Little RV on the Prairie – Part II

10/16/2020

        Have you ever been roused from slumber by a chorus of coyotes?  Me neither…. at least not prior to this glorious morning on our Kansas prairie farm.

 I woke several times throughout the night feeling quite dizzy and disoriented, unable to determine which way was up or down, my proprioception severely deficient…. I guess I should just be happy I didn’t wake to a native spirit hovering over my face… or maybe that’s exactly what was happening??!!  Food for thought…. After some unsettled hours of sleep, I find some deeper rest in the wee morning hours, snuggled close with Jack Bays in the bottom bunk. So, when the coyotes start sounding off, I don’t register it until some of the last yips and yowls. I peal myself out of bed and find that Matt, Timber, and Henry are already up and outside trying to locate the elusive pack of coyotes that’s roaming the plains for some breakfast. Isabelle is frantically trying to piece together an appropriate outfit for the cold… in a state of FOMO induced panic.  (the apple really didn’t fall far with this one). I tell you what, the drama starts early. She can’t find shoes that work, there is some miniscule thing wrong with ever pair…she can’t find anything she deems warm enough, even though there are pants/sweaters/hats/and jackets galore… and of course all of my outfit proposals  are  repugnant. So, poor thing is just in tears that she is going to miss the coyotes, and this whole scenario somehow becomes MY fault. Well, now here I am, going to miss the coyotes too because I am stuck in here dealing with your wardrobe catastrophe!!!!  JEEEEEEZZZZZ. I end up having to walk out and let her sort the situation out herself, I did what I could do. And its amazing what happens when you just walk away… the problem is immediately remedied… it’s miraculous. Although she did come out in onesie pajamas and her Vans…… fine by me!

Upon exiting the camper, we are greeted with the most calm and serene dawn of the day. It is SO quiet, just a few faint yips from the coyotes now far off in the distance. Nobody actually got to lay eyes on the deceptive little creatures, but Matt thinks there were about 20.. and two different packs, howling back and forth to one another. Its VERY cold, but also astoundingly beautiful. The mellow color scheme that blankets the landscape is dreamy. The pale, neutral, khaki and browns of the grasses below, corresponding with the gloomy grays of the early morning sky, paint a very soothing picture. Everyone seems to have soaked in the calming environment and are acting accordingly…. quiet and observant. We set off on an exploratory walk along some of the trails on the property, ultimately trying to reach the dried-up creek bed that holds the possibility of arrowhead discovery. Matt and I both vowed to find one while we are here. Early in our walk, we are presented with the first, of many, carcasses of the day. This must be some prime coyote hunting grounds… the remnants of deer and some other tiny animals are scattered across the land. The kids are not sure what to think of all the remains lying around, but they are into bones and appreciate the opportunity to see some up close. They poke and prod and examine and then catch a whiff and run off. The discovery of the animal corpses leads to an inevitable circle of life conversation……. which is a tough one to navigate, but Matt and I fuddle through the best we can. Its not the first time it has come up, but tricky nonetheless. Henry is sensitive to things dying (especially animals). We have watched some Planet Earth episodes in the past, and he could not bear to watch the scenes involving one animal eating another. So, he is ultimately saddened by all the little dead deer around, poor buddy. My deep thinker Isabelle spends some quiet time and then comes out with this, “Must be hard living off other animals when you could have one day been friends”. BOOM. I freaking LOVE it when they drop these intellectual bombs. Of course that coyote and little rabbit could have been best buddies had not one felt the need to feast on the other. If really dissected, this is a pretty profound statement shot straight from the mouth of a seven-year-old. I’ve sat with it for a while and come up with some pretty cool ways to apply it to life in general…. See what you can do with it.

