Now what should we do?

Denver’s weather was sunny and gorgeous Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  As we left Pike’s Peak we watched the storm clouds roll in toward the city.  It was at that moment we should have thought, “Hmmm…if a snow storm comes through, that might make it difficult to close down the RV.  We should do it tonight.”  Instead we said, “Brrr!  Get inside!  Do you need an extra blanket?!”  

It was cold in Denver Monday.  Not like Minnesota's extreme -40°F.  We were grateful for a positive 20°F.  Notice…20°F is below freezing.  It wasn’t until we attempted to leave that we realized we had made a grave mistake. 

The water pump froze Sunday.  That means we didn’t have any running water.  That means we had nothing for flushing toilets, washing hands, or doing dishes.  We bought baby wipes for hands.  We could flush, but now we just have an outhouse instead of a toilet.  We had a sink full of dirty dishes. 

Tuesday the water filter froze and busted.  The water hose froze.  Travis had to put it in the rented Tahoe to thaw so we could coil it small enough to fit in the storage bin.  The brand new dump hose busted (thankfully we had a spare).  The gray water (sinks and bathtub) froze.  Even the black water (toilet) froze.  We couldn’t drain anything. 

We started to pull in our slide-outs.  We couldn’t get the front one in all the way.  Where the slide-out did pull in, there was a wall of ice melting onto the carpet.  The ice formed a barrier around the outside edge and the slide-out remained out about a half inch...just enough to cause a serious draft. 

“Our outdoor thermometer said -8,” my dear friend Megan told me about Minnesota's weather Monday.  “So I figured it was nice enough to get outside.  We needed to run around.  I bundled up the girls and myself and put skis on the girls.  It only took a couple minutes until Amelia’s face was frozen.  I ran in to get scarves.  I wrapped our faces until you could only see eyes.”  Pause…only a Minnesotan (and a North Dakotan) would think -8°F is outdoor playing weather.  But after so many inside days, children and moms go crazy - I can see what she was trying to accomplish.  Resume…"Within a few more minutes Amelia was crying so I gave up and we returned inside.  We were outside less than eight minutes.  I realized my temperature gauge was in the sun so it wasn’t -8, it was -14, but my temperature gauge doesn’t factor the wind chill.  I looked it up, and it was actually more like -40.” 

Ginger

That’s what it felt like at the top of Pike’s Peak.  It was an all-too- familiar feeling.  The goal is to avoid that feeling as much as possible.  We aren’t going home until March.  (Seriously.)  If we went home, we might never get the Flyer thawed.  We started driving south Tuesday morning.  Interstate 25 led us first to Colorado Springs where we had lunch with our friend, Ginger Gueffroy and her new baby, Jax.  Then it led us into New Mexico.

Calla holds baby Jax

“P.U.!  Why does it stink in here?!” one of the kids asked.  We find that anytime we open a window, it creates a vacuum.  The open window draws out air from other parts of the RV, especially that from the toilet tank.  It was not warm outside.  We didn’t have any windows open.  The half-inch slit around the slide-out was the culprit.  So now it was cold and stinky.  Eventually we adjusted and didn’t notice it anymore. 

Not until we stopped.  Travis had to run an internet meeting at 5:00 mountain time.  We stopped in Raton, New Mexico – the largest town we could find between Denver and Amarillo.  'Raton' in Spanish means ‘rat.’  Nice.  It was a rinky-dink town, but big enough to have a Best Western.  Travis parked and went in to ask if he could have the internet code.  They kindly gave it to him.  He returned to the RV and was overwhelmed by the smell.  Travis ran his meeting in the RV while we went inside the Best Western's restaurant, Mulligan's.

I'm pretty sure we all stunk like toilet.  To top it off, the girls hadn't brushed their hair yet.  It looked like a small bird had nested in Parker's hair.  Calla's was only slightly neater.  We were a mess!!  “Wilson children,” I gathered my kids around me, “before we go in to eat, let’s talk about manners and etiquite."  I figured it was a good opportunity to practice our manners and, maybe if we had great manners, our stink and ratty hair wouldn't be so overwhelming to the restaurant and hotel staff.  "The waitress is going to ask you what you would like to drink.  How do you respond?”

