The Ultimate Insane Cross Country Road Trip

When you hit Fernley and it turns to 95 south towards Vegas, don't do that It just gets you more ugly and brown, and you'll have been looking at ugly and brown for hours at that point. If you have time, keep taking I80 West into Reno then get on 395/I580 South. Go down through Minden and Gardnerville and then cut across. Much prettier drive.

It would be your middle option on your map. That'll bring you through the Sierra Nevada's in a pretty spot, and you'll have a lovely drive coming out into CA.

 

On in to Illinois from Kentucky...

Fuck this bridge. Never ever doing that again. About 14 ft across and the span was metal grating. It seemed like all 4 tires were flat, and kept pulling me towards the on coming lanes.

 

Also... to make a note.

We crossed the Ohio River in 3 different spots.

WV into OH... KY in to IN... and KY in to IL.

EVERY TIME we crossed that damn river, it smelled like a porta potty, at a chilli cook off, in mid august. What the fuck is wrong with you people? You live like that?

 

Then we headed towards Missouri taking more back roads.

 

And amazingly enough... the Mississippi didn't stink like shit.

 

After we crossed the Mississippi we headed towards Arkansas.



First stop was Blytheville AR.




We had to stop at the Dixie Pig




The Dixie Pig has a special place in my family history. My Great Grandpa was close friends with the original owner. He was actually going to be partners with him in this restaurant... but my grandfather fell ill with Tuberculosis (when my grandma was 12). When my great grandfather passed, the owner of the Dixie Pig helped my Grandma's family by making sure they had ice, (they had no other way of refrigeration) water, and a lot of other essentials, until my Great, Great Grandfather (the one I'm named after) arrived to take care of them.

From there, we headed to Hot Springs where we stayed the night.

 

Day 3

We headed out of Hot Springs down to Arkadelphia Arkansas... through Bismark AR (where I spent all my summers growing up)

The Arlington Hotel... largest building in Hot Springs



Across lake Hamilton towards Bismark

 

Bismark.

Literally the spot where I drove a vehicle the first time.



The clump of trees, I'm pointing to, are around the pond, where I first shot a gun.




This is my Grandma and Grandpa's farm where I spent my summers growing up.

LOT different than it used to be. The big ugly mobile home sits in the spot my Grandma had a 1.5 acre garden.

 

Ahh, just saw this thread. I should've chimed in earlier. Looks like you're almost through AR. Whats next?

I'm going in August! Are you going this summer?

 

Then we headed towards Caddo Valley, across the Dike at Lake DeGray. (couldn't even begin to guess how many times I've been this way)



DeGrey is so clear you can see the bottom in most places, in the right light.

Then on to see the home my Grandma and Grandpa lived in when my Grandpa passed and Grandma moved to VA with my Uncle.




And past the University where my Mom got her Master's degree (Another reason why we spent so much time in Arkansas while I was growing up)





And past the (ancient) Arby's that we used to go to when we went to town.

 

Very cool. If you ever come back this way (NC/WesternVA) Blueridge Parkway and Skyline drive are beautiful as well.

 

At this point, we made our first major alteration to our travel plans.

We originally intended to head straight up towards Missouri, through a corner of Iowa and then across Nebraska.

We decided Oklahoma City and the Dodge City Kansas would be more fun.

 

I am waiting to hear from the company who is building my camper, to schedule the install. Hopefully hearing soon

 

When we hit OKC, we were in the neighborhood... so we had to stop in for some tshirts.

 

And while we were still on the freeway, Jen wanted to stop at a tourist trap.

 

Probably the only picture we took of Kansas prior to getting Dodge City.

Because it was pretty much the only thing to see... a big assed, ugly, useless, windmill.




We decided the word Kansas is synonymous and completely interchangeable with the word nothing.

Question: "Hey, what are you doing today?"
Answer: "Kansas."

At one point, we drove for over 50 miles and saw absolutely nothing... kind of a sinking feeling when you're over 1000 miles from home, it's evening, getting dark, and you are 50 miles from even seeing a house.


We finally made it the Dodge City and stayed there for the night.

 

Day 4



Dodge City Kansas, through Colorado Springs and on to Fort Collins Colorado.

 

Looks like local law enforcement is still ready for the outlaws.

 

Spent a couple hours in Dodge City and Boot Hill.




That's not even close to a 10th of the pictures we took in Dodge City. If you have a chance, and like history, you need to check it out.

 

So... we headed out of Dodge City on the way to Colorado. Our intention, at this point was to go see my Cousin in Ft Collins.

We were still sticking to 2 lane backroads.

We passed this building and Jen noticed the date of 1888 above the door.




We stopped in the empty field to get out and stretch our legs. Jen was trying to see if she could Google something about the building.

She asked what town we were in. I pointed up to the giant silo across the road and said Coolidge Kansas.

Now... here's the funny part... this whole time I've been calling her Ellen, and she has been calling me Clark... because of National Lampoon's Vacation. We had already seen my Uncle EDDIE...

Coolidge Kansas is the town in rural Kansas that Cousin Eddy owned his farm. We just started laughing.