Andrews fork "sez it all"
Jarbidge or Bust - "Overlanding" Nevada 2015
- Thread starter FJ60Cam
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #362
That fork was us. And the truck. We were beat down from hard use.
But not too broken to finish the task at hand.
But not too broken to finish the task at hand.
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nuclearbeef
SILVER Star
Those weren't homeless people on the bikes. Just the local population. Nouveau-hippies.
- Thread starter
- #364
I believe it.
- Thread starter
- #365
After the long stop we get back on I-25, making our way down CO to pick up I-70. We have a nice view of the Rockies, which has a fresh layer of snow.
It's an absolutely beautiful day out. Nothing to do but sit back and enjoy the ride.
We turn away from the mountains at Denver and point the wheel at Kansas, one of my (least) favorite states to cross.
It's an absolutely beautiful day out. Nothing to do but sit back and enjoy the ride.
We turn away from the mountains at Denver and point the wheel at Kansas, one of my (least) favorite states to cross.
- Thread starter
- #366
After an eternity of looking at
and
we finally reach the Oasis Travel Center in Colby, KS. We just happened to stop here on the way out, and just happened to pull in again.
If you're passing through, it's worth the stop. There's a Qdoba, Quiznos, and Starbucks if you aren't in the mood for a roller dog or a The Bomb burrito (marketing genius or marketing fail?)
...there's also a Gluten-Free Zone
...and an ass-less chaps zone
We opt for the pizza instead and it is awesome. After pizza, we swing by Starbucks and try out their new pour over coffee (meh) and hit the road.
and
we finally reach the Oasis Travel Center in Colby, KS. We just happened to stop here on the way out, and just happened to pull in again.
If you're passing through, it's worth the stop. There's a Qdoba, Quiznos, and Starbucks if you aren't in the mood for a roller dog or a The Bomb burrito (marketing genius or marketing fail?)
...there's also a Gluten-Free Zone
...and an ass-less chaps zone
We opt for the pizza instead and it is awesome. After pizza, we swing by Starbucks and try out their new pour over coffee (meh) and hit the road.
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- Thread starter
- #367
Fast forward a few hours and we are still hauling ass through Kansas. So much so, that we average 81 mph for the tank.
Storm clouds are nearby, but do not deliver. I'd really like to drive through some to knock some of this mud off.
We didn't really have a plan for the day. Maybe make it to Tulsa (800 miles from Laramie), but weren't too fond of staying there on our way out. Plus that still leaves a six hour drive tomorrow.
Once you pass Tulsa, you hit a two hour stretch of toll road and are pretty much committed to keep going to Arkansas.
Also, Andrew keeps bringing up the last day of the Rubicon where we had a marathon last day and drove through the night to get home. He forgot that we had two drivers on that trip. There's no way I can drive the 1200 miles home by myself.
So our plan becomes to at least make it to Fort Smith. But it seems a shame to get a room if we are so close to home. Then I remember that we can sleep in the front seat! And there's a rest area just past FS. We can crash for a few hours and then power home and surprise my wife & daughter before they wake up.
Storm clouds are nearby, but do not deliver. I'd really like to drive through some to knock some of this mud off.
We didn't really have a plan for the day. Maybe make it to Tulsa (800 miles from Laramie), but weren't too fond of staying there on our way out. Plus that still leaves a six hour drive tomorrow.
Once you pass Tulsa, you hit a two hour stretch of toll road and are pretty much committed to keep going to Arkansas.
Also, Andrew keeps bringing up the last day of the Rubicon where we had a marathon last day and drove through the night to get home. He forgot that we had two drivers on that trip. There's no way I can drive the 1200 miles home by myself.
So our plan becomes to at least make it to Fort Smith. But it seems a shame to get a room if we are so close to home. Then I remember that we can sleep in the front seat! And there's a rest area just past FS. We can crash for a few hours and then power home and surprise my wife & daughter before they wake up.
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OK...what do you do with all the imported "NEvAda" Mud?
my mud story goes as follows......
My truck, for some reason, actually was not affected by the mud. I guess it's just that bad a$$... and because i run Lipo.... anyways, i still made the stop with Cameron somewhere in Utah when he was playing mechanic and we pressure washed with sewage water. I spent about $9 at that place and just couldn't justify anymore. Still my truck drove smooth.
