Crater Lake

Since I ended up taking a sabbatical rather than working through this trip, we took advantage of the first few weeks of travel to not worry about how connected we were. We had no idea, though, how off the grid life could be from central Oregon through Wyoming. (At one point, Kevin described it as 'suffocating', but didn't actually display any true signs of withdrawal.) We're in Utah now, in LTE land, so I'm going to catch up on how we got here.

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Our first night of real RV’ing started on 8/8, as we left GP and headed for Diamond Lake. We stayed at the Diamond Lake RV camp as it’s the closest hookup campground to Crater Lake. 

We had a pull-though site at Diamond Lake, and really nice campers next to us. The golf-cart driving workers at the park were manic in their management, though. For example, chasing us through the park when we came back at night because they didn't see our pass, which was clearly hanging in the window. Then the 8am knock on the door because they don't allow clotheslines, and we'd hung a sopping wet dishcloth up outside. Our neighbor there had a good laugh at these antics, though, so it was a bonding experience. 

(I'm happy to report, too, that we haven't met anyone else taking their job this seriously as we continued onward.)

The weather wasn’t really nice enough to enjoy Diamond Lake (damp, damp, damp), but it was just a ten minute drive in the morning to get to Crater Lake. 

The first stop was the pumice desert. Check out these heavy rocks we can lift!

 

The first day was brisk—the gift shops sold a lot of hoodies that morning. We did the visitor’s centers and all of the overlooks on the west and south side. 

We also ventured off of the rim to the Lady of the Lake trail. It was a sweet walk through the forest. 

You know what happens when your 11-year old takes possession of your camera phone on a hike? 

You end up with two hundred pictures of chipmunks in your camera roll.

 

Our second day there we hiked the Cleetwood Cove trail down to the lake. Our lakeside lunch was my favorite part of the visit. We all soaked our feet in the freezing water, and enjoyed the sun breaks. The hike back up to the top of the rim was brutal, mostly because of the flat-footed tourists stomping down the ash trail.  

From there we headed south east, and saw the waterfalls and then went on the pinnacle trail. 

They reminded us of the hoodoos we saw in Banff.

We're so happy that we had the time to spend more than a few moments looking over the rim of the lake--this is a spectacular place.

 

 

Signal Mt

We hiked up Signal Mountain in Grand Teton park today. So beautiful!! Proud of the kids, too, as this is a 7-mile hike. 

No cell signal in Yellowstone

When we go to visitor centers and the kids are checking out exhibits we take advantage of the cell signal, but otherwise we have no connections. So, we'll aim to start posting again next week! (Unless we can sneak something in during a five-minute "I have 3 bars!" window.)

Transition week two: Grants Pass

Our week in Grants Pass was similar to Seattle, with Kevin and I plugging away at work projects we needed to wrap up before leaving, but for the kids it was a much more fun situation—grandparents! They were entirely spoiled, of course, with pie, cable, board games, and cuddles. We’d planned a lot more adventures for our time there, but the forest fires nixed all of those plans. Stepping outside, it was a very fine line between saying that you’d literally or figuratively stepped into a furnace. (Ok, still a metaphor, but I wouldn’t have given an eye roll to anyone that did utter the phrase). It was hot, and at times you couldn’t see 100ft for the smoke. Cue the N95 masks, and water-soaked bandanas. In those moments when the smoke cleared a bit the kids ran out of the house as fast as they could to get on the zip line or ATVs.

We also had time to stock up on the things we needed for the RV, like leveling blocks, random hoses (still claiming ignorance there until it’s absolutely necessary to learn), and more Command hooks than I though one family could possibly need to purchase. We also had time to realize that an important modification was necessary for our sanity in the RV—more curtains. The front queen bed has curtains, but the back bunks didn’t. Surprisingly, the light from a 13 year-old reading really bugs the 9 and 11 year-olds. Also, anyone making eye contact from across the bunk could lead to giggles or complaints. Sometimes shrieking.

