Through the Land of Potatoes to the Land of Treasure - Day 2

DAY 2 – Friday, August 22, 2014

I am lying here in the midst of a rolling thunderstorm in the outer Spokane Walmart parking lot. I had intended on sleeping in, but between the shifting and turning body of a 15 year old in the bunk over my head, and the ping, ping, ping of the beginning of rain, I awoke. Shortly after that, the storm began. Thundering cracks directly overhead. My plans for today were to go to Tim Horton’s for coffee, while the children wrote their journals, and I my story. I say were, because I just clued in that there is probably no Tim Horton’s in America! I’m not sure where the locals gather for coffee, but hopefully I find a place where they don’t mind a gaggle of children descending upon them!

Yesterday’s day was long, but it ended well with a delicious meal that will most definitely be repeated and comfortable beds. We had planned to get to Spokane last night, but with all the confusion, and uncertain roads, mistakes made, and unplanned stops, we were a little behind schedule - not much, as I had intended to be in Spokane by 8:00 pm, and we got to this little town by 8:20. I had looked at the map and seen the name Greenacres, and I thought this was the name of a television show, so I maybe like Wilbur, there would be something to see, and I was heading there, but then it began to get dark. It was either a Walmart or a campground that we needed, and then as we drove into this rather small town I was surprised to find a Supercentre, and made the instant decision to stop for the night. The kids would have kept going, as they knew it would shorten the drive for the following day, but I knew I needed to be able to get sorted out.

I have to say our first day on the road was rather turbulent, as we worked out the bumps, but with effort, we can get into the swing of it. The ‘wonderful’ Google directions I printed out to cross the entire country and return were extremely confusing, and we ended up using the GPS for a fair bit of it when we got lost. The problem with that is the GPS will give me the route it thinks best, not the route I think best, and I might well end up on some super-speed interstate, and I most definitely do not want that!!  I do not mind driving a little slower as long as I feel safe!

Punching in different places to the GPS was a bit confusing at first, because I had Isaiah or Courage do it, and they would do their best, but not really understand, and then the GPS was making us do Uturns in small factory yards, etc. Not only that , but it would tell us to take roads such as Washington 155, and then have us take a right on Omak Road, and I was supposed to know that they were one and the same! By the time I got to Coulee Dam, and the GPS told me to take Washington 174 and the road was a completely different name, I was savvy – I knew to make the turn, and sure enough, I was on the right road.

After realizing the Google directions I printed out were not really going to help me, and the GPS was driving me in circles – actually owner mishandled, I am sure -  I turned to the huge, trusty map book of the States. The one the Framer got when he drove to Tennessee with the boys back in 2006, and though I could not tell how fast or slow those roads were, at least I could see if the GPS was taking me in the right direction! This method worked wonderfully, as I learned to punch in a town in the general direction I was going in, rather than a big city, like Spokane, which I really didn’t want to drive into, but rather, around and past. This way I was able to simply head east, rather than to specific destinations, since my actual goal now is to get to Yellowstone National Park. In this manner, I successfully navigated to a little town just west of Spokane, and today, we shall cover the distance to Yellowstone.

As the children continue to sleep, or at least rest, through this storm, I have decided I will begin my writing here in the caravan in the comfort of my little home, and then later, I will take us all somewhere to upload photos and the story to the internet. There is no hurry today, as I only have seven hours to drive, and I can take two days to get there if I wish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time has passed, as has the thunderstorm. It is now 9:00 am, and I have spent the last two hours writing, when I suppose I would have been wiser to have slept. I would not have been so efficient in my writing, if I had not had my wonderful scribe, Ayana, with me.  As situations occurred, and I wanted to capture the moment I asked for a writing volunteer to take down some notes, a phrase, or a paragraph, and Ayana eagerly offered. She saved me hours upon hours of trying to remember moments from the trip, and instead, I just had to transcribe her writings, and add what was missing. Therefore, she certainly will get credit for that. Along with Geography and History, this trip will also provide writing, spelling, narration, dictation experiences.

Courage has volunteered to be my Accountant and keep track of expenses. Israel is begging for a job, so I will have to come up with one for him.  Now, I’m off to wake the slumbering children. A new adventure awaits!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9:24 PM – The last of the children is tucked into bed, and I have a few minutes to type up the days happenings before I too, hit the hay!

