The road trip, or, a love of America rekindled.

[Len]

Just got back from a 4970 mile road trip out west.

Highlights; Drinking fresh brewed coffee, cooked on the Coleman stove on the truck tailgate, in the middle of nowhere, on Colorado Hwy 71. Sat there enjoying the sun, the wind and the golden grass...until I was joined by the local deputy, making rounds.

He wanted to know if I needed help. Five minutes later, he's sitting on the tailgate with some of the coffee, and we're spending close to an hour talking about guns and dogs. Very nice guy.

Shot at a very nice private range in Rio Rancho, NM. Saw the central Colorado peaks where I used to wrangle horses, and then the ranch in west Texas that I used to work at during college.

Celebrated an anniversary, a nephew's birthday in Tucson, stayed at the Tanque Verde ranch, which I can heartily recommend [even though the wolf, black widow and tarantula spiders were enough to give the wife the creeps!]

On to Dallas for a conference, stayed with old friends, ate some great Mexican food and BBQ [thumbs up for Spring Creek BBQ!]

Stopped by my adoptive mom and dad's place in central MO on the way home.

Great trip, beautiful country, I love it here. Wouldn't live anywhere else if you paid me.

Len

 

[Marshwheeling]

A good road trip is hard to beat.

In my youth, I spent a year bumming, and sometimes working around Europe. After a year over there, I found myself homesick for the USA. The one thing I really missed the most was the wide open space of the West. Even though I was born in the Midwest, and still live there, I feel most at home out roaming around west of the Mississippi.

 

[feralmerril]

Thats my thing too. I am the most relaxed and at peace just driveing whether its our atv, truck or years ago my motorcycles or planes.
Yesterday theresa and I went quading NW of us in the cricket mountains alongside of seiver dry lake here in utah. That area is the most unpopulated in utah and just maybe in the united states.
Years ago I had jobs that took me all over the states for a couple months at each location. My MO was to drive all around the areas every day off. It seemed that in just two months I usualy knew the area better than did the average resident!
One thing above all I did notice is to really know a area I had to live there at least a month. You get a false impression just passing through on a single trip.
From a small kid up I was more interested in looking out the window traveling with the folks than reading comic books or whatever like most other kids. I have NEVER fell asleep while someone else drives. To this day if I fly I have to get a window seat and at the end of the flight I will have a stiff neck when I get off. When I flew I could pretty accurately tell you what town was below and the big ones, even on night flights. I could never have drove truck as a team cross country as I know I wouldnt have been able to sleep when off the wheel.

 

[hannstv]

Thanks for sharing, sounds like a great time. Spring Creek BBQ is pretty good, eat there fairly often.

 

[Bullet Bob]

I couldn't ride or drive that far anymore without traction and drugs, but it's okay where I am now - I happened to take these pictures today:

Here's the road to my shack:

Of course, we have our share of wildlife also:

 

[charlie sherrill]

One of my plans is to do Route 66 after I retire. If I can't find anybody to go with me I'll go by myself.

 

[Trooperdan]

Charlie, I'll sign on for that! I'm already retired! Problem is, not a lot of route 66 left! I drove some of it on a trip to see the Grand Canyon a couple of years ago and loved it! BTW, if you haven't seen the canyon in person, you HAVE NOT seen it! Words and pictures just cannot express the scale of it!

 

[Doug M.]

That was one of the things I do miss about trucking - I got an appreciate for US geography by doing so that is almost impossible to replicate. The worst of the suck was addressed by simply considering myself a paid tourist.

I grew up traveling because my older sibs went to college well away from home, starting when I was very young, and I still love to drive. I'm not as ruthless about it as I used to be, but still pretty hard core compared to most.

 

[feralmerril]

When I retired in 2000 I had planned to get a job long haul truck driveing after playing around for a year. Never happened. Someone T-boned me. I had a bump on the knee and never went to the doctor untill I got a polmanary embilism from it. The doctor said no truck driveing. So much for plans.
Back in the 60s I owned a 17 1/2 ft travel trailer. The company I worked for supplied me a truck and the gas. I was on the road a lot. Except for just a few times I never paid to park the trailer! I was young and carefree. I would pull into a gravel pit, behind a closed filling station, maybe on a trail going into the woods or a forest campground or whatever. I never was bothered or chased off. You cant do that nowdays. I dont much see the point in buying a trailer, pay the upkeep etc, and then pay almost as much to park it as it costs for a super 8 motel! But we see half million dollar motorhomes pulling a hummer going down the freeway every day here. I must be doing something wrong!

