From: wolverine01@charter.net   
      
   To be honest, I've had a hard time getting back into the swing of things   
   around home after getting back from that trip.  Everything just feels   
   out of place, and I just want to go back out and get on the road again.   
   I suppose the regrets of getting both vehicles damaged in a hail storm   
   have something to do with that, but I think it has more to do with just   
   how perfect everything felt on the journey.  From getting closer to my   
   wife, to seeing new and amazing places.  It was exactly what I bought   
   the thing for.   
      
   That said, I want to get started rehashing some of the journey.  I'll   
   start with the travel days.   
      
   I was having a heck of a time trying to figure out which way to go.   
   I-70 had days it was open and days it was closed and had traction laws   
   in effect.  I-80 had terrible winds and was closed because of blow over   
   laws.  Going the safest rout via I-40/44 would add another whole day to   
   the travel and go from 3 days on the road to 4 days.  I really wanted to   
   avoid this.  So I set out west heading to Kearney, Nebraska and figured   
   I could decide the next day depending on conditions which route I would   
   have to take.  I-70 was still open, but I-80 was closed because of   
   winds.  620 miles later we were in Kearney staying at a Cabela's on the   
   Lincoln Highway.  This was our best freebie place of the trip.  There   
   were about 6 other RV's there that night.  Most even had their slides   
   out, which surprised me.  But it was away from everything, safe, and   
   quiet.  Having been my first time staying in a store parking lot, I felt   
   better about the situation after this night, though I did have my pistol   
   ready for defense if need be.   
      
   By the next morning the situation had changed and the winds calmed down   
   in Wyoming, and it had snowed up west of Denver and they had closures   
   and traction laws in effect.  So we went north on I-80 and headed toward   
   Salt Lake City.  It was windy, but manageable and we went 680 miles and   
   got to the very end of the state and stayed in the town of Evanston, WY   
   at a Walmart.  This was completely different than Cabela's with about   
   15-20 semi's ending up in the lot overnight.  Manageable if you have to   
   I guess, and in our case we had to because I needed to go a little   
   further that day to make the last day of travel again doable.  During   
   the day, we crossed over the Sherman Summit in WY, at an elevation of   
   8640 and they had gotten a little snow there.  It was windy and cold.   
   There is a rest area right at the top and we had pulled in for a short   
   break, and I got a valuable lesson.  I am very aware pulling the TOAD   
   you cannot back up, but I was a little stupid recognizing the ground   
   conditions.  I came to a stop on a slight incline and there was a little   
   packed snow underneath the tires.  Without the TOAD I'm sure the RV   
   would have just walked away, but trying to move the powerless 5,000lb   
   Bronco, the RV surprised me by having a hard time getting going.   
   Lesson: keep moving on snow conditions and always stop going downhill!   
   I'm sure I could have applied the old slight break pedal trick to get it   
   to stop the differential from spinning, but it eventually hooked up and   
   I didn't have to unhook the TOAD to get out of there.  Once we got down   
   to Evanston, I was very relieved having gotten through the worst of the   
   mountain passes.  I knew I would have to address the same weather   
   question on the return journey.   
      
   Both of the first two nights were cold and well below freezing, with it   
   getting down to 20F for the night in Evanston.  The anti-freeze kit I   
   installed for the Truma on demand water heater worked perfectly during   
   the day, and the furnace keep things toasty enough to sleep without the   
   pipes freezing up, and I switched the Truma to ECO mode each night and   
   used propane to keep it from freezing at the unit on the outside panel.   
   I was unsure if I would have enough DC to run things all night, or if I   
   would have to run the generator, but I still had 12.4 volts in the   
   morning.  That pleased me greatly as I knew it could do at least the   
   whole night without worrying.  Even through the mountains and with the   
   wind hitting us head on, we got over 12MPG pulling the TOAD.  I can live   
   with that.  The view is a little uncomfortable in winds above 20 MPH,   
   but slowing down helps.  When it got bad, I stayed below 65 MPH.   
   Without winds it cruises along at 70 or more quite easily.   
      
   The last day we started going through Salt Lake City, and it was much   
   warmer, around 60F, and it was a gorgeous day and pleasant drive.  The   
   entire state of Utah is like one big park, with cows.  My kind of place.   
     Very beautiful and it has a welcoming feel to it.  People were all   
   very nice everywhere we stopped.  I could live in that state.  Rolled   
   into the campground after a leisurely 350 miles at around 3PM and just   
   relaxed for the rest of the day.   
      
   more to come...   
      
      
   --   
   Better Days Ahead!   
   Darwinism Is Junk Science!!   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)