Armed with our masks and Jo-Ann coupons we hit the fabric store, and let the kids pick out what they wanted. I made a neutral color curtain for the entry way, so that they could have privacy changing (and not hog the one bathroom to do so). The end result with all of the curtains up reminds me of either a train car bunk or Tokyo mini-apartment cubby. They do like retreating into their own spaces now, and it’s nice to have lights on in the main part of the RV without keeping anyone awake. Also, if it’s messy back there I can ignore it.

Buying our Travel Trailer

Leaving Seattle, saying goodbye to old and new friends, we had a distinctly odd journey. Backing up a little, our first RV purchase had fell through—we’d planned on picking it up before our Bellingham house closed, but didn’t quite see eye-to-eye with the dealer. It was an experience where we thought that we might be on some sort of reality show that was being filmed, freaking out unsuspecting couples then popping out at the end to tell you it’s all a joke. (Spoiler, it wasn’t.)

We’d arrived to pick up our new RV, and got a bit of moaning and sighing when we asked to check out the roof. There were air bubbles in the sealant, which the dealer told us wasn’t a big deal, but we wanted it fixed (as you could pop them off with your finger and it left a hole in the roof). They didn’t think we needed to fuss about this. We also couldn’t communicate our questions on sway bars properly. (These are the bars that attach to the hitch and, as you may guess, keep the trailer from swaying back and forth.) You can go without, or buy one, or even two. When you are first picking the travel trailer you can tow they have log books and website look-ups that list the maximum towing capacity for your vehicle; we’d asked if they have similar guidelines that match up tow capacity, trailer weight, and sway bar guidelines. (It seems like math to us, and we didn’t want to have to little or too much.) I guess this made us the most uptight people they’d ever come across, and we were shown the door. Cue panic, as we are now starting a RV journey without a RV.

We did a bit of online research, and came across a dealer in Oregon, though, that had a few styles of travel trailer that we thought would work for us. From Seattle, then, we crossed our fingers and headed down to Aloha, Oregon. (Decidedly not tropical, by the way.) Our first request to get a ladder to look on the roof was met with a hearty, “Absolutely!” and our hearts melted a little. From there, we got the price, and did the raised eyebrow look at each other. Could this be true, a better RV than what we’d first picked out, for less? Much less? We don’t have to negotiate down to the price we want to pay, and it comes with everything extra we want? (Two batteries, tv, sani-flush—all included.) Everything from there on out went just as easy, and I can see why Curtis Trailer has such a good reputation.

Of course I said "Ain't she a beaut, Clark?" at this point.

Logistically, though, this meant that we left our Seattle house on Tuesday morning, about an hour before it closed, and had our truck and minivan packed with everything we’d planned on taking on our journey. When I say packed, I mean this in both a loose and literal sense—things were just jammed into both cars with apparent abandon, and little room to spare. Our kids looked mortified, because we did sort of look like crazy people driving down the road. There were some serious moments of doubt for us, too, as we drive down I-5, hoping that this RV purchase goes smoothly and we can hitch up and go. We pulled into Curtis that afternoon, and it was, as they say, easy as pie. An hour or so later we’re hitched up, just in time to hit traffic leaving Portland. Yay! I’ll speak for Kevin here, and say that rush hour traffic, followed by a few hairy mountain passes is a great way to break in your first day of pulling a 29-ft. travel trailer. When we pulled into Grants Pass that night it took a few hours for the blood to return to his knuckles.

Getting Started: Transition Week One

Before we actually hit the road we had two transition weeks. One week in Seattle and one in Grants Pass, Oregon. During that first week we spent the majority of the time wrapping up work projects, house-selling paperwork, and researching a new RV. We also had lots and lots of emotions after leaving Bellingham, so these transition weeks were good for comforting the kid’s tummy aches and such that came from saying goodbye to their friends.