I arrived in St. Louis really late and it started to rain... harder and harder... Somewhere in the middle of town around 11:00pm i started hearing thuds and stuff falling off the truck. I started looking in my rear view mirror and was a little shocked to see cars swerving.. I assume that there were a lot of insurance claims the next morning on windshields.. Anyways, the next day, my truck was pretty clean. It then proceeded to rain on me the entire trip home from St. Louis all the way to Asheville, finally letting up after that.
My truck, for some reason, actually was not affected by the mud. I guess it's just that bad a$$... and because i run Lipo.... anyways, i still made the stop with Cameron somewhere in Utah when he was playing mechanic and we pressure washed with sewage water. I spent about $9 at that place and just couldn't justify anymore. Still my truck drove smooth.
I arrived in St. Louis really late and it started to rain... harder and harder... Somewhere in the middle of town around 11:00pm i started hearing thuds and stuff falling off the truck. I started looking in my rear view mirror and was a little shocked to see cars swerving.. I assume that there were a lot of insurance claims the next morning on windshields.. Anyways, the next day, my truck was pretty clean. It then proceeded to rain on me the entire trip home from St. Louis all the way to Asheville, finally letting up after that.
Lucky! I ran through 4 car washes to get 95% clean. The other 5% is there for historic value. 
boozewz
SILVER Star
Don't know how I found this thread, but glad I did. Been highly entraining. Managed to read it from the first post to here in a couple of hours straight, save for a few interruptions from the mrs asking (more like demanding) me to get off the computer.
Bravo
Bravo
- Thread starter
- #372
Don't know how I found this thread, but glad I did. Been highly entraining. Managed to read it from the first post to here in a couple of hours straight, save for a few interruptions from the mrs asking (more like demanding) me to get off the computer.
Bravo
Awesome, glad you liked it!
- Thread starter
- #373
Guess I have to at least make it home in the story...
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- #374
So here we are, it's 8:00 and we are just crossing in to Oklahoma. It's really time to stop for the day. We've already covered over 700 miles and we are ready to be home.
However, stopping for the night means that we'll just have that much more ground to cover tomorrow.
We mentally break up the remaining day into smaller chunks so it seems more manageable.
The first goal is to at least make it to Tulsa. If we can do that, then we will see about making it to Fort Smith.
We push through to Tulsa (811 miles so far) and hop on the toll road that will drop us off on I-40 just outside the Arkansas border.
We are starving, but aren't excited by any of the food choices or the locations, so we keep going.
We finally stop at a fuel stop that also has a McDonalds. We are starving, but I know that eating will put us right to sleep. I try to fill Andrew up on sugary soft drinks to counteract the food and get a giant coffee for myself.
We are now in the middle of the toll road, about 11:00, food digestion is in full effect, and we are turning into zombies.
We finally make it to I-40. We just need to make it to Arkansas.
About midnight, we finally make it to the rest area on the other side of Fort Smith and pull in for a nap, 966 miles from where we started that morning.
However, stopping for the night means that we'll just have that much more ground to cover tomorrow.
We mentally break up the remaining day into smaller chunks so it seems more manageable.
The first goal is to at least make it to Tulsa. If we can do that, then we will see about making it to Fort Smith.
We push through to Tulsa (811 miles so far) and hop on the toll road that will drop us off on I-40 just outside the Arkansas border.
We are starving, but aren't excited by any of the food choices or the locations, so we keep going.
We finally stop at a fuel stop that also has a McDonalds. We are starving, but I know that eating will put us right to sleep. I try to fill Andrew up on sugary soft drinks to counteract the food and get a giant coffee for myself.
We are now in the middle of the toll road, about 11:00, food digestion is in full effect, and we are turning into zombies.
We finally make it to I-40. We just need to make it to Arkansas.
About midnight, we finally make it to the rest area on the other side of Fort Smith and pull in for a nap, 966 miles from where we started that morning.
- Thread starter
- #375
I've never slept at a rest stop before, so I'm a little sketched to be trying it out in the middle of the night.
The best sleep will probably be had down on the end where there aren't any lights or people, but that just seems like a bad idea. So I choose the spot right in front of the building. That's where all of the cars pull up and people walk past to get to the restrooms, so I'll probably be woken up a lot. But at least there will be more witnesses to whatever rest area crime is in store for us.
