I'm a little behind, huh?
We left Moab on the 11th. Headed up Rt. 6 and followed that all the way to Ely, Nevada.
When we got to Nevada, it was around 10 when we hit the border. We saw a motel/gas station/slot machine place, so we went in, and spent a dollar in the slot machine and were done. Didn't win anything.
Ely Nevada, we stayed at a KOA that kinda sucked. The town was pretty dinky, but we had breakfast at a place with a nice waitress and another old lady with awesome hair. Pretty good breakfast too.
Then we headed to Yosemite. Lonnnnng drive. We got there around 730ish, and had to try to find a campground. Not easy. We finally saw a sign for one that was 2 miles down a windy dirt road, towards Saddlebag Lake. They had spots. We picked one, (they were all primitive) and we set up the camper. We then made food, because there was NOTHING around there, and then had to figure out the bear box situation. Did that. Then it was cold, we were on top of a mountain, around 10,000 ft, and went to bed. Woke up in the morning, had breakfast at the little lakeside cafe they had there. Packed up, and left.
In Yosemite we couldn't decide what to do. We entered the East enterance, which is far away from the popular sites. We found a visitor center, and asked the lady what and where and blah blah. We walked up a big rock, what a pain it was to get down. The elevation was still no good for us, we kept having to stop on the way up. Then we drove and drove, it takes like 2 hours from one side to the other. Finally, we saw nice swimming holes in the river, so down we went. First one was rocky and had a lot of current. The water was FREEEZING. So we went in up to our waists and then felt better and got out. Then we were driving and saw a nice sandy one with a rock to jump off. In we went. There was strong current here too, that I had to swim into and let it take me downriver so I could get to the rock. The water was pretty cold, but not as bad. There was a big family there, with kids in a raft and they were having fun. I finally got to the rock, and climbed up, and Dave made me jump off. That was okay. Then we were done. The kids in the raft got off the rope, and were going downstream, so Dave went down to make sure they didn' get too far. They were fine, just dramatic. Little girls.
Then we got out and decided we'd head down to Yosemite Valley. Got there FINALLY and it was packed with people, so we turned around. We were going to go to the Merced Grove of Giant Sequoias but it was a 2 mile steep walk there, and 2 miles back. Downhill on the way there. Blah. We were tired, and hot. So we skipped that. We figured we were going to see Redwoods anyway.
So we exited out the West side of Yosemite. Found a pizza place, had pizza, and then off to Lake Tahoe. The drive there was pretty cool.
When we got there, the address Alex had given me was I guess around 2 months ago, and they had moved, and didn't tell us. So we were sitting at their old address, trying to find them. Alex didn't answer his phone, so Dave called Fred to find out. We find out they work at a Marriott, so off we went to the Marriott. We get there and ask the girl at the front desk if Alex is working. She say no, so we ask if she knows where we can find him. She says she can call him and see if he's home since she lives with him. He doesn't answer when she calls, we tell her that we'll be staying with her then. We stand around and talk to her for a while, waiting for Jose to come back from his break. Finally he comes back, and as he is walking by us, he says hi and keeps walking. Then he sees Dave laughing, and was going to stop and say something to the Jerk who was laughing, and then "No WAY" he notices it's us. He didn't know we were coming. So he was surprised.
We head off to their house, because they had to work still. Get there, and theres Alex. We sit around, Amanda and Jose come home, Alex has work at 1030 and so does Amanda so they go to bed around 1. The rest of us are up until like, 330 just hanging out. We were in the hot tub, and watching TV and lots of stuff. Finally bed because we wanted to wake up early to go to the beach before they had to work. 7 am rolls around and no one is up. 8 am rolls around and no one is up. 9 am, Alex and Amanda get up to go to work. Dave and I got up around...10 and Jose around 11. Dave and I just sat around playing video games before he got up. When he got up, we were going to go for breakfast, but Jose couldn't find his wallet, so Dave and I went. I got an awesome grilled cheese and Dave got a waffle and bacon and eggs. Greaaaaaaat food. Then back to the house.
We played cornhole when we got there, which is basically bean bag toss. I was sooo bad at first. We played one game, but it was wayyy too hot to play another.
Jose had work at 3 anyway. So around 2 he started getting ready. Dave and I sat around until 5, when we went out exploring. Went shopping a bit, and then got food. Chinese food from a Chinese lady who was so funny. Then back to the house.
Alex and Amanda got home, and we went to the beach. We long-boarded from the road to the beach, so we didn't have to pay to drive in. Dave and I were both on one board because there were only 3 long boards. We worked it out pretty well though.
We got to the beach, sat, and watched the sun go down. Then figured we should go back to the car before it gets too dark. On the ride back to the house, we noticed mini-golf was still open. Awesome mini-golf with castles and dragons and dinosaurs and volcanoes. We did that until 1030. Then back to the house. We were going to make noodles, and sauce, but their gas was off, and to get the stove out of the camper would have been a lot of work. So we ordered Dominoes. 5 of us ate 3 pizzas, and we were all just chilling out watching tv.
Slowly people started going to bed, then it was just Alex and I awake watching Mighty Ducks. Dave and I slept on the couch, and Alex had fallen asleep on the couch, and spilled his beer, which was kinda funny, then he was off to bed.
I woke up to the sun coming in the windows near the roof, shining right into my eyes. Ridiculous.
We went out for breakfast when Amanda and Jose got back from yoga. Pretty good breakfast. Then back to the house, because Alex had work at 3. We played 2 games of cornhole, then were dying of heat so inside we went. Dave played on his computer, and hung out with Alex, I napped. Then Alex had to iron his shirt and go to work. Then it was just Dave and I chilling for a while. Jose and Amanda were napping. They finally woke up, and then we decided to go to the beach again. We went to their friends house to try to borrow another long board, but she was using it, and they found out they needed to be back at her house at 5 and it was 320 now. We quickly left.
We longboarded to the beach, didn't go too far down because they had to be back. We sat for a little while, and it was hot. Then I looked what time it was, and it was 415 already. Time to pack up and head back. Jeeeeze. Dave and I put our feet in Tahoe water, then off to the house we went. They had to rush and leave, and we hooked up the camper, and changed sparkplugs, and then left around 6. Headed west to the coast.
Dave drove, all the way. We got there around 1 I think. We camped in the Redwoods which was cool. We showered and everything else. Went to bed. Woke up in the morning, it was pretty nice. We went exploring, found the Drive Thru Tree, which we didn't fit through. Then went to find food. Found the Peg Barn? or something like that. Buncha hippies, with good food, and stuff to sell. I got a bagel with peanut butter and it was awesome. Dave got a wrap and he said it was awesome. Dave bought me a super cool hoodie, and I bought new soap and some snacks. We ate, and then we were off. The guy gave us a map and told us which was to go to see cool stuff. We headed north.
We saw signs for Confusion Hill, and it looked awesome. It was. We took tons of pictures, and went inside the house built onto the slope of the mountain. Then we needed to buy 5 bucks worth of stuff in the store to use a credit card, so we found a magnet of the drive thru tree that KIIIINDA looked like the Jeep. Cool.
On the road again. We drove and drove through tons of Redwoods, on the Avenue of the Giants. The Eel River runs along there, and we were sweating hardcore, so we found a spot to stumble down the hill and get to the river. The water was SO warm, and clear. It was awesome. We hung out in there for about a half hour then back on the road.
The trees were freakin' HUUUGE. We found some that you could walk inside and stuff. Niiice. Finally we made it to the turn off to get to the shore. We took that road, and then another road...and finally saw the Pacific Ocean. We were so far north though, that it was freezing, and windy. We took pictures, and continued driving on that road. It went along the water for a while. We went to Cape Mendecino, which is the most western point of the continental US. Pretty cool. Then climbed the mountains back to the highway. Then we headed north. I was freezing from wet shorts from swimming in the river, so when we stopped for gas, I got pants and changed. We went to Sizzler for dinner, which was pretty cool. Then I drove for 86ish miles, and then Daves turn.
I fell asleep for about an hour and a half in the car. We then had to find somewhere to camp. Finallllly found a place right next to the hiway, so it's pretty loud. We set up, and I watched Big Fish on the IPod while Dave was on the computer. Then we were out.
I woke up SWEATING TO DEATH at 930. Got up and went to check in and get the bathroom code, because I felt disgusting. Dave was still asleep, and actually JUST got up to go shower. We gotta be out of here in 30 mins, which is fine because it's hot as hell.
I wonder if anyone reads these SUPER long posts.
Later!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Leaving Moab...
Hey guys.
Today we are packing up and headed West again. It was a nice 3 day stop.
The first day we were here, Thursday, we putz in the morning, then showered and went exploring. There's a nice little town here. We went tire hunting, for Dave's spare, and finally found a place. Then we needed to find a rim, or the place with the tire could order one. It ended up that he needed to order one, because no where else had it.
We also found a mailing center, and mailed out my camera to Illinois. Stupid Canon. I'm having it mailed to Montana, hopefully it'll be there before I am.
We had lunch at HogiYogi, where there was a miserable girl working, and where this ridiculous fucking family came in. They couldn't make up their minds, their kids were out of control, the dad was acting like an idiot, and they kept having to ask to girl working (not the miserable one) for something else. We sympathized with her through smiles .
Then we headed to the Hole in the Rock. Which is a house, built into the rock, and they made a tour and a touristy attraction around it. We took the tour, which was kinda creepy because they left the house exactly the same after the people died, so all their stuff was still in there. We wandered around outside, then left. It was too damn hot to be dwaddling around. There was a petting zoo, that we skipped.
We went to the Arches National Park next. It was hot as hell there too. We stayed in the car for most of the trip. But decided to get out at the windows and walk up. We climbed around on the North Window, found a cool little crevice to climb in. Took lots of pictures, and left. We were tired of walking after that, it must have been like, 100 degrees in the sun. We went to the 4wd road, called Tower Arch in our 4wd road book, but called Willows Pass in the park. It was so long. I got to drive, so Dave could sit on the hood and take pictures. There was deep sand which was a pain in the ass, and rocks which were fine. It is rated Moderate in our book. I'd say towards the end it got there. We finally got out of there around...10 or something. It was dark, and late. We drove back to the campground, ate and went to bed.
