Road Trip: Wyoming --> Lake Tahoe

When I laid down last night in my Pilot, I was warm - almost hot - in a tank top. I even had my little fan running. I guess that was just because the heat had been on when I was driving. Because I woke up at 1:30 freezing! Thank goodness I brought my fleece onesie and a sleeping bag! I don't think I would have survived the 45 degree night without them. Hahaha. 45 isn't even that cold. Honestly, I just wasn't made for cool weather! 

I slept alright after that. Not great. I think I inflated the mattress too much in Kansas and then it expanded in elevation here in the mountains. It's was too hard so I deflated it a little bit twice during the night trying to get it just right. I'll get there...

It stayed pretty dark in there, and I woke up around 7:30. No alarm. Laid there for awhile and eventually went inside Walmart to use the bathroom and brush my teeth. I have a water jug in the car with an on/off valve, but as long as there's running water nearby, I'll use that. 

Anyways, I cracked a couple of hard boiled eggs for breakfast, filled up on gas, or some ice for the cooler, and was on the road by 8:15. 

So the cooler...I bought a Yeti Roadie cooler ONLY because insurance was paying. My cooler for ruined in the fire. I would never pay $200 for a little cooler, but I have to admit, as skeptical as I was, that thing is amazing. Somehow it keeps everything cold - like, REALLY cold, all day and night with just a little bit of dice. I was shocked when I looked this morning and it was still all frozen! I guess the Yeti stuff is all it's cracked up to be after all!

The drive across Wyoming and in to Utah was definitely more scenic than yesterday's through Kansas. This part of the country really is beautiful! 

I stopped just past Salt Lake City around 11 for a bathroom break, and then continued on to the Bonneville Salt Flats. It's such a beautiful little stop right off the highway. 

This time I ventured out in to the ankle deep water across the sale flat. I wanted to get closer to the mountain for a better reflection picture. 

I can't say the view was THAT much better out there. And I got salt water all over everything - clothes, skin, camera, phone. Aaaaaand I forgot my tripod! So much for getting a picture of me and the reflection. This was as good as I got, with the GoPro leaned up against a pile of salt sticking out of the water. 

It was so HOT out there, and the bright white everywhere hurt my eyes even with sunglasses on, so I didn't stay too long.  Just long enough to take like 40 pictures of the exact same scene. ;)

I tried to rinse off before getting back in the car, but I'm not sure it helped. My black pants still have salt all over!

I stopped again just a few miles down the road in Wendover, after crossing in to Nevada. I got gas and ate lunch: more tuna packets and carrots. (Doesn't smell or taste the best, but it's nutritious and healthy and cheap!)

The rest of the drive was uneventful. I got tired in the afternoon. The warm sun felt so good, it just made me want to take a nap in it! But I didn't. I kept driving. Another 6 hours. But I gained an hour crossing in to the pacific time zone, so that helped. 

A couple of stops for gas and water, a few pee breaks at rest stops, and lots of singing along with Pandora later, I rolled in to Truckee around 5pm. Immediate stop at McDonalds for a pee break - again - and I was finally at Squaw Valley and out of my car...and in the mountains! There's just something about that fresh air and the smell of the pine trees. It's one of my favorites!

By 6pm, I was running along the west shore of Lake Tahoe with Scott. I needed to get outside and do something active after sitting in the same spot for roughly 22 of the last 36 hours! 

And it's hard to beat these lake views! The elevation was a little rough on me, but I made it 2.2 miles in 20 minutes. Pretty standard pace for me, so I was okay with that. 

I would have kept running or worked out a little longer, but I was so hungry! My tuna packet lunch was cutting it anymore. So we parked at a little beach along the lake and made some dinner: veggies and quinoa.  The weather was just perfect, and the purple lupine flowers are just starting to come up around the lake!

After I ate and did a little stretching on the yoga mat, I definitely could have just went to bed. Driving that long takes it out of me I guess. But there is no way I was leaving without watching the sunset! It's one of my favorite things...sunset over Tahoe is just the best!

When the color started to fade from the sky, it was back out to squaw and off to bed. Squaw has a free, flat parking lot and nice bathrooms that are open to the public. No walmarts anywhere around here, so Squaw wins!