“Please,” Taite and Calla said.

“Um…well please is good, but you haven’t asked for anything yet.  What will you ask for and how?” I asked.

“I’ll have some water,” tried Taite.

“Try again.”

“May I please have some water?” asked Calla.

“Excellent!!!  That was perfect!  Now, who would you be looking at when you say that?”

“Um…the waitress?” asked Taite. 

“Right.”  We had a few more role plays and we were ready to enter the restaurant.  The kids did a fabulous job using their manners, speaking clearly, and confidently interacting with the restaurant staff.  At one point Parker accidentally dumped her water on the ground.  The waitress checked on us.

Melt your heart...

“Um, I’m sorry.  I spilled my water on the ground.  Do you have a rag I can use?” Parker asked in the most polite, sincere way.  She had big, round puppy dog eyes with a soft, remorseful voice. 

“You are the most well-mannered little girl I have ever met!  Of course I’ll get you a rag,” responded the waitress.  We are on a mission.  The goal by the end of this trip is for me to never have to say, “what do you say?” or “use your manners, please.”  We are moving in the right direction. 

We ordered Travis' meal.  He joined us when he finished the “Corporate Spotlight.”  The plan for the evening was to eat, then continue on to Amarillo.  After dinner, with a full belly and glossy eyes, Travis wondered if we should just stay in Raton. 

“So we have the option of staying in this hotel for the night, and you kids can swim for awhile.  Or we can keep driving and find a spot along the road to stop.  We’ll stay in the RV and have to deal with the cold and smell, but we’ll be closer to Nana and Papa Jim’s,” Travis offered as the options.  Taite was the only one who wanted to keep driving.  (He’s decided swimming pools make is face dry – he had some majorly dry skin in Arizona – so he’d prefer lakes over pools.)  The votes to stay outnumber Taite so we checked in.

“This Best Western looks brand new.  When was it built and what’s the draw to Raton?” Travis asked as he signed the check-in documents.

“This was built in 2012.  It’s the NRA,” the gal behind the desk informed us.  The NRA’s 33,000 acre Whittington Center is one of the world’s top outdoor recreation destinations.  It's located 10 miles west of Raton.  Interestingly, Ted Turner also owns land near Raton, New Mexico.  According to Wikipedia, Ted Turner's Vermejo Park Ranch is 590,823 acres of conservation, hunting, fishing, and other recreation.  That makes the little 80-acre parcel we are considering buying seem like a dust particle.  ;-)

We headed to our room for a swim.  It was an indoor pool and the rooms surrounded the pool and atrium.  “Wow,” said Taite.  “This is probably the nicest hotel we’ve ever stayed in.”  Hmmm…J.W. Marriott Starpass, L.A. Live, and the Best Western.  We are sticking with Best Western from now on!  (Plus, why do inexpensive hotels give you free breakfast and free internet – things everyone has a use for – and expensive hotels make you pay ridiculous amounts for them?  Best Western, Thank you.)

The kids enjoyed swimming – even Taite, we all enjoyed a warm and fresh-scented night of sleep, and the complimentary breakfast was delicious.  Our next goal was to get to Oklahoma City through Amarillo.  We made another attempt at school.  History – check.  AWANA – check.  Math – check. 

“Ok, let’s do English,”  I pulled out the books, dry erase boards, and markers. 

“Can I do English?!” asked Lincoln excitedly.  I’m sure he was most excited to draw on a dry erase board. 

“Sure!”  We worked on the sounds each letter makes then played the games the curriculum suggested. 

“English is fun!” Lincoln declared while laughing during one of the games.  The Logic of English is a great curriculum!

Capulin Volcano in New Mexico

"Hey!  Look at that!"  Guess who.  I looked outside and saw very unique terrain.  Travis told me it was lava rock with grass growing on it.  (Seriously...how does he know all this?!)  I did a bit of Googling and found that Capulin, New Mexico, is home to the Capulin Volcano National Monument.  This extinct volcano was an unexpected treat.