Friday we woke up late. We were super lazy in the morning, then I finally got up to do laundry. That took 2+ hours, and 7 dollars, especially since I had to scrub my jeans with a plastic knife and soap to get the mud out from when we got stuck in Colorado. I had already washed them once, but they didn't come clean at all. Now they're pretty close to clean. Good enough I guess.
After laundry we went to get Dave's tire, and I went to get a tracking number for my package I had sent with my camera in it. We got Wendy's for lunch because I was starving and the people were idiots so it ended up costing 13 bucks. I was pissed. We stopped at an electronics place to see if they had a charger for my laptop. The only thing they had was 65 bucks for a generic thing with lots of ends you could change. Way too much money.
Dave saw a Fujifilm camera there, 10mp 12x optical zoom, for 250$ so, I bought it. It's probably going to end up as his birthday present, unless someone wants to buy a gently used camera when I get home. His moms sony just wasn't cutting it.
Then we went wheeling. We picked Kanes Creek Canyon, out of the book. It was rated Difficult, but really, have you seen Dave's jeep? We were fine. We went the wrong way at first, and took a green, because the trail signs were confusing. By the time we got off the green, and back to the red, it was 730. We took it anyway. We were doing good. We crossed dry creek beds alot, wishing that there was water in it, but nope, none. It was hot as hell still. We must have drank a gallon each at least. And we were still thirsty.
When it got dark, the trail got a little tricky, especially because we were on his high narrow shelf road going up the canyon. There wasn't much room for mistakes, or give. We finally got through that part, and were a bit lost in the creek, when I finally saw the pipeline road off the side. Dave was swearing because his jeep wasn't working right, and we were tired, and hot.
We finally got out of there, alive none the less. We called Dominos, ordered that pizza, got ice from McDonalds, and more 2/2.22 Powerades. We are going through those like crazy, they're 32 oz. Good deal we think. 1.11 each.
Came back to the camper ,eat some foods. I shower, Dave falls asleep. It's hot still, being in just your undies doesn't even help. Dave wakes up around 4 and goes to shower. We wake up around 9, and I get up. Dave lazes around while I start packing up the camper, and now here we are.
Before I forget, there are tons of bunnies and lizards and birds in this campground. There have been atleast 4 bunnies a day almost in our campsite. and TONS of freaking lizards. Pretty cool.
Hot hot hot. We're heading towards Lake Tahoe today. Hoping to go rafting though, before that. We'll see what happens.
We have French Canadian neighbors here. At the campground. They're nice. Little girl is cute.
Later dudes.
www.photobucket.com/popupx
Today we are packing up and headed West again. It was a nice 3 day stop.
The first day we were here, Thursday, we putz in the morning, then showered and went exploring. There's a nice little town here. We went tire hunting, for Dave's spare, and finally found a place. Then we needed to find a rim, or the place with the tire could order one. It ended up that he needed to order one, because no where else had it.
We also found a mailing center, and mailed out my camera to Illinois. Stupid Canon. I'm having it mailed to Montana, hopefully it'll be there before I am.
We had lunch at HogiYogi, where there was a miserable girl working, and where this ridiculous fucking family came in. They couldn't make up their minds, their kids were out of control, the dad was acting like an idiot, and they kept having to ask to girl working (not the miserable one) for something else. We sympathized with her through smiles .
Then we headed to the Hole in the Rock. Which is a house, built into the rock, and they made a tour and a touristy attraction around it. We took the tour, which was kinda creepy because they left the house exactly the same after the people died, so all their stuff was still in there. We wandered around outside, then left. It was too damn hot to be dwaddling around. There was a petting zoo, that we skipped.
We went to the Arches National Park next. It was hot as hell there too. We stayed in the car for most of the trip. But decided to get out at the windows and walk up. We climbed around on the North Window, found a cool little crevice to climb in. Took lots of pictures, and left. We were tired of walking after that, it must have been like, 100 degrees in the sun. We went to the 4wd road, called Tower Arch in our 4wd road book, but called Willows Pass in the park. It was so long. I got to drive, so Dave could sit on the hood and take pictures. There was deep sand which was a pain in the ass, and rocks which were fine. It is rated Moderate in our book. I'd say towards the end it got there. We finally got out of there around...10 or something. It was dark, and late. We drove back to the campground, ate and went to bed.
Friday we woke up late. We were super lazy in the morning, then I finally got up to do laundry. That took 2+ hours, and 7 dollars, especially since I had to scrub my jeans with a plastic knife and soap to get the mud out from when we got stuck in Colorado. I had already washed them once, but they didn't come clean at all. Now they're pretty close to clean. Good enough I guess.
After laundry we went to get Dave's tire, and I went to get a tracking number for my package I had sent with my camera in it. We got Wendy's for lunch because I was starving and the people were idiots so it ended up costing 13 bucks. I was pissed. We stopped at an electronics place to see if they had a charger for my laptop. The only thing they had was 65 bucks for a generic thing with lots of ends you could change. Way too much money.
Dave saw a Fujifilm camera there, 10mp 12x optical zoom, for 250$ so, I bought it. It's probably going to end up as his birthday present, unless someone wants to buy a gently used camera when I get home. His moms sony just wasn't cutting it.
Then we went wheeling. We picked Kanes Creek Canyon, out of the book. It was rated Difficult, but really, have you seen Dave's jeep? We were fine. We went the wrong way at first, and took a green, because the trail signs were confusing. By the time we got off the green, and back to the red, it was 730. We took it anyway. We were doing good. We crossed dry creek beds alot, wishing that there was water in it, but nope, none. It was hot as hell still. We must have drank a gallon each at least. And we were still thirsty.
When it got dark, the trail got a little tricky, especially because we were on his high narrow shelf road going up the canyon. There wasn't much room for mistakes, or give. We finally got through that part, and were a bit lost in the creek, when I finally saw the pipeline road off the side. Dave was swearing because his jeep wasn't working right, and we were tired, and hot.
We finally got out of there, alive none the less. We called Dominos, ordered that pizza, got ice from McDonalds, and more 2/2.22 Powerades. We are going through those like crazy, they're 32 oz. Good deal we think. 1.11 each.
Came back to the camper ,eat some foods. I shower, Dave falls asleep. It's hot still, being in just your undies doesn't even help. Dave wakes up around 4 and goes to shower. We wake up around 9, and I get up. Dave lazes around while I start packing up the camper, and now here we are.
Before I forget, there are tons of bunnies and lizards and birds in this campground. There have been atleast 4 bunnies a day almost in our campsite. and TONS of freaking lizards. Pretty cool.
Hot hot hot. We're heading towards Lake Tahoe today. Hoping to go rafting though, before that. We'll see what happens.
We have French Canadian neighbors here. At the campground. They're nice. Little girl is cute.
Later dudes.
www.photobucket.com/popupx
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Moab, UT
We are in Moab, finally. We will be here for a few days which is nice, so I don't have to pack everything up the second I wake up in the morning. After this we will be headed to Lake Tahoe. Maybe we can swim there, it is pretty hot around here.
Moab looked like there were quite a few cool places when we were driving in last night. So we will have to see today. I have to do laundry SO BAD, Dave is completely out of shorts because he keeps dirtying them so quickly. I'm thinking perhaps we need to buy him another pair or two.
He bought me a fox fur jacket yesterday at a consignment shop, which was cool. We are now going to ship home a bunch of stuff that we have come to find we don't need. Hoodies, my winter jacket, 3 pairs of Daves pants, and the fox fur jacket. We still have too much stuff, but I don't know what we will need.
I posted those last updates through my phone, and they came out all funky so I posted in the help forum, hoping maybe someone knows what happened and how to fix it. I'll probably have to retype them anyway, so I'll reupdate here on those days, but I'm going to leave those posts up for people to see in order for them to help me.
So I left off on the morning of my birthday...
We were in Flagstaff, so we woke up and got chocolate chip pancakes at the little cafe at the KOA. We couldn't even finish them they were so chocolatey and thick. So good tho. Then we checked out, and went to the RV store looking for new stabilizers since our rear ones are gone. We found something we could use, and bought them. Then we looked at all the RV's because this trip has made us realize how small and not really convienent the popup is. So we're looking for a hard side. We are actually considering a school bus, and gutting the inside and making it nice. I think that'd be so cool, paint it cool colors, and put beds and stuff inside. Win.
After the RV place, we called Canon to see where to get the camera fixed, but they said we have to send it to Illinois to get it fixed, fucking ridiculous, and it will take like 3 weeks. Pain in my ass. So we're shipping that out today, and I'm getting it shipped to Montana where if it makes it there while we are there we can pick it up and use it for the rest of the trip after Montana. So for now we are using Daves moms camera, which sucks. Bleh.
Then we were off to the Grand Canyon. Since you all know that we are not people people, we drove right by the touristy South Rim and headed for the North Rim. What a LONNNNG drive. It was so hot. We drove through the Navajo reservation, and Dave wouldn't stop at any of the road side tables, which was upsetting, but it was too hot anyway.
Right after Vermillion Cliffs, we hear a screech noise, and I look at Dave and ask him what he hit. Then the car is sorta...thumping along. We pull over, and the camper has a flat. The road was so hot that basically the tire blew. But we had a good spare, so we pull the car over so it makes shade and Dave changes the tire. I helped out, and watched the fire ants, making sure they weren't headed for Dave who was sitting on the ground. Those things are ridiculous.
Then we were off again. We had to drive up the mountain to get to Jacob Lake, and it started getting pretty chilly. Then we got gas, and headed the last 40 miles to the North Rim. This stretch was super chilly, I actually needed the blanket...we had taken the doors off in the hot desert, so now it was chilly. We saw lots of deer, and a HERD OF BUFFALO! SO COOL! We stopped and took pictures, and then were off again. We got to the Grand Canyon around 8. There was a huge moon, and the sun was going down, so we took pictures while it was light enough, and then went to eat.
