We're off!

The first morning on the road we awoke to sunshine streaming in the windows. I didn't mind that we weren't looking out the windows at a beautiful national park, Walmart never looked so good. 

Just before midnight the night before, we pulled out of the driveway and began the adventure. After days of feeling so close to taking off, we had to make the final push and drive, even if just thirty minutes to the nearest Walmart, who offers free parking to rv'ers. We were all exhausted. Claire fell asleep moments after we began, just one paragraph into the third chapter of Mr Popper's Penguins. Jackson took shotgun, soaking up every moment.

We were on our way. 

At this point out plan is to follow the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Our first stop was to visit good friends in Iowa City. Jess and I lived together in Seattle and staying with her family for a couple days was a delightful way to begin the adventure. 

As if staying with good friends wasn't enough, they had a bouncy house in their basement. The kids bounced for hours and we adults balanced that with coffee and conversation. They also set up tents for the kids to sleep inside, took us on a grand field trip, and fed us amazing home cooked meals. Like I said, the best way to begin!  

We adventured together to the Devonian Fossil Gorge where Beck gave us the grand tour, then headed off to preschool. Our family stayed for the day, exploring the fossils, biking around the park, and making a few adjustments on the RV. 

In 1993, then again in 2008, the Coralville Lake flooded, washing away a campground, a road, and 17 feet of soil and rock on its way to the Iowa River. This exposed a Devonian bedrock full of fossils similar to what would be found in the Caribbean Sea today!  Crazy!  This hidden window into Iowa's history was revealed just within the past twenty years!