Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Nothing in life goes to plan, and whenever I attempt one, it blows up in my face. No one who truly knows me would ever call me "spontaneous". I am a planner. I plan, then the plan goes awry, then I freeze while my brain cycles through versions of "does not compute" and "ugggghhhhhhhhh". Flexibility is not my strongest skill, and yet, here I am.

I am on an unplanned roadtrip. I am on a trip where I don't know where we will be in two days time. I barely know where we will be the next morning. Is a museum I want to see closed because it's a Sunday? Pivot! Is the weather not cooperating for camping due to extreme heat and 40 mph wind gusts? Pivot! Have the kids just had the ultimate slap fight or lick the palm game that left me reconsidering that antique soda fountain visit? Pivot!

This is not a trip for someone who is anxious, yet again, here I am. Four sets of eyes constantly on me asking "Where to next?", "How long until we get there?", "Will it be fun?", "Can we stop to pee?". 

Despite all of this, I love roadtrips. We have backtracked countless times, driven through mini tornadoes, had to turn around on hikes when thunder rolled in, been attacked by birds, and missed various opportunities because we were there on the wrong day. These are not the best moments, yet, I still love it. The surprises are what keep me going. Did you know Mt. Rushmore is quite small, and also unfinished? Did you know Crazy Horse is a passion project that is being completely funded by private donations? Did you know the Badlands are eroding at a foot every 50 years? Did you know there is a place called Wall Drug that is the most bizarrely wonderful place on earth? Did you know Idaho is not just flat potato farms?

We have seen the world's largest jackrabbit, hiked the Badlands, camped on a hill overlooking Yellowstone, skipped rocks in glacial lakes, eaten dozens of hamburgers, come eye to eye with bison (thankfully with a car window between us), walked along the arm of Crazy Horse, woken to coyotes laughing, played retro arcade games, swam in the ocean, eaten an average of 1 ice cream/day, invented a new car game called fozle, ridden horses, been served dinner by a cowboy robot, hunted for ghost carbs, had beach night dance parties and so much more.

Very little that I planned, we have done. I am happy for that. Every day it gets easier to pivot and venture into the unknown with no plan in place. Tomorrow we are going to a grizzly bear drive-thru park. I foresee no issues there.








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