Days 25/26 - The long drive home - July 8/9, 2025

 The drive home from North Dakota to Ohio was done in two days, with a brief overnight stop at a rest area in Wisconsin to sleep. Not ideal, as there is much land in between that we haven’t gotten to see yet, but it was necessary to get back home a little early. Since we were running ahead of schedule by a day or two, we were still able to check off all the places on our itinerary.

The trip went smoothly and safely and aside from a few pictures, there isn’t much else to say or show.

My oldest two kids are 18 and 17 and time with them may be growing shorter. We had debated whether or not to prioritize this trip that we’ve been talking about for years, because we knew it would be expensive, just for the gas alone for a camper and a van. 

But if it wasn’t that, there would always be some other reason not to go. The best things in life don’t always make sense on paper, but are still often worth the jump. I had a whole month with all my kids with me, seeing the great wide expense of the west. Who knows if and when that would ever happen again?

When you make a trip like this, you often find yourself asking, “why do I live Ohio when I could live in this paradise?” But home is home and there are reasons for that too. Although the corn belt is currently sweating profusely (corn sweat. Look it up. It’s a thing) and the resulting humidity is stifling. But you sure do appreciate the little things when you come back from a month on the road. Not having to dump tanks. Hot showers wherever you went. Space beside my bed instead of being right up against a wall. 

Did I share a picture of my workspace yet? I should do that. 

Worked really well acoustically. Just had to remind the kids to be quiet now and then. 

Here, have a butterfly.

The reason we came home a couple days early was so that we could say goodbye to someone we considered family. Lynn loved camping and traveling as much as we did, and had visited many of the places we had just seen. Her life was cut short by cancer, but her presence will be felt in the wind and whenever the wild things are. It’s only fitting to dedicate this trip to her memory.