After weaving through the animal scraps, we finally locate the creek bed. It will require a little family game of limbo to maneuver under the barbed wire fence, but we manage without major incident. Matt and I both have a touch of Native American ancestry and feel very honored to have this heritage. Its something we both would like to spend more time connecting with, but our admiration and appreciation of the peoples Native to America runs deep. It is very meaningful to spend time on this previously American Indian land. The creek that once was, has left a deep, winding trench carved into the soil… made up of infinite pebbles and stones. Matt and I immediately geek out looking for arrow heads…. Sorry kids, you’re on your own. This reminds me of looking for shark’s teeth; my mind transports me to an island in the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, NC…. Sharks Tooth Island. You can find boundless teeth on this one particular landmass in the middle of the river. I have at least a hundred shark’s teeth from our excavations there, probably even more than that. I used to make jewelry out of them…… Oh the resplendently free days, pre- kids and careers… I lust for moments of freedom to pursue my own interests and passions…. Once upon a time I was so creative and crafty……. I loved to make pretty things with my own two hands…… I never create anymore, what has happened to me?? “Mom……Mamma… MOMMY!!!” The daydream is shattered, and I am instantly shipped back to reality……. where there are 3 kids that all want me to do something for them. You know what though, I did create them… I guess that is my current creative outlet in a sense…. But DAMN yall, I just really want to find some arrowheads!!!!

They are so happy though; their enthusiasm is palpable and I feel fortunate to be sharing this experience with them, because I too am that excited. In between following the kids around to see the marvels they have discovered…. you better believe my eyes are glued to the ground. Matt peaced out; he is way down the creek bed, that little bleeper is definitely going to find one….. The kids and I acquire a ton of cool stuff; beautifully colored rocks, little bird bones, adorable plant life, feathers, an egg shell, more dead bodies…Etc. etc. Unintentionally, everyone gathers a load of gigantic hitch hikers all over their clothes..they are EVERYWHERE, and definitely not fun to pick off. This will have to be a project for later. I do find something that I would like to claim as an arrowhead, but I am not sure if that would be accurate. It is a stone that is shaped into a triangle.. not a typical arrowhead model, but I swear it looks man made….. I would stay all day out here looking for treasure, but no one REALLY dressed appropriately for the cold, and little hands are starting to freeze… I don’t think Henry even has a jacket on…so we decide to start making our way back to camp.

It took a minute to flag Matt down (no obvious arrowheads for him either), but once he is back, we start making our way up the banks of this old stream. We cross back under the barbed wire and are headed towards the camper, when Henry proclaims “Owl!” Sure enough, maybe 10 feet in front of him, there is a juvenile owl on the ground. It is very calm and does not appear to be frightened by our presence. We fuss at Timber to not go bother the bird, but she seems to understand that we need to let this little baby be….. she remains curious from afar. The kids are overly concerned that there is something wrong with the little owl, that maybe it is stuck. But, after allowing us a generously long amount of time to observe its magnificence, the baby owl flies a couple more feet away. So now the scene from last night is playing out in my head. I bet that nest belongs to this little guy, and that was mama owl flying around trying to keep an eye on her new fledgling that had recently flown the coup. I am reminded of a conversation we had with a park ranger down in Florida on an RV trip earlier this year. She was telling us how the baby owls just launch out of the nest one day, not adept at flying quite yet. They spend some perilous time on the ground, hopping around trying to learn how to ascend into the air. The mama’s hover around the best they can, continuing to feed the fledgling until it gets the hang of flying. This baby does not look quite proficient yet, but is close. Its face is so beautiful and stoic and wise and everything we all want to be in life. He flies a few more times, convincing the kids he it isn’t in immediate danger. It is AMAZING to be so approximate to this gorgeous creature…and to witness it begin life in the wild. Good luck little buddy! Something flew off when we first started our walk, reflecting back, that must have been mama. We checked our bird guides later and identified them as barn owls. Amazing….the whole morning experience has a mystical quality to it.

As the camper comes in to view, we notice two dogs cavorting about… where the hell did these guys come from, there is absolutely nothing around us?????  They look like Samoyeds, but to the kids they are….. “COYOTES!!! OMG they are going to eat Timber!!! Timber , Timber! Come!! “ Henry in particular is extremely concerned that Timber is going to get devoured by this pair of rabid coyotes.   I think all the carcasses in the vicinity got to them.   We safely get Timber into the RV and watch the harmless farm dogs circle around and then take off into the distance.   Hard to believe it, but no one ate breakfast before this whole venture began… so you can imagine the dire need for food that is now unfolding with ferocity.

