Something happens to the children when we are in the middle
of a long-haul. They sit in their car seats for 6 hours, restrained, like lightning bolts trapped in a cloud. At first they sit and
play with toys while mom sleeps and dad listens to NPR. Then, they start to fidget and get loud as their pent up energy reaches critical levels. Before you know it they're fighting, kicking seats, throwing toys, and pouring water on Hannah. We yell at them or try to offer them treats for good behavior but it's too late, the metamorphosis is complete, they have turned into monsters.
When we arrive at our destination, we yell at them to go
play and they keep coming back and kicking us while we are down. I issue them
threats using a deep grunting voice that I deliver through my teeth. They
respond by imitating me and laughing. This usually prompts them to cue up the
‘Best of Dad Grunts’ album where they growl hits like ‘Don't Pee on the
Trail’ and “Get Over here". They're no kinder to their mother as they throw things around inside the RV while she tries to unpack and, in between attacks on the parents, they terrorize the dog. It is exhausting for everyone.
Our current long-haul is a 2500 mile stretch of the United
States that runs mostly along Interstate 10. We are about halfway through this
18 day trip that takes us from Central Arizona to Central Florida and we have
seen some pretty cool stuff. We stay two nights in each place which equates to
us driving every other day with a day in between to check out the area. It
sometimes feels a little rushed but I think we do a pretty good job of enjoying
the journey.
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| Replaced and upgraded the suspension on the truck. It's like driving a new car. |
Our first stop was outside of Tucson at Kartchner Caverns
State Park. The big attraction there is an extremely well preserved cave system
that features a massive column named Kubla Kahn. The only way to access the
caves is if you go on a guided tour with a Ranger. The tours are intimate and
spaced out so you gotta get there early to get tickets. The biggest take away
from this place is an increased awareness of how fragile caves are. Their caves
are pristine and they are serious about protecting them. For the boys, this
experience ignited a curiosity in caves inside them that was fun to watch. On
the tour, Noah was flexing his knowledge in front of the crowd. The rangers
kept saying, “In a few more years, you’ll be back here guiding the tours.”
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| No cameras allowed in the caves but we spotted some wildlife in the park. |
Our next stop was White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.
We checked into the KOA in Alamogordo. The people that run this park are top
notch. They are beyond friendly and, because they are awesome, they have a
bunch of sleds that they loan out to campers. So, we spent a day sledding at
White Sands and it was a blast. This is one of the few national parks that
allows pets on the trails and in the backcountry so Hannah got to come along.
It was nice having her along. She brings a certain energy to our posse that
reminds us all to step back and appreciate our surroundings.
After White Sands we spent a few hours in Roswell. It was
about 30 miles out of the way from our next stop and I felt like I had to go
see it. We sometimes talk about things that we regret not seeing (Glacier
National Park and Crater Lake often come up) and I just didn’t want Roswell to
be one of those things. Our visit to Roswell consisted of eating lunch aboard
the RV inside of a dirt parking lot, buying a sticker and a post card from a
gift shop and then eating frozen yogurt at a mall that reminded me of the movie
Napoleon Dynamite. So, I can’t give it a fair assessment. I think what you’re
supposed to do is spend the $5 to go see the UFO Museum and uncover a
government conspiracy about aliens but I couldn’t get my kids within 100 feet
of the entrance. What can I say? They are terrified of aliens, especially if
you’re trying to convince them they are real.
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| ALIENS! |
We continued on to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We stayed
at an RV park that basically offers you hookups and a parking spot so you can
camp outside of the National Park. I spent the morning catching up on some work
while Jessica and the boys brushed up on their cave knowledge. After lunch, we
headed down to do some caving. Carlsbad Caverns offers a self guided hike that
dives about a mile into the caves and puts you 700 feet underground. Then,
there is a 1.5 mile loop that is outstanding. You spend the whole day walking
along and seeing the most eerie and incredible things in this dimly lit,
natural landscape. Then, you hop on an elevator that delivers you directly to
the visitor center. The fluorescent lights and souvenirs appear in front of you
and you wonder if it was all just a dream.
