The second half of day two included a lot of firsts: first time using the RV shower (lessons: take the clothes-drying pole out before you shower otherwise you won’t be able to fully stand up, use the switch on the handle to turn the water on/off so you don’t have to readjust the water every time, and don’t drop the soap because it’s too small to reach down and pick it up again), first time using the propane stove (got the hang of turning it on after a few tries, and cooks surprisingly quickly), and that then led to our first RV dinner (sausage, tortillas + cheese dip, and fruit).

We got to Rexburg around 8p. After all the eclipse hubbub in the news, we still partly expected mobs of people, gridlock traffic, and gas stations with no gas. But instead… maybe a few more cars on the road than usual? Zero traffic. Big signs outside of big farms offering a space to park for $20. We pull up to our AirBnB, which is a rented RV pad next to someone’s house in a really cute residential neighborhood. The family -- an incredibly nice couple and their six kids -- were awesome and super sweet. After chatting for a little while, the dad had us hop on the back of their ATV (natch), and he took us on a fun, bumpy ride around the huge empty field they can at least temporarily call their backyard until it gets covered in houses. The ATV ride alone was worth the trip. I’m reminded of my Couchsurfing days -- travel can be so much more rewarding when you stay with the locals and see what it’s really like to live somewhere, instead of just go from your hotel to the tourist spot and back.

After that, we did a night walk through the same field and went to the grocery store for more supplies. (Another lesson: small space = lots of runs to the store.) It was really peaceful, and nice to spend the time together. We’re not getting sick of each other yet! We rented a DVD just for kicks, to try out the system. The system needs tweaking (for example, the receiver is up near the front door, but the tv is in the back by the beds, so in order to use the remote, you have to get up and walk to the other side of the RV). Luckily, this is the Tinker Trailer and I’m dating a firmware engineer, so we’ll put that one on the list of Things Mike Will Solve.

It’s our first time plugging the truck into a normal residential electrical cord instead of the higher-powered RV park cords, so we couldn’t (or didn’t know how to?) run the AC or heater overnight. It was hot when we went to bed, so we opened up the windows (and were happy we were staying in a charming, safe neighborhood instead of one of the impromptu RV parks set up in the parking lots around town) and went to bed. It ended up getting too cold, though, so that’ll be something to figure out in the future. There are still so many things to figure out. Like when electric heat is okay, when gas heat is okay, when one is preferable over the other, how long we can run it for. Take those questions and apply it to almost every feature of this place, and that’s what we still need to learn. In the meantime, it’s still much cozier than even seems reasonable under the circumstances. And one thing we did figure out, albeit the hard way: which button makes the stereo system blast music outside. Sorry, neighbors!

Also learning that everything has to be cleaned quickly and often. Spill something, gotta clean it up right that second. Dishes have to be washed right when you use them, and dried right when you wash them. There’s just no space to do otherwise. Will need to figure out the best way to clean the floor. Is it unreasonable to have a no-shoes RV?

We also ran out of fresh water for the first time, so Mike had the pleasure of hooking that up while I sat here writing and drinking my coffee. (Thanks, Mike!)

Now, Mike is running back to the store to pick up donuts for our host family. Eclipse starts in 40 minutes!