The Grand Canyon Lodge up there is gorgeous. I had pork roast, and Dave had some kind of chicken fettucine, and I had a North Rim Sunset as my birthday drink, since we had just seen the sunset. We left there around 1030. The food and atomosphere were AWESOME.
Dave drove back, I fell asleep. All of a sudden I feel the car slowing down, I open my eyes, and there is the herd of buffalo in the road. You see all their eyes, in the lights of the car. So cool.
Dave drove to Utah, and stopped at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. We set up the camper and passed out. Woke up in the am, and showered, then headed out wheeling on the dunes. Bleck to sand getting everywhere. The Cherokee is too heavy for the sand, especially since we have mud tires not sand tires, so we weren't doing too well. We were out there for about 2 hours, then went back and packed up and headed towards Zion.
We entered the East enterance to the park. So we were looking up at all the formations as we were driving all the way down the mountain. We got to go through the tunnel, which was cool. We saw some desert bighorn sheep, which look like goats. We parked across from the market there, and got food. I got a buffalo burger, which was awesome, and Dave had a sandwich which he said wasn't great. Then we headed towards the shuttle. I asked about the Narrows, and they said we wouldn't really be able to walk too far today because it was already 600. I don't even know how that happened. So we take the shuttle up to the top anyway, the last stop. We walk the Riverside Trail, and then hop into the river and walk up for about an hour. We had so much fun! Oh man, it was awesome. I wish we had more time, but we didn't want to get stuck out there in the dark. There were people who had walked 16 miles up there. Oh man.
So we walked back, and by the time the shuttle got back to the visitor center it was basically dark. We went into the market for postcards, stickers, and bread for dinner, then headed to Cedar City. I fell asleep so fast, no matter how hard I tried to stay awake for Dave, I couldn't. That walk tired us out.
Cedar City was nice. The guy at the KOA let us in and let us have the site for 25 instead of 35 bucks, because we weren't using the cable or the sewer. We set up, I cooked Ramen and made tuna fish sandwiches for Dave, and then I passed right out. We woke up in the morning to a GORGEOUS day. The wind was blowing through the popup, and we definitely did not want to get up. So we took our time. Showered. Dwadled. We got out of there around 1.
We stopped at tire shops, because we needed a new spare for the camper, and we need a spare for the Jeep, since ours rolled down the mountain remember.
Didn't find any Jeep spares. But trailer spares are easy to come by. We ate at Ninja Sushi and Steakhouse, which was good food, and awesome green tea fried ice cream. Yummm.
Then we were off to the car wash. We had fun with that. One of those wash your own car ones. That took up about an hour.
Then we tried again to find tires. We got the trailer one, but still nothing for the Jeep.
Then we were on the road to Moab. Long drive. We just drove and drove, then stopped for dinner at Mom's Cafe, at the exit that was the last exit with any services for 110 miles. Food was super good. I had spaghetti with homemade sauce, and fries, and Dave had a club sandwich which he said was good. Now it was my turn to drive.
Oh man, I drove up this HUGE mountain, the car was putzing along, hardcore. We stopped to let it cool off. I drove for 67 miles, then stopped at a viewing area on top of the mountain, and Dave drove. He got to drive DOWN the 6% grade hill. We were flying. And the engine gets so cool. Nice.
We made it to Moab around 1. Set up. The internet needed a code, so no internet. So we watched Top Gear, and fell asleep. Woke up this morning to HEEEEEEEEAT.
Now it's time to shower, since we've been lazy long enough.
Let's hope I figure out how to mobile update, because my computer code died and wont charge my computer, so blah.
Moab looked like there were quite a few cool places when we were driving in last night. So we will have to see today. I have to do laundry SO BAD, Dave is completely out of shorts because he keeps dirtying them so quickly. I'm thinking perhaps we need to buy him another pair or two.
He bought me a fox fur jacket yesterday at a consignment shop, which was cool. We are now going to ship home a bunch of stuff that we have come to find we don't need. Hoodies, my winter jacket, 3 pairs of Daves pants, and the fox fur jacket. We still have too much stuff, but I don't know what we will need.
I posted those last updates through my phone, and they came out all funky so I posted in the help forum, hoping maybe someone knows what happened and how to fix it. I'll probably have to retype them anyway, so I'll reupdate here on those days, but I'm going to leave those posts up for people to see in order for them to help me.
So I left off on the morning of my birthday...
We were in Flagstaff, so we woke up and got chocolate chip pancakes at the little cafe at the KOA. We couldn't even finish them they were so chocolatey and thick. So good tho. Then we checked out, and went to the RV store looking for new stabilizers since our rear ones are gone. We found something we could use, and bought them. Then we looked at all the RV's because this trip has made us realize how small and not really convienent the popup is. So we're looking for a hard side. We are actually considering a school bus, and gutting the inside and making it nice. I think that'd be so cool, paint it cool colors, and put beds and stuff inside. Win.
After the RV place, we called Canon to see where to get the camera fixed, but they said we have to send it to Illinois to get it fixed, fucking ridiculous, and it will take like 3 weeks. Pain in my ass. So we're shipping that out today, and I'm getting it shipped to Montana where if it makes it there while we are there we can pick it up and use it for the rest of the trip after Montana. So for now we are using Daves moms camera, which sucks. Bleh.
Then we were off to the Grand Canyon. Since you all know that we are not people people, we drove right by the touristy South Rim and headed for the North Rim. What a LONNNNG drive. It was so hot. We drove through the Navajo reservation, and Dave wouldn't stop at any of the road side tables, which was upsetting, but it was too hot anyway.
Right after Vermillion Cliffs, we hear a screech noise, and I look at Dave and ask him what he hit. Then the car is sorta...thumping along. We pull over, and the camper has a flat. The road was so hot that basically the tire blew. But we had a good spare, so we pull the car over so it makes shade and Dave changes the tire. I helped out, and watched the fire ants, making sure they weren't headed for Dave who was sitting on the ground. Those things are ridiculous.
Then we were off again. We had to drive up the mountain to get to Jacob Lake, and it started getting pretty chilly. Then we got gas, and headed the last 40 miles to the North Rim. This stretch was super chilly, I actually needed the blanket...we had taken the doors off in the hot desert, so now it was chilly. We saw lots of deer, and a HERD OF BUFFALO! SO COOL! We stopped and took pictures, and then were off again. We got to the Grand Canyon around 8. There was a huge moon, and the sun was going down, so we took pictures while it was light enough, and then went to eat.
The Grand Canyon Lodge up there is gorgeous. I had pork roast, and Dave had some kind of chicken fettucine, and I had a North Rim Sunset as my birthday drink, since we had just seen the sunset. We left there around 1030. The food and atomosphere were AWESOME.
Dave drove back, I fell asleep. All of a sudden I feel the car slowing down, I open my eyes, and there is the herd of buffalo in the road. You see all their eyes, in the lights of the car. So cool.
Dave drove to Utah, and stopped at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. We set up the camper and passed out. Woke up in the am, and showered, then headed out wheeling on the dunes. Bleck to sand getting everywhere. The Cherokee is too heavy for the sand, especially since we have mud tires not sand tires, so we weren't doing too well. We were out there for about 2 hours, then went back and packed up and headed towards Zion.
We entered the East enterance to the park. So we were looking up at all the formations as we were driving all the way down the mountain. We got to go through the tunnel, which was cool. We saw some desert bighorn sheep, which look like goats. We parked across from the market there, and got food. I got a buffalo burger, which was awesome, and Dave had a sandwich which he said wasn't great. Then we headed towards the shuttle. I asked about the Narrows, and they said we wouldn't really be able to walk too far today because it was already 600. I don't even know how that happened. So we take the shuttle up to the top anyway, the last stop. We walk the Riverside Trail, and then hop into the river and walk up for about an hour. We had so much fun! Oh man, it was awesome. I wish we had more time, but we didn't want to get stuck out there in the dark. There were people who had walked 16 miles up there. Oh man.
So we walked back, and by the time the shuttle got back to the visitor center it was basically dark. We went into the market for postcards, stickers, and bread for dinner, then headed to Cedar City. I fell asleep so fast, no matter how hard I tried to stay awake for Dave, I couldn't. That walk tired us out.
Cedar City was nice. The guy at the KOA let us in and let us have the site for 25 instead of 35 bucks, because we weren't using the cable or the sewer. We set up, I cooked Ramen and made tuna fish sandwiches for Dave, and then I passed right out. We woke up in the morning to a GORGEOUS day. The wind was blowing through the popup, and we definitely did not want to get up. So we took our time. Showered. Dwadled. We got out of there around 1.
We stopped at tire shops, because we needed a new spare for the camper, and we need a spare for the Jeep, since ours rolled down the mountain remember.
Didn't find any Jeep spares. But trailer spares are easy to come by. We ate at Ninja Sushi and Steakhouse, which was good food, and awesome green tea fried ice cream. Yummm.
Then we were off to the car wash. We had fun with that. One of those wash your own car ones. That took up about an hour.
Then we tried again to find tires. We got the trailer one, but still nothing for the Jeep.
Then we were on the road to Moab. Long drive. We just drove and drove, then stopped for dinner at Mom's Cafe, at the exit that was the last exit with any services for 110 miles. Food was super good. I had spaghetti with homemade sauce, and fries, and Dave had a club sandwich which he said was good. Now it was my turn to drive.
Oh man, I drove up this HUGE mountain, the car was putzing along, hardcore. We stopped to let it cool off. I drove for 67 miles, then stopped at a viewing area on top of the mountain, and Dave drove. He got to drive DOWN the 6% grade hill. We were flying. And the engine gets so cool. Nice.
We made it to Moab around 1. Set up. The internet needed a code, so no internet. So we watched Top Gear, and fell asleep. Woke up this morning to HEEEEEEEEAT.
Now it's time to shower, since we've been lazy long enough.
Let's hope I figure out how to mobile update, because my computer code died and wont charge my computer, so blah.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Monday, July 06, 2009
Update from Arizona!
Hey it's my birthday!!! We are in Flagstaff at a really nice campground, so I am definitely not in a rush to get up. We are headed to the Grand Canyon today after some errands.
I left off talking about us headed up Rt 3. in Colorado...