 

[max]

I live on 66 Charlie, when are we going?

 

[Len]

One of my plans is to do Route 66 after I retire. If I can't find anybody to go with me I'll go by myself.

Charlie and you interested others...although the website is kind of amateur, go to theroadwanderer[dot]net for a very cool guide to the trip. It will give you a step by step guide on what to see and how to navigate, keeping you on or close to the old road.

B-Bob, great pictures, aint Fall great? I've only been through NC half a dozen times, but have been thoroughly impressed.

Len

 

[SixgunFife]

About 10 years ago the family and I took a 3,000+mile round-trip drive to and from Colorado Springs to visit relatives. I like the convenience of air travel but that road trip was one of the best things we ever did!

 

[Road Rat]

Some of the favorite parts of my life have been driving the highways of America!!

It became much easier after the Interstate System came about.

Arizona, Utah, New Mexico have some of the grandest scenery on the planet.......

I really enjoyed driving cross country alone.........no kids or spouse to interfere with the view!!

 

[medalguy]

My wife and I just completed a long trip, New Mexico to Seattle, then on to Alaska all the way up to Skagway, spent a few days and returned to Vancouver, then drove all up and down the Washington and Oregon coast, saw Mt Rainier and Mount St Helens, most of the Cascades, over to Idaho and down into Utah which we've traveled extensively before. Finally across to Colorado where we spent four days and back down into New Mexico. About 8,000 miles total in 5 weeks.

I can't understand why so many people want to travel overseas when there's so much beautiful country here to see. Len, Colorado 71 is one of our favorite drives this time of year. You should have taken the Cumbres and Toltec RR from Chama to Antonito. More beautiful scenery. Bet you went to Del Norte in Rio Rancho. I've shot there but most of my range time is on BLM land behind my property where I can shoot for free.

I don't know where the most beautiful scenery is, Oregon, Utah, or New Mexico. It's all beautiful and we love seeing it all. Next year we're going to New England for a month, maybe longer if we can arrange it.

 

[YogiBear]

Aloha,

Did my First road trip last year.

Went to visit a friend in Seattle. He changed jobs locations.

Soo, instead of staying in Washington, ended up going to Las Vegas.

We were in a Hurry and made it in 4 1/2 days. Didn;t see much

except for the interstate, but, it was enjoyable. We hope to be able

to do another road trip and really enjoy the sights and foods.

 

[MaricopaKid]

Aloha,

Did my First road trip last year.

Went to visit a friend in Seattle. He changed jobs locations.

Soo, instead of staying in Washington, ended up going to Las Vegas.

We were in a Hurry and made it in 4 1/2 days. Didn;t see much

except for the interstate, but, it was enjoyable. We hope to be able

to do another road trip and really enjoy the sights and foods.

I lived on Oahu from 1968-70. All of our road trips ended up being big circles. Is there a new "mainland bridge" I haven't heard about?

 

[mtgianni]

Soe of the saddest words Ihear are "It's interstate all the way". I love to travel on the two lane roads and see where people are real.

 

[Joewisc]

I lived in AZ for 20 years and loved exploring the deserts and low mountains. The late Edward Abbey's book, "Desert Solitaire," inspired me with its vivid descriptions of what is becoming a bygone era as "civilization" ever encroaches on nature's pristine beauty.

Back then I was young and in great shape and would hike for miles with a .22 revolver, loads of water and a deep appreciation for the wide open spaces and biodiversity of plant and animal life. In many ways, the West remains the last true frontier of American life. I shot this photo outside Albuquerque a few years ago.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[BarbC]

I grew up in the back of a station wagon, puking from coast to coast.

Every summer, my dad would strap the big wooden box, which doubled as a bookcase during the off season, onto the top of the station wagon, and fill it with everything we could possibly need for a summer on the road. My mother was adverse to camping so we'd stay in a motel but almost every meal was cooked on her two-burner propane stove, either at a picnic site or on the tailgate, depending on remote conditions.

We drove up to Fundy Bay, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland. We drove out to Yellowstone. We drove across Canada to Banff. We visited both sides of Glacier National Park. We drove up the AlCan highway before it was paved and visited Nome and Kotzebue. We've been on a dog sled, bush planes, amphibious plane, glacier crawler, and a tiny little outboard motor boat off Rebecca Spit.

I really give my parents a lot of credit for taking three little girls and a German Shepherd out on the road for weeks at a time. We had irreplaceable memories and experiences during our formative years, and a true appreciation of our continent's glories. They also instilled the spirit of adventure and independence, the qualities that makes North America what it is.