9: Gators and Geysers

We’re on vacation again! Well, is it still “vacation” when your home is an RV and you have no physical address anymore? I wonder if I’ll ever get used to this. I hope not. I am really enjoying the mobility of life right now. A life where we fall asleep in the comforts of our own pillows and blankets, but then remembering after we wake up that we’re in a new place – a place that we have chosen to see and explore.

Last week we were in Florida, looking at catamarans that had the potential of being our next home in motion. We played in the sand, swam in the blue waters of the Atlantic, lounged by the Intercoastal Waterway, and wrapped up our extended stay with a tour through an alligator farm. That farm did not disappoint! We arrived at the Everglades Alligator Farm just in time to be ushered to an

airboat ride through a portion of the Everglades. Jeff, our captain, kept us entertained and enlightened as he pointed out the wildlife around us. Not five minutes down river and he points out two alligators right on the riverbank. These airboats leave about eight inches between the rim of the boat and the waterline. Not the most reassuring contraption of safety. We crept right by a small, 4-foot gator that only lifted his head in slight interest towards us. Then, a few seconds later, an impressive 8-foot gator was visible. He didn’t move at all. Zero percent interested, scared, or bothered by the pack of humans floating right next to him. After a few more bends in the river, Captain Jeff asked if we wanted a smooth ride, or a crazy ride. Obviously, the boys all shouted for the crazy option. With our path declared, our Captain wasted no time in picking up tremendous speed, followed up by quick 360-degree turns that kicked up spray over the boat. It took every thing I had to fight my motherly instincts to pull our youngest, Cord (7 years), into my lap and hold him securely in my arms. But darn it if I didn’t turn to my left and see my sweet, little baby boy with his arms up, screaming for more and faster. Another reminder that our boys are growing up, and these adventures are precious. After the boat ride, we explored the small farm. In addition to the hundreds of gators in all sizes, there was a snake shack, which I patiently waited outside of while Jason took the boys through – no, thank you! There were also some random parrots, ducks, emus, lizards, and even a porcupine to visit.

The Alligator Farm was our last adventure for that Florida trip. We headed home the next morning. But first, can I take a time out and give my oldest a praise? Ryan is recently 14 years old, and really coming into his own. I can feel him drifting away from me, his coddling momma, and seeking more of Jason’s guidance as he grows into a young man. Here’s an example. While we were in Florida, we spent most of our days in an incredible almost-ocean-front villa, but for the last day and a half or so, we stayed in a hotel right next to the airport so we had an easy exit on fly day. When we were carrying everything from the car to the hotel room, Ryan looked back and saw me carrying two grocery bags. He grabbed one, saying nothing. Before I was even done thanking and gushing over him for being so thoughtful, he grabbed the other one. I told him I could at least carry one, but he wouldn’t have it. “I got this, Mom,” he says. I’m pretty sure my heart exploded into my throat as I fought back pride-filled tears. Little things, parents. It’s those small gestures of a teenage son that show you that all those years you put into these kids is paying off. Parenting is tough stuff, but it can also be the most rewarding job you can sign up for.

Ok, moving on… We flew out the next morning, and were back to our RV in Hermiston, Oregon on Wednesday afternoon. The next day, Jason was back on the computer planning our next trip.

We had about a week and a half of free days to do something with before needing to be back to Oregon for our annual Luke family coastal vacation. Our original plan was to hit Glacier, then circle around to Yellowstone. Instead of cutting our time short in both places, we cut one out (Glacier) and Jason set a route to take us to Yellowstone for a few days. We couldn’t leave Hermiston until Saturday morning, September 11. We wanted to leave Friday, but we were pushed back to Saturday because we had a couple of things to button up - we sold TWO of our rigs! The beloved Beaty found a new home. Our first RV that we found to be too small for us, but not until after we remodeled it for over 3 months, was now with a new couple that I hope can enjoy all the sweat we put into her. Jason also sold off his truck. Jason has been a pick-up guy from the beginning. His first rig was a ’93 Toyota pick-up that he had for over 13 years and every rig after that has always been a truck. Our town knows his truck. He’s had it for over 10 years and people know that truck is Jason Luke’s. But not anymore. Fortunately, Jason sold his truck to a great friend, a pastor at our home church. Jason knows it’s in great hands. But now we’re officially responsibility free. Those two rigs were like an anchor for us to a degree. Knowing those rigs were parked at Jason’s parents’ house meant we still had a couple more obligations lingering before we were truly mobile. With them both sold in the two and a half days we were home, we then only had our RV, which we still haven’t settled on a name for, and our towable rig, Eddie the (Ford) Edge, we were responsible for. And those two rigs were coming with us.

