Oh, to sit in a hard chair at a desk to write something or to dine at a real dining table! To sit on a couch that we can all fit on and watch a movie or TV! To not have to plan our next drive, our next place to stay, our next shopping trip; to not have to worry about tank levels and propane and water and gas; to not have to be watching the weather over my shoulder every second of every day, wondering if it’s time to batten down the hatches.
The simple joy of shopping in a grocery store that is familiar to oneself is probably something Wendy is very ready for. Or to have a washer and dryer just down the hall! No more hauling dirty clothes across a campground parking lot or into a crowded laundromat and setting a timer for 30 minutes while you run across the street to run some other errand – probably to get propane.
The idea of living in a real house again is so appealing to us that it almost seems as if we never have. To be able to sleep in a bed in your own room with a choice of bathrooms and a real roof over your head! What! Will we have to climb on the roof to sweep it off before we pull it in? Will we have to take it to the dump station when it gets full?
The day-to-day has thoroughly wiped Wendy and I out. The remoteness and lack of routine and removal from other kids has probably run its course on the girls. We are tired and feel on the ragged edge sometimes. It’s a hard life.
On the other hand, what will we do when we get tired of the scenery or the weather…or the neighbors? Can we pack up and move on to new lands? What will it be like when we are not always awaiting something around the next bend? When we do not have the wind in our faces and the sunshine on our necks? When our lives are full of responsibilities that we have not had to shoulder for some time? I said this lifestyle was hard, but it is also simple. Complexity will steamroll us. We’ll stand like deer in headlights before its onslaught.
So at the end of this day – one full of adventure: a drive through dramatically unsettled Idaho farm lands, and fun: Lava Hot Springs pools and slides, and downtime: writing and reading in the morning and coffee outside by the beach – we are left all mixed up inside.
Yes, getting to our rental that we recently acquired in Fort Collins (the signing of the lease in Truckee, CA being a momentous occasion that changed the whole mood of our adventure) is a singular focus for all of us and one we are desperately in need of. Yet, here we are in Idaho with a week of travels still before us.
I can speak for all us and say that we can’t wait to get into a real home again. But I just know it won’t be long before we crave the open spaces and the peace and the simplicity of this last year.
Yesterday on Bear Lake (an aquamarine gem with endemic fish species in it) while paddleboarding together the girls told Wendy that when they get older they hope they can bring their kids on a year-long trip and that we, Mom and Dad, can come and visit them along the way.
I think it was many months ago when all Wendy and I wished for was that they would appreciate this experience and understand its significance.
Tomorrow we head for Wyoming and the Great Divide Basin.