We also had time in to hit up a few of our favorite Seattle spots we wanted to say good-bye to. We had a few fun trips down to Matthew’s beach for lying about in the sun, and watching the kids jump off the dock’s diving board. (So glad that that was added after we moved, as it would have been a daily struggle to keep my toddlers away from it!) We had a day at Pike’s market to eat the chowder, pick up Dungeness crab and Rainer cherries, and drink our fair share of coffee. 

If you look closely, you can see a guy about to nail the belly-flop.

We also had a good chance to reconnect with our old neighbors, and loved spending time with them and hearing how their kids were off on their new adventures. It was a moment to feel old, of course, hearing how the teeny-tiny girl with the big blue eyes that used to come by to play with my kids as a mother’s helper is now interning at a Harvard lab. Her little brother, whom I last remember as sitting on his front porch reading Harry Potter, and being impressed at his reading and that his arms could hold up that big book, is now playing high school football. I have a feeling that these sort of ‘time flies’ moments will be happening more and more, right?

Bellingham, WA and our Stuff

Saying goodbye to Bellingham and our friends there was hard. We all love that place. It’s picturesque, quirky, and full of good schools and good people. We lived there for less time than we lived in Canada, but felt so much more at home. (Ok, being in our home country helped on that front, I’m sure.)

Bellingham is a rainy sort of place where your kids can walk home safely from the bus stop, and play outside until it's dark out.

Where kids will jump in the lake as soon as it warms up to 65 degrees.

And you never tire of starting or ending your day at the bay.

I knew we'd miss our home and our friends, but I also thought that we’d feel sad basically giving away most everything to start this journey. However, we found great moments of sweetness in times like seeing our dresser/changing table being loaded into the Subaru of the young couple with a baby on the way. The amount of items we donated to support ARC of Washington via Value Village was staggering, but we don’t feel the loss. I think that when the time comes to have the movers unload our belongings we’ll be happy as clams to see our Christmas ornaments, boxes of the kid’s artwork and mementos, and our favorite furniture pieces, but won’t miss the rest of the stuff that filled up our home. Plus, my blender and coffee maker are with me in the RV, which basically covers my material needs.

How the Adventure Started

How did we get here? A long-time dream of taking the kids out of school and traveling for a year lingers in the background when a job relocation and quick house sale hit. Suddenly, one of those ‘wouldn’t it be great to . . .’ ideas that had always been dismissed as being way too impractical is the most logical family plan. The year-long dream isn’t actually in the works, but we’re excited to undertake something that blends the adventure of that dream with the practical aspects of wrapping up a quick house sale and taking the time to make a smooth transition to a new location. 

Planning 

I’ve been a fan of family travel blogs for some time, and most of the planning tips you’ll find there are along the lines of taking a year or so to sell, donate, and store your stuff, homeschooling for a year before to get into the swing of things, and lots more advice on taking the time to get your RV ready for travel and work. That’s all good advice, but we took none of it. 

Up until about a month before we left we had a certain job in mind for K (Plan A), but the time he’d be on the road for that one didn’t have us super excited. (Yeah, I do see the irony that we’re literally on the road all the time now, but we’re together, so it’s good.) Then we decided to implement Plan B, traveling, to give us time to make the best decision on the other interviews in the pipeline.

So, it is possible to sell your home, cars, arrange your finances, schooling, work, and mail, sort out your belongings, buy a RV, and fit the belongings for a family of five into it all in a little over one month. It’s not for the faint of heart. There is little time for sleep or proper meals, etc. Having good neighbors that enjoy having your kids in their house (and feeding them) is a blessing. I’m humbled by how kind our friends were to us. Craigslist worked great for selling our cars and tons of furniture. We also had great luck in happy coincidences, like someone mentioning that they needed a couch—and being able to help deliver it to them that afternoon. Like childbirth, I know that I'm already blocking out some of those moments right before the adventure started.