Photographic Proof

We have made the obligatory stop. Man, I forgot how far it feels from
the freeway.

They have completely rebuilt the guest facilities since I was here in
1991. The cool old dining room used in "North by Northwest" is
apparently gone?

Next stop: the Badlands.

By the way, it's hot.

Eastward Ho!

As you can see we escaped our Yellowstone prison and made it to
Devil's Tower. We pulled in at 10:00 PM. Birds woke me up at 5:00 AM,
including a wild turkey.

We just missed seeing the tower in the setting sun but I got to see it
at dawn. The stars were fantastic last night with a brilliant Milky
Way. We could also see the headlamps of two climbers 3/4 of the way up
the south face at 10:00 PM They were vertically separated. I'm not
sure whether it was two parties or one that was late finding a bivouac
site. Do a google image search for "bivy ledge" if you've never seen
how climbers "sleep" on a cliff.

We had to go 140 miles the wrong way out of Yellowstone, back to
Bozeman, MT, to get Ruby fixed. David at College Exxon fixed the
problem (indeed a failed CV joint) in less than two hours using the
axle I had had overnight shipped to Yellowstone. We were on the road
heading the right direction by 1:00 PM.

So we covered 435 miles yesterday from Bozeman to Devil's Tower. It
was quite hot through Billings and Sheridan and the van was pretty
warm inside but Audrey and Charlotte were troupers. Carol did a
wonderful job stocking the van with activities to keep them occupied.

Today we'll buzz past Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands and then make it
as far as we can by 5:00 PM or so and find a hotel with a pool. If we
can get to Chicago by tomorrow night or Saturday noon we'll be back on
schedule.

Marooned in Yellowstone

According to our schedule we should have left Yellowstone this morning
for Devil's Tower. That didn't happen. We're experiencing our first
Vanagon stranding. But as my friend Scott who has been helping me
remotely said, there are worse places we could be stuck.

Scott and other Vanagon owners diagnosed the problem from my
description of the symptoms: a failing CV joint. There are mechanics
here at Grant Village. I ordered the parts this morning for overnight
delivery and we should be on the road again by Tuesday night or
Wednesday morning.

It was showery and cold our first two days. We had steady rain the
first night. We watched Old Faithful yesterday in a windy drizzle
Today it is mostly sunny and high 50s.

We'll obviously have to modify our plan. We might just make a big 3-
day push to Chicago on I-90 and miss out on Nebraska and Iowa.

The photo is at West Thumb Geyser Park on Yellowstone Lake.

On the Road

The Seattle sky shed a tear with us as we drove out of town: the first
measurable rain in 29 days.

The rest of the family is chipper but last night I was very sad. The
reasons to accept the transfer to Boston are still valid. However,
actually ripping up all those roots is painful. I moved home to
Seattle from Boston 12 years ago this month and thought I would never
leave again. The phase of my life between then and now has been
incredibly good and I mourn the end of it And I feel guilty taking
the girls out of their loving family milieu.

But now we're finally on the road and I feel better. We're presently
passing through Spokane. We've been driving six hours and Audrey and
Charlotte are in good spirits and having fun. The Vanagon has a rear-
facing seat where Carol or I can sit and play games with the girls.
Carol spent the morning there making collars ("freindship bracelet"
style) for the girls' lovies so they can self-retrieve them when they
inevitably drop them.

Ruby (our van) was hesitating going over Snoqualmie Pass. We think it
was bad gas. We put in some premium in Ellensburg and she is happy
again.

We crossed our first state line as I typed this post (on my phone) -
into Idaho. Next stop: Missoula.

Our Eastward Migration

Only five days left until we depart Seattle for our new home in Boston. We're driving across the country in our "new" camper van. There will be challenges when the kids tire of driving but it will be a memorable adventure. Here's the itinerary:

Our Route- Click for Larger Version

• Thursday 6/18: The moving truck will be loaded and depart. We'll spend the night at my parents' Greenlake home.


• Friday 6/19: Get an early start leaving Seattle, aiming for Missoula, Montana with a lunch stop in Moses Lake.


• Saturday 6/20:Drive from Missoula to Yellowstone. We have reservations at the Canyon Campground.


• Sunday 6/21: Spend all day exploring Yellowstone. We have reservations for a motel room at Grant Village.


• Monday 6/22: All day drive from Yellowstone to Devil's Tower where we'll camp.


• Tuesday 6/23: A day with lots of sights and not a lot of miles. Drive from Devil's Tower to Mt. Rushmore and then the Badlands. We'll either camp at the Badlands or continue a couple of hours into northern Nebraska.


• Wednesday 6/24: One of our long days: 400+ miles across Nebraska on US-20. Hopefully we'll reach the vicinity of Sioux City in the afternoon and find a hotel with a pool.


• Thursday 6/25: Continue on US-20 across Iowa at least to the Illinois line. Maybe continue to Chicago.


• Friday 6/26: Either wake up in Chicago or finish driving there. We're visiting my Uncle Gary and Aunt Kathy in Wheaton. IL.


• Saturday 6/27: Spend all day in the Chicago area with Gary and Kathy and their family.


• Sunday 6/28: Depart Chicago in the morning and drive to the Detroit area (about 5 hours). My parents are both from Detroit and we'll visit with my Aunt Charlotte and my cousins Andre and Renee and their families and maybe my Uncle Ed.


• Monday 6/29: Spend all day visiting in the Detroit area.


• Tuesday 6/30: Depart Detroit and have a moderate driving day, perhaps to Youngstown, OH. Find a hotel with a pool.


• Wednesday 7/1: Continue driving across Pennsylvania and visit the Amish country. Perhaps camp there or continue on toward Philadelphia.


• Thursday 7/2: See the sights in Philadelphia and then drive toward New York City. Visit my good friend Bill in Hoboken, NJ.


• Friday 7/3: Spend all day in the NYC area. We might try to catch the first boat to the Statue of Liberty but on the July 4 holiday that's sure to be crazy.


• Saturday 7/4: Drive from NYC to Boston and show the girls the new house. We'll be in a hotel until mid-week.


• Monday 7/6: I start work.


• Tuesday 7/7: The house purchase closes.


• Wednesday 7/8: Our household goods and second car should be delivered.