July 11. Broke open the music for the first time in the trip. Nine days without music. For such audiophiles it is odd we have been so quiet. We are 25 miles or so from from the border and it is strange to see convoys of army trucks and later a car marked Border Patrol. Don't think of our northern neighbor when considering border issues. We made it through the border despite my best efforts to prevent it from happening. In my packing frenzy I picked up the passports bound together with a rubber band and tossed them in the glove box without looking at them. Not only were there only three, it was Reese's expired passport, the picture taken when he was six months old. Needless to say, I was mortified and disappointed, but the border official let us through. It would have been a loooong detour through Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania if he chose to enforce the law. Let's hope the US Border Patrol is as forgiving. July 12. We pushed the kids hard today. At least they pushed back hard. It will be great to be out of the van for more than one night. We are staying at my cousin Amy's on Lake Joseph in the Muskoka Lakes of Ontario. I grew up spending at least a week every summer visiting grandparents here. Naturally my vision of what we will encounter is tainted by time and nostalgia. I hope it lives up to half of it. It will be exciting to meet up with east coast cousins again, as it has been at least ten years since I have seen them. We drove along Lake Huron, through Amish country and heavily wooded, wet lands. We spent the night in a Provencial Park. Unfortunately we didn't capitalize on what it had to offer, such as hikes and waterfalls. It was very nice, heavily wooded and more privacy than we have been accustomed to. There are KOAs here in Ontario, but none in striking distance. The kids were disappointed, but not I.

It happened. The inevitable. One day, only one day not using it and it stops working. The air conditioning. It blows great, in fact sometimes it blows detritus out at us, but the air is no longer icy. Or cool, even. At least not cooler than outside. So here comes better gas mileage, smelling the surroundings, more noise and personal swamp coolers when needed. The kids can't really hear the music either, the wiring went weird last night, maybe after Reese was kicking the rear speakers. The kids tend to turn the van into a gymnasium when we stop. They climb, hang, jump, whatever they can do in the van instead of running around outside.

July 13. We are here!!! Muskoka!! It is wonderful! Amy, Ross and Abby are wonderful! Amy is my cousin on my dad's side whom I haven't seen since we don't know when. Abby is 3 and a half, a perfect companion for Ruby and someone else for Reese to terrorize. Their house is beautiful, built from the ground up by themselves. We went down to the lake, to Ross's cousins where Reese was initiated into lake life by jumping off the boathouse into the crystal clear water. My heart was so full seeing him experience what I grew up experiencing! It is probably about a 12 foot drop off the boathouse to the lake. Reese did about 20 laps. Ruby and I raced off the dock together, but surprisingly she wouldn't consider going off the boathouse.

Another first for Reese---he caught a fish! A small mouth bass, which is quite the step up from sunfish or rock bass. Rock bass are the predominant fishing fare from the dock. Once again, my heart filled with pride and love. It was uncanny, as Ross and I were on the other side of the boathouse at that very moment talking about Reese fishing and getting him some bait. Once again, stopping through and visiting cousins, it seems blood runs thick. Homes and hearts are opened and connections are re-established. Shared interests and values are discovered. We draw on past experience and the knowledge we are bound together by shared ancestry. It is lovely. It is raining hard this morning, potentially squashing plans to go out on the boat, visit an old family island. We are getting together with Amy's siblings and my uncle as well as another Canadian cousin who is coming up with her family. So lucky! And so nice not to have to get in the van and drive away this morning!!!

Across the Mississippi!

July 10. Happy birthday Pop!!! Can't wait to see you!! And good by to Minnesota, where the state bird is the mosquito. The kids are constellations of bites to prove it. We exited the wind farms and corn fields of Minnesota across the Mississippi into Wisconsin. More corn fields but no wind farms. We have been traveling mainly back highways on our journey into the Upper Penisula to spend the night with my cousin Randy and his family. It is refreshing to be off the interstate seeing small towns with people lounging at the town pool, combines filling up at the local gas station, white picket fences and brightly filled flower pots. Rolling green hills of trees surrounding farmland. Silos. And more corn. Yup. We are in the Midwest!