After the masses are satiated, I’m ready to talk baths. I will not leave this perfectly good source of showering without having done so… even if it means going back into the presumably haunted house. Everyone will bathe, no doubt. Matt checks out the hot water heater and deems it “really small”. So now there is an urgency to the speed of which the bathing  must happen…. commence human car wash… one in, one out, one in, one out, one in, one out.  The house is cold… and everyone is shivering as they get dried off and into clean clothes…. But alas, we are so. fresh. and. so. clean. clean.

It’s hard to leave the farm… but we are so close to Colorado now. So close to a new home, to a new reality, to a new town to call ours for a while. I will NEVER forget our time at the prairie farm, none of us will… it was full of magic and mystery… a brilliant moment in the grand journey. But I am feeling the call of stability, and it’s time to get back on the road. Once on the highway, it takes a literal minute to get to the Colorado state line… queue “ We Own the Night”. Haha, yep, still going with that. We stop to take a picture at the “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign. We made it!!! Its been 20 days since we left home in Decatur, GA…. And honestly it feels like double that. I guess time really did slow down…. Everything we did, all the memories we made in 20 days, feels more like we just lived three months. And now, the last leg of the journey to Breckenridge is underway.

This part of Colorado, 70 W headed to Denver, is the land of the wind turbines. So many wind turbines. There were a bunch in Kansas also, but the density and frequency of wind farms in Colorado is exponential. These structures are so massive and exciting…. I feel struck by them, kind of like admiring a lighthouse. I am pleased to see the infinite power of the wind being harnessed. Many moons ago Matt studied abroad in the Netherlands, to learn about wind turbines, so he has told me all about them in the past. It is awesome to see them for myself finally…I sure hope this somehow becomes a plausible way to power the world.

It does not take me long to realize the pants I chose for today are not the least bit comfortable for road tripping. I try unzipping, and then pulling them down below my hips, but ultimately they have to come off.  So now I’m riding shot gun pant less, the kids think its hysterical and also want to be sans pants….. The no pant situation allows for me to see my legs up close and personal for the first time in a while. Holy shit woman, you need to shave… and you need some LOTION!   Self-care is hard…. Its even HARDER living on the road in an RV with a family of 5 to take care of. I again recognize how tired I am, how sore my body is, how much my head aches, how disorganized and out of control everything is feeling. After fighting Matt so hard to stay out on the road for as long as possible, I am all of a sudden feeling a desire for the ride to be over.. ready to be set up in a stationary home for a while. I think if we were staying at locations for longer than a night, if we were really immersed in the camping life, and exploring each place we visit, that I would be feeling different. But this hopping around daily, set up/take down, see all the sights,  major stretches of driving every day has me worn to the core.  I know everyone is feeling it. The kids are such troopers, they really are. I mean they fight, and complain a little, and have driven me to the point of insanity with snack needs… but in the grand scheme of what we are putting them through, they have done surprisingly well.

As we approach Denver, the first glimpse of the Rockies comes into view. The kids and I have only seen them once before, when we took a ski trip to Keystone a few years ago, but they are certainly more impressive this time around. I will always love my Appalachians… deep in my heart and soul, but the Rockies are really remarkable. I can’t believe we get to call these gorgeous mountains home. We make a stop in Denver for Matt to mail some work stuff at UPS…. and would you believe it if I say we are in a time crunch??? We are supposed to meet the property managers at a certain time, UPS takes FOREVER, and we are waaaay behind schedule. Matt, especially, is feeling the pressure to get up the mountains in time to meet this husband and wife property management team, and have our new house handed over to us.

