On October 21, Mom, Dad, Nicole, and I loaded into the F250 at Smuggler's Den campground right next to Acadia National Park and started my multi-thousand mile journey to Death Valley National Park. The final member of our travel party was Mom and Dad's newly purchased SunnyBrook trailer. Check it out....
We only made it as far as the Bangor International Airport before we lost Nicole. She had to head back to her life in Minnesota. As we drove away from the terminal I look at Dad and then Mom and then myself in the rear-view mirror. And then there were three...
The folks and I motored down the rainy road all the way to Hartford, CT before calling in a day. The next day we woke up to rain and another 500 miles of road separating us from our next stop in Washington, DC. We made it in safe and sound and spent the night in the trailer. Cherry Hill RV Park gave me my first taste of the RVing world. It's a foreign one. I am quite certain that twenty-somes are not a major demographic in said world.
We spent the next day in Washington. The big objective of the day was for me to tour Wesley Theological Seminary. Mission accomplished. I enjoyed getting back into the higher education touring mode. I came away from the visit with an appreciation for Wesley, but not a strong sense of calling to pursue a Master's of Divinity (MDiv) there. So we headed on down the road.
Our next stop was Wilmington, NC. Our friends from Wisconsin had relocated down there and hosted us for the weekend. Sitting on the beach, eating delicious food with fellow Wisconsinites, and having a genuine vacation made this stop quite awesome.
We spent two more days in North Carolina. A trip to Mount Airy filled one. A tour of Duke Divinity School filled the other. Why did we go to Mount Airy? Andy Griffith grew up there. Dad is a huge fan of the Andy Griffith Show. See the connection? Mom and I were less excited to go, but all three of us ended up really enjoying the day. If you're ever in the area, be sure to stop by.
I liked Duke a lot. The highlight of the day was lunch with a third-year MDiv student who was probably the most articulate and personable individual I've met before. I probably could have only had lunch with him and still have decided to apply. So Duke is one possible location for where I'll be starting next fall.
On the road again, this time it was two full days of driving to make it to Grandma Lue's house in Kansas City. We arrived to a bright, sun shiny day. Dad coaxed me into helping him take advantage of the gorgeous afternoon by washing the trailer. Several thousand miles of road grime sure does add up.
Next stop was the other grandparents' house in Minneapolis. There we reunited with Nicole and hung out with Grandma and Grandpa. Dad and I also mowed the grass and picked up leaves. The last time I ran a lawn mower was over 15 months ago. It felt good to be back at it again.
On Monday morning, Dad and I left for my doctor's appointment back in Sun Prairie, WI where I grew up. We left mom behind with her folks and Nicole. And then there were two...
After Madison, Dad and I headed down to Chicagoland. We made a quick pit stop in Wheaton so I could meet a new friend, Lainey, before we settled in for the night at a Best Western near Evanston. We woke up the next morning and headed to the campus of Northwestern University where Garrett-Evangelical Seminary is located. I toured the school. 150 minutes was enough to convince me I should also apply to Garrett. So that is the other possibility of where I'll be next fall. Stay tuned.
We then high-tailed it up to the Milwaukee airport so I could catch my flight back to Montana. Dad dropped me off at the terminal. We said our goodbyes and agreed to meet at the airport in Butte in three days. Then he drove off. And then there was one...
I flew from Milwaukee back to Chicago. We even flew directly over Garrett. The flight experienced several delays so we pulled in to the gate 15 minutes before my connecting flight to Seattle was scheduled to leave. My seat partner, Alex, was scheduled for that flight also. We, along with three other ladies with connections in the C terminal, dashed across O'Hare. None of us made our connections. The nice lady at customer service informed Alex and I that we were both going to get to Seattle by evening, but we'd have to wait another two hours. We took advantage of that opportunity to grab a $10 beer (with tip) and get to know each other. If you are ever in need of a good mechanic in Olympia, WA Alex is your guy. Be sure to hurry, though. He and his wife are going to retire soon and move back to Guatemala where they are from.
The rest of the trip back to Montana was relatively uneventful. I was in bed by 1:00am, however, which was not ideal.
The next day I unpacked, organized, and repacked. I slept in until 11:00 and wanted to be at my aunt and uncle's by 5:00 for dinner so the day was a little rushed. Mom and Dad had closed up the house for the winter so I had to scrounge around for food. I managed to graze on some eggs, a bag of popcorn, several granola bars, and a Campbell's Tomato Soup In Hand. Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed Uncle John's pork chops and hashed potatoes for dinner.
After a 7:00am dentist appointment the next day, I headed down to Missoula to visit folks I thought it'd be good to visit with. After six distinct meetings, I crashed on my buddy Brandon's couch at 2:00am. Warning: a full day of seeing good friends will make you very tired. We woke up the next morning and ate super fancy, and healthy, pancakes before I left for my final meeting with the pastor at my church in Missoula.
Then it was off to Butte to pick up Dad. I manged to actually get lost in Butte, but eventually I found the airport and picked him up. We returned to I-15, waited until the truck hit 2,500 RPM before setting the cruise, and made our way down to Ogden, Utah for the night.
We woke up to a clear blue sky and the whole state of Utah ahead of us. That day, we probably saw about half of the state of Utah. I liked what I saw. I'll be back.
On our way to Las Vegas the next day we stopped at a Nevada State Park called Valley of Fire. Dad and I were both blown away by the beautiful desert landscape. After doing some reading on the brochure, I realized that Acadia National Park was several thousand acres smaller than this state park. After four-and-a-half months in Acadia, I still don't feel like I experienced it all. After less than four hours in Valley of Fire, however, I was satisfied with my taste of it. We moved on.
Speaking of taste, we were really tasting some In-and-Out Burger. At the first exit in Vegas, we asked Siri how to get to one. Within 20 minutes we were each chowing down on a double-double. Oh man was it was good.
We found a relatively cheap room at the Silverton Casino on the edge of town. We weren't looking for much, just an airport shuttle for Dad to take the next morning and a place to watch the Packers take on the Bears on Sunday Night Football. We weren't disappointed. Dad was disappointed, however, when Spirit cancelled his flight from Vegas to Minneapolis. It also didn't help that he went from somewhere sunny and 75 to the first big snowstorm of another Minnesota winter.
On my journey to Death Valley the next day I made a quick stop in Pahrump, NV to complete a drug test. Unlike the last drug test I had to take when I was an intern in DC a few years ago, this time around I successfully coordinated my water intake with my arrival at the testing site. My bladder thanked me.
My final stop in the booming town of Pahrump was none other than Wal-Mart. Had to get the essentials before I ventured off into the desert. Then it was back on the road for the final 60 miles to the Furnace Creek Ranch. Twenty days after leaving my temporary home in Acadia National Park I arrived safely in my new temporary home in Death Valley National Park.
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