Recently I finished my 5th (almost) transcontinental trip. There is something truly special about driving all the way across the country. I wasn't able to take my time but this trip will still be one of my most memorable. I though I would share a few of the photos and stories with you all...
First, the route. My objective was to get from the south east to California with a stop over in Las Vegas. It was two days to Vegas and then a LONG day out of Vegas to California. My first day was 17 hours in the saddle. The second wasn't as long. In Vegas by 5p the second day was my goal. Worries about long days behind the wheel turned out to be unfounded. The previous transcontinental drives in were in the 90s but it was no harder today vs then. In fact the advent of GPS, cell phones and even modil internet service made much of the trip feel far more connected than I ever felt before.
For the second half of the trip I had a choice; north or south. From Las Vegas you can't go due west. I was going to go south but my friend in Vegas suggested it would be a good idea to see Yosemite. Google suggested the Yosemite route would only add an hour or so to my day's drive. Look at those squiggly lines! Heck, let's do it!
Change is one of the great things about the transcontinental drive. Sometimes it creeps on you, other times it's there. Around the Mississippi and into Arkansas wet was the word. I didn't drive a Chevy to the levy and the levy I saw was was anything but dry. I don't think I saw anywhere near the worst of it.
Speeding the miles away things started to dry up. By the time I saw my first glimmer of Route 66 in Texas it was surely dry. This is also about the time I had my first story for the trip. I'm driving through some sleepy if not just plain empty town in Texas when I saw my first Route 66 sign. I just had to get a picture so I hung the old parking lot U-turn. Well you would think in a town with only 2 east-west streets they wouldn't be one way... they were. The "Do Not Enter" signs helped me figure this out and I quickly reversed course but not before catching the eye of one of Texas's own troopers.
Pull over, assume the position... The officer actually handled the whole situation exactly as I would want a trooper to do. He was polite and friendly. Of course my license and registration were all checked but given the honest nature of the mistake and the way I quickly corrected it he gave me a warning. No, not all cops are bad and this one added nothing negative to my travels.
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