THE FIRST 5 - Ruby Roadtrip
Hi all! Here is a quick update on our first FIVE days on the road. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s been breezing by. We are currently in Fort Peck, MT which is situated on a huge lake in the Northeast MT. It reminds me of something like superior except I can see some hills on the other side of lake making it feel a bit less-ocean like :p But in all realness, you can hardly see the boats in the water because it’s so big. I wanted to take my inflatable kayak out on the waters, but I’m honestly scared. It’s also situated in this hills, so there is no great “shoreline” around us to just dock a quicky. I think I should get a life jacket. :) Okay, just googled it - Lake Fort Peck is 383 square miles, 134 miles long. I think that’s a big lake.
Back to our bus life so far! It’s been going great - as great as it can be! Of course there have been a few moments of I CAN’T FIT THIS ANYWHERE and WE NEED 10 MINS TO OURSELVES and CLEO, GET OUT OF MY WAY, but not many. I can tell you one thing is for sure, I was a crazy person who thought we could get by without an AC unit. We just have a little window unit that can only be used when you aren’t moving, but still! It’s been a miracle to have. On the really hot days when we are driving, we have even stopped to take a rest and just cool the bus down for a quick 10 mins. It does wonders, esp after you have been glistening from just sitting for 4 hours.
Here is where we’ve been thus far (I need to figure out how to add Ruby to the route snip):
Sartell, MN —> Jamestown, ND —> Theodore Roosevelt NP —> Fort Peck, MT
Really, we left from Sartell, MN as we spent the first night in my parent's front yard (Thx Jon & Patty!) We had a sweet send-off feeling all of the love by both Jake’s parents and the Legatt crew. We caught most folks smiling :) Ugh - miss you fam.
We made it to Jamestown the next day and camped out in the parking lot of the Mexican restaurant we had dinner at. S/O to AJ at Paradiso! You earned that tip. We got going early-ish the next AM to beat the heat a bit and pulled into Teddy Roosevelt by afternoon. The campgrounds in the park are closed for 2020 season (themed across NPs), but we camped at a cute little campground in the buttes for 2 nights. It was right on the Little Missouri River and had a strong wifi signal for Jake to work from, BONUS. The sites were quite close together, but it worked for us!
Highlights in Teddy:
o Tour de Peter - Jake’s college friend lives in Bismarck and came to hang for a day! He fights fires in ND and does a lot of work in the park, so he was a perfect guide and taught us all about the abundance of sage, flammability of juniper, and the coal lines in the park. We also saw ALL of the buffalo. Local tour guides are the best!
o Biking through the buttes - we hopped on our bikes for a cycle through the south unit of the park as well. We made it about 8 miles in when we ran into a heard of buffalo crossing the road. Learning that buffs can run up to 35 mph and there are many babies around right now, we decided we made it far enough. Keep that 25yd + distance, people! It was a great ride though and kicked our asses on some parts. I also learned from a stranger at the campground that my bike is a cycle-cross race bike - WHO KNEW! Maybe it’s a sign…but for now, I’ll just mix in a crow pose on the butte-tops (I promise my helmet is NOT touching the ground).
o Mini golfing - we decided to do a little date night and hit up the mini golf course in Medora! It was newly built or renovated in 2020. We placed some bets on the 18-hole course such as who has to do the dishes, make coffee in the AM, and buy ice cream. I got the “L” here, but not by much!! The difference was all in hole 1 which was too early in the game to really know my potential. PUTT GAME STRONG.
o Maah Daah Hey trail run - I did a 7 mile run through part of a 100+ mile trail that runs through ND. There was actually a trail race happening the day we arrived, so I wanted to get a taste of what the 100-mile crazies had gotten into. It was so fun, but also kicked my butt as it’s pretty hilly through the buttes of course. Slowly trying to build up my trail running endurance again! I ran into a cow/buffalo heard (unsure) a few miles in and made a ran for it - in the direction of home, of course :)
We were ready to leave after a few days spent exploring. Glacier is our next big stop, but to get there, we need to make it through all of MT. We ventured north on Hwy 2 which had almost zero traffic. In our few hours on the road, I think maybe 5 cars passed us. It was riddled with up/downs and Ruby was getting a little testy. Thankful for the strong breeze we’ve had and the downhills that let her get some breathes of fresh air in between the climbs. Also thankful for fueling up before we hit Hwy 2 because we didn’t see a single gas station for 1.5hrs. (Reminder that we have a 20gallon tank and Ruby gets ~9mpg = g2g for about 200 miles)
This morning, I got up, made a good French press (our coffee method, electricity FREE), took a stroll outside breathing in the fresh lake morning air, fried some eggs and toast on our fancy stovetop, and took outside for a read. It was nice and peaceful and relaxing and I am getting used to these kinds of mornings. <3
What’s next???
We are debating on if we want to continue on Hwy 2 or head a bit south through Great Falls. There is lots more wilderness if we take the Great Falls way, but it does add some distance. All tbd, just as we like it to be <3
Peace, love, and be wild,
yo’ girl Jen <33
Pictured above: Jen sniffing fresh sage on the viewpoint of one of the hikes. Hippie side coming in strong!
Appendix) Ruby goods / bads / needs tending to
1) AC unit - HUGE, as mentioned above. Our solar can actually power it, but it does draw a fair amount of energy, so whenever we have hookups at campgrounds, we use them. I’m thinking once we get west a bit more and in the mountains, this will become less of an asset…
2) Internet - we have both a wifi extender and a mobile hotspot. This has definitely been Jake’s biggest stressor of the trip so far - the uncertainty about being able to definitely have a stable connection throughout the days he’s working. Majority of his work days are meetings, so uninterrupted connection is important. We have managed thus far, but we are also only a few workdays in. This is something we will hopefully get better at navigating as we go forward! Our first option is the wifi extender, but it only connects to open networks or networks you know the password of, so it’s not always available. And the hotspot…well, that’s dependent on Verizon’s coverage zones. :)
3) SPACE - it mostly hasn’t been an issue, but have something shoved in every corner and cranny of the bus can be quite annoying when trying to find something or even going to bed (as that has become a storage for things while we are moving). BUT we are making it work. If anything, there are Goodwills along the way we can make a pitstop to :)
4) Food - we have mostly been using the grill and the stovetop in the bus for cooking. We haven’t actually even had a fire yet because it’s been so damn hot and we don’t currently have wood on us…I’m sure that will change. Lots of eggs, grilled brats, and even threw in some Aunt Annie’s Mac ‘n’ cheese last night :) We stocked the pantry before we left, so we haven’t really had to stop for groceries yet.
5) Hills - Ruby still gets testy, but it hasn’t really slowed us down at all. We just have to be more conscious about WHEN we’ll be driving throughout the day. Mornings are great, evenings are good, afternoons can be brutal - for us and for Ruby. Especially now that we are approaching more elevation with still 90F temperatures.
6) Couch - our couch is awkward. Really comfortable, but awkward. It’s too big and doesn’t fold in the center well, so it keeps inching out into the walkway and we continuously inch it back in. We put a ratchet strap (I know, classy) in the crease this morning, so hopefully that can create some memory for it :0
7) Sweats - it’s been hot. Like 90F pretty much everyday. So naturally our clothes are getting #stanky faster than we’d like. I have a post coming about “how to maximize the days you can go without doing laundry” - it’s been making me think, STAY TUNED.