So we can't make it over the snow with the popup on the side of this mountain. No real big surprise there. So Dave starts backing it down the road we just came up. He gets annoyed and tries to back the camper up the side of the hill in order to turn around. While going forward...he gets completely off-camber and I'm fucking scared shitless. He asks if I'm ready, and I say no. He says we have to do something, I tell him to back up, but he can't. So...I ask if I can get out. If we're going to roll, one of us needs to not be hurt. He tells me to climb out over him, so the weight of my door doesn't pull the jeep over. So I climb out, my heart beating a million miles a minute. He asks if I'm shaking yet, we both are. This is a bad situation.
We take weight off the top of the car, we stack rocks around the tires, we even dig up dirt to pack around them. But when he goes forward, the tires still lift. If it wasn't for the camper still attached and on flat ground, it would have rolled already. Finally Dave gets the idea to un-attach the rear driveshaft, so the rear tires don't spin, and burn the front tires a bit so the Jeep straightens out. Ok. It works. Phew.
Now what? Theres a car coming. Win, it's 3 dudes. They help Dave get the camper off the hitch, and back onto the path, so we can drive the Jeep down the hill and back up and re attach the camper. Nice. So that's done.
Now, to take some of the weight off the roof, Dave took his spare tire off and rolled it down the hill where he told me to stand and stop it. I had done that, and was knocked to the ground, considering the tires weigh more than I do. But I stopped it from rolling down the mountain.
Now it was time to figure out what to do with the tire since we are all straightened out on the mountain with the Jeep. Roll it up the hill? Walk it down? I was going to walk it down but Dave said to just roll it towards the road. I did, but it hit a rock and bounced and changed direction. It rolled allllllll the way down the mountain to where we couldn't see it anymore. So we go back down the road, and stop where we think it might be near and unhook the popup. Then we go searching.
We get stuck, in this marsh basically. And cannot get the Jeep out. After a couple hours I go looking for the tire on foot...I guess I was gone for like an hour and a half. When I got back, nothing had been accomplished. Still stuck. We try everything we can to get out, until the sun goes down. 30 degree temp drop instantly. The kids who helped us with the camper on the mountain were stuck with us, so one called his dad...
His dad came to get them, and Dave and I went up into the popup. We walked through hail and pouring rain, freezing to get there. What a miserable day.
The next day the kids and their dad and their dads friend came back, and Dave went down to the car while I stayed in the camper. We were at about 11,000 ft elevation, so breathing was a chore, I didn't want to even get out of bed. I kept trying to motivate myself to get the camper ready to close up, but every time I got up I'd get tired and sit back down. Definitely not used to the lack of oxygen. Neither were our muscles, we were sore for 4 days after.
We had slept in hoodies and flannel pants under the blanket and the sleeping bag, and we weren't too cold. Without the sleeping bag we would have froze, it was definitely chilly. The popup was all un-level too, so we were slanted with our heads lower than our feet...oof.
Finally the Jeep comes back, I was so excited. We pack up and get the fuck out of there. We meet the guys for lunch, which we buy for them in thanks for all their help. We then go back to the RV Corral to shower and do laundry because we are completely covered in mud. Our toenails are still dirty.
Then we head to Roswell. Looongg drive. I drove for the last 2.5 hours, and we arrived at the campground, after getting a bit lost, at 230 am. We were both a bit irritable, so we went to bed.
Woke up the next day soaked. Completely soaked, so hot. I shower, and we pack up and head to the UFO festival. First we go to Tractor Supply though, because after the other night...we need some way to get unstuck, so Dave buys a winch. We hook it up in the parking lot, I had to help because Daves wrists were still sore from the mountain situation.
We visit the visitor's center, which is the convention center too, and look at all the stuff to buy. I bought these nice metal cutout things by this nice guy...and Dave bought homemade salsa. We looked around there, then ate some food. I had roasted corn and Dave has a roasted pork sandwich that was actually guarenteed to be good. He said it was. We went back to seconds. My corn was amazing too. We then went exploring, shopping a bit. We then watched the parade, until around 830, then went to find a place to stay. We couldn't find anything, so we went to eat. Then we went back to the planetarium, for a laser show. It was awesome, all set to popular 80's music. We left there and continued trying to find a place to stay, but there was nothing.
So Dave decided to drive to Carlsbad. 90ish miles. We got there around 12 and there was an RV park. We set up the camper, and were just chilling out. I went out to get the paper from the car, when all of a sudden I feel pricks on my feet. Dave is in the camper, and he hears me saying Ow Ow Ow...I walk into the camper and look at my feet and there is a red ant on it. OW. Fire ants. The next morning we find out Dave had parked right over their nest. No wonder it bit me. I didn't swell up or anything, so all was well.
We pack up the camper, and leave it in the site and go for lunch. We write out a ton of postcards too. Outside the restaurant there is an old castle like house thing on the hill. So we walk up and go inside and take a bunch of pictures, then walk back down. We get the camper, and go to Carlsbas Caverns. We have the Annual National Parks Pass, so we get in for free. It was a long walk down. Really dark and cool. My skin was cold to the touch. The batteries of the camera got low while down at the bottom, so we took the elevator back up, which was fine, because I was done. We bought some postcards, and ate some food. Dave got stickers for his car.
Then we left, and went back to the store near the RV park for ice, and to drop the postcards in the mail. Happy 4th of July.
We drive towards Arizona, but don't make it quite there. We see fireworks going off, so we park on the side of the road and watch. One went off on the ground, and then ambulances and stuff were going on and flashing their lights and sirens and then it was over, so we left...
We stop in Socorro NM, right near Rt. 60. We find an RV park, and get set up, then find out that there are no bathrooms or showers due to renovations. Ridiculous. I was pretty pissed. We went to sleep to the sound of fireworks still going off outside.
Wake in the morning, miserable because no showers, and we stop at a gas station so I can atleast wash my face. Then we get to Rt. 60, and see tons of RV parks, oh well.
Dave drives until AZ where I drive the whole time we are on Rt. 180. We drive by the petrified forest, and stop and look in the museum. AZ was really hot, and the pavement was too, so the car started overheating again...I pulled over to the side, and we sat for a bit.
When we get to Rt. 40 I stop, and Dave drives again. We get to Flagstaff around 730, and find the KOA. It's beautiful. Shaded, and big. I'm so content right now, even though we should be out of here, like now.
Oh well. We need to head to the RV store, because in the mountain troubles we lost both rear stabilizers, and then we are headed to the Grand Canyon. Only problem is something happened to our camera, and the lens is all effed up, and we don't know where to go to get it fixed. Shitty.
Later dudes.
I left off talking about us headed up Rt 3. in Colorado...
So we can't make it over the snow with the popup on the side of this mountain. No real big surprise there. So Dave starts backing it down the road we just came up. He gets annoyed and tries to back the camper up the side of the hill in order to turn around. While going forward...he gets completely off-camber and I'm fucking scared shitless. He asks if I'm ready, and I say no. He says we have to do something, I tell him to back up, but he can't. So...I ask if I can get out. If we're going to roll, one of us needs to not be hurt. He tells me to climb out over him, so the weight of my door doesn't pull the jeep over. So I climb out, my heart beating a million miles a minute. He asks if I'm shaking yet, we both are. This is a bad situation.
We take weight off the top of the car, we stack rocks around the tires, we even dig up dirt to pack around them. But when he goes forward, the tires still lift. If it wasn't for the camper still attached and on flat ground, it would have rolled already. Finally Dave gets the idea to un-attach the rear driveshaft, so the rear tires don't spin, and burn the front tires a bit so the Jeep straightens out. Ok. It works. Phew.
Now what? Theres a car coming. Win, it's 3 dudes. They help Dave get the camper off the hitch, and back onto the path, so we can drive the Jeep down the hill and back up and re attach the camper. Nice. So that's done.
Now, to take some of the weight off the roof, Dave took his spare tire off and rolled it down the hill where he told me to stand and stop it. I had done that, and was knocked to the ground, considering the tires weigh more than I do. But I stopped it from rolling down the mountain.
Now it was time to figure out what to do with the tire since we are all straightened out on the mountain with the Jeep. Roll it up the hill? Walk it down? I was going to walk it down but Dave said to just roll it towards the road. I did, but it hit a rock and bounced and changed direction. It rolled allllllll the way down the mountain to where we couldn't see it anymore. So we go back down the road, and stop where we think it might be near and unhook the popup. Then we go searching.
We get stuck, in this marsh basically. And cannot get the Jeep out. After a couple hours I go looking for the tire on foot...I guess I was gone for like an hour and a half. When I got back, nothing had been accomplished. Still stuck. We try everything we can to get out, until the sun goes down. 30 degree temp drop instantly. The kids who helped us with the camper on the mountain were stuck with us, so one called his dad...
His dad came to get them, and Dave and I went up into the popup. We walked through hail and pouring rain, freezing to get there. What a miserable day.
The next day the kids and their dad and their dads friend came back, and Dave went down to the car while I stayed in the camper. We were at about 11,000 ft elevation, so breathing was a chore, I didn't want to even get out of bed. I kept trying to motivate myself to get the camper ready to close up, but every time I got up I'd get tired and sit back down. Definitely not used to the lack of oxygen. Neither were our muscles, we were sore for 4 days after.
We had slept in hoodies and flannel pants under the blanket and the sleeping bag, and we weren't too cold. Without the sleeping bag we would have froze, it was definitely chilly. The popup was all un-level too, so we were slanted with our heads lower than our feet...oof.
Finally the Jeep comes back, I was so excited. We pack up and get the fuck out of there. We meet the guys for lunch, which we buy for them in thanks for all their help. We then go back to the RV Corral to shower and do laundry because we are completely covered in mud. Our toenails are still dirty.
Then we head to Roswell. Looongg drive. I drove for the last 2.5 hours, and we arrived at the campground, after getting a bit lost, at 230 am. We were both a bit irritable, so we went to bed.
Woke up the next day soaked. Completely soaked, so hot. I shower, and we pack up and head to the UFO festival. First we go to Tractor Supply though, because after the other night...we need some way to get unstuck, so Dave buys a winch. We hook it up in the parking lot, I had to help because Daves wrists were still sore from the mountain situation.
