Across North America in Five Weeks! (1 Viewer)

[Kris]

Well shoot! you drove right through my back yard last weekend. I work in the Quad Cities and live north west of there on hwy 30. I've been secretly hoping to see you on my drive home - noth that I've been driving either of my Toytota's - haha! So much for that.

Good luck on adventuring alone!

 

[hecrod]

Following your travels and love the photos. Although I haven't ventured as far west, I have been to many of the places you have been east of the Mississippi and remember the sign directing the road to two different states. What a beautiful country we are privileged to live in. Don't know if you are planning to come through NC, if you do I am sure we can provide some ride-alongs for a portion of your trip.

Nope... can't do NC. Will drive East through Kentucky, into West Virginia, Virginia, and then Northeast after that... thanks for the offer. I'd love to see a running 40 before I get home!

Gonna be a wet one for you today, AND Hazy, Hot and Humid later this afternoon! Yesterday was so humid that if you walked out doors after being in an air conditioned office, moisture would condense on your cool skin!

Wet would be a drastic understatement!!! But more on that later!


We walked the streets of Nashville today... right at around noon time... Hot and humid! I so wish we would have come down here last night... Broadway in Nashville seems like a happening place, especially in the dark!


A lot of character... 1st Ave... The Cumberland River is on my right, and where the Tennessee Titans play is right across the River...

Broadway is on the left... beautiful city.

Another view, with the river right on my back...

And then... we drove to the newly renovated Parthenon in Athens Greece!

Just kidding of course, but did you know that for the last 80 years Nashville has had the worlds' only replica of the Parthenon??? A full-size replica!

Yes... a FULL SIZE replica! I had "sort of" heard of it... but it never really sunk in until I saw it...

To be continued...

 

[Jdc1]

@hecrod Spruce Knob in WV is the highest point in WV and well worth the trip up.

 

[hecrod]

Including... wait for this... a full size replica of the statue to the Goddess Athena, took 8 years to complete, its 41 feet tall... its been gilded too. This is what archeologists believe the statue looked like back then...

I never knew... quite impressive... in my opinion not tacky at all.


Then I dropped my brother at Nashville's Airport. Always a little sad... but happy he was able to share these last few days with me. He tells me he enjoyed it a lot... I know I did too...


And off to the North I went... leaving the Interstate system as quickly as I could... in favor of the narrower and slower back roads. The backroads in northern Tennessee and Southern Kentucky??? Some of them looked like this... as green as Ireland! Wow!

And then the wetness that @Coolerman predicted got to me...


This rain and the wind were a little more than I expected! Down trees, down branches, local flooding... I decided to stop somewhere in Southern Kentucky to wait it out. The wind was making it tricky to keep the 40 straight on the road... fun times! The stop lights were sideways at times... I waited a little over an hour and then got on the road again.

I was at this point quite wet by the way... just opening the windows an inch or so to prevent fogging (remember, very high humidity), and with all the sideways wind, meant quite a bit of water splashing through from time to time! It was a little weird feeling the rain hitting my feet through the side vents... I guess it's part of the fun!



Now, what happens when you're all alone, driving on slow roads, for long periods of time??? You start singing! So warning, some awful karaoke took place on the roads of Southern Kentucky today! Must have been the rain...

Watch only if you REALLY want to ride along... almost 4 minutes...



I hope it does give you a good perspective of what driving through these roads is like... smooth and comfortable. 40-50MPH the entire time. Nice running 40 too right???

Also made it through Hodgenville Kentucky... birthplace of Abraham Lincoln... which includes a replica of the cabin where Lincoln lived his early years... quite spartan... only one room for the entire family!

Today I rest in Bardstown, the Bourbon Capital of the World... a visit to the local Bourbon distilleries, and Louisville KY is next!


Read and ride along!


Hector

 

[sggoat]

Hector,

As I said before... your pictures and narrative are awesome!!

I also said I had a similar trip (Vegas-Utah-Idaho-Wyoming-Montana-Washington-B.C. and back, perhaps through Oregon-NoCal-Reno to Vegas) planned and have delayed twice... but, your trip definitely has me jonesing to go!!

I have a spine surgeon consultation scheduled for Aug 10th and will see where that takes me.

