The Equality State, or Cold River Scrubbing!

10. 2. and 6. These are the times I woke up last night to a farting and desperate dog needing to be let out of the van. Poor Ruka. Living in the van for these last few weeks has overall been easier than I thought it would originally, but then again, we are only a couple weeks in. Each time she would start whining and pacing, I would put on my sweater, flip flops and head lamp and step out into the silent night, the cool air rushing around me, taking my initial crankiness and frown with it. While Ruka poked around, looking for the perfect spot in the grass lining the Horsetooth reservoir in Fort Collins, Colorado, I stood thinking about the days behind and the days to come. They have been very good to us. 

Wyoming. When entering a new state, if service is readily available for the iphone, the van "first mate" ie, the co-pilot will find interesting factoids about our new temporary home. Did you know, Wyoming, the majority of the state being extraordinarily flat and filled with mostly antelope, cattle, cowboys and tumbleweeds was the first state to provide women the right to vote and had the first woman governor? While the state started with a progressive edge and tough as nails women, some areas of the state have taken an interesting turn. The well known banjo chords from the movie Deliverance were sung out loud by us more than a few times. Children squealing like pigs running across busy streets, toothless grocery store clerks hollering at their coworkers while we stand awkwardly waiting, and pretty much anyone who walked through the laundromat doors as we read and listened to our now clean clothes tumbling in the $2.00 a load dryer. Wyomingites. Good people. Gotta love em. 

With the help of an app that has paid for itself many times over called "All-Stays Camp and Tent" we have been super lucky finding cheap and free campsites. I dont really know what we would do without it. It identifies campgrounds and public lands by map, with pretty darn specific directions and information about the sites. If you like to travel or camp, check it out! Two nights ago it found us a very remote site, where I was able to start my day with a refreshing, although mighty cold wash in a river. Sorry folks, those pictures aren't exactly internet appropriate... but my hair was clean!!

From here, at a little coffee shop (PS, happy national coffee day!) in who-knows-where Colorado, we head to Denver to kidnap my little sister from college to take her camping for a night in Vail. Mom and Dad; I promise not to make the vagabond lifestyle too enticing! Haha 

Brian pretending to ski down the snow-lacking slopes of Jackson Hole 

Laundromat fun! 

Our camp kitchen is better than yours! : )

Working for his water! 

Early morning bathtime! Brrr!!

Okay, fine, due to popular demand here is a PG Lindsay getting clean! 

Pronghorn antelope buddy!

The dog has diarrhea, and we're not even in Mexico yet...

One of the best apres ski bars in the world, the Mangy Moose is now home to Linds and I. Its funny being here in the summertime, probably the only two non-locals in the bar. Upstairs is the office of Teton Gravity Research and a few doors down, the ariel tram - 4139 feet of vertical goodness. 

After sleeping like a couple of logs on Capitol Hill in Seattle Anne and Abe had us over for some breakfast eatin' and coffee pourin' before we headed out and  before we left Abe opened his "end o' the world" drawer and gave us a jumbo packet of CELOX. What is CELOX? Well for all of you that aren't prepared for the apocalypse, it's an anti-coagulant meant for severe trauma i.e. bullet holes, stab wounds, zombie bites, etc. Thanks Abe! (slowly backing away....).

We hauled ass to Coeur d'Alene because we were hungry and have been told that Hudson's had the best. Linds had two and I had three. Here is their menu: Hamburger $2.60 Cheeseburger $2.85 Pie $3.00. No fries, no shakes, no BS. Someone needs to open a french fry joint next door (Randy??). We drove north to Whitefish, Montana to have a look at Flathead Lake and the peaks of Glacier Park. We found a Pub called Bulldogs and had yet another Burger. This marks our northern highpoint of our trip and its south, sweet south from here on out! Big pat on the rear for Linds letting me know what everyone ought to--- Walmart parking lots are free rv parks!!??! We joined about 15 other moochers and slept soundly. Its been said that although free, the Walmart lots can be the most expensive campsites around. After restocking on toiletries, snacks, a garbage can for the van and two coffees, we agree. Walmart is smarter than us.. ;)

walmart! claudette was the littlest!

Extra big Portland thank you to John Sullivan, future mayor of Missoula! The man is an animal. His company talusoutdoor.com makes among other things, incredible facewear for extreme climates. He and his friend Phil showed us a good time in downtown Missoula. After putting away enough beers to raise an eyebrow, and telling enough childhood stories that would bore anyone but Linds, he gave us a warm, soft place to sleep. Thanks John! I have a feeling we've some good ski days in the future.

Yellowstone, I love ya. I had worked a summer @ Old Faithful years back there's not a better place on earth for exploring. We pulled into West Yellowstone with a different kind of exploring in mind though.. we needed a restroom and wi-fi. I slowly weaved through the wide streets with Linds holding the computer like a satellite dish looking for the best signal with no damn password. Home-sweet-home was a neat little parking spot behind the Days Inn Motel. Perfect. 