Today is the first day we are eating on the run. Dished up last night's spaghetti and meatballs on the road to appease the monsters in the back seat. I have been avoiding eating in the van primarily because of potential mess. One has to find control somewhere, just ask Ruby. After reviewing the calendar, New Hartford, NY is just around the corner. His siblings and lots of cousins are there, and it is the jump point for Cape Cod. How slow and fast time seems to simultaneously move sometimes. Hard to believe we will be out of the van for a few days soon. Long day in the van without stops. Ruby wore out the battery on the iPad. Randy drives in tonight after us to catch us before we push off in the morning. Surreal to think how far we've come. How little conversation we have had outside of family. The windows are down because it is so pleasant and the mosquitoes can't get in. Trees tower over the road, clearing only when someone bothered to clear t

hem. Lakes slip by on either side. Birch has replaced Aspen as the white bark. Ferns everywhere. July 11. Great night, a bit too much wine, and lots of fun in the UP with family. Camp G is a wonderful spot. A couple of cute, comfortable cabins nestled in eleven acres of woods and lake. A lot of care and thought was put into decorating the cabins and landscaping the area around them. Mary and the girls spend the summers up there and Randy comes up for the weekends. The visit was entirely too short but we managed to fit a bit of fishing in. It reaffirmed connection, from the history of shared lineage as well as we are often more alike than different. There was no problem establishing common ground, we are all about the same age, with kids, shared values. I can't say enough how fortunate I feel to have spent time with Mary and Randy. We have just finished lunch at Lake Superior, the largest lake in the world. Reese says he can see Canada. I can't. On our way to the border. We are headed into Canada for a few days, to the Muskoka Lakes. I grew up going there to visit grandparents. Really looking forward to seeing Amy and her family, and anyone else who shows up. Won't be posting from across the border unless I have WIFI. Too expensive to use cellular data. See you soon. Thanks so much to Randy, Mary and the girls for a fabulous, but too short, stay!!

A lot of Interstate Time

July 9th. On the road after a relatively earlier bedtime, later wake up and relaxed morning. We just crossed into central time which may help. Not many pictures, lots of road time from here on out. Ruby is continually singing and coloring in the back seat, Reese is looking out the window. It is hazy overcast, and the AC is still working!! I had a mini-moment this morning wondering if it would just quit again. Life is good. We stopped in Sioux Falls for some excellent Arabic food at Sanaa. Found through Yelp, it gave us an excuse to explore the downtown and the falls themselves before hitting the interstate again. If you are ever in the area I recommend it. Another first (the first being Arabic food), was a bit of profiling on the interstate. Here is Rich's account of it: We got profiled by the South Dakota state police today. Rolling east on 90 about 100 miles west of Sioux Falls, 2 troopers in the median, west facing trooper spots the vanagon and shouts to his friend, "I'm off!" I saw him shift into drive and come out onto the highway with visions of methamphetamine dancing in his head. He closed quickly as I watched in the rearview. His shoulders sagged when, instead of kilos of cocaine, he spotted Ruby's pink and white hello-kitty bike. In under a minute he was westbound again to join his interdiction confederate.

Reese and Ruby are lifting a car with a giant lever outside of the Kirby Science Discovery Center. Leaving South Dakota, land of hand dryers instead of paper towels. I think I preferred the dryers despite the noise. We come into Minnesota, a big wind farm just over the border. There are more wind farms in Minnesota than Idaho and it is evident by the number we have seen in the first 100 miles. Headed for---you guessed it---a KOA. I spent a lot of time on my phone trying to find a state park with swimming within striking distance of the interstate to no avail. Oh well, at least the kids will be happy. Bikes and pools, ice cream, what else could a kid want???

July 8th. Monday??? No, Tuesday!! I thought it was Monday! We are a week in! We are hanging out in a laundrymat catching up on popular culture. Dr Oz is babbling above my head, the kids are hooked into Cartoon Network. Complete corruption, as the TV won't change channels therefore robbing me of parental control. They have never experienced it before. I won't go back there as I am afraid of how awful it is. Plus, it is wonderful to be unbothered at the moment. The WIFI doesn't work here, with no attempt to fix it. I am once again putting the blog on the phone. Forgive typos and grammatical SNAFUs please. Why are we here, besides laundry? The van is at the dealership getting a new compressor and hopefully charged with freon. After spending another night at a KOA---very convenient with a pool (!) I am concerned we are turning into converts!! And we are done! System tested, no AC compressor needed, no leaks and we have AC. In true Vanagon fashion it quit working for no apparent reason and didn't really need a fix. But the kids---they need a fix, especially Ruby. I think the lack of routine as well as erratic mealtimes and bed times have take a toll. She has been a monster on many occasion. And of course, the parental units of Taurus and Capricorn take the power struggle head on instead of finessing it. We need to exercise some smarter parenting skills. After a decent meal nearly ruined by four year old obstinacy and acting out we are at the fountain in downtown Rapid City. The kids are running around in the water getting kid time. Rich is running the last of the errands before heading east, potentially to Snake Creek Recreation Area. We have a plan, and we can change it. Time change! And another KOA. Kids voted. With the time change and an attempt to tame the savage Ruby I think it will be better. Car is cool, kids are listening to Huck Finn and it is blessedly quiet without the windows open.

Wind Cave, Grasslands, Badlands, Oh My!