But, I'm gonna do the trip next spring, regardless... I'll be 68 and refuse to put it off further... I need to go while I still remember where I'm going... if Dianna wants to go, we will take the Tundra and Casita travel trailer rather than 44.

Your trip has helped me 'focus' mine somewhat... I'm a wide-open-spaces kinda 'boy' and really want to visit the northwestern US and southwestern Canadian area that you just traveled through. So, I'll/we'll spend our time in those areas... taking advantage of some awesome fly fishing as well.

We're leaving, in the morning, for our annual 3 week trip through So. Utah, No. NM, into (2 weeks camping/fly fishing with our daughter and son-in-law in) So. Colorado (I hope I can fish this year!)...

So, you will be home before we get back... and we have NO connectivity where we camp. I'll catch up on the remainder of your trip when I get back... but, I wanted to thank you for sharing your trip will all of us.

Your willingness to take a trip like this with minimal mechanical knowledge (nothing personal, no insult intended) should open others' eyes to the potential of their 40's... as someone (@FJ40Jim, I think... misquoting here) said, "its a tractor engine, it will continue running long after its dead".

Thank you for sharing and drive safe!!

How can I get permission to use the Quote??

 

[Bluegrass40]

I hope you have a restful evening in Bardstown and that the short drive up to Louisville treats you well.

I forgot to mention that the Muhammad Ali center is another great place to visit while in the area.

You may also be interested in checking out Firstbuild. It's an awesome state of the art facility that has been getting a lot of national/international attention. It a blend of corporate America, a tech startup, and open collaboration. If interested, checkout this recent article from the Atlantic Why the Maker Movement Matters: Agility
It is completely open to the public which is very unique for an R&D facility) so you can stop in and get a tour. I happen to be a product developer at Firstbuild, so I can make sure you get a good tour


I hope that you enjoy the visit. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for that sky blue 40!

 

[Phatty]

Awesome trip!

 

[tls3601]

Great pic on that backroad....................really like that one! Being in Arizona sometimes I miss the trees!!

 

[hecrod]

I hope you have a restful evening in Bardstown and that the short drive up to Louisville treats you well.

I forgot to mention that the Muhammad Ali center is another great place to visit while in the area.

You may also be interested in checking out Firstbuild. It's an awesome state of the art facility that has been getting a lot of national/international attention. It a blend of corporate America, a tech startup, and open collaboration. If interested, checkout this recent article from the Atlantic Why the Maker Movement Matters: Agility
It is completely open to the public which is very unique for an R&D facility) so you can stop in and get a tour. I happen to be a product developer at Firstbuild, so I can make sure you get a good tour


I hope that you enjoy the visit. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for that sky blue 40!

@Bluegrass40 Thanks for the note and all of the recommendations... as you will see I took some, but couldn't do all... more on that below!

Agility... interesting concept... in the biotech arena we have something similar... we call it "incubators." Similar collaboration between Corporate, small startups, and Colleges / Universities. Hopefully this type of collaborative approach catches on...



Today I visited three Bourbon distilleries Jim Beam, Four Roses and Barton 1792... in beautiful locales, pristine landscapes, very nice people.

At Four Roses, the tours include tastings... included with the $5 price of admission... and you got to keep the glass... what a deal! It was 10 AM, and I was feeling it!

Very similar experience at Jim Beam... although their scale is significantly larger...

And if you look closely... you'll notice that I took on some of their product with me!

I did tell you they have beautiful landscapes right??? Those huge black buildings in the background? Bourbon warehouses!!!

Yes, they are huge!!! Several of these throughout the campus...

The only problem I had were the distances. The Bourbon Trail, if you want to do all of it, takes a full day... no doubt about it. I stopped after three distilleries and it was already 1 PM! So it was time to head towards Louisville...


To be continued...

 

[hecrod]

Louisville... another really neat City by a River, the Ohio River, which we last saw in Cairo Illinois... The Ohio River is huge! These major cities (like Nashville and St. Louis) so close to major rivers make me a little nervous...

And I made it to... Louisville Slugger! Maker of Major League Baseball bats! Several other nice museums along Main Street...

They actually manufacture the bats there... right on Main Street! I was going to get one... to rekindle childhood times, but #120??? Really? It must be worth it, but I passed...

Notice the skies... haven't seen a blue sky pretty much since the Mountains...


Also made it to...