We visit the visitor's center, which is the convention center too, and look at all the stuff to buy. I bought these nice metal cutout things by this nice guy...and Dave bought homemade salsa. We looked around there, then ate some food. I had roasted corn and Dave has a roasted pork sandwich that was actually guarenteed to be good. He said it was. We went back to seconds. My corn was amazing too. We then went exploring, shopping a bit. We then watched the parade, until around 830, then went to find a place to stay. We couldn't find anything, so we went to eat. Then we went back to the planetarium, for a laser show. It was awesome, all set to popular 80's music. We left there and continued trying to find a place to stay, but there was nothing.
So Dave decided to drive to Carlsbad. 90ish miles. We got there around 12 and there was an RV park. We set up the camper, and were just chilling out. I went out to get the paper from the car, when all of a sudden I feel pricks on my feet. Dave is in the camper, and he hears me saying Ow Ow Ow...I walk into the camper and look at my feet and there is a red ant on it. OW. Fire ants. The next morning we find out Dave had parked right over their nest. No wonder it bit me. I didn't swell up or anything, so all was well.
We pack up the camper, and leave it in the site and go for lunch. We write out a ton of postcards too. Outside the restaurant there is an old castle like house thing on the hill. So we walk up and go inside and take a bunch of pictures, then walk back down. We get the camper, and go to Carlsbas Caverns. We have the Annual National Parks Pass, so we get in for free. It was a long walk down. Really dark and cool. My skin was cold to the touch. The batteries of the camera got low while down at the bottom, so we took the elevator back up, which was fine, because I was done. We bought some postcards, and ate some food. Dave got stickers for his car.
Then we left, and went back to the store near the RV park for ice, and to drop the postcards in the mail. Happy 4th of July.
We drive towards Arizona, but don't make it quite there. We see fireworks going off, so we park on the side of the road and watch. One went off on the ground, and then ambulances and stuff were going on and flashing their lights and sirens and then it was over, so we left...
We stop in Socorro NM, right near Rt. 60. We find an RV park, and get set up, then find out that there are no bathrooms or showers due to renovations. Ridiculous. I was pretty pissed. We went to sleep to the sound of fireworks still going off outside.
Wake in the morning, miserable because no showers, and we stop at a gas station so I can atleast wash my face. Then we get to Rt. 60, and see tons of RV parks, oh well.
Dave drives until AZ where I drive the whole time we are on Rt. 180. We drive by the petrified forest, and stop and look in the museum. AZ was really hot, and the pavement was too, so the car started overheating again...I pulled over to the side, and we sat for a bit.
When we get to Rt. 40 I stop, and Dave drives again. We get to Flagstaff around 730, and find the KOA. It's beautiful. Shaded, and big. I'm so content right now, even though we should be out of here, like now.
Oh well. We need to head to the RV store, because in the mountain troubles we lost both rear stabilizers, and then we are headed to the Grand Canyon. Only problem is something happened to our camera, and the lens is all effed up, and we don't know where to go to get it fixed. Shitty.
Later dudes.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
UPDATE!!! from New Mexico
It's been a few days since we've had internet.
We left off at the Leadville RV Corral in Colorado in my last update.
So, I need to back track...3 days.
We woke up the next morning, showered, in showers with no privacy... and dressed for mountain biking in Colorado. Mind you, everywhere else we have been it was 80+ degrees. Nope, not in Leadville. We were in pants and sweatshirts. Ridiculous. I guess the town is the highest incorporated town in the US. Small town, but town none the less.
Anyways, we packed up, and headed out. We parked and got breakfast at the Golden Burro Cafe. Good food. A little expensive. Dave bought a hoodie from there. It's yellow, and has a donkey on it. LOL. We had gotten a Leadville map from the manager at the campground, and while eating I was looking at it...
(side note: the night before Dave had been looking into mountain passes we could go drive...Imogene was the one he was looking at)
Okay, so I'm looking at the map and it says Mosquito Pass, highest 4wd pass in North America. Right here in the town we're staying in. Win, since Imogene Pass was quite out of the way. So we head there after eating. It's a marked road on the GPS, Rt. 3. So we are driving up this dirt road, with the popup in tow. We read online that it was not a difficult pass, just steep. So we figured put it in low gear and no big deal.
It was find at first. A little bumpy, but nothing horrible. Then it starts going up the mountain steeper, and narrower. And at the second switchback, there is snow. And I start getting nervous then, because backing up with the popup is complicated normally, without being on the side of a mountain. So we can't make it over the snow, go figure...
I fell asleep before finishing this last night, sorry guys. Now we need to pack up the camper and GTFO of New Mexico. I'll hopefully have internet tonight.
We left off at the Leadville RV Corral in Colorado in my last update.
So, I need to back track...3 days.
We woke up the next morning, showered, in showers with no privacy... and dressed for mountain biking in Colorado. Mind you, everywhere else we have been it was 80+ degrees. Nope, not in Leadville. We were in pants and sweatshirts. Ridiculous. I guess the town is the highest incorporated town in the US. Small town, but town none the less.
Anyways, we packed up, and headed out. We parked and got breakfast at the Golden Burro Cafe. Good food. A little expensive. Dave bought a hoodie from there. It's yellow, and has a donkey on it. LOL. We had gotten a Leadville map from the manager at the campground, and while eating I was looking at it...
(side note: the night before Dave had been looking into mountain passes we could go drive...Imogene was the one he was looking at)
Okay, so I'm looking at the map and it says Mosquito Pass, highest 4wd pass in North America. Right here in the town we're staying in. Win, since Imogene Pass was quite out of the way. So we head there after eating. It's a marked road on the GPS, Rt. 3. So we are driving up this dirt road, with the popup in tow. We read online that it was not a difficult pass, just steep. So we figured put it in low gear and no big deal.
It was find at first. A little bumpy, but nothing horrible. Then it starts going up the mountain steeper, and narrower. And at the second switchback, there is snow. And I start getting nervous then, because backing up with the popup is complicated normally, without being on the side of a mountain. So we can't make it over the snow, go figure...
I fell asleep before finishing this last night, sorry guys. Now we need to pack up the camper and GTFO of New Mexico. I'll hopefully have internet tonight.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Colorado Update
This time change has kept me very sleepy. By the time we get to the campground and all set up, I just want to sleep. So I didn't update last night...so let's see what we did yesterday...
Yesterday started in Kansas...around Salina. We woke up, dwaddled around, and then got on the road. It was a very hot day. Around 95, straight sun. Dave's left arm is super tan and burned, and my right are is the same. Kansas sucks. So flat, nothing to see, nothing interesting...
We did see a huge couple miles of wind turbines though...Those were cool. But other than that...cows, fields, trains...
Since Dave lost our crank the other day, we stopped off in a bigger town off the highway - Hays, and went to Home Depot. Then spent about an hour...looking for sears, and we went to a Napa and Advanced auto...and Autozone. Gosh. It was hot, very very hot.
I love trains. There are LONGGGG trains out here. You can't even see the ends!
We finally get back on the road, and I'm sticking my head all the way out the window to cool down. Really ridiculous heat. I fell asleep with my head out the window, and Dave taps me on the shoulder, telling me I'm going to drive. Okay. Why not.
So I'm driving, following Dave's rules about RPM and engine temp, etc. Cruising along at about 57 mph. Driving west, into this DARRRK cloud. I look over out the window and its a huge dark cloud, with maybe some funnel-ish clouds, and lightning! I'm excited, hoping to see a tornado, as long as it was far off! Did not happen, but the cloud blocked out the sun for a bit, which was nice.
I'm not sure how long I drove, not very long...When we stopped to take a picture of the Welcome to Colorado sign, Dave decided to drive again. So horray, we're in Colorado. Now where are we going? LOL.
We need gas, and see a sign for Arriba. Cool name for a town, so of course we need to explore. Sketchy poor ass town. All the houses are super run down, look abandoned mostly. There is a big giant bell, with ropes to ring it...So I tell Dave to ring it. It was SO LOUD! Oh man, we drive off quick after that. There is a building with the chute to put the grain into the train cars. COOL! TRAINS! Dave decides to drive over the train tracks. Mind you the popup is definitely still attached to the back of the car. So something gets stuck. Dave just rams the gas, as I gasp! Funny noise...Dave gets out and the hitch that he had welded on to the camper bumper ripped off, completely. The bumper is all ripped and bent, and one of the stabilizer feet is broken. That was the only thing I was upset about, was the stabilizer foot. That's a bit important, especially for when Fred comes out and is staying in here because that's the end he will be on.
We decide to camp at the Limon KOA, just because we can get there quick and go to bed early to wake up early. We get there, check in, and the place is packed with mosquitoes. Within the 10 minutes of setting up the camper, Dave is covered in mosquito bites. I don't have any...I think they think I'm gross. Oh well, their loss. Oh boy, poor Dave though. He is so itchy! He had started to make the new crank but...too many bugs.
I cook dinner, clam chowder for Dave and soup for me...meh. We are trying to use up the can food because it is so heavy. After that, we bed early.
Wake up around 830. Dave finishes the crank. We shower, and then pack up the camper. Dave looks at the stabilizer, and I haven't asked him what needs to be done...I will later.
We get ice and stupid stuff in the store, Dave bought a Colorado Rocky Mountains Got Oxygen? tee shirt. Pretty cool considering today we realized how hard it is to breathe around here.
On the road again. Heading towards Breckenridge. We take scenic roads, and take tons of pictures...the long way too. So by the time we have gone up and down the many Colorado hills, the car is overheating again, and we look for the fastest way to get there. We stopped at Red Rock, to take pictures of these GIANT red rocks. Pretty cool. We walked up lots of stairs to get to the Visitor Center, but there was nothing even in there. So, exercise is what we got.
Finally left there, and made our way to Breckenridge. We stopped at a waterfall on the way, Dave made me stand in the freezing water...to get a picture. It was so cold, and I sank in the sand past my knee. But worth it.
We saw some mountain goats...or pronghorn sheep...No other animals though, except the many rabbits we have seen since we started this trip.
