Ahhh….time flies when you’re on the road. We landed at the fabulousChico Hot Springs yesterday and tonight we’re holed up in a dive hotel just on on the border of Montana and North Dakota. The two places couldn’t be more different, but the best part about it is that when all 11 of us are together we have a great time. That much was apparent tonight when we discovered, after a long day of driving, that we’ve got no hot water and rusty water coming from the faucets. At least we’ll be on the road again tomorrow again.
The last few days have been oh so full of memories and beautiful, beautiful rolling green hills. More than once I’ve wondered why we don’t live in Montana and I’ve wished that Sydney and Barry were along for this wild ride. Aside from the mosquitos and creepy prairie dogs, I think I’ve fallen in love with this state. We wandered around Livingston, a small cowboy town near Chico, and it just felt like small town America through and through.
But the heart of this trip so far, aside from it being my grandparent’s 60th wedding celebration, was the time spent at Chico Hot Springs. Between soaking in the pools and eating an intimate dinner together, memories were made that I know will spur future trips back to the special waters, and we’ll bring more of our tribe to share in the goodness.
Rumor has it that as my grandpa gets closer to his place of birth, Devils Lake, he starts humming and singing tunes related to the tiny farm town or songs of his childhood. Our car, however, has been blasting Waylon Jennings, The Dixie Chicks, a bit of John Legend, and everything else in between. My mom, Chach and I have become very suave at distracting Maggie….not sure I want to jinx our luck, so I’ll stop there. We’ve been taking guesses about who will be the first person to be left behind, but with all the fuss-budgeting that happens, I don’t think it will actually happen. For the record, Izak has won by a landslide and we’ve still got him with us last time I checked.
Tomorrow we’ll cross over into North Dakota and I don’t expect the landscape to change the instant we make the transition, but the idea that I’m headed back to the place that my grandparents and dad spent so many years and summers growing up excites me immensely. I would say back to the motherland, but in this case I think it might be more appropriate to say fatherland. As the hours tick by and the scenery scrolls by outside my car window, I find myself thinking about how the desire to travel the world and explore lives inside me, but I always forget about the United States and the diversity it offers.
I suppose tonight as some of us fall asleep cold and shivering from freezing showers and others still dreaming of the warm waters of Chico, we can think of these little slices of American Life to take with us on the road because who knows where we’ll land tomorrow. All I know is that we’ll all be together laughing along the way….because there isn’t much else to do with this crew.
P.S. We’ve still got Izak. Phew. He just came to inform me that their water doesn’t work either.
