EATONANTLERS
FNG
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2015
- Messages
- 55
The road trip out! 9/16-17/2015
The plan all along was that Greg would work an early shift on Wednesday September 16th until the early afternoon and we would plan to be on the road by, or before, 4:00 p.m. I decided that I might as well work a half day as well as long as I had the lion’s share of the gear ready to go in the truck, and I did.
Around 2:00 Greg called to see where I was at. He assumed that I knew he was only working until 1:00 and I thought he would call when he was leaving work for home so I could head over to pick him up. We had met the Sunday before at his place so I could pick up the majority of his gear so it could be strategically packed in the limited space I had in my truck. I was still an hour from being fully loaded and showered, so I informed Greg I’d be there around 3:30 or 4:00. After landing at Greg’s we were on the road right at 4:00 and off to the wild, wild, west!
The truck loaded and ready.
This timing would put us in the rush hour traffic going through the Chicago area. Remarkably, we sailed through Chicago without delay as we headed down I 80 toward Iowa.
Lots of friends and family were aware of my plans and schedule, including my friend Johnathon who moved with his family from mid Michigan to eastern Iowa last year. Johnathon lives a few miles south of I 80 at exit 254 near Iowa City so I messaged him our approximate ETA which coincided with a scheduled fuel stop. He met us at the McDonalds at the exit and we visited for about a half hour before we fueled and were on our way. It was good to catch up with him.
A tall cup of McDonald’s coffee in hand and I took the next stint behind the wheel while Greg caught some zzzzz. The next fuel stop was in Lincoln NE around 2:30 or so, on what is now Thursday morning. Greg would take over behind the wheel while I grabbed some sleep. Just outside of town I was out cold and woke 4 hours later as we rolled in to Sidney, NE, world headquarters for Cabela’s. Of course Cabela’s wasn’t open at this hour of the morning but it was a scheduled fuel stop and it was time for breakfast so we fueled and headed across the road to the Subway for a breakfast sandwich.
We made short work of our required detours and were back on the road in short order. The Subway shop provided some handy single serving packs of mayo, catsup, mustard, etc. that we would use in our daily meal packs, also some creamers for Greg’s morning coffees.
I was behind the wheel now as we headed toward Wyoming and 60 miles later we entered the Cowboy State headed for our exit 300 miles away in Rock Springs. We were right on schedule and, I watched the speedometer closely to avoid another encounter with WSP’s finest. Rock Springs is where we would fuel next and exit off of our long trek across I 80, this would put us approximately 5 hrs out from my youngest sister’s home in Ririe, Idaho, our scheduled overnight.
This road takes you out across the high western desert where the wild horses (mustangs) roam. Beautiful but featureless country that is vast.
We sailed along viewing hundreds of pronghorn antelope along the way until we eventually hit Pinedale which is the gateway to the Teton region of Wyoming and just a couple of hours east of Jackson Hole. This is where the majestic mountains greet you in all their glory and the landscape begins to change drastically from what we had endured since mid Nebraska, a welcome change.
Just south of Jackson Hole we turned south and west and headed toward Swan Valley and over the pass along the mighty Snake River. Breathtaking views as we wound our way over the Continental divide and past Palisades reservoir and dam an hour from our first destination.
I texted my nephew our ETA and when we arrived my niece had a fantastic dinner of Ham, taters, and roast squash sitting on the table waiting for us. The kids were watching the house while my sister and brother-in-law were celebrating their 26th anniversary in Tybee Island, GA.
A fine dinner, hot shower, some fellowship, and we were off to bed for an early Friday morning wake up!
Being greeted by my nephew.
The plan all along was that Greg would work an early shift on Wednesday September 16th until the early afternoon and we would plan to be on the road by, or before, 4:00 p.m. I decided that I might as well work a half day as well as long as I had the lion’s share of the gear ready to go in the truck, and I did.
Around 2:00 Greg called to see where I was at. He assumed that I knew he was only working until 1:00 and I thought he would call when he was leaving work for home so I could head over to pick him up. We had met the Sunday before at his place so I could pick up the majority of his gear so it could be strategically packed in the limited space I had in my truck. I was still an hour from being fully loaded and showered, so I informed Greg I’d be there around 3:30 or 4:00. After landing at Greg’s we were on the road right at 4:00 and off to the wild, wild, west!
The truck loaded and ready.
This timing would put us in the rush hour traffic going through the Chicago area. Remarkably, we sailed through Chicago without delay as we headed down I 80 toward Iowa.
Lots of friends and family were aware of my plans and schedule, including my friend Johnathon who moved with his family from mid Michigan to eastern Iowa last year. Johnathon lives a few miles south of I 80 at exit 254 near Iowa City so I messaged him our approximate ETA which coincided with a scheduled fuel stop. He met us at the McDonalds at the exit and we visited for about a half hour before we fueled and were on our way. It was good to catch up with him.
A tall cup of McDonald’s coffee in hand and I took the next stint behind the wheel while Greg caught some zzzzz. The next fuel stop was in Lincoln NE around 2:30 or so, on what is now Thursday morning. Greg would take over behind the wheel while I grabbed some sleep. Just outside of town I was out cold and woke 4 hours later as we rolled in to Sidney, NE, world headquarters for Cabela’s. Of course Cabela’s wasn’t open at this hour of the morning but it was a scheduled fuel stop and it was time for breakfast so we fueled and headed across the road to the Subway for a breakfast sandwich.
We made short work of our required detours and were back on the road in short order. The Subway shop provided some handy single serving packs of mayo, catsup, mustard, etc. that we would use in our daily meal packs, also some creamers for Greg’s morning coffees.
I was behind the wheel now as we headed toward Wyoming and 60 miles later we entered the Cowboy State headed for our exit 300 miles away in Rock Springs. We were right on schedule and, I watched the speedometer closely to avoid another encounter with WSP’s finest. Rock Springs is where we would fuel next and exit off of our long trek across I 80, this would put us approximately 5 hrs out from my youngest sister’s home in Ririe, Idaho, our scheduled overnight.
This road takes you out across the high western desert where the wild horses (mustangs) roam. Beautiful but featureless country that is vast.
We sailed along viewing hundreds of pronghorn antelope along the way until we eventually hit Pinedale which is the gateway to the Teton region of Wyoming and just a couple of hours east of Jackson Hole. This is where the majestic mountains greet you in all their glory and the landscape begins to change drastically from what we had endured since mid Nebraska, a welcome change.
Just south of Jackson Hole we turned south and west and headed toward Swan Valley and over the pass along the mighty Snake River. Breathtaking views as we wound our way over the Continental divide and past Palisades reservoir and dam an hour from our first destination.
I texted my nephew our ETA and when we arrived my niece had a fantastic dinner of Ham, taters, and roast squash sitting on the table waiting for us. The kids were watching the house while my sister and brother-in-law were celebrating their 26th anniversary in Tybee Island, GA.
A fine dinner, hot shower, some fellowship, and we were off to bed for an early Friday morning wake up!
Being greeted by my nephew.