"...and down the stretch they come!!!!" Ohhhh I could almost hear the announcers! Would like to attend the Kentucky Derby someday. Sporting venues like this (Indianapolis Speedway and the singing of "Back Home in Indiana," Carlton Fisk waving his home Run at Fenway Park) almost have a "soul" which you can feel... if you just squint a little...

Did you know that all the betting on race day has to be in cash??? I did not know that... I also learned that the size of a normal horse's heart is ~8.5 pounds. Secretariat's? The famous horse of '73? It was estimated to be 22 pounds!



And lastly, a very typical sight in Kentucky... horse farms!!! Many of them, especially on the back roads between Louisville and Lexington...

Looks like a postcard doesn't it???

Notice the black fence... many residents use them here in Kentucky in their own homes! The contrast with the green of their bluegrass is spectacular... lovely. I saw some barns with blue roofs too!

Kentucky? The geography, culture, history, college sports, Louisville! It's all here. Beautiful and much underrated State if you ask me... @Bluegrass40 ... enjoy, you live in a beautiful place...



So today was day 29... this is the 5th Friday of the trip. Close to 5,500 miles in. Out of clean clothes by now... Getting souvenir t-shirts... and replenished underwear at the local superstore (no need to advertise ). Too lazy at this point to stop at the laundromats... If all goes according to plan, I should be getting to Boston a week from today.


Tomorrow? Towards West Virginia...

 

[Bluegrass40]

Looks like you hit the highlights! Glad to see that you were able to enjoy your time in the Louisville area. It is a great place to call home.

 

[handcannon]

Your thread continues to enthrall me. Too bad you are getting close to the end, but I fully understand you looking forward to your own shower and bed. This evening I had time to run your second video (driving through Kentucky on back roads) in post 264. Except for not seeing mountains in the distance, and road signs that don't look like Oregon's, I would have sworn that you took that video in the Willamette Valley here in Oregon somewhere between Salem and Silverton, or Harrisburg and Junction City. The green grass and trees, the houses and out buildings, all are very much like what would be seen in winter through early spring around here. Summertime (this time of year), all the grass is brown and dead until winter rains green it up.

Don

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

I am right on your heels today, I will most likely pass you if you are in a main highway, just leavung KY on 64 and about to hit WV, then north to Morgantown.

I am running with the hammer down, Hagerstown, MD is my final stop!

 

[hecrod]

I am right on your heels today, I will most likely pass you if you are in a main highway, just leavung KY on 64 and about to hit WV, then north to Morgantown.

I am running with the hammer down, Hagerstown, MD is my final stop!

@rkymtnflyfisher You would have only seen me if you had your neck craned to your side... as I spent my entire day on Route 60 today. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, here's a screenshot of what @rkymtnflyfisher is talking about. He's hammering on 64 at 80mph (I suspect up to Charleston, he then headed North), while I'm zig-zagging over and under 64 (that's the blue line below) at an average speed of ~30mph. 8 hours of driving to cover 250 miles today... the longest drive of the trip so far. Must have driven through at least 20-30 small towns today, plus 2-3 larger cities like Charleston.

And I must say that I have not much to show today for those 8 hours...

The Coal Heritage Trail takes you through 30-50 miles of old coal mines... some of them still in operation. It gives you a feeling of different times, when coal was king...

Another shot...

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that taking this detour into the mountains (hilly with very tight curves throughout) was worth it. Few places to stop, and those where one could for "scenic overlooks" were full of overgrowth, so that there was little if any scenery actually visible...

I stopped at one coal mine to take a look and the security guard became a little agitated while just flat out waving me away. They may want you to come, but they certainly don't make it easy on the traveller.

I know this is a struggling industry, going through many issues... and it's clear throughout the drive that that's case. Frankly, I enjoyed the fact that I drove through here, but it was a hard drive. I was a little irritated and cranky at the end of the day...

Below is a 5-6 minute clip of Route 60, right after leaving Charleston. Not much here, and the video is a little shaky (I should have gotten a GoPro), but it gives you a good sense of my day.


I did drive through some nice places...

Narrow two lane bridge by Deep Water, West Virginia... look at the narrow road behind the 40. Some very tight turns to get to this spot. I could almost hear the banjos in the distance! Dirt road ahead and across the tracks... did not venture in... No one around.