Once the kids were up and dressed, breakfast was served in our favourite Walmart dining room – “The Curb”. Following this, a little sweeping and wiping was done, and we headed to Walmart to replace our forgotten rice maker. The bonus in that mistake was I ended up with a rice maker with a steamer on top, so I can easily steam vegetables in our caravan.

The morning had begun so abruptly with the thunderstorm that I felt like a stop at Starbucks made more sense than hitting the road immediately. So with coffee in hand I sat down to upload the blog and photos, while the children kept themselves occupied. Isaiah and Courage went next door to the game shop, and Song, Ayana, and Israel kept me company while I wrote. Soon after, Ayana leaned over and spoke to me quietly, “Mum, Israel is fascinated with those army guys.” I looked up and saw a number of men in uniform sitting around the table beside Israel. My heart warmed as I was reminded of my friend, Denise’s son, Ryan, fighting in Afghanistan. I knew Israel was enamoured simply because these were real live GI Joes! When I was ready to leave, I approached several of the men who were waiting at the service counter. I explained my interest and asked if I might have a picture of them with the children. They kindly obliged and suggested we step outside. The officer who was clearly of a higher rank took the time to explain the roles these men played in the war. His two companions, he stated, were primary training officers in the Rescue Unit in the military. Their responsibility was to teach soldiers how to live off the land and use what they had available, as well as survival skills for use if they were taken captive. I told them our plans were to visit the memorial of the World Trade Centre. Interested, they wished us well on our journey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Driving along, Israel asked, “Who are we seeing first?”  I told him, “Denise, but there will be others you don’t know.” I had an instant de ja vu of being nine years old and traveling around England with my mum and baby sister, Mandy, visiting our family and my mum’s old friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today’s driving was rather uneventful I am happy to report. Our GPS took us about the edge of town to the I90 and then set us up for 300 miles, so that made for simple driving. The road wasn’t too bad at all, either, mind you the weather was odd, and at times there were torrential downpours and then shortly after we would drive into dry areas.

Driving Out of Spokane

At one time, we had a chance to see Idaho’s Dodge Charger police cars. There were two black ones with the words Caution Police Dogs Inside emblazoned on the sides. Their lights were flashing on the side of the road, and some unfortunate driver had the entire back of his pick-up truck unloaded onto the road.  

The roads were high mountain passes, and then low valleys. 

Never Seen Exit 0 Before!

Past Idaho and Onto Montana

The Beginning of the Mountains

I found that Montana was a lot like the Interior of British Columbia with its miles of wilderness, rivers, and tall, tall trees. As we headed down on steep hill of 10% grade there was a sign reading Crosses Refer to Fatalities – a somber reminder to drive carefully! At one point, I was saddened to see a roadside cross with simply one word written on it: Dad.

 About 6:00 pm we pulled into Missoula, Montana, and decided that was it for the day. I knew it was a bigger town, and I had no guarantees for a Walmart further down the road. I was surprised at the state of this town. It seemed almost forgotten in its disrepair, but later, a worker at one of the Walmarts called that certain part of the town the ‘Ghetto’. She said the town was pretty much retired people, and she and her husband were wanting to move to Canada. I guess I always envisioned Montana as the land of cowboys, kind of like in the movie The Horse Whisperer.

Me and My Wee Caravan Against Much Larger Models!

We found our little Walmart complete with its Hobo City like when we visited Kelowna. There were a number of dilapidated trailers and vans where people clearly lived full-time, as well as a few of the traveler sort. 

Raine helped get dinner and then after dinner and an episode of Little House on the Prairie children headed to bed, while I wrote up the day. 

Nothing Like Eating Dinner In a Parking Lot! It's Called Urban Camping!

Tomorrow, we head to West Yellowstone Park. I believe we have about 4 hours of driving left.

My Trust Map, Itinerary, and Useless Google Directions

Tonight, Israel asked me about the park. “Is there a playground?”

“No, but there’s bears and buffalo, and they come right up to your trailer.”

He looks thoughtful, and then he says carefully, “In cages?”

“No, walking around.”

“Then I’m staying in!!”