What do you get when you take 2 of these...
Plus one of these...
Plus 1,647 miles?
... a whole BUNDLE of MAD CRAZY FUN!
We finally got all of this:
Plus one of these...
Plus 1,647 miles?
... a whole BUNDLE of MAD CRAZY FUN!We finally got all of this:
to fit!
YAY! With room to throw all of our cleaning supplies in at the end!
The only problem was the dolly that they gave us for our car had the back 2 wheels dragging and we discovered that since our car is such a "low rider" it wasn't going to work. Of course, we realize this AFTER they are closed, so instead of getting an early start, we got to sleep in until the Budget rental place was open. By 9am we had our new car trailer and we were ready to hit the road!
Are you ready for 30 hours of driving? *serious driving face*
We had just finally crawled to the top of a hill somewhere between Utah and Wyoming at 20mph (in a 65mph zone), barely escaping an overheated engine, just to see this ahead of us:
This is us battling the hill. When I took this picture, we were going a whopping 15 mph. I watched as the cloud shadow overtook and passed our truck.
Beautiful cliff faces
The clouds in Wyoming were stunning! I've never seen anything like them!
This quaint town was the last we would see for a while...
We passed a refinery! I thought the flame was neat.
I think the song "Wide Open Spaces" was written about Wyoming. It was stuck in my head the whole time.
Does anyone know what these partial fences are for? This question kept me busy for hours. I came up with lots of interesting (though none of them convincing) hypotheses. They obviously aren't to keep animals in or out or away from anything, because we saw plenty of cows moseying their way around them.
This one is for Stacey:
Brian kept telling me to check the trailer-- this was my view. I just kept hoping it was still attached!
This pretty much sums up Nebraska:
Who knew that the National Cabella's headquarters are in the middle of nowhere?!
This sunset was so neat, I wish it had come out on the picture!
After our first day of travel, we stopped in North Platte, Nebraska at a tiny hotel. We pulled in and then realized that we couldn't get out. While it is technically possible to back up a truck with a trailer, they told us numerous times to avoid it, and after about 40 minutes of trying to, we knew why. No matter which way we turned the wheel, it seemed like the trailer had a mind of it's own on where it wanted to go. It was impossible. We were both so frustrated and we didn't know what to do, when a lady drove up. She rolled down her window and said "Go Cougars!" She drove around back to see if there was a way we could just pull the truck through and come around on the other side... Luckily, it worked! We probably would've figured it out eventually, but we were so grateful for her help! Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures of the ordeal, we had our minds on other things.
Day 2
Day 2
I thought this huge bridge was kind of random.
It's a misty moisty morning!
We saw so many of these! My favorite (I didn't get a picture, some trees were in the way) was painted like a golf ball on a tee!
Wagon Building
"The People of Iowa Welcome you!" --Why, thank you.
We passed a sign saying "road flooded ahead"... they weren't kidding!
We were just glad that it wasn't closed!
I love this picture: doesn't it remind you of the movie "Cars"? I can just imagine the big semi saying "Who do you think you are, parking over with the big boys?"
This sign was the theme of our trip, I think. We saw our share of road construction!
We actually had to use the weigh stations!
Elementary school pictures, anyone?
Kansas City
I was trying to get a shot of this bridge they are building, but the road looks like it's bending in an earthquake or something.
Home of the Kansas City Royals
Refueling.... 10mpg, baby!
This is in Ozark county. I can just imagine Billy out hunting coons with Old Dan and little Ann!
We stayed on the west side of St. Louis, right next to the airport. You can see the airport radar tower in the background, that's how close we were.
The historic St. Louis arch!
Brian took this picture while driving because I was on the phone with the electric and water companies trying to get everything turned on.
We are so close!
The hills surrounding Nashville are gorgeous! It reminds me of Oregon.
Finally, Nashville!
It looks like you had some great adventures. If I knew which route you were planning, I would've recommended another. My boss from BYU, who drives the football team's semi trailer to away games, told me to take the "trucker" route. The route went down through Moab and into New Mexico. There were a couple of mountain passes to deal with but the rest was smooth sailing on I-40. You could've used the same going straight into TN.
ReplyDeleteMy brother tried to back our car trailer when he got into a tight spot. It didn't work very well, either. I had to kick him out of the driver seat and show him how it was done; since I had moved multiple times and had more practice.
The official answer to your question about the fences is that they are snow fences. That stretch of I-80 is such a treacherous area during the winter. The fences reduce the amount of snow drift across certain areas during winter. That concept is at least as old as I am. Do a google search for I-80 snow fences to get more details.
We're glad you're in this part of the country. I told Edie that TN is beautiful and we might have to make a trip some weekend. Especially if I have 1-2 extra days off and can make it longer.
Sounds like a fun trip! Good luck with med school Brian! I went to TN once. We stayed at the Gaylord Hotel for an activities convention. Enjoy your new life in TN!!! :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like quite the adventure! Good luck with your new teaching job Natalie!
ReplyDeleteHaha actually we had several recommendations to take the north route as opposed to the south. We actually were fine after we got out of those hills in Utah/Wyoming.
ReplyDeleteAshley-- if you ever want to visit TN again, you have a place to stay! :)
McKell-- Thanks! I have the feeling I'm going to need all the luck I can get... but I'm excited for the new experience. I will miss Canyon!
Wow, what a great adventure! ) Moving definitely means good times especially with a big truck pulling a car and not being able to back up, we remember that well. I can't wait for the stuck by the side of the road post because I was "with" you for a bit of it. Best of luck with all your new beginnings!
ReplyDeleteI love all the pictures you posted! My family actually lives in Kansas City, MO. Good luck in TN! I bet teaching there wlll be great fun. What grade are you teaching?
ReplyDeleteWow, what a fun adventure for the two of you! Makes me really excited for our cross-country drive from New York to Utah in the unknown future. Don't know when that will be, but it looks like it will be fun! Good luck in Nashville, how exciting!
ReplyDeleteOh and I believe they're snow fences. Help snow drifts not to gather on the roads.
WOW! I just shudder to think about doing that with two kids in the back seat of our car while Curtis drives a moving truck...If we ever move back east maybe I will just fly with the kids and make Curtis drive :) So glad you made it safely!
ReplyDeleteYou fit it all in! Way to go! I think I may know what those fence things are for. Maybe they help stop the blowing snow in the winter.
ReplyDeleteWell, good luck with everything! Let us know how your year goes.