Now this next part is definitely TMI, but I assured y’all I would tell you the whole story.. good, bad, and ugly… If you have driven up 70 into the Rockies, you know it is a narrow and winding, yet fast-paced mountain road… not a whole lot of exits, or places to safely pull over. I don’t know if it was something we ate, or the mounting pressure from increasing altitude, or I finally caught whatever all the Barbies have had the entire trip,…. I mean the kids HAVE been saying that Ken has “diaronda” this whole time….. whatever the unfortunate reason, I find myself in urgent need of a bathroom. Praise all the things , we are towing one behind us… but that doesn’t solve the problem of where to pull off on this sketchy mountain highway. Its taking Matt way too long to find an suitable place to stop… I am in tears, shouting at him “to just pull over”. I am giggling as I write this, but it was so far from funny when it was happening. We get through this first bathroom incident without being side swiped or shoved off the mountain… and make it safely back out on the road. Well….. not for long…. We had pumped the kids up on so much water, trying to counter the risks of rising elevation, and it is running through them as fast as they drank it…… We are approaching dusk again, are an hour late to meet the landlords, and we have to pull over on the side of an incredibly unsafe highway not 1… but 3 times….. for people to go to the bathroom.. Matt is just beside himself… he is so irritated. I’m just trying to paint the whole picture for you guys. We are road weary to the core, the truck and trailer have a solid coating of dust and dirt from Kansas.. the interior of the truck is absolutely disgusting, so much dog hair, snack debris, random ninja turtle and barbie appendages everywhere…. The Shadow Cruiser is in need of some major TLC, the slides barely made it back in this morning.. some curtain rods have pulled out of the walls, everything needs washing and a few other broken items need mending… We are out of food, almost out of water…. We couldn’t have made it another night out there folks.

I pretty much can’t even pay attention to the new area we are driving through as we near Breckenridge, but Matt is visibly elated; and I’m genuinely thrilled for him, he LOVES it here. I am completely drained of all my life forces at this point, I feel like I can barely keep my eyes open. But we do in fact arrive at our new snowy mountain retreat, just as the sun is beginning to fade. The wind is gusting something fierce, and the temperature has dropped dramatically up in the mountains. I can’t wait to get inside of this cozy home and make it ours… or for now, at least lay down…… Fearing we have held these people up for over an hour, we tentatively approach the home to meet them and get the key. Well, after being under this urgent time crunch for half the day… we find that this duo are in the house still working on it!!!! Mind you our lease started on Oct 1… they are inside…. elbow deep in a toilet and drapes still in the dryer! They have their cute three-year-old daughter with them, and she has several toys strewn about and is free-ranging while her parents are working on the house. We are so excited to explore our new home, but this lovely woman starts talking to us about this and that…. while her husband continues to fix toilets and screw on outlet covers… and before we know it we’ve been here for an hour and haven’t made it past the living room!!!! I mean these folks are as nice as can be, but all I want is for some peace, and quiet, and…space.. The kids have started playing with their new friend, and they are all tearing around the house. Within a few minutes of play, Henry comes running, crying about getting clawed by their new companion. Sure enough he has nail marks down his back.. blood drawn. Little girlie comes around the corner roaring and claiming she is Nala from the Lion King……. okay… honest mistake? I’m gonna let the other mama handle this one…. Is this day over yet??? Nope, not quite. This 2 hour encounter ends with a dinner offer; for us to go over to their house ( in the same neighborhood) and eat and let the kids play in the hot tub. Once my guys hear hot tub, there is no stopping it. It really is a nice gesture, they are sweet to want to feed us after our long journey. So, instead of unpacking and settling in, we find ourselves at our newly acquired friends’ house having dinner. Within an hour the kids are literally face down, falling asleep on these people’s floor… so we have to excuse ourselves and return…..to our NEW HOME.

Anxiety over what we are doing sets in for the first time. I think I am too fragile and overwhelmed for the whirlwind way in which the day ended…. Our initial arrival to Breckenridge has me thrown.  What have we done? What is this new place, who are these new people? What have we done to our kids?! Ripped them away from the only home they have ever known… their toys and friends and families???… We’ve moved them to this harsh environment where we know no one??? Was this a big mistake?? But, that’s enough brain activity for one day. Tomorrow will look clearer and brighter, it always does.

I was blacked out for our ascent to Breckenridge, so no pics of that! I will try to condense and catch everyone up on our last 3 weeks here in Breckenridge on the next blog. Thanks again for staying tuned everyone! We love having the support!