G&T’s West Coast Excursion Days 1-7 (May 17-23, 2017)

We made it across the country. A first for Gary and I… and to think that you can cross in 7 days is a bit hard to fathom. Why the rush? Because we were picking up our new Arctic Fox 5th wheel. We wanted to be able to stay in our “tiny home” as Gary calls it as we’re touring, rather than doing the hotel thing.

Day 1 to Batavia, NY (472 miles)

The trip to Batavia, NY (Day 1) was a pretty ride through the Erie Canal Waterway. Lots of farmland. We had the pleasure of driving this last year when we visited the Thousand Islands Region of New York. A gorgeous area of this great state. Having spent my early years in Queens, New York, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that New York State has a lot more to offer than just NYC, as amazing as Manhattan is.

One of my personal goals with this cross country trip was for me to drive Gary’s big dually truck. The idea being that I have to get used to driving the truck before I can have any hope of towing a 39 ft. fifth wheel. Gulp. So I put on my big girl pants and got behind the wheel every day. I think it’s actually easier doing highway driving than city driving with the big truck. We did have to have a conversation about the best way for Gary to offer me helpful hints when I’m driving. For example, he commented that when I went through a toll booth I was in the “next county” from the toll booth operator. I said he may need to work on his delivery. He agreed.

Day 2 to Indianapolis, IN (543 miles)

From New York State, we passed briefly into Pennsylvania then on to Ohio and Indiana on Day 2… passing lots of farmland. As Gary said, it’s easy to see why this part of the country is called the Heartland. Coming from New England with all of our trees on both sides of the road, we can’t get over the expansive views and crops growing on both sides of the highway. It seemed to be light later here… until after 9PM.

When we got to the hotel and I checked for messages, there were three messages on our home phone all from the dealership where we’re purchasing the RV. Uh oh. This can’t be good. They were calling to check to see when were we going to be there because they didn’t have us on their schedule. Say what??? We had confirmed this months ago and Gary followed up at the beginning of May. After a phone call with the owner and forwarding emails to them (luckily I’m a pack rat on the computer and delete virtually nothing), we were able to show that we had a confirmed date with them. We actually purchased the RV late last fall and it’s been in storage in Oregon for six months. They had to bring it out of moth balls and do some last minute work to it. With that figured out and stress taken down a notch, we proceeded on our way.

Day 3 to Minnetonka, MN (589 miles)

We were passing through the outskirts of Chicago, that wasn’t necessarily a fun or relaxing ride, then through Illinois and into Wisconsin and Minnesota. We definitely need some infrastructure work in this country re: the condition of some of our roads…regardless of who is president. Once out of the Chicago area the traffic was much better and it was a pretty ride. We saw lots of yellow fields of flowers so I googled to see what they were. They’re called butterweed and grow wild all over the Midwest in the spring before the crops are planted. Some of the terrain reminded us of NH… loads of trees along the side of the road and some are very different, with lots of wide expansive vistas.

We also saw a huge power line project going on in the Wisconsin Dells area so I googled that as we’re driving and learned it’s a project by two utility companies and should be completed by 2018. Very fun to drive along and see these unusual things and be able to look it up on the spot.

We also looked up the Wisconsin Dells to see what that actually is and it’s an area in Wisconsin popular with the locals for their vacations. It’s near several river waterways and one of it’s claims to fame is that it has the most number of indoor water parks in the country. While I enjoy kids, we figure we’ll avoid that area at all costs! We landed in Minentonka, MN for the night. Funny thing… It was 90 on Day 2 and 43 and rainy on Day 3 when we stopped for lunch.

Day 4 to Bismarck, ND (422 miles)

Was an absolute gorgeous drive through Minnesota and on into North Dakota. We had cruise control on practically the whole time. There was hardly any traffic. Beautiful open rolling farmland in Minnesota and lots of flat ranch land in North Dakota with cattle grazing by the side of the highway. There was a billboard that said “North Dakota…. our evening commute” and it was a picture of an empty highway. Very true! We’d pass by highway exits that had an Exit # and then a sign below it that said “No Services.”  Basically it was an exit for the local ranch families. And we saw speed limits of first 70 and then 75 mph. We capped it at 70… 75 just seemed like crazy talk. We headed out for an early dinner at a local burger place then did a load of laundry at the hotel.

Day 5 to Billings, MT (418 miles)

Was another gorgeous drive from North Dakota into Montana. Speed limits got up to 80 today in Montana, and NO traffic. We stuck to about 70. That’s fast enough. Once again huge expansive vistas. We saw buttes in North Dakota (had to look up what a butte is)… small hills in amongst the flat lands. Lots of cattle grazing, horses grazing, and lilac hedges. We stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park and saw Painted Canyon. Gorgeous canyon area made of sandstone with striations of different colors. We had lunch at a beautiful outdoor spot and saw an eagle circling overhead the whole time. We met a young man traveling alone from Ohio. He was beside himself and needed someone to talk to. He couldn’t get over the views, the landscape… the amazingness of it all. We heartily agreed with him.

Day 6 to Spokane, WA (540 miles)

Was a gorgeous drive through Montana, after a visit to the local Chevy Dealer. The DEF emissions gauge wasn’t functioning on Gary’s truck. We had put in 5 gallons (it holds 5.4) and it was still showing only 24% full. Since the truck will literally stop running if it reaches a critically low level, it was sort of important to get fixed. After 2 plus hours, it was fixed. Kya was the hit of the waiting room. The Montana vista had mountains in the background… houses dotting the hillsides and looooong freight trains in the foreground. So beautiful it brought me to tears. We passed into Idaho briefly and landed just over the border in Spokane, Washington for the night.

At one of the rest stops there were about 20 prairie dogs popping up and out of their holes. Kya was beside herself. They were the cutest things…. about 7” tall and sitting up on their back legs…. if a tad creepy with the number of them. A bit like the Alfred Hitchcock movie the birds… only with prairie dogs.

Day 7 to Wilsonville, OR (375 miles)

Had us following the Columbia River down into the Portand area. Gorgeous drive with snow capped mountains just ahead and the Columbia River to the side. We had lunch along the river. Tomorrow we pick up our new tiny home!

Some pics of our journey heading west.