From: ganthony@gmail.net   
      
   sticks  wrote:   
   > 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...   
   >   
   >   
      
   Lessons learned the hard way by most of us. I would sacrifice a body part   
   for 12 MPG. Speaking of Utah, I will be passing through there later this   
   summer. I want to visit Capital Reef, which is the last of the Mighty Five   
   for us to see.   
      
   --   
   Biden has no idea what he is doing but he’s really, really good at it.   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)