I lock all my doors, crack the windows just enough for a little bit of fresh air, make sure we have weapons within reach, leave the key in the ignition in case we have to make a quick getaway, and lean back for some zzz's.
My theory about the witnesses was spot on and we are parked in a high traffic spot. Every so often I wake to find a new questionable car parked next to me.
I've set an alarm for about two hours. I figure anything more than that and I'll drift off in too deep of a slumber to wake up.
About 2:30 my alarm wakes me up. It takes all of my willpower to get out and stretch and try to get my blood moving.
I start up the truck and get back on the road, only one more gas stop away from my real
bed.
The best sleep will probably be had down on the end where there aren't any lights or people, but that just seems like a bad idea. So I choose the spot right in front of the building. That's where all of the cars pull up and people walk past to get to the restrooms, so I'll probably be woken up a lot. But at least there will be more witnesses to whatever rest area crime is in store for us.
I lock all my doors, crack the windows just enough for a little bit of fresh air, make sure we have weapons within reach, leave the key in the ignition in case we have to make a quick getaway, and lean back for some zzz's.
My theory about the witnesses was spot on and we are parked in a high traffic spot. Every so often I wake to find a new questionable car parked next to me.
I've set an alarm for about two hours. I figure anything more than that and I'll drift off in too deep of a slumber to wake up.
About 2:30 my alarm wakes me up. It takes all of my willpower to get out and stretch and try to get my blood moving.
I start up the truck and get back on the road, only one more gas stop away from my real
bed.
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- Thread starter
- #376
The next few hours were a blur, but eventually the sky begins to come back to life. It's kind of gloomy though, and it looks like it might finally rain.
We stop for our final gas stop and, shortly after getting back on the interstate, we finally get the rain we've been waiting for.
After it had a while to soak in, I could hear massive chunks of Nevada falling off and disentigrating on impact - the spray of sand, mud, and rocks spraying the bottom of the truck. Luckily there is no one on the road behind me to catch it with their windshield.
We have the rainy interstate to ourselves as we make it closer and closer to home. Finally we have the Mississippi River in our sights and we take the bridge into Memphis.
We stop for our final gas stop and, shortly after getting back on the interstate, we finally get the rain we've been waiting for.
After it had a while to soak in, I could hear massive chunks of Nevada falling off and disentigrating on impact - the spray of sand, mud, and rocks spraying the bottom of the truck. Luckily there is no one on the road behind me to catch it with their windshield.
We have the rainy interstate to ourselves as we make it closer and closer to home. Finally we have the Mississippi River in our sights and we take the bridge into Memphis.
- Thread starter
- #377
We pull into the driveway at 7:00 Sunday morning, exactly 23 hours after leaving Laramie, WY.
We've covered 1225 miles in less than a day - a new personal record. One I will not try to beat.
We've covered 1225 miles in less than a day - a new personal record. One I will not try to beat.
EPIC. Thanks for writting this! Love the build love your son riding shotgun... What great memories.
Great write-up Cameron!
The time zone changes coming home mess with you too. Google maps will say you will reach your destination at a certain time, but when you look at the number of hours away, it doesn't always add up.
I went for a record run after we left that really nice hotel in WY... I drove through St.Louis and almost into Kentucky... Started driving at 8:30am and got off the road at 2:45am... right at 1100 miles in one day. I do not want to try to beat that either.
I was at the point where i couldn't find any open hotel rooms; i was really thinking hard about popping the tent at a rest stop or at a gas station, but the area felt really strange. I finally found a hotel that night that was equally as nice as the night before... but it was safe and i slept hard.
Can't wait until next year.
The time zone changes coming home mess with you too. Google maps will say you will reach your destination at a certain time, but when you look at the number of hours away, it doesn't always add up.
I went for a record run after we left that really nice hotel in WY... I drove through St.Louis and almost into Kentucky... Started driving at 8:30am and got off the road at 2:45am... right at 1100 miles in one day. I do not want to try to beat that either.
I was at the point where i couldn't find any open hotel rooms; i was really thinking hard about popping the tent at a rest stop or at a gas station, but the area felt really strange. I finally found a hotel that night that was equally as nice as the night before... but it was safe and i slept hard.
Can't wait until next year.
Thanks for taking the time to document and share the story. It was very entertaining and I enjoyed riding along vicariously via the interwebs.