By George....

Days 1 and 2 went smoother than expected. Our first stop was George. Sadly it took us a while to get it all until we saw this guy at the gas station.

The most exciting part of Day 1 was sunshine. We were all basking in it, but it took some getting used to as we had not seen it in a nearly a year.


We continued through Spokane, and got great weather and geography lessons from our absurdly geeky and well read 7 year old. I now totally get which animals can survive in the desert and why, and can easily predict weather from clouds. Apparently "columbus" clouds are fair weather clouds. And really, there are very, very many cactus bushes between Seattle and Spokane. Many!

We went through awesome mountain passes, where we felt on top of the world, and the snow lay fresh on the side of the road. We felt like Lewis and Clark ourselves, discovering the country and its untouched beauty. Few cars, ranching roads, and swelled rivers as far as we could see. It seemed as if we were so far from everything we were leaving behind. And then we pulled into our hotel. Directly next to a Costco - across from a target, and shopping amenities galore, we turned back into ourselves - two thirty-somethings, with three (not so clean) kids, and one over-packed SUV.

The next leg proved  more "rural" according to Cam. As he pointed out, we were far from any "urban centers." Most roads of the freeway read "Ranch Access/No Services." These are some of the only times I wished my 2 year old were NOT potty trained. We found ourselves some nice dirt roads, used our baby potty, and created our own services.

Tonight we settled into Miles City, Montana. We are surrounded by tired travelers, snuggled against one another. It's rather romantic with Erik and I and our Mac products aglow. But, it is these moments, the moments of quite togetherness, of sharing a room and space that makes this trip so special. I am hoping I remember that on hour 6 tomorrow when asked for that extra juice box, that I gladly oblige to, just before I put the straw in only to have that first gush of juice down my shirt.....