Day 4: The Drive to Medora

Day 4: June 30. We left scenic Barnesville, Minnesota in search of a gas station. The wind has been killer on the gas mileage. After driving around to find a gas station we could get in and out of, mom and dad found a Starbucks and pulled in for their own caffinated fuel :) Turns out, North Dakota is not known for its good coffee. Four cups of Starbucks got dumped out – unheard of.

Betty (again, this is the woman inside the truck that tells us where to go) and Betty's twin (Google maps nav on the phones) both suggested that with the 75 mph speed limit, we should make the 360 miles to Medora in 4 ½ hours. Betty should've known better. Between the slower speeds, driving a “high profile vehicle,” the wind sustained at 40 mph and gusting regularly to 60mph, and stopping to “get-it-together” to drive, it was another long day. We stopped to get gas and the wind was blowing so hard it was a sandstorm! We had to lead the children in to the building with their eyes closed and Mark and Dad struggled to get the gas pumped. We left at 9-ish and arrived in Medora at 4:15 – a whopping 7 hours in the car.

However, it was wonderful to see the day evolve... we started in the great lakes region with rolling hills and grass and trees and lakes. Late afternoon just looked west-i-er. The trees are fewer, the hills become buttes, and the grass ripples everywhere. All the grownups heaved sighs of relaxation and bliss and the sights and sounds and smells we have missed these past 5 years. The children may have been glad to get out of the car.

Now dinner, dinner is why we came to Medora as the first big stop on the trip. We celebrated our arrival by visiting “Cowboy Cafe” in the center of town. Look back through our blogs over the years, and understand that visiting our beautiful country involves visiting and consuming local fare. We always try to find a local place to enjoy things that can be found “only here” and this is no exception! All the food tonight was fantastic, but we drove 1,350 miles for the SOUR CREAM RAISIN PIE! Never heard of it? Neither had we, but we had some when Gabe was 3 and have been back 4 times to this place and have had the pie each time. Tonight, Mark, who is my own personal hero, called back into the kitchen and asked the lady who is probably the owner/cook how to make the pie. He told her of our love affair with her recipe, that none other could compete with hers, and laid on the charm. WE GOT THE RECIPE!!! Written down on the back of two purple business cards! Oh, happy day!!! Mark is the absolute best, best husband in the whole world, and all people reading this blog will be glad of his bravery and charm this evening!

Day 3: The Road to Minnesota

Today was yet another day of nothing but driving; it was supposed to be easy today but we spent the last five hours getting continuously pummeled by crosswinds of 40 mph. It's a bit different driving a giant box/sail than a sedan!

Last night we had very severe thunderstorms that were strong enough to really shake things up. You know what they say: if the camper's a-rockin', then we are probably cowering inside with the children. We may get more meteorological thrills tonight and tomorrow. 

We are spending the night tonight in Barnesville, MN. We are close to the North Dakota border, but it already looks and feels like the Dakotas. Today as we were driving, I looked out at the beautiful rolling hills in vibrant green; the rich blue of the sky; and the perfect, fluffy white clouds. It was gorgeous, idyllic, and I realized at the moment that we had driven into Windows XP. Right now we are set up for the night in a cute little campground that offers us no amenities except for huge amounts of open space for the kids to play. In other words, perfect. 

The adventure begins

Day 1, June 27: The adventure begins. A trial the likes of which none of us ever imagined. Um, no, actually, for the first time ever, day 1 of our trip was completely without incident. Usually there is some major malfunction that causes us to purchase new bike racks, hang upside-down off the 12-foot roof of the RV duct-taping the windshield in place, having the mirror simply fall off, or in extreme circumstances, actually requiring the sudden, on-site purchase of a new RV. Day 0 was a bit more hectic, when we thought my hand was broken but I just suffered very serious swelling and bruising. Do you all play the game we love to play at Casa de Gownezio? It's the game where instead of organizing that which requires organization, one quickly yet forcefully pushes all 153 pieces of Tupperware into the kitchen cabinet and then walks away from it? And then the next person who simply needs an 8 ounce container for leftovers spends the next 30 minutes picking up the Tupperware that has exploded over a 100 square foot area? Well, it was like that with our camper, except that when I opened the front compartment, it was the forged steel sway bar from the hitch that came bursting forth. It was (at this point you should probably be humming some dramatic/heroic music) headed straight for Kieran's foot, and I got my hand there instead. I sure hope you are impressed. That's his one freebie for the trip; I will not be putting myself between him and a grizzly.

