Day20

 I can’t believe we are only halfway there because it seems like we have already done so much.  I also can’t believe we are already halfway there because I am still loving every second of being on the move. I didn’t anticipate that. I thought I would be ready for my bed or at a minimum the hotel room. But I love sleeping under the stars and cooking in little Bessie and getting excited about every tomorrow. I am also loving a schedule of Kolton time, work time, outside exercise time. I’m learning these are my three priorities. I would like to be doing a little bit more yoga but the peace and quiet of so much nature time maybe offsets that a little bit.

Day 16 - 18

We had a long rainy drive from Olympic where we were going to stay on the beautiful Washington coast and watch the sunset. Instead we drove through pouring rain found a campsite that was very full and kept driving. This allowed us to make it to Mount St. Helens the next day which was a bonus ad on our itinerary and the beginning of our volcano tour. This was crazy that it erupted in Narendra’s life time, I am too young but he’s not. I am learning the power of mother nature. We think we’ve got this figured out but we are all small pieces and very large puzzle.

We then met up with Cassi and Chuck on Friday night in Eugene where we got to meet their kids and have a few Oregon brews.  Cassi is incredibly inspiring and I strive to be the kind of parent that she is naturally. They showed me an awesome ride to King estate winery which was again incredibly beautiful and deliciously tasty. I like having those kind of rewards at the end of a long ride. We then drove down the street to alesong brewery where we had an awesome view of the Rollinghills and the vineyards and some unique and delicious beers. It was hard to top this kind of day even with out a national park entry.

Sidenote we do chores and we were very productive this day. We clean we hung hooks, we used our screwdriver, and we re-organize the camper – a favorite past time. Honestly this felt amazing. Not that I missed chores at home but it felt a little bit like real life which made me reminded that I’m still human and have to do chores.

 

Sunday was Narendra‘s day to ride with Chuck so Cassi and I went on an awesome Riverwalk to playground where we discussed kid things and how our lives have changed with kids. Cassi is fighting the good fight in so many ways and she is such a strong and talented and smart woman that I know who to call if I have parenting question. The other highlight of my day was vacuuming the car. Anyone who knows Narendra‘s car knows how good this felt.

We had our first big crash with Kolton today. He has fallen off the couch, most of the time onto pillows. But this time he fell out of the trailer face first screen door open nose hit the step and thankfully I was right there to catch his head before it hit the step and then the ground. But this one drew blood. His nose had a little scrape which looks like Rudolph and made my mom heart completely sink. I don’t think you like seeing anyone get hurt, but to see a baby with blood is heart wrenching. He’s got a cute little Rudolph scab now, and I am sure there are far worse things that have healed just fine, so I will go back to letting him live but locking the door from now on.

Day 14-15

The Spruce Runners were the highlight of the last few days. This is a group of 15 or so buddies who RV together for a week. The first trip started with 1 couple in 1972.  I was trying to wash dishes before we set off for our 3 nights “off the grid.” I was trying to hurry so we could get a 6 mike hike in before I had a work call that afternoon. This has been my constant struggle- stressing so I can make all the work commitments and show I am a team player, but trying not to stress and remember why we are doing this. I had to remind myself that talking to this crew and letting Kolton give some love to all the grandparents missing their babies was way more important than rushing to a hike. These people were adorable. They all traveled together for a week a year, and after 36 years, were still laughing.  They loved chatting with strangers on the way, teaching me that people should come before itineraries every time in my book. Narendra’s book looks different, which we are learning about each other. 

This also takes me back to the guy at the laundromat in Missoula who cited me (well Kolton) every poem he has ever written - despite me talking into my headphones on a work call. He was honestly pretty good, and he was certainly an interesting character. 

This is what technology has done to me- I am trying to be efficient all the time and do more with every second instead of sitting down and listening to this man’s poem and appreciating the beauty of his words. The world is tugging and vying for our attention everywhere we turn, and sometimes it is good to just shut everyone up except the crazy old people who want to smile at your baby. It has turned out there are a lot of these!

