Day T-minus 2, The Route

Most everything for the trip is ready. As always there are a hundred little details that crop up. How will we water the plants? What food should we put in our cooler? Will all my gear and our luggage and cooler all fit in the rental car?


For now, lets talk route:

I will show our progress every day using this map

We will head out of California on I-10 until Phoenix, Arizona. From there we will take a diagonal Northeast scenic route up to meet I-40. It is my hope that the scenic route will still being during daylight.

It may seem more logical just to take I-40 out of California, and it is. Audra, ever since she was little, has dreamed of heading East out of California on 'The 10', so head East on Ten 10 we shall.

We are deliberately not planning places to stop and stay the night. We will make that call on the fly, depending on how far we've traveled and how we are feeling. We might drive until midnight or we could peter out around ten.

It is my guess that our first night will be spent somewhere in the vicinity of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

So we're crazy right? A southern route in the summer during a record heatwave?

Well perhaps we are crazy, but my thinking is this. It's hot everywhere. It's humid everywhere. We may have shaved a few degrees off on a Northern or middle route but I would rather take a route I haven't seen all of before.

In any case thank God for AC.

My father told of a road trip he took with a bunch of guys and a scout leader to a National Jamboree in what is now Irvine, CA.

-Ever heard of Jamboree Road in Irvine? Yup, that's why.

While crossing the desert, my father said it was so hot in the un-air-conditioned car that they had to drive with the windows up.

This always sounded like a tall tale to me until I drove through Nevada in one-hundred fifteen degree heat in a car with no AC. The air blasting in the window at 70 MPH felt like an open furnace. I leterally felt as though I was getting burned. 

So it was true!

I actually had to close the window. On top of that, the car engine was overheating. I had the heater going full bore out to help cool the engine. Even then, having the window open was too much. The best I could do was open the passenger window a few inches to let out some of the air from the heater. 

Sorry I ever doubted you Pappy.

Our second day may land us somewhere in Arkansas. Day Three will see us through Memphis, Tennessee and up along the Mississippi River for a while then we will paint a diagonal racing stripe across the horse country of Kentucky. Day Four we will wind our way up through the Ohio River Valley between Ohio and West Virginia. On this day we may be able to slow down a bit and take in the scenery. 

West Virgina in one of the three remaining states in the lower 48 that I have never been to. Audra and I are especially looking forward to seeing Parkersburg. Frankly it's a pretty run-down depressed place, but Steven Soderburg filmed the movie "Bubble" there.

Every other time I have driving home to Canandaigua from the West, I have taken I-90 through Buffalo. Not this time: I have a notion to hit my hometown from the South via I-17 / I-390 and drive up through picturesque Cohocton and Naples. That will probably be on Day Four unless we get antsy and want to go faster.

It's getting exciting but I hope we can sleep okay. We're going to need it!

If you didn't see yesterday's regular blog post check it out below ↓

It has funny things.