"We've never seen a volcano before!" exclaimed Calla.  "'So, what are some of the coolest things you saw on your trip?'," Calla pretended to be someone asking her a question.  "We saw a volcano!!"

Our journey pressed on and we landed in Amarillo.  The RV had thawed enough to dump (yea!!).  We made a Wal-Mart stop for some new parts.  By 7:00pm we were driving through the western suburbs of Oklahoma City. 

“Mom, can we take a 12-minute detour?” Travis asked.  He went to middle school in Mustang, Oklahoma (near Oklahoma City).  He showed us his home, his school, and the homes of a few of his friends.  He told a few history stories - including ones with Kyle Mayberry, who the kids met while we were in Newport Beach.  It was fun to experience part of his past.

Some time with Virgie

By 7:30 Wednesday night we were in Edmond at Pho Bulous for dinner.  Our long-time and great friend, Virgie Sandford, met us there.  (She resides in Waco, but just happened to be in town working at OU.)  We laughed and talked.  The kids asked her about her trip to Columbia.  She entertained all of us with stories and pictures.  We asked her about the Excellence award she recently won (the highest honor anyone can earn at the book company at which we all met.)  Virgie even shared a Thai Tea with Tapioca Pearls with the kids. 

It was wonderful to spend time with another amazing friend.  We spent the night in Edmond, Oklahoma.  Thursday we drove past Tulsa and on to Grove.  We called Jim and Linda Monday to ask them if they were open-minded to us plopping ourselves in Grove, America for three weeks.  They have a second home located just 6 miles northeast of their main home.  Could we stay there?

Jim and Linda - brave grandparents

"Oh, no!  You don't need to do that!  You can stay here with us.  It'll be great!" was Linda's response.

I know I've mentioned it before, but I'm confident I have the best in-laws in the world.  Travis had to go home for work, but there would be five more noise-makers and eating machines at their house.  We'd be buying food, but still.  With open arms Jim and Linda welcomed us...knowing we'd be there for three weeks!!  Now that's love!

We walked in the door and made a disaster of the place Thursday afternoon.  We brought in dirty dishes (so many, Jim had to run the dishwasher immediately).  We brought in 8 loads of laundry.  Six of them had to get done Thursday because Travis was flying out Friday and needed his clothes.  We had school books - so many Jim brought in a bookshelf for us and set it up in the dining room for our stay.  The RV was a stinky mess.  The inside is now fresh and clean, but the outside hasn't been touched.  And the atrocity is parked crooked on their north lawn. 

We spent the afternoon and evening cleaning up, getting organized, and sharing stories.  Soon it was time for children to go to bed...we needed to get used to the Central time zone.  The kids had been in bed for close to an hour when (at 9:45) we all heard too much talking and fighting.  Travis checked on the chatter-boxes, Lincoln and Parker.  They were standing in the hallway.

  

Crazy Lincoln

L:  Dad, can I sleep in your bed?
T:  Sure.  (He let Lincoln go into our room.  Separating Lincoln and Parker was a good idea.  Trav went in to snuggle with Parker for a minute.)
P:  Daddy, I'm tired.
T:  I bet you are.
P:  I want to go to sleep.
T:  Ok.  You can.
P:  Can you get out?
T:  Oh, ok.  Good night.  (Kisses)  (Travis went in to snuggle with Lincoln.)
L:  (In a very sad, whiny voice.)  Daddy, I wanted to talk to Parker, but she wouldn't listen.
T:  Really?
L:  I've got crazies.  I just need to get my crazies out.  She wouldn't even let me sing to her.  She just wanted to go to sleep!  (Lincoln began singing a personally composed song to Travis then told him a few made-up-on-the-spot riddles.)  Call him butter!  Lincoln was on a roll.  Travis was laughing at him and with him until eventually it was way too late and crucial to get to sleep.

These have all been very memorable days.  Each day we are reminded how blessed we are...and that we should stay south for the winter.  I think we’ll plan to be somewhere even warmer from mid-December to mid-February again next winter.  Costa Rica?  I’ll start working on that.  Consider meeting us there for awhile!