Get to Breckenridge, and find out mountain biking is going to be like 75 bucks a person. SHEESH. I'll have to contemplate it tomorrow, if I really want to spend that much. We then went to the supermarket because I wanted carrots. We also got steak, and the giant 99 cent cans of Arizona iced tea, and beef jerky. I used the bathroom, and when I got out I found Dave sitting in a chair waiting. He says "I can't breathe, it's so bad, sitting here was hard..." The air is definitely thin up here. I got extremely tired extremely fast. We had a hard time finding a campground, but finally did, 21 miles away. It took us 40 minutes to get there, over lots more hills. When we got here, the guy was so friendly...SO friendly, telling us about the town and everything. We got his picture, his name was Rudolph. He was from Czechloslovakia.
We picked a site, opened the damn popup, and I cooked steak and beans for Dave and I had steak and cheese and carrots.
And now you're all caught up. It's freezing here, like, 35 degrees. Majorly chilly after being so warm the past few days...
Goodnight. Tomorrow we're going to explore some more...and hopefully make it to Roswell since we have a reservation tomorrow night. But Dave says it doesn't matter if we make it there tomorrow. We will see. Probably mountain biking in the morning...and then I don't know.
www.photobucket.com/popupx
Yesterday started in Kansas...around Salina. We woke up, dwaddled around, and then got on the road. It was a very hot day. Around 95, straight sun. Dave's left arm is super tan and burned, and my right are is the same. Kansas sucks. So flat, nothing to see, nothing interesting...
We did see a huge couple miles of wind turbines though...Those were cool. But other than that...cows, fields, trains...
Since Dave lost our crank the other day, we stopped off in a bigger town off the highway - Hays, and went to Home Depot. Then spent about an hour...looking for sears, and we went to a Napa and Advanced auto...and Autozone. Gosh. It was hot, very very hot.
I love trains. There are LONGGGG trains out here. You can't even see the ends!
We finally get back on the road, and I'm sticking my head all the way out the window to cool down. Really ridiculous heat. I fell asleep with my head out the window, and Dave taps me on the shoulder, telling me I'm going to drive. Okay. Why not.
So I'm driving, following Dave's rules about RPM and engine temp, etc. Cruising along at about 57 mph. Driving west, into this DARRRK cloud. I look over out the window and its a huge dark cloud, with maybe some funnel-ish clouds, and lightning! I'm excited, hoping to see a tornado, as long as it was far off! Did not happen, but the cloud blocked out the sun for a bit, which was nice.
I'm not sure how long I drove, not very long...When we stopped to take a picture of the Welcome to Colorado sign, Dave decided to drive again. So horray, we're in Colorado. Now where are we going? LOL.
We need gas, and see a sign for Arriba. Cool name for a town, so of course we need to explore. Sketchy poor ass town. All the houses are super run down, look abandoned mostly. There is a big giant bell, with ropes to ring it...So I tell Dave to ring it. It was SO LOUD! Oh man, we drive off quick after that. There is a building with the chute to put the grain into the train cars. COOL! TRAINS! Dave decides to drive over the train tracks. Mind you the popup is definitely still attached to the back of the car. So something gets stuck. Dave just rams the gas, as I gasp! Funny noise...Dave gets out and the hitch that he had welded on to the camper bumper ripped off, completely. The bumper is all ripped and bent, and one of the stabilizer feet is broken. That was the only thing I was upset about, was the stabilizer foot. That's a bit important, especially for when Fred comes out and is staying in here because that's the end he will be on.
We decide to camp at the Limon KOA, just because we can get there quick and go to bed early to wake up early. We get there, check in, and the place is packed with mosquitoes. Within the 10 minutes of setting up the camper, Dave is covered in mosquito bites. I don't have any...I think they think I'm gross. Oh well, their loss. Oh boy, poor Dave though. He is so itchy! He had started to make the new crank but...too many bugs.
I cook dinner, clam chowder for Dave and soup for me...meh. We are trying to use up the can food because it is so heavy. After that, we bed early.
Wake up around 830. Dave finishes the crank. We shower, and then pack up the camper. Dave looks at the stabilizer, and I haven't asked him what needs to be done...I will later.
We get ice and stupid stuff in the store, Dave bought a Colorado Rocky Mountains Got Oxygen? tee shirt. Pretty cool considering today we realized how hard it is to breathe around here.
On the road again. Heading towards Breckenridge. We take scenic roads, and take tons of pictures...the long way too. So by the time we have gone up and down the many Colorado hills, the car is overheating again, and we look for the fastest way to get there. We stopped at Red Rock, to take pictures of these GIANT red rocks. Pretty cool. We walked up lots of stairs to get to the Visitor Center, but there was nothing even in there. So, exercise is what we got.
Finally left there, and made our way to Breckenridge. We stopped at a waterfall on the way, Dave made me stand in the freezing water...to get a picture. It was so cold, and I sank in the sand past my knee. But worth it.
We saw some mountain goats...or pronghorn sheep...No other animals though, except the many rabbits we have seen since we started this trip.
Get to Breckenridge, and find out mountain biking is going to be like 75 bucks a person. SHEESH. I'll have to contemplate it tomorrow, if I really want to spend that much. We then went to the supermarket because I wanted carrots. We also got steak, and the giant 99 cent cans of Arizona iced tea, and beef jerky. I used the bathroom, and when I got out I found Dave sitting in a chair waiting. He says "I can't breathe, it's so bad, sitting here was hard..." The air is definitely thin up here. I got extremely tired extremely fast. We had a hard time finding a campground, but finally did, 21 miles away. It took us 40 minutes to get there, over lots more hills. When we got here, the guy was so friendly...SO friendly, telling us about the town and everything. We got his picture, his name was Rudolph. He was from Czechloslovakia.
We picked a site, opened the damn popup, and I cooked steak and beans for Dave and I had steak and cheese and carrots.
And now you're all caught up. It's freezing here, like, 35 degrees. Majorly chilly after being so warm the past few days...
Goodnight. Tomorrow we're going to explore some more...and hopefully make it to Roswell since we have a reservation tomorrow night. But Dave says it doesn't matter if we make it there tomorrow. We will see. Probably mountain biking in the morning...and then I don't know.
www.photobucket.com/popupx
Monday, June 29, 2009
Update from Kansas!
Heyyyyy.
We finally made it to Kansas after a long day yesterday.
We woke up and Dave started working on the exhaust while I started getting the camper packed in. He finished the exhaust, and we left Mulberry Grove IL. We got on the road...around 12. And we're off, towards St. Louis...about 60 miles.
From about 20 miles off, we could see the archway over the landscape. We parked in the RV parking, which was pretty far down the road from the archway. THE ARCH IS HUUUUUUUGE! It's pretty damn cool. We took lots of pictures, and we went to go on the tram up to the top, but the next one was leaving an hour later than we were there, and that would have set up way far back. We had to go through metal detectors and they xrayed our stuff on the way in...that took up time.
We decided against going on the tram, so we went into the gift shop and bought postcards! And then we looked at the Westward Expansion museum...and then went out and took more pictures. We selftimered one of us with the arch in the background, pretty cool. We then went to eat, at a pizza place with St. Louis style pizza, which was square and thin and flat. On the way walking to the restaurant I took my phone out of my bra, where I was keeping it due to lack of pockets, and it says it needs initial programming. There is no service in order to call the number...so phone is screwed. We eat, and then walk to the car and GTFO of St. Louis. When we stop for gas in Wentzville MO, we find a Verizon store. We tell them what happened, that it stopped working after the X-Ray machine...and they don't seem to want to really help me. They try to update the software, but it doesn't help...so they want to call Asurion and get a new (refurb) phone mailed to me. I tell the guy I don't have an address. He asks where we will be staying tonight, and we have no idea. He really doesn't want to help me...at all. I'm getting annoyed, but trying to stay calm...
Finally he says he will do an emergency in store insurance claim and get me a new phone. I pick out a EnV Touch, and pay the 50 dollar deductible, and boom, out of there. Took over an hour to get the guy to do that.
Annoying.
Back on the road...it's around 630 now. Drive until we need gas again, and we eat then too. Ends up we eat truck stop food, what a shitty dinner, but oh well. We still have a long way to go...
Finally we hit Kansas...and then finally get to Salina KOA at around 2am. We fill out a registration card, covered in bugs, bleck...
and go to set up the camper. Dave goes "Lover, what'd you do with the crank?" and I told him I remember putting it in the cabinet where it goes. It's not there. Then I remember that Dave cranked the camper up in St. Louis to get another shirt to change into, so I ask him what he did with it. He figures he didn't put it away, so now we are crankless.
He has to figure out another way to open the damn camper. He sticks a wrench handle in the hole, and uses vice grips to turn it to crank it up...takes FOREVER!
Finally we are set up, and I basically pass right out. I had slept in the car on and off too, I was supposed to drive, but Dave never told me to so, that didn't happen.
We are now in Kansas, I'm waiting for Dave to shower so we can leave...
It's hot here. I'll try to update again...tonight...
We finally made it to Kansas after a long day yesterday.
We woke up and Dave started working on the exhaust while I started getting the camper packed in. He finished the exhaust, and we left Mulberry Grove IL. We got on the road...around 12. And we're off, towards St. Louis...about 60 miles.
From about 20 miles off, we could see the archway over the landscape. We parked in the RV parking, which was pretty far down the road from the archway. THE ARCH IS HUUUUUUUGE! It's pretty damn cool. We took lots of pictures, and we went to go on the tram up to the top, but the next one was leaving an hour later than we were there, and that would have set up way far back. We had to go through metal detectors and they xrayed our stuff on the way in...that took up time.
