Road Trip!

When we decided to move to Seattle we immediately knew we would be driving. We have two dogs and though many do it, we were not going to fly with them out west. Have you met my dogs? We would end up on the nightly news. It wasn't happening.

Also, it was the cheapest option. We looked up cross-country movers, and car transports. We thought renting a pod would be an option, but they wouldn't deliver it to the apartment due to lack of space; since you know, parking spaces in Seattle are high commodities. After a list of pros and cons, and several quotes later- a Budget truck it was! So, we packed up the truck and set out July 26, 2016 for Seattle.

My view through 13 states!

The furthest I had ever driven by myself was to North Carolina for college. The furthest trip I had taken in a car with someone else was when my now husband took me to Bloomington, IN to visit his old stomping grounds. So, needless to say, the states I'd visited could be counted on one hand. I was really excited to see more of the country. Also, I was really excited to see what was outside of the south!

So, I followed behind a Budget truck through downtown streets, mountains and flat lands for over 3,000 miles. Our initial plan was to drive 8-9 hours a day. However, with Sean towing his car and really not able to drive safely over 70 mph, eventually those 8 hours turned into 10-12 hour days. 10 to 12 hour really. long. days.

The first day our goal was to make it to Chattanooga, Tennessee. We wanted to get past Atlanta and thought we would make it before rush hour. We were wrong. If you have never driven in Atlanta traffic considered yourself lucky. Never been in Atlanta traffic in July without A/C? Then you are really lucky! Yep, as we were entering city limits I could slowly feel my A/C spitting out hot air as traffic came to a standstill. I rolled the windows down, but there was hardly a breeze and the smell of exhaust from the highway filled the car. Also, I had Gabby (Miss Neurotic 2009) in the backseat. So, add the smell of a 75 lb. weimaraner panting and I was already wanting to turn around and go home. Needless to say as soon as we checked into the hotel in Chattanooga I was playing how low can you go with the A/C. Poor Gabby stood in front of it with her face an inch away until bed time. I think we were both over the first day of travels!

Comfy and snoring pre-A/C failure

Leaving TN

I definitely wasn't looking forward to being in the car the next day, but we decided that Gabby would ride in the Budget truck with Boomer (Little Miss Prozac). There is not a lot of room in the cabin of a moving truck, but it had A/C. Thankfully the rest of the trip wasn't as bad as the first day. My A/C was still out, but no more stifling traffic jams. When we made a stop for food, or gas I would ask how the dogs were doing and get the same answer over and over: they slept a lot. Occasionally they would snap at each other if one was re-positioning themselves and touched the other. And if Sean decided he wanted to snack on a piece or two of beef jerky then all hell would break loose in the cabin with the dogs jockeying for position to get a piece. However, they got used to traveling pretty fast. For Boomer this was a big deal. Prior to this, every time she got into a car she peed. Truly never a dull moment with these guys!

Once we got past Missouri there wasn't much to look at. Seriously...

seriously...nothing

Pretty much from Missouri to South Dakota I just prayed that we would not run out of gas, blow a tire, or anything else. There was nothing around. Driving through those states made the days feel longer, and once we hit Sioux Falls, Iowa we decided we would find a town that we could stay in for a day or two. After looking on a map we saw Deadwood, SD was only 6 hours away. Of course this stood out to us since we had just finished watching Deadwood for the 3rd time, and decided we had to make a stop.

Great show, and cancelled way to early

Thankfully the closer we got to Deadwood there was more to look at scenery-wise. Not much, but the 100's of Wall Drug signs, and random dinosaur statues were welcomed.

Also, we were really lucky with the weather while traveling. We never hit any rain while driving. Maybe once we checked into a hotel the rain would move in, but we didn't hit anything along the way to be concerned about...that is until South Dakota. We were maybe an hour from Deadwood and a severe weather alert came on the radio regarding a hailstorm and tornado sightings. Apparently softball sized hail and dark skies were straight ahead. Personally, which shouldn't be a shock to anyone reading this blog, hail is something I rarely experienced in Florida. If there was hail it was the size of peas, and nothing to be concerned about. Also, I've never seen a tornado and didn't want to start seeing them now. Sean and I used walkie talkies during our trip (side note: highly recommend. No matter what the cell phone companies claim there are just some parts of the country where there is zero reception. Also, each state has rules regarding being on cell phones while driving. It was so much easier using those instead of the phone. Do yourself a favor and use these on really long hauls). Sean came across the channel and we decided to keep driving. It appeared to be moving fast and away from us, but he told me to be prepared. So, for 30 minutes this was my view...dark skies and of course the budget truck.

Fortunately, we never met up with the storm, but once we found the hotel in Deadwood we did meet a couple who unfortunately drove through the hailstorm. It looked like someone took a baseball bat to the top of their car and they had a cracked window.

The first hour in Deadwood I felt we made a poor decision by choosing to stay there for a few days. Don't get me wrong, I actually fell in love with the area and it was nice to stay put for a couple days, but trying to find the hotel and parking for the truck...not so fun. Deadwood consists of small streets, several being one way only, so maneuvering a moving truck with a car in tow was frightening and frustrating. Also, little did we know we were there during the Days of 76 (http://daysof76.com)...so the place was packed. The hotel didn't have parking so we had to park the truck and my car in a lot about a mile away from the hotel. It was quite nerve-wracking not being able to look out the window to check on the truck as we've been able to do previously on the road. I mean, everything we owned was packed away in those vehicles. The first night we walked down to the end of Main Street prior to getting dinner to make sure we could at least see Sean's car and the budget truck. Thankfully no one messed with it, but it took a few drinks and winning some money gambling to help my anxiety disappear.

During the Days of 76, the whole town goes back in time to celebrate its history. We watched a parade that featured cowboys and cowgirls, and horse drawn carriages from 1876. Locals dressed up as historical figures associated with the town, and really in a nutshell, the parade was a showcase of the history of the region. As we like to do in any town we visit we take a bus, or trolley tour. Apparently we chose Kevin Costner's historical tour which was fun, and I always love hearing about the stories behind the city and especially when a stop includes a cemetery. It is a little town, but has a lot of history. We found a great restaurant we ate at several times, and gambled at The Gem. Overall, it was nice to not be in a car, but we were ready to check out and get back on the road as we wanted to get the trip over with!

After Deadwood we started heading toward the mountains which I believe really gave us our second wind...it also meant we were toward the end. Once you get into Western Montana, Northern Idaho it just feels different. This was definitely the part of the country we wanted to be in. It took two more days to get to Everett which wasn't our final stop, but would be our "home" for the next three weeks which is another story for next time...

just a few more random pictures from our trip out west!