On the same theme, I find myself trying so hard to prove myself at work that I stress myself, give less time to Kolton, and don’t laugh at Narendra’s semi funny jokes.  Maybe skipping a hike and enjoying peekaboo with Kolton is my new epic day, and that’s going to be ok. It’s a hard mental shift for me, but I am working on it.

I still loved my sunset bike ride on the Olympic Discovery Trail weaving through yellow crunchy leaves, pink skies, ocean views, and crisp mountain air. This was a happy place. This was the same day we hiked the Hurricane Ridge in ONP and chased the sunset over the ocean.  Then Tuesday night we did a hike to Marymere Falls, where I got a trail run in that was so beautiful, I felt like I was in a movie like Alice in Wonderland. This was a win for improvisation because we were so excited when we left that we forgot any carrier for Kolton.  Hence the baby in the diaper bag photo.  It was good for about 0.75 miles. 

And today we did an awesome 6 mile hike to Sol Duc Falls. It was another movie like setting where the trees were covered in green moss, they soared overhead, and we saw some beautiful waterfalls - again.  We are getting spoiled with these ONP waterfalls.

 

We are aiming to do fun adventures everyday, but I have almost equally enjoyed watching Kolton roll around in the blankets or hearing him giggle for no reason.  (This is genetic, and we call it the Burchett giggle. It comes on late night, and it is contagious.). 

Whether this road trip is work or play or adventure or boring, I love who I am doing it with. I had that thought on Lover’s Trail today- man I am pretty lucky to have these 2 boys along side me for the sunset mountain tops and the rainy nights on the couch.  They both make me laugh- Narendra usually at myself and Kolton usually at him. They remind me not to take life too seriously, which I need reminded of. And they deal with my singing and dancing in confined spaces. As I learned from the Spruce Runners- it doesn’t matter where you are going but who you are going with. Although we are on an amazing adventure in beautiful places, I am just lucky to be doing life with these 2.

 

Day 9-13

Holy moly, it is hard to keep up with a blog when there is so much going on everyday.  I feel a lot of pressure to make the most of every moment.  Between work, Kolton, Narendra, myself, and getting out to enjoy these beautiful places, every second counts.  But that adds slightly more pressure when I think about it, so I am trying to be ok with not optimizing every second and just enjoying sitting outside for a bit.  But this concept is also why chores and cleaning things (like myself, my clothes, and my dishes) are falling low on the priority list!  **Don't worry a good hot shower is quite a perk each day.  We are finding most RV Parks have the necessary amenities for what we need, and once we got a few rolls of quarters, we were set!

 

Now I need to go back to Day 9 at Glacier National Park.  This has been my favorite place so far.  We camped like 15 minutes outside of the park on National Forest land, which is what made it so hard to swallow when the guy at the entrance gate told us we missed shuttle tickets by about 30 minutes, and they were now sold out.  Ya see... the west side of Glacier was majorly on fire, and has been for a month.  We learned this, but we also learned there was a shuttle.  After finding no info online or by phone on how to get onto said shuttle, we decided to just show up and see.  Turns out we shouldn't have cooked those delicious eggs that morning. Side bar here... This is a perk to Narendra being on antibiotics for a sinus infection he self diagnosed last week.  It is sad he was sick, but now he is better, and I get to enjoy breakfasts because he has to eat with his pills!  So... we missed shuttle tickets, but in the end that is totally fine.  Narendra suggested a short hike and then drive on, which I quickly vetoed.  Instead we "settled on" driving 2.5 hours to the east entrance, which was a great decision (we will both admit).  It was a long drive, but it was made easier when we saw the mountains above the clouds on our drive.  Then we did a sweet 6 mile hike to 3 waterfalls where we got to witness firey red and yellow leaves, burned trees, a bright blue lake, and towering peaks with a little dusting of snow, as well as layers and layers of waterfalls.  Then we went to the top of Logan Pass (our initial destination for the west side shuttle), where we were blown away with 360 panoramic views of epic mountains, and an awesome hike to Hidden Lake overlook.  It was the touristy trail where anyone and everyone was attempting for the views - including our friends Dennis and Nancy who we met again on the trail!  We then started the march back to the east side to pick up Bessie, and then drove another few hours to Idaho.  A facetime call from Grammy and some beautiful stars helped pass the late night drive.

