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!

A few random APRIL pics

Between all the road trips (posts coming soon-ish...I promise!), there wasn't much down time in KC in April (...that mostly came in May).

• Seriously, what did we do before Apple products and technology? ;)  One Macbook and two iPads = three happy kids!

• The sunsets in the Midwest just never get old.

• Hadley has loved my guitar for years now, so I decided it was time for her own mini-version:  a ukulele!  

  

I just got her a cheap one from eBay to try out...but she was oh-so-excited!  Next up:  we're starting our own band. ;)

 

• The house saga continues.  The house that was supposed to be done in February is still not done.  (It's MAY now...)  But we're getting closer!

• I finally decided on some new skis and boots to replace my old ones that were ruined in the fire.  I got the Black Pearl skis by Blizzard and the Atomic Backcountry boots (not the ones pictured here...those went back to the store).  I'm going with a "shades of purple" theme this year with the gear. ;)

• Nap time with Hudson.  

• This was day 6 of not washing my hair.  It still looks okay, right!?  (Okay...maybe looks a little like a rats nest)

• I flew home early from a little west coast trip to do my moms taxes.  Every year I tell her I'm not going to do them for her if she waits until the last day...and every year she waits until the last day and I still get stuck rushing around to do them.

• That face.  That hat.  I have no words.

• I found my old Nike running watch and decided to try it out.  It works fine, but I still like holding my phone and using that instead of the watch.

• My friend, Angie, was back in KC (from Boston) to sell their pictures at the Strawberry Swing Arts & Crafts fest, so of course I had to go see her!  I took Hunter and Hadley along, too, hoping they would enjoy it.

 

They didn't enjoy it.  They lasted about 5 minutes and were ready to go.  And I even gave them money for balloon animals!

Road Trip: Destin, FL --> Nashville, TN

I spent a little more time checking out the beaches around Destin, and then hit the road again for Nashville, Tennessee.  Another spot I've never been to!

I did a little googling of the top things to do and see in the area and immediately set out to hit them all in one afternoon.  That's my style. ;)

I even found a band playing in a bar with a KC hat on!  What are the odds!?

I crushed it.  I saw all of Nashville in one afternoon.  Ha, okay, not quite "all" but I saw a lot and most of what I wanted to see.  So...back on the road to try and make it back to Kansas City -- or close.

I made it just through St. Louis before starting to doze off.  Looks like another night of car camping for me!  This time in a Wal-Mart parking lot.  I bought some curtains for the windows to try and block some light.  We'll see how that goes...

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The next morning, I woke up well rested in the Wal-Mart parking lot.  After going in to return the curtains I bought the night before (they didn't work too well!), I hit the road for home:  Kansas City.  

Windows down, music blasting, perfect morning.  For about an hour.  And then the storm clouds rolled in...

It got pretty nasty out and I even had to pull over!  I never do that.  I usually just blow through it, but my car was actually moving from the wind and the rain was so heavy I honestly couldn't see one foot in front of me.  It made me feel a little better that every single other person was pulled over too.  No one was driving through that one!

Anyways, I made it home mid-morning safe and sound.  Another successful road trip and lots of new cities and states checked off the list!