From: wolverine01@charter.net   
      
   On 4/30/2025 9:25 AM, Ralph E Lindberg wrote:   
   > On 2025-04-29 20:47:31 +0000, sticks said:   
   >   
   >> 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...   
   >   Ugh... HATE long travel days, been there, done that, try not to. 3PM   
   > is a nice stop time>   
   >   
   > One of my ol-coworkers used to kick his family out of bed before 6AM and   
   > on the road by 6. But then he stopped for breakfast about 8AM and   
   > stopped for the day between noon and 1PM.   
   > That would let the kids have all afternoon to play in the motel/   
   > campground pool/etc   
   >   
      
   I am not enjoying them as much as I used too, I'll sure agree to that.   
   If we were just rambling around, I can see cutting the miles way back.   
   But when you have a spot to be at a certain time, and nothing planned   
   in-between then, I kind of like to get going and get there.  This   
   outgoing trip did get a little long with the two days over 600 miles,   
   but to be honest, they were not that bad.  You're just trying to get to   
   a parking lot to eat and read email before trying to get some sleep.   
      
   I think the sweet spot for me if I have a way to go is about 500 miles.   
   That is still a long day, but it doesn't kick your ass too bad.  A   
   little extra driving each day for me is worth it if it give me one less   
   travel day, and one more at the place I want to get to.  That said, I   
   certainly can understand how other people do not like to drive that many   
   miles in one day.  Especially in an RV, or pulling a trailer, or both.   
      
   One thing is for sure, I will never again plan going over the mountains   
   in cold conditions again.  Too much stress.  I will take the southern   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)