 

 

Day 10 was spent in Coeur D'Alene Idaho, which was an unexpected gem.  We drove until midnight - and until the gas light turned on (don't tell my mom).  But we parked at a campground (that was closed), and it ended up being a great decision.  We woke up, and rather than driving to get gas first thing, we decided to opt for adventure.  Narendra did a classic mountain bike ride, and I took Kolton up a steep ridge to some beautiful views of the lake.  After our adventuring, we were all in high spirits, and then we made it to the gas station, which helped our spirits even more.  We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the park in downtown Coeur D'Alene.  There was an awesome playground, picnic tables, and dog park, and a spot for our hammock where I could nap.  This was the first time we had no agenda and just relaxed during the day.  We cooked lunch in our camper, and then went grocery shopping.  The eating in has been a huge perk to the camper!  Kolton also got some wiggling time, which we realized is important given the amount of car seat and backpack time he gets.  Although sometimes he is just plain lazy!  We decided to stay in a nice little RV park outside CDA- mostly because I needed a shower - lesson learned shower right before you leave the RV Park - and also because we were almost out of water.  The place we stayed was great for a night, and we were able to do laundry, and clean up for a night!

 

 

 

Day 11 was mostly spent driving, with an amazing stop in Seattle for the Pike Fish Market and some tasty clam chowder.  We had a 4+ hour drive to the city, and then 2.5 hours to our RV Park outside Olympic NP.  In Seattle, we surprisingly found a parallel parking spot down the road from the market in downtown.  Finding the spot was one thing, and getting in was another.  We managed, and put ole Bessie lined up on the curb for a few hours.  We got to walk around, eat some good food, and experience a good ole American protest.  When Kolton had a breakdown, the first one we had experienced like that, we decided our time in town was done.  As it turned out, he was just hot and sick of being smashed next to me, so we probably could have stayed a while, but we didn't figure that out until we were almost back to the car.  Chalk this one up to a parenting fail.  We landed at Elwha Dam RV Park that night, and we settled in.  They had fire pits - that we could use!  So, we obviously made the s'mores we had been hoping for.  It was great to enjoy a meal outside, and when the stars came out, they were beautiful!

 

 

 

 

Day 12 was our first playing hooky from work (for a few hours).  The weather looked like it would be good only for Monday and Tuesday, and then rainy the rest of the week, so we decided at 10am to take the next few hours and head up to Hurricane Ridge where you only get views on clear days.  It was another 360 panoramic view that was incredible - for a minute.  We got a cool view of the mountains down to the ocean... and then not 2 minutes later we lost the ocean, and then 20 minutes later we couldn't see the trees behind us.  The clouds rolled in quickly.  But... we had a great hike, epic views, a happy baby now that we has a proper jacket, and some good ole mountain top exercise.  We then caught up on work at a coffee shop in Port Angeles, and then headed back to camp for dinner.  We have to really meal plan as space is limited and grocery shopping is selective.  We had some delicious grilled cheese, tomato bisque soup, and a salad with multiple veggies from the local RV Park garden!  It was amazing!  Given the forecast, I figured it was a good night for a bike ride, and a sunset, so I hopped on my bike after dinner, and then I met Narendra down at the pier for the sunset (after a few miles of uphill getting lost).  This Olympic Discovery Trail is amazing!  It goes for 100 miles (or so) along this area, and it is paved for portions and dirt for portions.  My ride was filled with foliage that matched the sunset colors, crunchy leaves on the path, and deer I had to shoo off the trail.  I met Narendra and Kolton just in time for the sun to go down, and a reminder that we are small maps on the dot in this big ocean where this big sun warms us.  I also realized that sunrises (less so), sunsets, and stars inspire me to move faster, stay up later, and tolerate colder.  Narendra feels the same way about mountain biking as I do sunsets and stars.

