Getting Going

First! Some pictures of the van...

Shelving and Storage

Part of the bed and clotheslines

I'll share more pictures later, but struggling with internet, so a little narrative for our start:


The plan for this week is to get in some biking around Rapid City, then continue making our way toward Bellingham for a wedding, followed by a couple months of less scheduled freedom! The reality of what we are doing is starting to set in with our first day on the road - looking around in the van and realizing this is our home...its just cool! A couple more hours of driving put us in Pierre. We initially stopped at a truck stop, but it was closed for the holiday. Next option was a WalMart parking lot, so trying that out for the first time.  It was a hot and sunny day in a South Dakota - 90s!  We stopped for a light supper at a boat landing on Cottonwood Lake - going in for a swim was tempting, but there was a little too much activity going on and I wasn't interested in getting in the way. We visited more family for lunch in Montevideo, sharing travel stories and getting even more overwhelmed/inspired for a year of adventure. We had a relaxed start to the first day of heading west - I even appreciated the rolling green hills and fields of crops through western Minnesota, AND! I managed to stay unaggravated as we followed a Model T club driving ~35 mph down the highway. Monday July 4th was what I am calling our true departure. Sunday afternoon we went to a wedding reception on a beautiful day on Coon Lake north of the Twin Cities. That was a nice way to enjoy some family, leave a pleasant last look at Minnesota in our minds, and build excitement for our journey. Rudy was awesome about getting everything in order.  I was not super-diligent, however, I even squeezed in some final runs and visiting in between bouts of final packing up and cleaning over the weekend.  We left home only one hour later than we were hoping for, so not too shabby. Final days of work not too stressful, both of us finished up a little later than planned, but nothing crazy!