Interstate Adventures

As we rolled down our driveway on our big trip from Boston to Seattle, we went through our checklist one more time. We made sure we had the drinking water hose and a new filter. We packed the cast iron for fireside cooking. We thought we did not forget anything until we got to Wyoming.

One night we went to bed with a view of the sun setting behind the Grand Tetons, leaving the sky a beautiful orange. The windows were open and our throats tickled during the night. The next morning we woke up and the mountains were nearly gone.

We spent a week inhaling wildfire smoke and realized we needed an air purifier. We figured we would grab one while running errands in Bozeman, Montana. Bruce went into Ace Hardware thinking it would be a quick stop. No air purifiers left. We sped up a little and drove across town to Lowe’s, no air purifiers left. At this point Bruce overheard a lady on the phone say she went everywhere, including the Home Depot across the street, which was our next stop. The lady was talking to someone at Kohl’s and they had three left. 

Bruce texted me, “Plot a course for Kohl’s and pick me up at the door.” I zoomed over there as Bruce sprinted out the door. We made our way back across town to Kohl’s. He said, “Drop me off right at the entrance.” He raced in. Indeed there were three there, two Sharks and one other brand. Then the lady from Lowe’s showed up in the aisle and stood next to him. He let her choose first and then he grabbed the last Shark air purifier. He texted me, “Target acquired.”

The air purifier helped until one of us opened the van door. 

Every route out of Montana was smoke-filled. So we drove right through it. As we drove past areas with burned trees, we were reminded that just days earlier this part of the interstate was closed.

The smoke taught us more about our van. The van connects us with nature. It does not shut it out. One night we watched video tours of vans with this in mind. We noticed some had more insulation and we imagined the places we could go during the winter. As we sat outside on a hotel terrace along the Columbia River, we watched the sunset cast an orange light across the mountains on the horizon. We noticed a stubborn line of smoke hanging across the sky.