 

 

 

Day 13 - Tuesday- was a productive day of work, which despite the beautiful weather, was what my mind needed.  Narendra did a big mountain bike ride, which is what he needed, and I hung out with Kolton in the camper working.  It was not ideal that I had to ignore Kolton most of the day, but it was ideal that he was in his element and could roam around, yell, and play all he wanted.  This was the first time we spent the day in the camper on our personal hotspot, and it worked quite well, compared to being in public yelling.  Come 5pm, we set off for some adventuring.  We went to Marymere falls for some hiking and trail running.  The falls were cool, but probably cooler in spring when the water is booming, and probably cooler when you haven't just come from Glacier.  I decided to tack on some trail running, which was good for my soul.  It was beautiful with crisp air, green fuzzies lining the trees, soothing river sounds, and the hills were rolling up and down which kept my heart and my knees nice and balanced.  I loved the balance of a good day at work with some good adventures, topped off with a nice sunset on the water off of the point to the north.  We probably should have brought a backpack and probably a jacket for Kolton, but we didn't... and he was a trooper, and was just loving being outside, despite the temperature.

 

Summary Lessons Learned:

• Proper clothing goes a long way for the baby (and adults).  The baby will only keeps hats on if he is very very cold.
• Yes, I need 3 cameras everywhere we go - sometimes I need the wall shot on my DSLR, sometimes I need the postable photo on my phone, and sometimes I need the photo book shot on the GoPro
• You are in control of your life, if you don't ask, then answer is always no.  If you do ask, maybe there is a chance for you to do something epic.  Ask Narendra if you need more incentive.
• Kolton is a bad ass, and he has been an awesome baby dealing with a lot of teether (shut up) snacks in the car, lengthy backpack hiking time, and being pushed off his favorite counter spot.
• Get out there and stargaze, chase a sunset, or do that ride/hike/run/climb you have been eyeing passionately.  Your passion is not going to grow itself, you have to give it some sun and water.  YOLO!

Day 7-8

Learning how to telework while being homeless is turning into a bigger challenge than expected. We often get decent WiFi at our camp site- but it isn’t reliable. And at our last site on Flathead lake the reception was awful. So we learned that Starbucks is the best way to go. I do find that my productivity is pretty high when I don’t have anyone to talk to at the office! 

We are also learning how to get our exercise and our Kolton time in during our assigned non-work hours and how to work during our assigned work hours. I have Kolton until 11, and Narendra has him until 4- or whenever I get done working. I have to get over the guilty feeling of not working in the morning, and just enjoy my time outside and with him. He has been so dang fun! He’s laughing and chatting, but no more waking since Monday. He is such a happy kid and he brings smiles to so many people around us. And he has been sleeping pretty well. As long as the trailer is warm enough, he plays in his bed and then goes to sleep. If he gets cold, he comes and snuggles with us, which we both secretly love because his snuggles are sparse during the daylight hours. 

We had a fun night of Yahtzee with our friends Dennis and Nancy who are seasoned RVers and newly dating widows. They were really cute and fun to hang out with- especially because we hadn’t done much talking to friends lately!

We are settling into camper life. I think we got it down when we are at the campgrounds with full hookups and tonight we are working on our free exploring. We are hopeful we can make it into glacier tomorrow, but Nancy and Dennis were saying they got turned down yesterday. We are hoping there is a shuttle running that will take us past the fire to some hikes on the pass. I wish I hadn’t researched the epic biking before researching the fire. 

We also got the thumbs up that our brakes squeaking were just extra grease and nothing major. Whew that’s a relief!

I can’t believe we have made it a week. In some ways it feels like we are just scratching the surface of this trip, and in other ways we are in the full swing having made it through a week on the road- and a work week. 

I have had ups and downs with work this week, but I am trying to remind myself why we are doing this and why these challenges are worthwhile. Why am I doing this? Well of course Narendra has his reasons, and he was very decided on this adventure happening. For me, I like the challenge it poses to get out of routine and reprioritize.  I want to prove to myself and others that we can make this trip with a kid and a job.  I love all the beauty of America we are getting to experience, so many bucket list items are getting checked. I am also loving quality Kolton time, which was not a preconceived reason for doing this, but is turning out to be a major bonus.  So I am doing this for very selfish reasons and sacrificing some commitment to work and money for the trade off of a once in a lifetime experience. As my brother said- you will only regret the things in life that you didn’t do- you will at least learn from the ones you did.

