Did Someone Say Road Trip!?

(Ken) April 1 – June 1, 2013.  Sixty days and about 4,500 miles later, we have made it to our first work camping job at Luton’s Teton Cabins in Moran, Wyoming!

From the day we left Youngstown, OH.; we knew we were going to take the scenic route and visit friends and family along the way.  But, who travels from Ohio to Wyoming via Florida and New Mexico?  Well, we do of course!

With kids in North Carolina, Florida and Wyoming, and friends in Louisiana; it was only natural to take the route we did.  And knowing that we had sixty days to do it in, we took our good sweet time!  It was our point to take in and enjoy as much as we possibly could.

I could sit here and list all 14 states we’ve traveled in the last two months, but I think the pictures cover them all.  But the pictures don’t tell the stories we experienced along the way.  So, I would like to take a moment of your time and touch on a few.

I will tell you, the scenic route through the mountains and back woods of West Virginia is no place for a 36 foot motorhome towing a car!  Lets just say we survived what I thought was banjo music and my white knuckles regained some color about half way across South Carolina!

If you are looking for alligators, don’t look in Florida; it’s just too darn hot there so they all moved to Alabama! All of our ‘gator sighting only happened in Alabama.  And, don’t ever believe the person who says it never rains in Mississippi – BUCKETS!

Yes, Texas; everything is bigger in Texas, including the traffic jams and the nothingness!  If your not in a city in northern Texas, you are on the blacktop in the middle of nothing!  Seeing the glass half full – at least the roads were paved.

Crossing the boarder into New Mexico is like crossing into a different world.  Immediately after you enter the state; the terrain changes, the sky clears and the temperature cools.  Sorry, Texas; maybe the next time through we will see more than……nothing!

The drive north had the Rocky Mountains on our left from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Fort Collins, Colorado.  Good thing I was able to hear the camera shutter going behind me or I would have thought I left Jodi in Albuquerque!  She did get some great pictures from back there.

Cheyenne, Wyoming found us in the repair shop for two days.  A visit with family and some routine maintenance made us forget about the weather.  Highs in the 40’s with rain and sleet one day and 70’s and sunny the next.  But, where in the world did all that wind come from?

I truly believe it was the wind that made the nuts fall off the exhaust?  How odd, the bolts were not broken or stripped, but the nuts that held the exhaust pipe to the exhaust manifold; simply came off.  What was really nice, it was a $5.00 fix that only took me 20 minutes.

With a complete tune up on the engine and transmission; we were ready to tackle the Rocky Mountains!  Northwest we headed towards Thermopolis, Wyoming.  You can trust me when I say I was ready for a nice long soak in the Hot Springs!  Ahhhh, that was fantastic (as long as you held your nose… sulfur)!

With the rig and the body tuned, we were off to Yellowstone National Park.  Now, understand, Jodi and I have never been out west, but we knew the weather could change quickly when you get into the mountains.  But a flipping white-out snow storm on the 29th of May!  That made the drive through Sylvan Pass (8559 feet) quite interesting.

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears; oh my! Well not really, but the drive from the East Entrance to Bridge Bay camp ground produced Bison, a Black Bear, and a Grey Wolf.  We were really excited, until two Bison camped out next to our rig the first night.  You can only watch an animal graze for so long! But it was still pretty awesome.

The final two and a half hour drive from Yellowstone to Luton’s Teton Cabins was a beautiful day past the Grand Teton Mountain Range. A picture definitely does not do them justice.  The high jagged peaks covered in snow are stunning!

Arriving at our final destination, at least until September was a fantastic feeling.  Completing the first leg of our journey successfully is quite satisfying.  After 60 days and thousands of miles, we are ready for a long rest and an opportunity to catch up on all the blog entries we need to complete!

So until next time……………Cheers!