The roadtrip of a life

I have now been back for two days and am still living the road. What a great trip it turned out to be! I did it at a great time when gasoline prices were low. I left in mid-May when gas here cost $1.99 and the highest price I paid in the two months was $2.99 in the Chicagoland area and averaged around $2.60 across the states. Gasoline here is only $2.41 in town now. If I had done this trip last year I would have easily spent $2K more just for gasoline.

The best part of this trip, besides seeing Montana, was living the history. To drive along the Missouri River in Iowa and South Dakota, to see the Three Forks of the Missouri in Montana and to stop at marked sites where Lewis and Clark camped out, gave me a better view and feel of what the Corps of Discovery endured back in 1804-1806. Taking with Lakota people, walking Native American trails and seeing Ancient American dwellings and petroglyphs was another goal of mine. I did that, too. And to experience the "Wild" of the northern Rockies was of course the highlight of this entire trip. America truly is a beautiful country.

Roadtripping, I've discovered, is fun and easy in the Western States because of the many public lands. I spent less than $200 on lodging in the two months, prefering free "primitive" campsites in the National Forests. The National Forests have great campsites for those who already have water with them and who don't need hook-ups. The National Parks Service's campgrounds, in comparison, are crowded, loud, overpriced and often disappointing. Sadie loved the cascading waters from creeks we'd camp near. Having water available is quite an asset in the West.

I want to do this trip again, with Kevin, and experience Montana, Idaho, Wyoming again. He would love to see the Big Horn National Forest, the Gallatin National Forest, and the Bitterroots along the MT-ID border. Like me, he's no fan of the crowded resort parks managed by the National Park Service, where overweight Americans, rude foreign tourists (who I've seen purposely ignore "Do Not Cross" signs the park would post in areas of landslides or restoration projects) and overpriced goods are sold to masses of people in every corner.

It feels good just to stay home and work on the garden now. I certainly have my work cut out for me before school starts! The monsoonal rains were late this year, but we got a good rainfall yesterday which will make weed-pulling easier this morning. Kevin took great efforts in the garden while I was gone and we are getting a pumper crop of large green peppers, potatoes and turnips and beets. Last night he made a savory stew with our home-grown turnips.

Even my strawberries and blueberries are ripe. Those Quinalt strawberries are ideal for Arizona as they are huge and do well in the morning sun/afternoon shade.

Sadie and I bonded over the trip and she never leaves my sight, but she does fear Sara who pushes her out of the way. Yesterday Sadie hid in Kevin's closet until I called her out for a "Ride
into town to register for classes; the other two dogs insisted on going along so I ended up taking all three dogs into town for an hour. The van's still not completely cleaned out so it was a mess in the end...but they had fun.

And then an early-evening walk proved disastrous. My three-mile walk was aborted at the second mile because the dogs were pulling too hard. I was being led "for a drag" rather than
going on a walk. I had no fun. The dogs' body weight is too much for me. Nonetheless it was nice to see the neighborhood, wave at the familiar faces and see new ones. Some of the homes that were on sale in May have sold, others are now on the market.

Would I do this road trip again? Ideally, I would NOT have driven to Indiana and then up to South Dakota, but I needed to see Baby Ethan and the kids. I spent most of my reserve money there in Indiana taking care of the kids' needs; had I stayed out West I would have saved $2K but then not have seen the new baby, or seen all my friends there who truly made the trip enjoyable. I want to do big road trips every summer but stay in one region (like the Pacific Northwest) and stay in one town for several days before moving on...avoiding driving long distances on hot days; 120 miles is the most I prefer driving in one day.

The van did fine, too. But I think next time I will want to get a roof-top luggage carrier to prevent the clutter in the van that gets worse with dogs in the back sifting things around. I will shop around for a good one.

The shower bags I brought along worked GREAT for those private camp showers. I was able to stay clean and refreshed throughout the heat of summer, after dirty hikes, etc. And I brought enough clothes to last two weeks between washings. Maybe I brought along TOO much clothes as the bags were taking up space.

I ate a lot of Swiss cheese/flour tortillas along the way, mostly eating just one big meal a day. Toward the end, though I craved high protein foods like burgers and fries, the higher and longer I'd hike up the peaks. If I never see cheese and tortillas for the rest of the year, I'd be happy!

I did enjoy the many great breweries in Montana and the people I'd meet in the "taprooms." Drinking beer there, where hops, barley and wheat are grown locally, is an experience. The beers there are made with all-natural ingredients and make the cheap national brands like Budweiser, Coors, Miller or Michelob taste like rice or corn extract. I probably spent more money on beer than on food!

I never had to use my pistol or stun gun, although the lose dogs that would chase after Sadie gave me fleeting regrets that I didn't carry my stun gun with me, just to pull the trigger to scare off the hounds. Dogs do not like the sound of that zapper, and it's the sound alone that would scare them off. (Would that work on a hungry mountain lion or black bear as well?)

But life has its surprises. Deaths do happen and plans could change. I worry about Kevin's health every day because of his high blood pressure compounded with his smoking and drinking. If only I could get him working out again, or helping me walk the dogs in the evening!

I enjoy teaching for the summers off. I am still taking courses at the college here to prep for my Master's in Ed; this fall I am taking two history courses although I had hoped to take an English and Spanish course as well. (Scheduling conflicts prevented that). The high school I work at is a great school with wonderful staff and administrators. Teaching part-time and going to school in the evenings is a great schedule for me and I am happy with this arrangement.

And for the sake of my sanity I will not be returning to Bisbee. I will miss the after-school visits of Old Bisbee and hanging out with the weird people there, but the students in Bisbee are lacking the discipline and desire to be educated like they do in town; there is clearly a cultural divide between the two towns.

My teaching certificate now complete, all the courses now are just prep courses. I want to know more about American history and Literature (and that includes Native American history). The one major change down the road, however, would be the possibility of moving to Tucson to work as a German or Russian teacher at the upscale schools there. But does Kevin want to move there? He's happy here working with his co-workers; this winter he's earned another week of vacation which means next summer we could take a three-week roadtrip together if all works out! He would drive up to Montana himself if he could. And he'd be happy staying in camp drinking beer and cooking dinner while I explore the high peaks with one of the dogs. What a life!