Day 5-6

Life on the road is here.  We are learning the routines of camper life… when to make the bed back into a table, when to leave it a bed, where to let Kolton nap, how to light the pilot light, where to store our extra things, etc. 

 

We had a lovely night in a hotel bed with a hot shower, clean towels, reliable wifi, and room for Kolton to roam in a confined area.  We worked in the business center - which was soundproof and ideal for our screaming child.  But this was also the stage for his first steps!  He was hyper at first and getting confident enough to stand, and then he took a step and fell, and then he took 3 steps and fell.  Honestly, this trip is not fostering Kolton's 10 month old intellectual and physical milestones in any logical researched form, but by God it is challenging him in a lot of different ways.  He may not have the perfect runway to practice walking, but he is learning how to navigate grass and dirt, and rocks and sticks.  He may not be getting the books and toys and social interaction at day care, but he is learning how to adapt to new locations and schedules and still keep positive, and he is getting a lot of mom and dad time!

 

Then, after some roaming the city and some shopping, we set out for our next RV park at Flathead Lake between Missoula and Glacier.  This place is super nice, and the bathrooms are dreamy.  We woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the lake, and Kolton and I scoped out the playground.  The wifi is good half the time, and the cell service drops calls unless you hold the phone in just the right spot.  This made work productivity less than satisfactory this morning.  We found a coffee shop which served much better this afternoon.  I was frustrated because I wanted to make a concerted effort to show that I am committed to working and a team player (in the first week of working remotely), so others won't have to pick up my slack because I am choosing to travel.  However, that is not how it felt after an hour of failed software downloads and what felt like hours of opening files from other servers.  These are the things I have to learn to accept, ignore, or change.  I did not react well today because I was frustrated.  This meant a less happy mom and wife, and travel partner, which doesn't help anyone, I feel like I am letting down coworkers also.  We just have to continue to do our best to plan for having reliable service and internet during the work week, and if we don't adapt and find places that do.  Surely this won't be the only hurdle we come across, but my goal is to give it my best effort to show my teammates in the office that I do care.  And then, as he does so well, Narendra found a hike and took us to the dirt.  We had a great loop hike with lots of up and down, and by the end we were all feeling good.  Kolton found his singing voice on this hike, which was funny - at first.  Then we came back to the RV, and had a huge win when I figured out the hot water heater and was able to give Kolton a bath!

 

 

 

 

Day 4

The joys of the National Park beauty were as high as Old Faithful soared.  We got to witness America the Beautiful in all her glory.  The road leading from Grand Teton National Park through Yellowstone National Park had it all.  There were forests, rivers, color change, waterfalls, and meadows.  We arrived at Old Faithful as touristy as you can imagine.  Camera was out, hats and backpacks tied tight, and we were walking pointing to where we thought the Visitor Center was.  I often find that some of these paper highlights don't live up to the hype, but that was again not the case.  I have an awful memory, but I do remember some of the magic of these geysers from a family trip during my childhood, and they are even more impressive as I understand science a little better now.  We got to soak in all the walkways, small geysers, big geysers, viewpoints, and even a buffalo roaming. 

 

All of this fun eventually came to an end when we set off on our 8 hours toward Glacier.  We learned on the way, once internet became consistent again, that Glacier was on fire - like really on fire.  They closed the main road through the park, and all trails on the west side were closed.  This fire had been burning for a month, so really it was our bad not to know this, but the guy at the campground didn't seem impressed with my sudden realization.  We decided to change plans, and stay at a hotel in Missoula and regroup.  Bonus was that we got to meet up with Steph for a picnic on the river… first friend meet up on the road trip!  I realized we will probably be talking to each other a lot, so we will need to make friends, or find anyone we possibly know in any of these places!

 

Our days of free living were about to come back to reality as work starts Monday!