Into Wind Cave National Park this morning. It is cool after the rain. It is heavenly. And it was other worldly in the sixth longest cave in the world. We spent an hour in the cave with Ranger Andrew learning about the geology and history of the cave. 1500 LED lights to light the way. Wet concrete carried down by the CCC guys for steps and walk ways. Can't say Ruby was impressed, but Reese loves learning anything new. After lunch, getting ready to head out to the Badlands he asks 'is there ethanol in this gas?' Paying attention, that boy is.

Our adventure into the Badlands involved an eight year old map, and tear off map from the KOA and google maps. We traveled across and into Buffalo Gap National Grasslands via a dirt road, driving off meadowlarks and my first ever Lark Bunting in summer plumage. Rich was in heaven. The hillsides glowed in yellow and green with yellow sweet clover. The yellow sweet clover has accompanied throughout the western part of Wyoming, in any grasslands making it suspect as an invasive. Ranger Andrew said it wasn't considered as such yet. The best part of its company is its sweet smell, only experienced due to our lack of air conditioning. By the way, today has continued to be cooler, so that the lack of AC is bearable.

We are battling a head wind headed west to Rapid City, another KOA much later than anticipated. Can't seem to get to camp before 7pm. We jammed through the Badlands, which are spectacular and reminiscent of Bryce Canyon. Although not to Reese, he didn't remember Bryce. If you pay attention to pictures he is already sick of them, doing what he can to mess them up. Hopefully, tomorrow, back on the road with AC!

Mount Rushmore and More!!!

July 6th. I had to check. The days are running outside of the Gregorian calendar-any calendar for that matter. A sign of vacation for sure. We are slowing down, more patient with the children. It is fascinating to me that we strive to be in the moment when children are naturally in the moment. This drives us crazy as we can't see the need to take so much time to buckle or unbuckle, put shoes on, or transition from vehicle to outside. Definitely an awareness and respect issue that the adults can work on.

One night at the KOA was just enough. Showers, a pool, sleeping with doors open. The location was perfect for a morning hike around Devil's Tower, learning about the history and spying multiple climbing groups making their way to the top. Last night we witnessed a few making their way down the Tower in the dark. Headlamps appearing to fall in the dark.

South Dakota has mountains! They call it the Black Hills, but it feels like mountains and has ski areas! The first highlight for Reese was a tour of an old gold mine. Ruby slept and later played Spot It! with me while Rich and Reese toured the mine. Reese is ready to be a gold miner now. July 7. Yesterday was jammed packed. Mount Rushmore, and even leaving more of an impression, Crazy Horse Memorial. Unfinished, enormous, and privately funded. The master plan is a testament to the promotion of Native American culture. Very impressive, and more emotional than Mount Rushmore. The kids were better, with ice cream as a carrot throughout the day. We rolled into Custer State Park at dark with enough time for the kids and Rich to catch part of a ranger talk. Reese answered a question correctly, which no one seems to remember, and received a life saver. It is quite the topic of conversation despite being unable to remember the question.

We woke in the middle of the night by a tremendous thunderstorm, nothing like we experience out west. Continual lightening, driving rain loud enough to drive Ruby to the bottom bunk. We typically sleep an adult with child unless I can somehow get out of it. Most ferocious storm either of us have experienced. It raised the question of tornado in my head. Into Wind Cave National Park this morning. It is cool after the rain. It is heavenly.

Out of Yellowstone!

July 5. An hour from Gillette, Wy where we hope to have the brakes looked over. We are noisy, most likely fulfilling people's preconceived notions of Vanagons. We stopped for grub in Cody, where the whole world seems to come play for the Fourth before pushing into the Big Horn Mountains. It was beautiful!!! Open areas awash in purple lupine with splashes of yellow, a moose siting necessitating a stop with the binocs, and a drop in temperature. After Cody we assumed our personal swamp coolers, tying a kerchief soaked in cooler water around our necks. Sweaty Butt Betty Bus had been living up to her name!!!

Through the Big Horns we inadvertently discovered the kids threshold with out mind numbing electronics. Squeals of delight and laughter mingled with screams of pain and tattle taling which we successfully ignored for the most part. As we came into Buffalo, the heat hit us as the kids starting spitting at each other, signaling their three hour limit of being in the car. The pen, over which they had been fighting had appeared to be their source of tattoos, of which Ruby had one sleeve and two leggings. We cross the Powder River, let'er buck!, spy our first Wall Drug sign, and barrel toward Gillette, one step closer to Devil's Tower, showers, and a pool!! Outta Gillette, after warning the teen age Qdoba worker bees that I would be sharing a form of birth control with them due to Ruby's awful behavior. I assured them I wouldn't charge them as a clinic or drugstore would. She mellowed a bit, I got an update on the World Cup and waited for the Big O verdict. Just as I was readying to leave, Rich showed up with a clean bill of health for the brakes and the new knowledge that a shock had been hanging by a thread. So off we go again--headed toward our destination and days away from air conditioning. Hopefully!