Glen Ferris, West Virginia... I stopped whenever I could... this was a good spot.

On the Technical Side: So I'm on the road by 7 AM today (not sleeping well, waking up by 530 now)... stop for gas, and the half quart of oil that I add from time to time, and head off. 3-4 minutes later I start smelling burnt oil... and I go like "ah, maybe I dropped some oil on the headers or something." But no, I start to see oily smoke coming into the truck through somewhere... s***, Houston, we have a problem. I pulled over, open the hood... and the oil cap was missing!!! I left it off!!! Now, you and I know that there is plenty of space in between these engines and the wheel wells, so I know it dropped somewhere in the previous few miles... It's lost, gone, forever. so I go like... now I have to try to cover this thing up (clamps and plastic... I can finagle something quick), and buy a Toyota oil cap somewhere... on a Saturday.

Just out of obligation I looked a little harder, and it was there! Would you believe it! Caught in between two heater hoses towards the back of the motor! Honestly, I could not believe that one... pure luck...


Anyways... long day... not feeling too good... not hungry. I hope I'm not coming down with something... that would NOT be good...


Off towards Lexington Virginia tomorrow...

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

I kept an eye peeled along the smaller state highways, I figured you would avoid I-64!

If you make it up into Maryland anywhere around Antietam Battlefield hit me up! I am home now, less than 5 miles from the battlefield. I can at the very least point you towards some good food!

 

[Honger]

Just out of obligation I looked a little harder, and it was there! Would you believe it! Caught in between two heater hoses towards the back of the motor! Honestly, I could not believe that one... pure luck...


Anyways... long day... not feeling too good... not hungry. I hope I'm not coming down with something... that would NOT be good...


Off towards Lexington Virginia tomorrow...

Here's hoping you get to feeling better and don't succumb to a bug of some kind. And with the kind of luck you had with the oil cap I think your chances are good.

Still loving every post you make on this thread.

You need to capture all these write-ups and your photos into one of those photo-print-albums like you can make in iPhoto. This would be a great album to have handy to reminisce about your trip in the future.

Joel

 

[JohnnyC]

@hecrod

75-78' had the presson oil filler caps... Is yours a presson type?

You would not be the first to loose that cap... You need to make sure the contact area is very dry of oil

If it still does it there may be a pcv issue

 

[iptman]

Don't know your route back to Boston but if you need a break the Coal Mine Cruiser Classic starts next week in PA. If you can fit in a rest day there are plenty of open passenger seats in our trucks this year. Some of us will be up there starting Tuesday. LMK.

Coal Mine Cruiser Classic - Gotham City Land Cruisers

 

[Solace in Solitude]

How can I get permission to use the Quote??

I don't know Gary... Google it and see who said it... Ask them? I think it was Jim, but he bay not have created it...

 

[Solace in Solitude]

hector,

Glad you found your oil cap!! 44 blew hers into the desert before my 2F rebuild. Too much back pressure, from the blow-by.

I now carry a spare, but didn't at the time... But, duct tape and mechanics wire worked well... As does twine for a tether, if you are inclined to forget it.

We're in Alamosa, CO... Staying at a motel tonight... Gotta bathe before heading up the mountain in the morning... Gotta be fresh

DaBoise rude and sleep in the back seat of my Tundra... Yesterday morning, I found Chester had projectile vomited all I've their area. He was curled up in the drivers seat and Poor Hunner was laying in the stinking mess of dog food.

We stopped in Cortez, CO and bought carpet/upholstery shampoo and drove fast, to out run the horde of flies that we're sure we were carrion...

We pulled into a FS campground (7k') and I backed into a site and the host ran over and said, "a rattlesnake bit my dog this morning".

We drove off and climbed over Wolf Pass (10.8k') and camped at another FS campground and the host ran out and said, "a bear tore up a capers tent this morning. They had food in it". I said, "we smell too bad to attract bears"... We stayed... We know bears... We don't like rattlesnakes!!

We were at 8.5k' and I shampooed the hell out of my truck. Smells like a bouquet of roses now!!

So, provision shopping in the morning, then 70 miles of pavement and 20 miles of washboard dirt road... And heaven!!

Drive safe, Hector... It's ok to be grumpy when driving alone... Just don't take anything you say to yourself personally!!