Big Backs, Bakeries & Bonnets

What do Glacier National Park, giant chocolate chip cookies, vintage shopping, and a silk bonnet have in common? Somehow… they're all part of this week's adventure.

In this episode of Middle School Miles, Sharlotte and Aunt Steve look back on a stretch of their cross-country journey filled with crystal-clear lakes, roaring waterfalls, incredible bakeries, and a thrift store they'd rather forget. Along the way, they debate the merits of matcha, discover that dogs apparently enjoy huckleberry scones, and celebrate the simple joys of fresh bread, brownies, and oversized cookies.

The conversation also turns toward what's next: summer camp, learning to sleep on someone else's schedule, building birdhouses (hopefully without super glue this time), and continuing the road trip toward Oregon, where one destination stands above all the rest in Sharlotte's mind—Tillamook ice cream.

It's another fun reminder that some of the best lessons don't come from textbooks. They come from conversations, unexpected detours, and the memories made somewhere between national parks and neighborhood bakeries. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi, I'm Aunt Steve. And holding a popsicle right now is Charlotte.

SPEAKER_00 0:06

And this is Mel School Miles. Which is a podcast I have to do for school about me traveling cross country and during homeschooling.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

So it's been a little while since our last update.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Not out right now, which is why you have a popsicle in your hand.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

And it's cherry flavor, but a good kind of cherry.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Not the medicine-y cherry.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

That one's gross.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

That's nasty. So what have we done since our last update?

SPEAKER_00 0:39

We've been to bakeries.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Because we're big backs.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Because we're big backs. And we got bread and desserts, and we're gonna be all fat and sassy.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

I like bread and desserts and get all fat and sassy. So we found a couple really good bakeries right outside of Glacier National Park.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Which had beautiful lakes and the big waterfall, flowing water.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

That was cool, and it was like all bubbly. And I asked you if we could jump in it, and you were like, then if I jumped in it, then I would probably die.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

The number one cause of death in Glacier National Park is drowning.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

I wouldn't drown them. I'm a really good swimmer.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Not in those kind of rapids. I've seen you swim.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

I'm up there.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

I have it's always time for practice. So what else have we been up to since our last talk? So what did we get from the bakery? Let's talk about our priorities here.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

We got bread. We got everything, bagel bread.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. It's in the choice.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

I put it in the freezer with the non-existing juice boxes.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Yes, because I told you to take the juice boxes out of the freezer before they explode.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

And then brownies. Oh my god, that massive cookie.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Massive cookie. The chocolate chip cookie?

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Oh yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

And then you get everyone getting matcha.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Grass water.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

It's not grass water. It's actually matcha. No, not matcha glancing. Green tea leaves. Blended up into a powder that people put into oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk, whole milk.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

With a little bit of sweetener or lavender honey.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

Lavender and honey is like the best one. And iced and not hot.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Absolutely. Always ice.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

Always ice.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

So we had. What else did we get when we were at the bakery? I feel like we got a lot of stuff. Oh, huckleberry scones. Because I woke up one day and there was only one scone.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

I did not eat it. I swear.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Who ate it?

SPEAKER_00 2:50

The dog.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Oh, the dog got into the fridge. On the counter to get it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

Got in the counter, which you would never do because Marjorie maybe blurred you.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

So what was it like at the campground that we stayed at outside of Glacier National Park? When we were right on the water.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

It was cool.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

There were a lot of waves when we first got there because it was stormy. It wasn't storming, but it was Flathead Lake, which is one of the most clear bodies of water in the US.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

Yeah, it was really clear.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

And we were guests of the Salish and Poutine peoples. We stayed on the reservation. Yeah, oh so we got to learn about some of the traditions and stuff like that. I did anyway when I talked to the host.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

I was sleeping. Well, probably during schoolwork. I did not learn about that. I was probably sleeping.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Then we went vintage shopping.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

We went vintage shop. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

We went to one vintage shop and one definitely a thrift store.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

Oh my gosh, that was bad.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

Smelled like cat pee.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Okay, the first one wasn't even a vintage shop because there's target stuff in there.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

It was like consignment stalls.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Make sense.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

It was consignment stalls.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

And then you convinced me to get this really cute shirt. Melon stall.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

It's cute. You wore yesterday.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

It was not.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

And you wear it again. You will, because it's cute.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

We'll see about that.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Yeah, the other place smelled like the baby with a full diaper and a cat pee.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

That was the end of that.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

We were like, we did it. We have a thing to prove. We're not doing it.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

And then we got cosmic values and what was that other thing? Shortcake rolls.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Shortcake rolls.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

And pie.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

And pie, which you rate kitchen's pie.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

I like the pie. Pie was good. So right now we're on the shore of Moses Lake. Which is really pretty. It's a pretty park. Municipal park. And we're making our way toward Portland. Portland, Oregon, for a conference next month. And we also scheduled your summer break.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Yeah, I'm gonna go back to Florida. And you guys aren't gonna hear me for six, seven months.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Months?