We decided against going on the tram, so we went into the gift shop and bought postcards! And then we looked at the Westward Expansion museum...and then went out and took more pictures. We selftimered one of us with the arch in the background, pretty cool. We then went to eat, at a pizza place with St. Louis style pizza, which was square and thin and flat. On the way walking to the restaurant I took my phone out of my bra, where I was keeping it due to lack of pockets, and it says it needs initial programming. There is no service in order to call the number...so phone is screwed. We eat, and then walk to the car and GTFO of St. Louis. When we stop for gas in Wentzville MO, we find a Verizon store. We tell them what happened, that it stopped working after the X-Ray machine...and they don't seem to want to really help me. They try to update the software, but it doesn't help...so they want to call Asurion and get a new (refurb) phone mailed to me. I tell the guy I don't have an address. He asks where we will be staying tonight, and we have no idea. He really doesn't want to help me...at all. I'm getting annoyed, but trying to stay calm...
Finally he says he will do an emergency in store insurance claim and get me a new phone. I pick out a EnV Touch, and pay the 50 dollar deductible, and boom, out of there. Took over an hour to get the guy to do that.
Annoying.
Back on the road...it's around 630 now. Drive until we need gas again, and we eat then too. Ends up we eat truck stop food, what a shitty dinner, but oh well. We still have a long way to go...
Finally we hit Kansas...and then finally get to Salina KOA at around 2am. We fill out a registration card, covered in bugs, bleck...
and go to set up the camper. Dave goes "Lover, what'd you do with the crank?" and I told him I remember putting it in the cabinet where it goes. It's not there. Then I remember that Dave cranked the camper up in St. Louis to get another shirt to change into, so I ask him what he did with it. He figures he didn't put it away, so now we are crankless.
He has to figure out another way to open the damn camper. He sticks a wrench handle in the hole, and uses vice grips to turn it to crank it up...takes FOREVER!
Finally we are set up, and I basically pass right out. I had slept in the car on and off too, I was supposed to drive, but Dave never told me to so, that didn't happen.
We are now in Kansas, I'm waiting for Dave to shower so we can leave...
It's hot here. I'll try to update again...tonight...
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Update from Illinois! Part 2
Okay, so we survived the night...camper intact...so lets get caught up here...where was I?
Right, we just got to Ohio...
So we are back on the road, and I'm trying to find us a campground. We are looking about...3 or 4 hours ahead at this point...so I call the campground and tell them we will be there late. They say okay...
We end up getting there around midnight...set up, cook a bit, and pass out. Wifi doesn't work...we find out the next day that the lightning storm knocked it out. We get up around 10, pack up, shower, and leave. Breakfast at Waffle House because Dave loves Waffle House...it was pretty damn good...chocolate chip waffles...
We try again to find Wifi, at McDonalds this time, but they wanted 3 bucks + tax for 2 hours, forget that....
On the road again. We are now headed for a goal of Illinois. In Indiana we start to look for an auto parts store, because the exhaust is aimed towards the gas tank, and heating that up a ton, and vaporizing the gas...making a ton of pressure, and we are getting crap mpg...
We find one, but its off backroads off backroads...it takes us down some beautiful farm land roads...Indiana is pretty in the country parts...
We find the autoparts store, even though GPS took us the wrong way...
I run into a clothing store and buy a bra, because I realized I didn't pack one...and we are on the road again...
We make it to Illinois, and stop for dinner at a Steak N Shake. Had steak burgers and a cookies and cream milkshake...good dinner. MMM. We brought in the atlas and the AAA campground books and find a campground within about...60 miles of St. Louis, our next destination...
We find one within 58 miles, call them, and tell them we're coming. We get there around 9:00...
Check in...it is so humid that it is hard to breathe. In the office they tell us that it got up to 110 degrees here today...holy crap.
It is so hot, we set up the camper and take cold showers before settling in..
WIFI YAY! So that was last night...a big storm came in and the camper was blowing in the wind, I was nervous...and kept checking the weather...Dave stayed up until the wind died down...which was pretty late...
and now it is 11:40 in Illinois, Dave is going to fix his exhaust and then we'll be on the road again...I hope we get to Mid-Kansas today...otherwise we're going to be behind again...
Hopefully we will get Wifi again soon so I can update you all again...
Right, we just got to Ohio...
So we are back on the road, and I'm trying to find us a campground. We are looking about...3 or 4 hours ahead at this point...so I call the campground and tell them we will be there late. They say okay...
We end up getting there around midnight...set up, cook a bit, and pass out. Wifi doesn't work...we find out the next day that the lightning storm knocked it out. We get up around 10, pack up, shower, and leave. Breakfast at Waffle House because Dave loves Waffle House...it was pretty damn good...chocolate chip waffles...
We try again to find Wifi, at McDonalds this time, but they wanted 3 bucks + tax for 2 hours, forget that....
On the road again. We are now headed for a goal of Illinois. In Indiana we start to look for an auto parts store, because the exhaust is aimed towards the gas tank, and heating that up a ton, and vaporizing the gas...making a ton of pressure, and we are getting crap mpg...
We find one, but its off backroads off backroads...it takes us down some beautiful farm land roads...Indiana is pretty in the country parts...
We find the autoparts store, even though GPS took us the wrong way...
I run into a clothing store and buy a bra, because I realized I didn't pack one...and we are on the road again...
We make it to Illinois, and stop for dinner at a Steak N Shake. Had steak burgers and a cookies and cream milkshake...good dinner. MMM. We brought in the atlas and the AAA campground books and find a campground within about...60 miles of St. Louis, our next destination...
We find one within 58 miles, call them, and tell them we're coming. We get there around 9:00...
Check in...it is so humid that it is hard to breathe. In the office they tell us that it got up to 110 degrees here today...holy crap.
It is so hot, we set up the camper and take cold showers before settling in..
WIFI YAY! So that was last night...a big storm came in and the camper was blowing in the wind, I was nervous...and kept checking the weather...Dave stayed up until the wind died down...which was pretty late...
and now it is 11:40 in Illinois, Dave is going to fix his exhaust and then we'll be on the road again...I hope we get to Mid-Kansas today...otherwise we're going to be behind again...
Hopefully we will get Wifi again soon so I can update you all again...
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Update from Illinois!
Finally, internet connection. The campground we stayed at last night was supposed to have it, but the storms that have been running through here with all the lightning knocked out their internet. So a day later, I am 2 states farther, and updating now.
But back to the beginning,
We left my house around 11:15 Thursday morning, and went to Mallory Kotzen, and blah blah ran errands. We got on the highway towards New York at 12:20pm. We were doing well, everything was going fine, until we hit some crap traffic and the car overheated. We pulled over into the shade and let the car cool a bit. 10 min later it was super hot again. We pulled over again and let it cool. One more try, it overheated in 15 seconds this time...Dave says the trip is over and apologizes to me. I tell him it doesn't have to be over, we will find a garage and get it fixed. Okay, so we go to a truck stop...and I ask a mobile mechanic guy what it could be, and where we could find a garage...he said call Kisenweather, it could be the thermostat or it could be the head gasket. I tell Dave, and we call Kisenweather...they're dicks, so I ask the girl in the store where another mechanic is...she says there is one right around the corner, she calls and they are waiting for us. During this time, Dave has been outside with the trucker whose shade we borrowed to park in. (We didn't get his name, so we are calling him the Black Trucker from Texas...) He gave us lots of water for our radiator, and told us we should flush it out. This guy was so happy and smiley. And the first of our helpers along the way... He gave us 3 jugs for water, which we have used many many times...
Anyways, by now the jeep seems to be doing better, so we plan to drive around and see how things go. We end up over heating again, and park at the Stage Coach restaurant for Dave to wire an Aux fan to help with cooling. We go to the garage that is waiting for us, and the guy says he doesn't think it is the head gasket and tells us that an Autozone is 30 miles away...
Off we go, slowly, with a lot of water, and a lot of stopping...
We make it to the Autozone, which is now in the middle of farm country PA...and while we are working on the Jeep...this freak rain and thunder storm rolls in...pouring huge drops of rain on us. We take a break from working to hop in the car to stay dry, and finally it ends. Dave finishes work on the Jeep and back on the road we go.
We are still overheating, and the last time we pull over...around 1130...we hear a weird thumping/griding noise ... sounds like the driveshaft. Dave hops under the car, says everything looks okay, we let the car cool a bit, add some water...and go to leave. HORRIBLE GRIDING NOISES COME FROM THE CAR...and it doesn't move. Okay, not good. Try again, same thing. Dave hops back under, sees nothing...utoh. We worry that the gears have blown, but that wouldn't make sense, because we didn't hear a big noise that it would make...
So we put it in front wheel drive, and limp off the highway to a truck stop.
Kylertown Truck Stop is our first nights sleep. We sleep in the car...because when we arrive...5 minutes later another freak storm shows up, pouring rain and huge thunder and lightning (this is the storm that blew out the internet at the campground...) Im in the back seat, but with the leather I'm all stuck to it and miserable...Dave is in the driver seat trying to get comfortable...we finally fall asleep...
In the middle of the night...Dave says okay, lets switch, so we do...he is in the back and I'm in the driver seat. Fall back to sleep uncomfortably...I wake up at 5:50 am, and it's beautiful out, but Dave doesn't want to wake up, so I go back to sleep, and I wake up around 8...he still doesn't want to get up. It is so humid, I am sweating, and Dave is cold and under a blanket. Ridiculous!
Finally around 9 we get up, maybe 9:30...and open up the rear differential...well Dave opens it while I try to organize the car/camper. Ends up that 3 bolts from the ring gear sheared off and the rest backed themselves out of their holes. Okay, not horrible...definitely fixable...
Dave goes off to get water for the radiator...and I'm still organizing and cleaning and situating...when this guy from the motel comes over and asks if everything is okay. He tells me he saw us parked out here last night and he was going to ask if we wanted to sleep in his room cause he had an extra bed, but thought we would think it was weird. (Dave and I both agreed it would have been.) I told him what was wrong with the Jeep, and that Dave is probably off finding out where parts stores are...
I guess he figured out I was nervous, because he was like...okay I don't want to make you nervous and he went back to his room...I went back to cleaning...
He came over again a bit later and told me that if we wanted to use his shower before he checked out so we didn't have to pay 10 bucks to use the truck stop one we could. I thanked him and told him I'd ask Dave what he wanted to do...
Finally Dave walked back, and he told me later that he was like, oh crap creeper when he saw the guy talking to me. They started talking and it ends up that this guy wasn't really creepy at all. He ended up getting us ice from the motel ice machine for our cooler, and let us use his shower...
