The Binker Files

We're on our way

We finally left Durango this afternoon, 36 hours after we had planned. 

It was a lot of work, but with Silas' help, we got it all done.

It was the same time of year when we left town the first time, eleven years ago.  All the trees and some flowers are starting to bloom and it looks just lovely, so it was kind of sad, but we know we'll be back - most of our stuff is still here in storage.

Mark successfully squeezed the Airstream of out the backyard and down the narrow alley behind our house and we headed west through Moab, then north towards Salt Lake City.

We made it almost halfway today, we're spending the night in Provo, Utah near Utah Lake.  The drive from Price, Utah to Provo was new to us and very beautiful.  When we pulled into the Lakeside RV Park  to spend the night, we all noticed that is smelled like the ocean.

Only 396 miles to Winnemucca!

Chicken Pox Party

We took a couple hours off from packing and cleaning yesterday to attend a fun little chicken pox party with our friends Madeline and Gabrielle.

Besides riding around together in a jeep, the kids shared lollipops, shirts and a bubble bath, hoping to pass on the pox.  This may not be the best timing for us, but it is the first chance of catching chicken pox we've had, so we couldn't pass it up.

Hopefully we'll have a couple of polka-dotted boys in a few weeks!

This does not look promising

The Winnemucca, Nevada visitors guide arrived today.

I was surprised to discover that Winnemucca even published a visitors guide, so I ordered one to give me a taste of what our "new town" will be like.  The magazine is filled with information and ads for casinos, fast cars, off-road vehicles, racetracks, rodeos and other business establishments.  Here is one example that jumped out at me:

I did not see any ads for natural food shops, but found out that there are many fast food restaurants in town.  This should be very interesting!

Downsizing

Life is busy here lately, but the only thing going on is trying to figure out how to fit the contents of this:

into this:

Sadly, Silas & Levi are spending most of their time doing this:

I feel so bad for them and their little brains, but we are leaving in a week and this is the only way I can get any packing done.  Back to work!

Dreaming of Summer

Silas keeps talking about a wonderful dream he had the other night, it was summer and we were at camp.  He said, "The blueberries on Pepere's bushes were so big, bigger than Tiny and almost bigger than me!"  Yum!  We're already looking forward to those fresh berries, no matter what their size.

Some sad news to report, Silas told me that he is running out of funniness, he has only a day or two left and then he won't be funny anymore.  I hope it isn't true, we would all really miss that side of him!

Growing Up

Our daily routines are changing around here and it is very exciting for everyone.  For more than a year, the boys and I have gone on "stroller-time" in the morning, which looked like this:




The boys riding along passively while I run (very slowly).  But, in the last two weeks, things have really changed.  Now, I push Levi in the single jogger, which feels incredibly light and easy to to run with after pushing the double for so long, while Silas rides his bike!




Today we did our four-mile stroller-time loop together.  With the exception of a few pushes up the steep hills, Silas rode the entire way.   We are looking forward to doing it everyday from now on, Silas thinks maybe we should do it twice a day.  It is so amazing to see all the things a four-year old can do - way to go, Si Si!

A Trial Run

   

We headed West wtih the Airstream this weekend on a trial camping run before moving into it full-time in May.  We were lucky enough to be accompanied on this vacation by our RV-living mentors & friends, "The Bus Family" - Deb, Richard, Cody, Cole and Camp.  Not only did they provide us with a fabulous soundtrack for our drive, they also modeled a great attitude and sense of humor when things go wrong on the road, as they sometimes will when you're hauling your house on the highway.  Their bus broke down 40 miles outside of Durango.

Deb, the 5 boys and I had a great time hanging out in the Airstream during our unexpected stay in Cortez (the Planet Earth DVD helped a lot).

Eventually, we made it to our destination - Moab, Utah.  Richard gave Mark a tutorial on RV waste management, then we enjoyed a great dinner and pie to celebrate Cody's birthday.  We easily managed dinner for 9 in our Airstream!

We had a blast exploring Arches National Park, especially Sand Dune Arch, until the wind picked up and we were sandblasted.

We had a fantastic time in Moab and in our 34' Excella 1000, with its bedroom with queen-sized bed, kitchen with dinette, bathroom and living room, it is a self-contained, mobile, micro-home.  The Airstream is comfortable, cozy and functional, we think living in it is totally  realistic and look forward to giving it a try.  The best feature is the incredible sense of freedom you experience knowing that, as long as you can afford the diesel (or veggie oil), you can take your home anywhere.  We also can't wait to meet up again with "The Bus Family" somewhere on the road!