Road Trip: KC --> Wyoming

Road trip time! 

The builder (for my moms house) is on vacation all next week, so there's nothing to babysit there. And I got a couple of girls trained at the restaurant I've been helping out at, so I feel okay about leaving them. 

That means time for some more adventures!

I didn't quite get the early start I wanted this morning. I never do. I didn't even wake up until 8, and I had a lot to do before I could hit the road. 

Like build a platform for my Honda Pilot so I can sleep more comfortably in it. (Definitely not paying for hotels and Couchsurfing isn't always available where I want to go.) I had a cheap air mattress that worked okay on my last roadtrip, but it's definitely not a flat surface with the seats down. So I decided to fix it up. It's about the shottiest jpb ever for a platform bed, but after a quick trip to Home Depot for some plywood and 2x4s, think it's going to work out great. 

I also splurged on a really nice sleeping pad from REI. The cheap twin air mattress from Walmart already has a slow leak in it and it's too big and bulky for the car. The one I bought is partially air filled and partially memory foam. I haven't actually slept on it yet, but from just laying on it, it feels just as comfortable as my new mattress in my bedroom! 

A trip to Walmart for sheets and some camping supplies (a water jug and a little one burner camp stove), got some blackout curtains hung with Velcro, and I was ready to roll. 

Well, kind of. The thought of sitting in the car all day was sounding more and more brutal. So I went for a run and THEN hit the road. It's been raining for like a week in Kansas City, and of course the day I decide to leave is like the most gorgeous day of the year. 

You should see how much stuff I brought for 8 days on the road. Honestly, I'm the worst packer ever when it comes to road trips. I'm of the mindset that if there is still room in the car, then you should use it. I brought a chair and a little table and a yoga mat and resistance bands and a cooler and a camera bag and a backpack and a food bag and a shoe bag and not one but TWO bags of clothes. Seriously. It's ridiculous. 

I sit Indian Style with my legs crossed when I'm driving on the interstate. Probably not the safest?

I finally left KC a little after 11. The drive across Kansas was just like last time -- when I drove to Colorado in March: looooong and uneventful. 

I stopped in Hays around 2:30 for gas and a bathroom break. And shortly after that, the clear blue sky started to get dark. That's never a good sign in western Kansas in May. 

It kept getting darker. And then the Lightning started. And the rain. 

Thankfully the storm literally parted in front of me and I ended up missing the worst of it. Look how dark the sky was behind me in my rear view mirror!

I heard on the radio there was a tornado and golf ball sized hail! Glad I missed that one!

The sun came back out and I stopped again around 4:30 at a roadsise rest stop to eat some tuna and pee again. (Too much water today!)

Colorado - finally! 

Ryan called to keep me company for awhile, and I counted the minutes until I could see the mountains! The drive is always better with mountains in the view. 

Except that view was covered up by yet another storm. 

More rain east of Denver, then another storm near Fort Collins. I couldn't catch a break!

Thankfully i never hit anything severe the clouds moves away, the sun came out , and I had a bag of my favorite chips to keep me happy. (I ate the whole bag yesterday.)

For some reason, Google maps sent me on a "shortcut" between Fort Collins and Laramie, which actually ended up to be a dirt road! Pretty sure it was NOT any faster, but it was a pretty drive through the hills. 

I had a couple of Couchsurfing options lined up in Laramie, but I got there earlier than expected and definitely wanted to keep driving. So that's what i did. Kept on going with a new goal of Rawlins   

But when I got to Rawlins, I still wasn't tired! I guess I'm used to staying up later with the restaurant job. So I stopped for a bathroom break and kept on going. Now headed for Rock Springs. 

I got a little sleepy on the last hour and a half drive, so I pulled out my iPad and turned on a movie I had downloaded. Probably not the safest thing to do while driving at night in the mountains, but hey, it turned out fine and kept me awake and entertained!

I was pretty done with being in the car by the time I pulled up to the Walmart in Rock Springs, my end destination.

I went in to wash my face and brush my teeth, and then parked in between the 23 other rv's and campers in the back of the parking lot!

Got the blackout curtains hung, turned on my fan for some white noise, and am ready for a good nights sleep on my new air mattress! Hope it doesn't get cold tonight!