Saturday morning came fast, and after a bit of a hiccup with Eddie’s lights not working after being hooked up to the RV, we were back on the road. Jason plotted our course to the west end of Yellowstone really well. He broke up the 10+ hour drive into three separate drives. So on Saturday, we drove about five hours to our first stop at the Cracker Barrel in Boise, Idaho. Cracker Barrels are known for accommodating RV’s that are simply passing through and need a quick stop over. And that’s about all that it was: a parking space. (Funny sidenote: on the way to Boise, we passed a Winnebago motorhome that was towing a Ford Edge pulled over, getting hooked up to a tow truck. They were our roadside twin! Since this was our first trip with towing Eddie, we hoped seeing our twin wasn’t a sign of what we had in store for us down the road.) We ate dinner at Cracker Barrel (common courtesy for using their parking lot as a camp site), played a little parking lot tennis, slept, and we were back on the road Sunday morning. Jason drove us another five hours to a quaint, full hook-up RV park in Sugar City. The Sugar RV Park was fairly new, first opening in Fall 2019, with gravel pathways, and freshly laid sod. It had what we needed though – hook-ups. We cleared our tanks, filled our fresh water, had long, hot showers, and enjoyed endless electricity. After setting up camp, we played some tennis on a vacated storage shed construction site to pass some time, then went to sleep to get up and going again the next morning.

We have been playing a lot of tennis lately. We can thank the US Open for that. We started watching while down in Florida where we picked our favorites (TEAM DJOKOVIC & FERNANDEZ!!) and cheered them on. Jason and I both played when we were younger, and Ryan and Barrett have both been to tennis camp. Our desire to play was renewed by the US Open and now we find ourselves hitting around any chance we get. Sadly, the Open is over, our favorites both lost in the Finals, but we still pick up our rackets and hit around. It’s a great pass-time and keeps all of us a little extra active no matter where we are.

After our stay in Sugar City, we had about a 90-minute drive to our final camp spot, about 20 miles outside of Yellowstone on the west side at Henry Lake. This is where we are now, and about to spend our second night here. This RV park has been perfect. We are parked in a large, open grassy field bordered by trees. The boys have ample space with the empty slots on both sides of us to run and stick

fight to their hearts’ content. After we arrived here yesterday, we unhitched our Eddie and drove into town, West Yellowstone, to have lunch before taking on our next adventure: the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center.

What a great start to our stay in Yellowstone, too! We were up close and personal with a large pack of wolves, grizzly bears, river otters, and several birds of prey. This place was awesome. Ryan is a HUGE fan of wolves, and he was thrilled to get so close to them. Barrett read each of the posted signs and filled us in with all the facts about how each of these

animals came to be living at the Center. To sum it up, if you don’t get a chance to hear or see for yourself, it’s humans. Humans are ruining the animals’ chance at living in the wild. Over and over, we were told and read that the bears must be in captivity because they like to raid garbage cans and campsites too much. Because the bears have become so comfortable with exploring human-infested areas for “easy food”, they are dangerous to us, and therefore must be put down or brought to the Center. Mixed feelings on that soapbox, but I loved being less than 15 feet away from a grizzly bear as it roots around for the hidden treats in their habitat or bouncing around in the manmade lake without a care in the world.

Today was our first day exploring the thousands of acres that is Yellowstone National Park. Jason hit one out of the park when he downloaded an app called Gypsy. This app reads your GPS coordinates and is essentially your tour guide as you drive through the park. As you hit certain points in the road, facts and information is provided by a “Dad Joke” sort of funny guy that we have lovingly named Gary. Gary tells us what we are coming up on, what is worth taking the time to park and investigate, and history tidbits about the Park. Today, Gary led us through a small portion of the west side of Yellowstone.

Only a few minutes into Yellowstone, and we saw a magnificent beast of a bison right by the road. That bison set the stage for an incredible day of sightseeing. We saw various geysers and hot “pools”.

Of course, our highlight of today was seeing Old Faithful. Any of the pictures taken today, do not give proper justice to the exquisite destination that is Yellowstone. Immaculate waters, gorgeous

waterways, and awe-inspiring spouts leaves you feeling very small, but exhilarated by the vast beauty. And we have two more days to explore here before making the trek back home. I can’t wait to hear what Gary has to tell us tomorrow as we make our way back into the Park.

So here’s to raising men, surreal surroundings, and spreading our wings.