shopping or buying new water and sewer hoses.

A few other notes… Jen drove for the first time today. We were on a seemingly innocuous stretch of highway after Chicago when we pulled over to switch. After switching, the road suddenly narrowed to two lanes with no shoulders for about 10 miles. Trial by fire!… After seeing the multiple water parks, arcades, gift shops, mini-golf courses and other touristy stuff, Quin told me he wished he lived in Wisconsin… So far, the RV-driving snack food of choice seems to be beef jerky, string cheese and diet Coke. It’s in the fridge, easy to eat, and fabulous for the arteries…. Given the difficulty of preparing different foods for Sawyer, and that he only eats about 8 things, he may only eat yogurt, bananas and cold, plain pasta for 90 consecutive meals.

Yes, as you can see by the above picture, I have grown a beard. The combination of joblessness, a backpacking trip, and a month-long vision quest was too powerful to resist. Since my last beard was about 15 years ago, and its growth was, shall we say, locally productive, I’ve never had a chance to philosophize about a beard.

So, at the risk of heedlessly tossing away my readers and advertising revenue, I will digress into thoughts on men’s hair. For those uninterested in the subject, TURN BACK NOW….. That’s better.

Now that I have a full beard, I am wondering what to do with it. How do I maximize the number of beard styles? It seems that there is a natural evolution of styles. First, one abandons the razor completely. Like a ski slope, you’ve got to build a base. Second, you’ve got to clear some brush. Left untended, there will be no distinction between one’s chest hair and one’s facial hair (or so I’ve heard). Third, the shave down to the jaw-line will allow one to experiment with a little more hair removal without damaging the beard’s essence. Fourth, go for lamb chops. Be Elvis. Fifth, the goatee. So, with one beard, you can generate 5 distinct styles. I’m on stage 3.

Now that I’m on the subject of men’s hair, here’s another thought that I’ve never had a chance to publish (you’re so lucky). It seems to me that men’s hair obeys a natural Law of Hair Conservation. Men’s hair is neither created nor destroyed, it simply moves around. How else to describe a receding hairline and the appearance of, say, ear hair? Why else would the baldest people have the hairiest backs? Clearly, there’s a lot to think about here…

While I’m on the subject, how great would it be to have eyebrows like J.R.R. Tolkein? I’m going to put that on my Bucket List. With that, I sign off.

Day 1 – 3 Kids, 11 Hours, Overstuffed RV

At least we didn’t have the dog. With bikes coming out the back and top of our minivan, we made it to Howell Michigan. The kids remain un-throttled, a successful car trip!

Today (Day 2) I practiced driving the RV. After about 10 minutes of getting used to its width and its sway, it started to be fun! I feel like I’m on the bridge of the Enterprise. The rest of the day has been consumed by packing the land-yacht with camping equipment, bikes, food, bedding, clothes, electronics, kids games, kids activities, cooking equipment and everything else we need to really rough it. Clearly, we’ll be lucky to survive the cruel and unforgiving environment into which we venture. Hello Bear Grylls!

Packing…

Today is July 31 (happy birthday Mom, Miles and Ellie!). The dog has been passed on to Mom; the house has been cleaned for our house sitters; the kids are yo-yo-ing between excitement and meltdown. How better to start a trip! Fortunately, I remain unemployed, so I can help at home – at least I think I’m helping.

We are feverishly packing clothes, pots, food, camping equipment, bikes and other stuff in preparation for our drive to Howell, Michigan tomorrow. We’ll stay a day in Michigan and then depart on Monday for Indiana Dunes State Park in Chesterton Indiana where we will meet with Spiro, Christie and family for the evening.