Epic drive of epicness
I've always wanted to drive cross country, I guess from watching those 80's family movies of grand road trips to places like Yosemite in a station wagon. My family didn't do trips like that (probably a good thing for the sanity of all involved). So when singealiene asked if she could visit for a couple days on the way to her new home in LA, I offered to just go with her.
2,389 miles from Columbus to LA, about 38 hours - whew! Quite a haul, but an enjoyable one :) The only trouble we really ran into was a surprise snowstorm in Utah, which was a bit scary. Pretty smooth sailing otherwise. Learned a few things, such as:
First and foremost, the US is freaking huge. I mean I've flown across it several times, but you can't really appreciate the scale until you drive through it I think. It's like it goes on forever. Speaking of certain areas lasting forever...
My God the plains are flat and boring. Nebraska is nothing but cows. No offense meant to any Nebraskans in the audience, but you can't see much else from I-70.
The first half of Colorado is even flatter and emptier than Nebraska.
That changes pretty fast after Denver, when the Rockies literally pop right out of the ground. To quote Mulan, "like daisies!!!"
The Rocky Mountains are jaw-dropping gorgeous, especially in the winter with all the snow on them. After hours and hours of rolling grass, our brains certainly needed the break!
Cars don't do well at high altitudes. God forbid anyone should have to drive a Uhaul up there at 8-10,000 feet. Yikes.
Utah is the scariest state. Soon after you cross over from Colorado, there is one little stop with a gas station, and they make it clear that you had best get gas NOW, because there is nothing else for 140 miles after that point. Even our cell phones had no service, so if you break down along I-70 in Utah, you're pretty much SOL.
That said, Utah is amazingly beautiful. Coolest rocks anywhere :)
LOL snow cock. No, really! There was even a spout of water coming out the top of it O_O Don't ask me why it exists, but it was pretty damn hilarious.
Bananas are amazingly durable. In Nebraska Lindsay threw her peel out the window and unbeknownst to us, it glued itself to the bike hanging off the back of the car. That banana survived all the way to LA. Impressive!
Las Vegas is the most bizarre city in the world. It's like a Gatlinburg visible from space. The light pollution, it burns!
Loveline is the most awesome radio show ever, and fantastic for long trips. Dr. Drew <3!
I've posted some of the better mountain photos to DA, you can see them here. A preview:
Sky rock by =calger459 on deviantART
2,389 miles from Columbus to LA, about 38 hours - whew! Quite a haul, but an enjoyable one :) The only trouble we really ran into was a surprise snowstorm in Utah, which was a bit scary. Pretty smooth sailing otherwise. Learned a few things, such as:
First and foremost, the US is freaking huge. I mean I've flown across it several times, but you can't really appreciate the scale until you drive through it I think. It's like it goes on forever. Speaking of certain areas lasting forever...
My God the plains are flat and boring. Nebraska is nothing but cows. No offense meant to any Nebraskans in the audience, but you can't see much else from I-70.
The first half of Colorado is even flatter and emptier than Nebraska.
That changes pretty fast after Denver, when the Rockies literally pop right out of the ground. To quote Mulan, "like daisies!!!"
The Rocky Mountains are jaw-dropping gorgeous, especially in the winter with all the snow on them. After hours and hours of rolling grass, our brains certainly needed the break!
Cars don't do well at high altitudes. God forbid anyone should have to drive a Uhaul up there at 8-10,000 feet. Yikes.
Utah is the scariest state. Soon after you cross over from Colorado, there is one little stop with a gas station, and they make it clear that you had best get gas NOW, because there is nothing else for 140 miles after that point. Even our cell phones had no service, so if you break down along I-70 in Utah, you're pretty much SOL.
That said, Utah is amazingly beautiful. Coolest rocks anywhere :)
LOL snow cock. No, really! There was even a spout of water coming out the top of it O_O Don't ask me why it exists, but it was pretty damn hilarious.
Bananas are amazingly durable. In Nebraska Lindsay threw her peel out the window and unbeknownst to us, it glued itself to the bike hanging off the back of the car. That banana survived all the way to LA. Impressive!
Las Vegas is the most bizarre city in the world. It's like a Gatlinburg visible from space. The light pollution, it burns!
Loveline is the most awesome radio show ever, and fantastic for long trips. Dr. Drew <3!
I've posted some of the better mountain photos to DA, you can see them here. A preview:
Sky rock by =calger459 on deviantART