Back in the Motherland

Free at last, free at last, hallelujah, we're free at last! This picture was taken in Nebraska in the aftermath of an ice storm, but the sentiment remains the same. No more waking up, hopping in the car, and putting in 10 and 12 hour days. No more weird hotel rooms, gas station food, or flat boring states. The journey that began 3 pm on October 6 in Ketchikan, Alaska, has finally culminated on November 28 in Ashland, Oregon.

A brief summary of our accomplishments:

Days on the road: 54

Miles driven: 8,903 (not counting ferry mileage)

States visited: 22

Different plates observed: 49 (all but North Dakota - they got absorbed by Manitoba and no one noticed), plus 6 provinces

National Forests: 15

National Parks: 7

Middle fingers given to Carl: 3

Times the truck was in the shop: 3

Dead deer on the side of the road in Missouri: 33 (mostly west of Columbus)

Warmest temp: 75 degrees in Colorado Springs

Coldest temp: -11 in Kalispell, MT

Lowest elevation: sea level at the Oregon coast

Highest elevation: 14,115 ft atop Pikes Peak

There was sun, snow, wind, rain, and ice; we learned that squeaky cheese is delicious, Arizona doesn't observe daylight savings time but the Navajo Nation does, everyone loves Bubba, and WD40 sprayed on an open flame makes a simple yet effective torch. Somehow, after all that, we're still talking to each other. Miracles do happen.

The next adventure is a stark departure from our nomadic lifestyle. Carl went and got himself a real job in White City, OR working at the VA as a recreation assistant. White City is a flat town full of gun shops and ATV dealerships, so we've found a place further south in the hippie haven of Ashland. There are two breweries within a 15 minute walk, a bike trail that stretches all the way to Medford, and a massage therapy school that I am in the process of applying to. Needless to say we're all really excited to be able to unpack our bags and sleep in the same place every night.

Here it is! It's Oregon, so of course it's raining.
The house is starting to look less like the trailer threw up in the living room and more like an actual home. We couldn't resist the spiral staircase.

Looking back at the front door. To the left is a room we've set up as an office and Carl's closet.

Bubba still isn't sure what's going on.
The kitchen has some pretty awesome orange Formica, and the fridge is about to keel over with Carl's magnet collection.
The upstairs loft has storage running down either side; the trippy murals were already there.
Looking down into the back yard. There are raised garden beds, some surviving strawberry plants, and left over garden tools. The garage to the right has a large walled in storage space as well.
And the back of the house. Yes, the blue picnic table came with.

So there it is, the new homestead. It feels weird to be an official Oregon resident again after 8 years of wandering (not that I've ever bothered to change my ID). Not being able to pump my own gas takes some getting used to. We've got plenty of space so if you're ever in southern Oregon feel free to stop on by!

The Final Haul

It's funny how dire weather warnings tend to coincide with the busiest travel times of the year. West Virginia is cool and crisp as we check tire pressure, charge phone batteries, and mentally prepare ourselves to drive into the predicted maelstrom of the rest of the country. Sleet in the Midwest, snow in the Rockies, high winds, floods, and general chaos await us on the long haul west. Bring it on!

The past week at Knutty Acres has been delightfully relaxing. There were several days where we didn't step foot inside a moving vehicle (besides the utility vehicle for retrieving the mail and doing some West Virginia dog walking).

There were plenty of four-footed friends to keep us company. L-R: PeeWee, me, Sparky, and Elmo.

Once Ed and Nancy, Carl's parents, returned from Colorado, Nancy was able to give me a crash course in watercolor painting. It's been a really long time since I've painted anything besides a Forest Service sign, and I just couldn't help but fiddle with it. It's so hard to leave well enough alone.

We did a study of a light house, working from a painting Nancy had already done. Mine came out pretty well; definitely worthy of posting on the fridge.

Bubba doesn't know we're throwing him back in the truck tomorrow but he'll figure it out pretty quick. Wish us luck as we head to Spokane to join my nutty family for Thanksgiving!

Almost Heaven

Road trips are fun, but every four wheeled nomad reaches a point where they never want to crawl into one of those infernal machines again. Bubba reached that point about three weeks ago (see above); Carl and I hit the wall halfway through Kansas. That state has a way of sapping all the joy from your soul. We survived with the minimum number of stops and continued east to places I had only heard of in songs: Kansas City, St. Louis, the Missouri River, Lexington, the Shenandoah Valley, the Potomac River, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. For all the times I've heard "Country Roads" it was pretty exciting to finally be driving down them in the wild and wonderful state of West Virginia.

Carl's parents live outside of Harpers Ferry right on the Potomac River in a beautiful log house they pretty much built themselves. It's still fall here and the hills are shrouded in reds and oranges, fading slowly as the morning frosts claim more victims. There are stone walls running across the fields, old houses in quaint rows, and idiot drivers up the wazoo. Ah, yes, the things I love about being back east.

We arrived in the dark on Tuesday evening, drove Carl's parents to the airport on Wednesday afternoon so they could visit the Colorado Springs clan (oh, the irony), and now we're in charge of three Jack Russell terriers, one cranky old German short hair, and 38 black bellied Barbados sheep. Luckily most of the menagerie takes care of themselves so we've been free to run over to Morgantown to empty Carl's storage unit, walk around the historic streets of Harpers Ferry and Sheperdstown, and do novel things like sleep in the same bed for consecutive nights and cook our own meals.

The luxury of stationary down time means that I've had a chance to assemble some of our photos from the expedition. Clicking here will take you on a visual tour of our travels through the southwest. Enjoy!