SPEAKER_00 5:03

Months.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

No.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

No, it's five, six weeks.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Six, seven months.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Oh, and you have sleepaway camp tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

And I have that too.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Which we need to go over the shopping.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

Cheer me out. I looked at the list. My looking skim bitches. I skim stuff. I don't read it. Okay, I'm not a big reader. I just skim it. I skim stuff knowing I read his book. And I kind of skim that. Well, I still read it. And I was skimming the list and I'm gonna convince Aunt Steve to buy me a bonnet because on the thing it says additional ads, a bonnet and laundry bag. So you can buy me a silk bonnet. Cause you love me.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

Yeah, it looks silly.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

No, I'm not. Well, I need a silk bonnet. My hair is so vavy.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

That's just cause it's humid.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

No, actually, it's because I damaged my hair.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Oh, okay. That's a good story. From one of your attempts at curling it?

SPEAKER_00 6:02

I had hair on my hair, and I decided I wanted to be like all the other kids at school and not have my wavy hair. And so I straightened my hair and I thought I put hair on my hair. So my hair was really big and fluffy. It was really bad.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

So what do you look forward to most of sleep away camp? Just sleeping awake?

SPEAKER_00 6:22

I mean, my sleeping schedule is non-existent. On the weekends I go to bed at like 10-11. And then I wake up at like 10-11. Because that makes sense. But on the thing, you go to bed at 9 o'clock a little bit early, and then you wake up at 8 o'clock. I'm gonna be sleeping.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

Sleepwalking. You'll be sleepwalking to breakfast.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

I'm gonna be sleep deprived. And then they have different things. I don't know if I'm a junior or if I'm a senior.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

Because I think you're a junior. We'll find out.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Because for the juniors, you wake up at 8 o'clock, you have breakfast out now like 9 to 10, and then oits and crafts, and you make bird houses.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

Oh, that's cool.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Last time I tried to make a birdhouse, I almost have put both of my fingers together, and it really hurts. I bought red yellow glue all over myself, and I stuck both of my fingers together, and then it took me an hour to get it unstuck because I used super glue.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

Well, don't do that again.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

And I used too many what are those like popsicle sticks? Yeah. It looked like a natural disaster in it. Libroid house.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

So Berg never lived in it.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

No.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

No.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

No.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Do over.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

And then you go on like nature walks. I don't like outside. I'm an inside kid. Unless there's a pool. And then I'll be outside for like seven hours.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

We spent some good time at the pool at our last spot.

SPEAKER_00 7:57

Yeah, I got a little nice down.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

It was nice. So should folks subscribe and listen out for the next episode?

SPEAKER_00 8:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Because we're going to Tillamook? We're gonna go to Tillamook.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Wait, are we going to when are we going to Tillamook?

SPEAKER_01 8:14

We'll be there in a couple weeks.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Wait, oh wait, wait, is the next stop here's?

SPEAKER_01 8:20

No, that's on the way to Tillamook. Which is on the way to Portland.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Oh wait, no, we're going to a ranch as well. And we'll find out.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

No, we're going to Eagle Valley. Then we go to the ranch.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Then we go to someplace else. Oh yeah, because we're in the municipal park does not have high power hookups, so we're running on half power, and we're not running all of our air conditioning units, and it's 87 degrees right now.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

No, it's not 87 degrees.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

It is. I'm looking at my watch.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

Okay. Well, your watch is incorrect because it's 95 outside. Jesus feels like 95 weather. So I was in Florida and actually, I'd probably be dying having seed stroke. And I'm probably dying having a heat stroke. Well.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

At least you're not dramatic about it. I'm Anne Steve.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

I'm Charlotte, and this is Middle School Miles.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Peace out, fools.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Peace out.