We exchanged emails, and we gave him the URL to this blog so he can see if we ever made it farther than that truck stop in Kylertown. So...hey to Sid from Mississippi if he's reading this!!! He left, and we walked over to get breakfast and then to the hardware store to get the bolts we needed. Thank god for there being a hardware store in the same plaza...
We got what we needed after 2 trips to the hardware store, Dave ended up drilling out the 3 broken bolts...
and we were on our way. We were headed to NAPA to get a radiator hose. We finally got it at Advanced Auto Parts...then ate lunch at Sheetz. Really by this time it was 430pm so that was dinner.
We decide we need to skip rollercoasters this time around, considering we are still hours from Ohio...and we would maybe hit them on the way back. No big deal.
So we start heading south towards St. Louis. We hit Ohio finally, and stop at the visitor center at the first exit. We grab a campground book, and I start flipping through it when we get back on the road.
I can't even concentrate right now to finish this...maybe tomorrow...there's a big storm coming through, and the camper is swayyyyyyying hardcore in the wind. There aren't any tornado warnings...but they've been wrong before...
I hate wind.
But back to the beginning,
We left my house around 11:15 Thursday morning, and went to Mallory Kotzen, and blah blah ran errands. We got on the highway towards New York at 12:20pm. We were doing well, everything was going fine, until we hit some crap traffic and the car overheated. We pulled over into the shade and let the car cool a bit. 10 min later it was super hot again. We pulled over again and let it cool. One more try, it overheated in 15 seconds this time...Dave says the trip is over and apologizes to me. I tell him it doesn't have to be over, we will find a garage and get it fixed. Okay, so we go to a truck stop...and I ask a mobile mechanic guy what it could be, and where we could find a garage...he said call Kisenweather, it could be the thermostat or it could be the head gasket. I tell Dave, and we call Kisenweather...they're dicks, so I ask the girl in the store where another mechanic is...she says there is one right around the corner, she calls and they are waiting for us. During this time, Dave has been outside with the trucker whose shade we borrowed to park in. (We didn't get his name, so we are calling him the Black Trucker from Texas...) He gave us lots of water for our radiator, and told us we should flush it out. This guy was so happy and smiley. And the first of our helpers along the way... He gave us 3 jugs for water, which we have used many many times...
Anyways, by now the jeep seems to be doing better, so we plan to drive around and see how things go. We end up over heating again, and park at the Stage Coach restaurant for Dave to wire an Aux fan to help with cooling. We go to the garage that is waiting for us, and the guy says he doesn't think it is the head gasket and tells us that an Autozone is 30 miles away...
Off we go, slowly, with a lot of water, and a lot of stopping...
We make it to the Autozone, which is now in the middle of farm country PA...and while we are working on the Jeep...this freak rain and thunder storm rolls in...pouring huge drops of rain on us. We take a break from working to hop in the car to stay dry, and finally it ends. Dave finishes work on the Jeep and back on the road we go.
We are still overheating, and the last time we pull over...around 1130...we hear a weird thumping/griding noise ... sounds like the driveshaft. Dave hops under the car, says everything looks okay, we let the car cool a bit, add some water...and go to leave. HORRIBLE GRIDING NOISES COME FROM THE CAR...and it doesn't move. Okay, not good. Try again, same thing. Dave hops back under, sees nothing...utoh. We worry that the gears have blown, but that wouldn't make sense, because we didn't hear a big noise that it would make...
So we put it in front wheel drive, and limp off the highway to a truck stop.
Kylertown Truck Stop is our first nights sleep. We sleep in the car...because when we arrive...5 minutes later another freak storm shows up, pouring rain and huge thunder and lightning (this is the storm that blew out the internet at the campground...) Im in the back seat, but with the leather I'm all stuck to it and miserable...Dave is in the driver seat trying to get comfortable...we finally fall asleep...
In the middle of the night...Dave says okay, lets switch, so we do...he is in the back and I'm in the driver seat. Fall back to sleep uncomfortably...I wake up at 5:50 am, and it's beautiful out, but Dave doesn't want to wake up, so I go back to sleep, and I wake up around 8...he still doesn't want to get up. It is so humid, I am sweating, and Dave is cold and under a blanket. Ridiculous!
Finally around 9 we get up, maybe 9:30...and open up the rear differential...well Dave opens it while I try to organize the car/camper. Ends up that 3 bolts from the ring gear sheared off and the rest backed themselves out of their holes. Okay, not horrible...definitely fixable...
Dave goes off to get water for the radiator...and I'm still organizing and cleaning and situating...when this guy from the motel comes over and asks if everything is okay. He tells me he saw us parked out here last night and he was going to ask if we wanted to sleep in his room cause he had an extra bed, but thought we would think it was weird. (Dave and I both agreed it would have been.) I told him what was wrong with the Jeep, and that Dave is probably off finding out where parts stores are...
I guess he figured out I was nervous, because he was like...okay I don't want to make you nervous and he went back to his room...I went back to cleaning...
He came over again a bit later and told me that if we wanted to use his shower before he checked out so we didn't have to pay 10 bucks to use the truck stop one we could. I thanked him and told him I'd ask Dave what he wanted to do...
Finally Dave walked back, and he told me later that he was like, oh crap creeper when he saw the guy talking to me. They started talking and it ends up that this guy wasn't really creepy at all. He ended up getting us ice from the motel ice machine for our cooler, and let us use his shower...
We exchanged emails, and we gave him the URL to this blog so he can see if we ever made it farther than that truck stop in Kylertown. So...hey to Sid from Mississippi if he's reading this!!! He left, and we walked over to get breakfast and then to the hardware store to get the bolts we needed. Thank god for there being a hardware store in the same plaza...
We got what we needed after 2 trips to the hardware store, Dave ended up drilling out the 3 broken bolts...
and we were on our way. We were headed to NAPA to get a radiator hose. We finally got it at Advanced Auto Parts...then ate lunch at Sheetz. Really by this time it was 430pm so that was dinner.
We decide we need to skip rollercoasters this time around, considering we are still hours from Ohio...and we would maybe hit them on the way back. No big deal.
So we start heading south towards St. Louis. We hit Ohio finally, and stop at the visitor center at the first exit. We grab a campground book, and I start flipping through it when we get back on the road.
I can't even concentrate right now to finish this...maybe tomorrow...there's a big storm coming through, and the camper is swayyyyyyying hardcore in the wind. There aren't any tornado warnings...but they've been wrong before...
I hate wind.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
1 day, 2 hours...
Clothes are mostly packed.
I forgot to mention I'm bringing Nermul from Garfield so we can take pictures of her everywhere...
Can't wait to leave!
I forgot to mention I'm bringing Nermul from Garfield so we can take pictures of her everywhere...
Can't wait to leave!
Monday, June 22, 2009
2 days, 3 hours...
Uhm, hello, WTF am I doing on the computer?
Clothes are not packed, everything else is.
2 days!
Work wednesday, errands tomorrow...
Oh damn.
Clothes are not packed, everything else is.
2 days!
Work wednesday, errands tomorrow...
Oh damn.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
9 days, 23 hours...
Packing has started to become situated.
Next step is to open the camper and getting everything organized in there...
It'd help if the rain would stop...
Next step is to open the camper and getting everything organized in there...
It'd help if the rain would stop...
Thursday, June 04, 2009
20 days, 4 hours...
National parks annual pass. (check)
Camping reservations for Roswell. (check)
Find out no reservations needed for camping at the place we are in Ohio...(check)
slowly the list is shrinking.
Camping reservations for Roswell. (check)
Find out no reservations needed for camping at the place we are in Ohio...(check)
slowly the list is shrinking.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
22 days, 1 hour...
Uhm, where did the month go?
I'm starting to think about how we will pack...
not a very easy thing to figure out.
Clothes in suitcases? or a big tupperware bin?
Necessities in a box in the car? or something else?
Maps and books...how to keep them nice in the car...
bof.
I'm starting to think about how we will pack...
not a very easy thing to figure out.
Clothes in suitcases? or a big tupperware bin?
Necessities in a box in the car? or something else?
Maps and books...how to keep them nice in the car...
bof.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
29 days, 5 hours...
Dave bought a fancy new Nat Geo atlas for us to hi-lite the highways we take.
And a Nat Geo state parks book.
and and and
I'm getting exciteddd.
And a Nat Geo state parks book.
and and and
I'm getting exciteddd.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
35 days to goooo!
Soohhohhhooooo,
Looks like Fred von Fredstein will be with us from July 7th to around the 14th. Utah-Rubicon.
And Nikki will be flying out to meet us either in Montana or South Dakota and riding the rails home with us.
I'm excited.
Itinerary is done. And there's hardly room for changes, but we'll have to expect changes.
Who wants to see it?
Looks like Fred von Fredstein will be with us from July 7th to around the 14th. Utah-Rubicon.
And Nikki will be flying out to meet us either in Montana or South Dakota and riding the rails home with us.
I'm excited.
Itinerary is done. And there's hardly room for changes, but we'll have to expect changes.
Who wants to see it?
Monday, May 18, 2009
37 days, 23 hours...
I've almost finished the itinerary...
Finding campgrounds is the hardest part. And making sure we have enough time to see everything...
Basically we have a camping trip for Memorial Day weekend, then a wedding the next weekend, then 2 birthdays the next weekend, then 2 weekends, then we're gone...
those 2 weekends will probably be spent packing...oh man.
Finding campgrounds is the hardest part. And making sure we have enough time to see everything...
Basically we have a camping trip for Memorial Day weekend, then a wedding the next weekend, then 2 birthdays the next weekend, then 2 weekends, then we're gone...
those 2 weekends will probably be spent packing...oh man.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Itinerizing...
I'm working on the itinerary as we speak.
Google countdown says 40 days and 23 hours until we're out...
I wonder if I could get a countdown on here.
And I wonder if we'll keep up with this...
Google countdown says 40 days and 23 hours until we're out...
I wonder if I could get a countdown on here.
And I wonder if we'll keep up with this...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
