The Wagon's First National Park

The holidays are always wild. We usually call it "Tour de Kansas" because it's us driving from celebration to celebration and trying to keep presents and laundry straight. We recognize that our adventuring is such a privilege: sure we work hard, but we are surrounded by people who support our crazy ideas, want to hear our ridiculous stories, and are quick to join us on our escapades. One of the main reflections we've had during this past busy season is how grateful we are to be able to watch our nieces and nephews grow up. Nothing is more fun than late-night makeup studio, am I right?

While we were galavanting around everywhere, like FINALLY making it to the KC symphony and lest we forget Cancun, Chad's parents Terry and Jody were RV-sitting for us. Again, they just can't seem to shake this rig. We got back to Wichita after coaching them through some empty propane tanks and chilly temps to find that Chad's pothos plant had flash froze in the commotion. RIP. Pretty much that entire experience can be summed up by Jody telling us, "Do NOT leave me with your RV child ever again! Only real children."

Another casualty from this time was our mushroom wallpaper. It was being held up by so much tape, but fell victim to our multiple weeks away and temperature changes. RIP x 2. Never fear, though, since apparently we're ~mushroom~ people now, we are the proud owners of some mushroom throw pillows thanks to Jody. 🍄

We were sad to bury the pothos and the wallpaper, but returning to the Smile Wagon gave us a great appreciation for this rig after living out of suitcases for nearly 4 weeks. Without the RV, this would have been our reality for the entire year. This is not uncommon for fourth year medical students, because moving every 4-6 weeks is part of the game. Being able to come home to our bed and enjoy my morning coffee spot is always such a treat. Another treat? Chad's fam's love for Thai take out (*box* of Thai food pictured).

Another staple of our holidays is my grandma's "lung salad," which like any good Midwestern dish, isn't actually a salad at all. It's a delightful combination of tapioca, sugar, berries, sugar, jello, and sugar. Chad came to love it so much that he convinced her to give him the recipe, made it for his family for the first time a few years ago, and the rest is history. Below he's featured with a tripled recipe --nothing like 18 pounds of lung salad to really bring a family together.

The sparkle of returning home quickly dulled when the truck alerted us that we needed to replace the trailer brake control module (so annoying that I know what that is) only 3 days before our next big haul. This also happened to be right before everything would be closed for the holiday. 'Tis the season. We brought the truck in for service on Christmas Eve Eve, where the shop was thankfully able to complete all the work the same day.

We woke up early the morning after Christmas to start our haul to Arizona. Much like other hauls, it was so foggy, but that eventually burned off and Chad was cruising/I was sleeping through the panhandle of Oklahoma like it was our day job! We ended up hauling about 100 miles more than we planned to, making it our longest haul day ever. Hooray! We celebrated with burgers (obviously) in a small town in New Mexico.

Our second haul day took us through Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, where we had the pleasure of showing the Smile Wagon her first national park!!! I got to fully enjoy my new toe socks and sandals. As always, the rig took up most of the road through the park, which is always fun to test our ability to stay calm while maneuvering between parked cars and drop-offs.

We stopped for the night just outside of the park at another Harvest Host site. Chad's highlight was capturing long exposures of the stars, and my highlight came the next morning when I scrounged together random ingredients to make a delicious microwaved frittata.

Day 3 of the haul brought us to the sunny skies of Fort McDowell, Arizona--our home base for most of January. We were welcomed by a beautiful sunset our first evening. For the first time, we actually had one of the smallest rigs in the park, but definitely still the cutest.

I'm not trying to be dramatic (I am), but it's feeling like the rig is a bit of a local celebrity. She hosted another visitor in AZ--our pal Matt came all the way from Massachusetts to spend his New Years playing golf with Chad. Despite Matt sleeping on an air mattress that required constant air ups, we earned a SIX star review! Arizona also brought some fun hikes, my final residency interview (#blessed), and breaking in our new travel Cribbage board.

We got to hang out with Chad's dad Wendell, step-mom Stacey and step-sister Sydney. Chad is actually an Arizona dude, for those who don't know. Our Christmas present for them was going to a show called Drunk Shakespeare. If you haven't heard of it, it's hilarious and also probably don't take your parents there unless you're feeling reckless.

We did actually work in Arizona. I was at a women's health clinic, while Chad caught up on his teledentistry, hung out with his parent's dentist (who also went to UMKC), and learned some things at a dental continuing ed course.

Whew that was a long one. If you've made it this far, thanks for hanging out with us! Huge updates to come--how is it already February?! (Spoiler: involves a weenie dog.)