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| Hiking into a giant hole in the ground. |
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| Enjoying the view |
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| This column is over 60 feet high |
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| What giant cave is complete without a snack bar? |
With New Mexico in our rear view, we crossed into Texas on a
back road that was lined with oil fields and packed with tanker trucks. This
was the first driving day where the wind was not a serious issue. On most of
the other days we have been crossing flat, barren landscapes on the edge of low
pressure systems. I perfected the art of steering into an 18 wheeler when it
passes so you don’t get blown off the road. It’s counter-intuitive but if you
do it just right, you will experience little to no sway as you get passed.
We landed just outside of San Antonio at Medina Lake. What’s
interesting about Medina Lake is there is no longer a lake there. And this
thing just recently dried up. 5 years ago this was a deep lake where people
brought their boats and had vacation homes around. Now, all of the marine
related businesses have closed their doors and there is a big valley where the
lake used to be. Everything is for sale and the campground was basically empty.
Fortunately, we didn’t come to see the lake, we just needed a place to camp
that was within striking distance of San Antonio.
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| Funky Cold Medina |
Wow, San Antonio! Our favorite downtown so far. I had no idea this city was so awesome. Everything you need
to see is neatly laid out in a clean and walkable city-center. We started at the
Alamo which didn’t immediately grab the boys like the caves did but after a few minutes, they were asking questions and expressing a genuine interest. We walked
around and started reading things and then watched a video about the battle. It
made me realize that I didn’t know JACK about the Alamo so I was learning alongside the boys. Afterwards we headed
to the River Walk which I had no idea existed until my friend, Andreanna. told me
about it the night before. I am glad she did because this was a pleasant
surprise. We took a boat tour, ate dinner and had ice cream in this spectacular
setting and then drove back at night with sleeping children in the backseat.
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| Sorry, Pee Wee, no bike here. |
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| The ducks enjoyed all of the tortilla chips that Sammy dropped. |
Today, we left San Antonio and I drove in some of those
crazy winds I mentioned earlier. As I drove I thought about when I first
learned about caves. I remember a worksheet that showed poor illustrations of
stalagmites and stalactites. Below the drawings were some clever ways to help
me remember which was which. The beauty of a living, limestone cave cannot even
be captured on a photograph, let alone a grade school ditto. Naturally, when I
had learned about them all those years ago, I can’t say I was particularly
interested. Noah and Sam will remember it as two full days of caving where they
learned a stalagmite grows from the ground because it ‘mite’ grow up.
I thought about the Alamo too. Not the battle itself, but
our trip there. I knew nothing about it because it got skimmed over in history
class while I slept with my head on my desk. For my kids, it was a day where they
got to see Davy Crockett’s rifle and walk inside of a room where most of those
200 men took their final breaths.
Roadschooling happens
so naturally that it's easy to miss. It’s that moment when everyone is
getting involved in the same thing and being kind to one another. Everything is cool and calm. These are easier
to come across when we are hiking a trail inside of a cave or talking a tour of
a historic battleground. I realized this while I was driving today and just as
I realized it, the boys began to stir in their car seats. This was my chance. I
could tell they were trying to get our attention so I tuned down NPR and
addressed them directly. I started asking them what they were gonna do when we
arrived and what they missed most about Michigan. They were telling me about a
ninja school that they founded where they learn to fight bad guys. I asked
probing questions about their imaginary school that prompted them to be
creative. Before long, we were laughing about the absurd things that came out
of their brains and we were having a good time. I let them take turns picking
what radio station we listened to and kept the conversation going.
When we arrived at the campground, outside of Houston, I
assigned Sammy to team dad and Noah to team mom. We involved them in our
routine of setting up camp and they responded well. When I offered Sam the
drill to lower the stabilizing jacks, his eyes lit up. I smiled as I thought
about the stress free car ride and the family bonding we were doing. I looked
over at the RV across from us that had vinyl lettering all over it directing me
to the website www.roadschoolamerica.com
and I thought, it must be a sign.