Big 'ol thanks to Annie Vanderboom for steering us to the Boiling River! Picture a near boiling creek from an underground hot spring dumping into a mountain stream. Jacuzzi goodness! We waded in and spent the next few hours getting the perfect combo of superhot/mountaincold! We went down to the Old Faithful inn, and to prove that we are still young, drank wine and read The Hunger Games & Harry Potter on the second floor looking out on the geyser basin and fireplace. And despite the Park Ranger's opinion, "all unauthorized vehicles" left overnight will not be towed! However, this night marked the onset of Ruka's tummy trouble. 2am saw me following Ruka around the parking lot with a poobag in hand. We visited the back country office in the morning to watch the mandatory bear safety video and reserve a site. We explained to the ranger that we wanted a fairly mellow 15 miler to somewhere neither one of us had been. She sold us the Bechler Meadows hike like a low mileage, one owner Subaru! However, as we meant 15 miles to be round-trip, she assumed one way. Yeah! We planed to rent a cabin in Lake, and, as no kennels are near the park, leave Ruka overnight and hoof it back in the morning. That night saw us breaking down gear, figuring how to work the bear spray and pouring over maps and doing the first showers in a few days. I had hoped for a steak or sandwich for dinner, but apparently Linds had a hankerin' for some ramen and cocktail weenies;)

Ruka is a very resilient dog. A loyal and respectful dog. When she has something to say, she lets you know. We were let know five times during the night that her stomach felt like shit. Five times we woke, dressed, and walked her around while she farted and tried to poo. We began to see our back country plans fade, and it was with a heavy heart, but a happy dog that we split for Teton County in the morning.  

bear juice & .357

poor ruka.

love ya.

You go girl!

"Did you see that van parked out in front, whats it for, like human trafficking or something?" -unknown stoner kid at Evan Kirkegaard's house party last Friday night

 Though we are almost one full week unemployed, homeless and living in the van, Brian and I have found this to be not uncomfortable in the least bit. At Cape Disappointment, just north of Astoria, we set up our big tent, bringing the foam pad, the double wide sleeping bag and the lap top, fully charged with a movie ready to roll. All four of us were far from disappointed, haha! The next day we lost one member of the family, Rosie, to "doggy sumer camp" where she will be having a super fun time while we continue on down the road. This last weekend was filled to the brim with parties, seeing old friends and the consumption of good food. 

Not to rub it in, but life is pretty dang good right about now. Late last night I even had the pleasure of breaking in a nalgene for its new purpose with the help of my "Go Girl". Worked out better than I expected. Many more in-the-van-potties to be had. Claudette is running like a champ, getting 13.5 miles per gallon, not too bad for the old girl while city driving. Now we are stretching her legs out on the long, flat farmland highways of Eastern Washington to Montana. Love me some powdered soap at rest stops!

Freedom.

Portland we miss you!

Traveling is rough. 

Dog pile in the tent!

High fives all around. Plus a mountain dog!

We Slept in a Park Last Night..

 As I committed a misdemeanor in the grass at Brooklyn Park at 3:30am in east Portland on our first night in the van I realized what I may enjoy most about this trip. Waking up in a different spot every morning starts the day off with a sense of adventure we aren't yet used to. I had a smile on my face thinking about all the little puddles we'll make all the way down the Americas. The last week has been a fantastic mix of stress(packing all of our belongings into a 10x13 storage unit), joy(ramming home over 100 chicken wings @ Fire on the Mountain over three visits in a week), and exhaustion(on the trail @ 4:30am to climb 12300ft Mt. Adams over the course of 12 miles & 13hrs). A heckofa September so far.

For those of you who aren't familiar with our new home, I'll bring you up to speed. Claudette is a 1994 Econoline E150 with a Starcraft up-fit package. White on Blue velour. We removed the tv/vcr(painful i know) and both center captains chairs to add space. My man Rudy Ramos installed our "closet/garage" behind the driver seat to house everything from clothes, our kitchen, books, and just about anything else you can think of. Linds and I then built an extension of about 8in to the existing fold down bed in the rear of the van to give us a 72in square sleeping area. We added several cargo nets, some coat hooks, a 1 3/4in custom foam pad and a limo tint job. She is capable of anything. The kind folks at Auto Trim Design provided the cargo extender that holds our little 6-pack getter- a 1985 Honda elite 80cc. The scooter gets about 55mpg but is banged up on all sides and looks like it was put away wet for the last 25 years; hopefully this discourages theft south of the border. The rack will also hold a gas tank and anything else deemed too stinky to ride in the van(Lindsay).

Well, night one is under our belts and we feel great. At noon we drop the keys for our former condo and head to the coast for a drive up to Long Beach, WA. Thanks so much to all of you who have been such good friends! We will miss you Portland!

                                                                                                  

One week to go!

Pretty soon we wont be using the countdown titles anymore. Moving in the normally-mild summer weather turned high 90s in a borrowed $400 1985 Nissan hard body pick up truck without air conditioning is a great way to get used to diversity in the heat. I wont deny there was some unfortunate sweating. On the 7th of September at 96 degrees even the radio left us for cooler weather. Left me to serenade poor Brian with my repertoire of songs, though I think he secretly loves it. The apartment is completely empty! We have nowhere to sit except on the floor. The dogs definitely disapprove of this, especially Rosie, as she is always looking for the most comfortable spot in the joint.

Don't get me wrong, we have been working very hard. But all work and no play make Brian and Lindsay, well, kinda cranky. So thanks to our friend Jason who showed us his "secret" swimming spot on the Clackamas. Both the boys jumped off the cliffs while I chickened out a little and deemed the smaller rocks much more suitable. It was a good day for beer drinking and pot-smoking, well not for us but the for the high school boys who also knew about the "secret spot" anyways! For us it was a great day for our faces in the sunshine and our toes in the cold river.

The party last Sunday went swimmingly... both Brian and I feel very loved in Portland. Many friends from different parts of our lives came out to wish us well. They also drank a good portion of the two kegs that we later found were 10% alcohol from the Rogue guy. That explained a lot, especially how Brian, while looking for the scooter keys that I had hid from him fell asleep with a good 15 people left in the apartment. We love our friends!! You guys rock our world and we are going to miss you!!

The preparation continues... though right now we are taking another little break with some ribs, beers and John Dalys, enjoying what little time we have left in our great city.

The new Portlandia on IFC was filming across the way from our storage unit at the infamous Montage restaurant! I really wanted to be on the show, but I don't have a bird tattoo. Yet!

The girls and Brian taking a post-party snooze!

Just about how we feel.