My biggest annoyance so far is that I finally got myself a shiny new phone to take on the trip as the old one proclaimed its imminent demise. But then, as you may have heard, Verizon stopped actually being able to do much of anything for 2 solid days. And so not only did I not get to use my shiny new phone, but now it's unable to be hooked up to the home computer with all the music, data, etc. on it. And downloading everything is taking soooo long. #firstworldproblems #thestruggleisreal

Our list of stuff we now realize we forgot to bring with us:

1. Gabe's sneakers (he has to choose between sandals and massive hiking boots)
2. Kieran's sneakers (ditto)
3. Kathy's entire bra collection. She has no bras. It's like 1969. Liz offered to share hers; that was very helpful as it provided Kathy with someplace to lay down and consider where she can purchase new ones for herself.

Last night was terrific. We camped at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio; it was right near Das Essen Haus, a German restaurant in Amish country where my grandparents used to bring me when I was just a wee lad. It was also right at the same exit where Liz and I stopped at a fantastic restaurant 15 years ago and have been trying to remember ever since where it was. We didn't eat there, but did eat at The Barn at Sauder Village which had that same amazing 17,000 calorie chicken & potatoes kind of buffet. And fed all 8 of us for $80.

But the best part was that Grandma Gowman drove over from Monroe and stayed with us last night! It was great seeing her and getting some quality time with her and the grandchildren. And we had such a great campfire that it took three tries to drown it.

And the second best part was that for the start of camping/end of school I surprised Liz and myself with the gift of Lagavulin.

Day 2, June 28. Today has been a hard drive. Five hundred miles, including a two-hour stretch through and near Chicago that was heavy traffic and very, very tight construction with narrow lanes, no shoulders, and concrete barricades until about the last 50 miles of the state. Not only was it just abysmal, there was no escape. Mile after mile of soul-sapping hyper-focused driving, and exit after exit was closed. And it was two hours past when lunch should have been. And we were on fumes before we finally exited at Wal-Mart. I never thought I would feel genuine elation at seeing Wal-Mart. It may have led to some people being crabby; I will have to investigate and get back to you on exactly who that was.

So, after eleven hours on the road, through exhausting traffic, thunderstorms, and wind, we approached our destination. Betty (our in-truck navigator) counted down. “Your destination is two miles ahead on the left.” Aaah, so tired. “Your destination is one mile ahead on the left.” And hungry. Sooooo hungry. “A half mile...” Oh my gosh, at long last! “A quarter mile...” Yes! Dinner! Relaxation! Campfire! My bed! “You have arrived at your destination.” Cows. Lots and lots of cows. And grass. A an old house, way off yonder on a hill. But nope, no campground. That was 30 minutes in the other direction.

But we made it, and even got in dinner and a walk before the rain started. In our first two days we have covered nearly 1,000 miles.

Westward, ho!

Avalanche Lake, Glacier National Park

Wait, what did you just call me?!?!?

Warning: This is our first gross pic of the trip!

(And it's not even the trip yet.) T-minus 10 hours to departure and I have already paid the Iron Price for this folly. At least it happened after the big concert on the Irish flute. The biggest question tonight is: Is the hand actually broken, or merely horrifically grotesque? Stay tuned to find out!

Tick, tick, tick...

As I said, our misery is your hilarity! Brought the camper home last weekend to start a leisurely two weeks of loading, but finally drove it into the corner of the house. It came home this afternoon. Unfortunately, between major repairs to the truck and major repairs to the camper, we have already spent our whole summer's budget, and haven't yet left the driveway.

So how much we do,buy/spend depends entirely on how funny our plastic funny money is. Will we panic on the state of finances? Or figure that we're already so far in the hole, it just doesn't matter?

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Clock ticking... need sleep... going to collapse... grades due tomorrow... big concert tomorrow night... but 55 hours to departure is the important thing!

And speaking of ticking clocks, today Liz and I became the proud parents of a high school student!

And if that's not enough, Izzie turned 8 today!

And if that's still not enough, we paid off my loan to the University of Michigan today! Eastman, you're next.

One week to departure!

Hello friends, and thanks for joining us once again on the 2014 Gownezio Expedition blog! It has been five long years since the last Gownezio blog, and we are really looking forward to this. A big Thank You to Diane for pointing me in the right direction and encouraging me to do this once again.

We are really looking forward to this; this trip has been planned and cancelled each of the previous two summers. After five long years, we are finally going home to Glacier National Park and the Redwoods of the Pacific Coast. And seeing many more of our favorite places along the way.

I realize that a blog is, like, so five years ago, and we should totally be doing snapchats or instagrams or something else that the hip youngsters dig. But this works, so here we are. I've come to realize from doing this several times, that when we are having a great time it is actually boring to read about. It starts getting really funny when the trip sucks. Our misery is your hilarity. So hold on to your hats, folks. If you're lucky, we'll nearly be eaten by bears, have every single thing break on the camper, and have RV sewer emergencies every step of the way! If you are wondering what it is like traveling with us, simply watch the 2006 movie RV, which is practically a documentary about our family trips.