January 14, 2006 ... Driving straight through to Provo,UT ... 954mi. - 20 Hours!!
Moving is like a migration ... Birds have it a lot easier!!
It was a beautiful day to travel, bright, clear and not much traffic except for the trucks. One never realizes how many trucks are
actually on the road and how much, we as a society, depend on this enterprise. Route 80 is a main conduit for goods trucked east & west and
is built on the earlier Pioneer Trails. It was interesting to see all the geese migrating and noticing the difference between them and us.
Along the way was a Trading Post replica and tribute to Buffalo Bill. Was shocked to learn that how he got his name was by killing 4280 buffalo
in an 8 month period in 1867!! In his later years he joined with Bailey to start the "Wild West Show" the predecessor to the circus and rodeo of today. He died at 71 in 1917.
He saw & did a lot in his life ...
As was forecasted we hit snow as we were leaving Wyoming and entering Utah. It wasn't really bad until we hit Park City, UT where the 2000
Winter Olympics were held. Suddenly as we were approaching the top of this long climb, we just plan lost traction!
The trailer looked like it was going to get ahead of us and we were not moving up the hill but were actually sliding sideways down the hill ...
things were not looking too good for that moment. Then katieRose said, "Put it in 4WD!" We haven't used the 4WD in at least a year
so I had forgotten that we had it and could use this wonderful resource ... how could I forget that?? So I moved the gear leaver into position
and I heard this aweful noise ... like gears grinding ... not a good sound at that time. So I kept pushing it into the slot several times.
The light came on flickering green ... meaning that it was trying. We both said a mental "Oh! Lord make this work" prayer and suddenly
it went into place, the light stayed full on green and we stopped sliding and were actually moving up the hill!! Boy!! was that ever
a welcome feeling. There was a lot of intense rejoicing going on between us in that car. I felt so blessed to have come out of that
situation so well. Actually, there was also a big part of me that said, "Why didn't I do this sooner?" We could have sure used it!
The rest of the 60 miles into Salt Lake City and then into Provo was easy! I can still feel the stress a day later of that moment.
It reconfirmed that the Lord is blessing and guiding our move!
January 13, 2006 ... Drove to Council Bluffs, IA (only 367mi.) ... Decided to get a Room!
Wanted to have a quite night with KatieRose ... AND found a wireless Internet!!
Tedious trip ... Rained from Hudson,IL to about Iowa City ... rain stopped & got high winds, ruining my gas mileage estimation ... down from 15 to about 9 mpg!
Friday is usually Date-Night ... so I used that as an excuse to stop to get out of the wind and have a good night's rest.
I didn't like that it would put us in some kind of weather risk in Wyoming and Utah with the forecasted snow flurries Saturday.
It would make us loose 12 hours. So instead of getting there at 5PM we would be looking at 5AM!!
Took the risk ... how bad could it be & when was the weatherman right anyway?!?
We found this Western Town made for tourists with a motel at the end. They took AARP, TripRewards, whatever pleading I did to offer a good discount
AND when they mentioned that Wireless Internet was included ... I couldn't resist.
The pool had a Hawaii mural!! The Western village had large Dentist's offices on one end and a saloon on the other!
Booze and teeth ... maybe that's the way it was in Iowa in those days! ... Got a chance to update this page too!!
January 12, 2006 ... A good and wonderful time was had by all ... especially the girls!!
KatieRose's Son Dhal and daughter, Kiki with her husband, Eric, & girls; Jessica & Melissa
It was a great way to spend two days after all of that work! In addition to our R&R, there was a lot that happened familywise &
especially with the girls ... basketball practise, family home evening with SimplyFun Games, Chess ...
Jessica: played chess, did Math homework ... she reads like a 12 year old and Math is her favorite subject!! ...
Melissa; learning to play the Viola, also is very bright. What a wonderful family! Took plenty of pictures ...
January 10th ... Left VA at Noon ... Traveled to Hudson, IL - Drove all night - arrived 10AM on 11th ... 941mi.
You have to first prepare space for the new ...!!
 
Due to weather conditions, went north thru the Cumberland Pass. Very interesting scenery and trip. Rained most of the night.
We went to WAL-MART to buy a few things (can opener, bananas ...) and use their facilities. Then slept in their parking lot for about 2 hours.
Got lousy gas mileage due to wind and hills. It was fun ... we're on a kind of vacation!!
 
January 9(maybe till 25th!), 2006 ... Today we are hitching the trailer and moving on out to HI!
God Centered people cannot fathom, much less predict, the actions of evil people!!
UPDATE: Best laid plans of mice & men ... Our original reservation was for a 4'x8', but it was suggested that we would be
better off with a 5'x8', with which I agreed and got. Well after loading the trailer for 3 hours ...it wasn't big enough!!!
So it was back to UHAUL and trade that in for a 6'x12'. Much larger than what we needed but they didn't have a 5'x10' and anyway they are the same price.
It only took an hour for KatieRose and I to move all the stuff into the larger trailer. KatieRose was a real trooper all day ... cleaning, supportive in every way, fantastic partner and wife.
We then went back to the apartment and picked up the rest of the stuff and decided to get a good night sleep and get an early start in the AM.
We both needed the rest after that work-out ... up & down the stairs for 4 hours ... I was soaked, hungry (didn't eat all day except for breakfast!) and couldn't have driven for 14 hours
to Illinios. Interesting it saved us $100- by dropping the trailer off in Oakland. It saved us the cost of insurance and tax!!
Still it was $487-! The most interesting part of this is that we moved out here 2 years ago in the Pathfinder with only a 20 cuft cargo rack on the roof!!
Now after selling or giving away all of the large furniture we are driving BACK to Utah with a 6'x12' trailer ... and we have already sent
at least 24 boxes to Hawaii!! What a trip ... whatever happened to living light!?! I'm still in shock about this whole turn of events.
I'll guess I'll need some time to digest our acquisition expansion!! ... Books, Clothes and household things ... talk about consumption!
We've contributed to the economy! I guess that's a good thing. We'll have to re-evaluate this aspect of our home-making!
Tomorrow we're off to visit KatieRose's daughter, Kiki, for a day or two on our way to Utah. We'll keep you up-to-date!
Earlier in the day ... We've been putting it together and we have been belessed with so many miracles and help. Today we are leaving Newport News, VA after
18 months here and 2 years in the Hampton Roads area. Being on the road till the 14th we may not be updating this page.
We Fly out of Oakland for HI on the 24th of January. We'll have a nice weekend in the Bay area before the flight. KatieRose has never been there.
Well till we get to HI this may be it!!
Include us in your prayers and good wishes!. Mahalo ...
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