Days 5 & 6 Des Moines, IA to Indiana Dunes State Park to Racoon Creek State Park, PA 763 Miles

The days are beginning to blur together in this speed race to get across country. We passed through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio in 2 days. Now we are in Western Pennsylvania. We are “boondocking” tonight which means we have no electricity in our campsite (which means I am writing as fast as I can because I only have 17% left on my battery). It also means I will not be able to press send until sometime tomorrow. And, tomorrow is the day we arrive in Alexandria.

Some sights we have seen in the past few days of driving. Lots of green; everywhere is green. It is the plus side of humidity. Lots of bugs. It is the down side of humidity. The Mississippi River which is huge. Lake Michigan which looks bigger than the Bay. Today as we were driving through Eastern Indiana we saw an Amish farmer and his wife plowing their field with their Clydesdale horses pulling a plow. It was a sight that kept me excitedly looking out the window for more. I took an Anthropology class in college on Communal Societies of America. The Amish were one of the groups we studied. I have always been fascinated with the cultures who have chosen to insulate themselves from the modern world. I also studied the Mennonites in that same class. We saw Mennonite children at the campground we are in tonight riding their bicycles.

I am struck by the space that exists in this part of the country. Houses on giant lots of land from a Californian's perspective. Most homes have no fences which adds to the sense of limitless land. We have encountered almost no traffic. Some of that is Covid-related. Our sense is that this is just what life is like normally here. At the campground we stayed at last night it was full of multi-generational families who brought bikes and swim suits for the beach at Lake Michigan, and set up their campsite like a home. And, the campground wasn't full when we pulled in having just made a reservation that day. I remember camping in California required setting up a reservation months in advance. That sense of space permeates the area and it feels just calmer.

Six days away from Santa Clara and I feel like we are in another world entirely. We all feel like we have been doing this journey for much longer. Driving from one distinct area to another, yet seeing it all melt together every day defines time in a different way. Wake up, have coffee, break camp, eat a Clif Bar for breakfast, drive the whole day stopping to pick up lunch or just snack on what we have, get to our destination by 6:30 or 7:00, make dinner, go to sleep, repeat. Sometimes there is a shower, sometimes not. Each day we reroute in the morning hoping to shave time off the drive (and we have been quite successful) but we are all still zombie-like at the end of the day. And yet...we find time to have wonderful conversations over dinner, we text back and forth from our separate cars all day, last night we even played a hand of cards. We are enjoying the adventure and each others' company even though it has these grueling features. It feels like a gift to do this together.

Tomorrow morning when we get up we will officially leave the Midwest. Western Pennsylvania is distinguished from Eastern Pennsylvania (anchored by Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, respectively). I understand from conversations with both my son-in-law and my daughter-in-law over the years that those two parts of Pennsylvania differ greatly. For those of us who have spent most of our lives in California, it seems similar to identifying as a Northern Californian or a Southern Californian. What I can tell you is this. There is so much nuance in understanding an area that is not familiar. That is one thing I have learned by taking this trip and keeping my eyes and my mind as open as I can.

Tomorrow...the (almost) end of the journey.