The Trip Home - Final Entry

For those looking for the posts about my ride cross country, the last post was "Day 69."  What continues here is the documentations of our trip home.  You are welcome to follow along though it likely won't be as exciting. 

A lot has happened since we left the RV Park off the highway about 150 miles outside Denver.  I just haven't taken the time to write it down so this will be a lengthy entry.  It will be the FINAL entry too as we arrived home!

We had lunch scheduled with Cheryl’s aunt Loretta, uncle Rudy, and cousins Terry and Emily at 1 pm in Golden CO (think Coors beer) near Denver so we had to get up and out early.  I got a little workout in before we left.  Peloton strength workouts are my go to as there isn’t a lot of cardio so it keeps my heart rate down (still got the A fib thing).  The challenge is finding a place to do it so I’m not on display for all the other RVers or passers by.  

We made it to Golden a little early and spent some time walking around Golden.  It is a very nice town with a beautiful walking trail along the river that goes through town.  Lunch with Cheryl’s relatives was really fun.  So much catching up to do.  We were so engrossed in the conversation we forgot to take a picture!  We couldn’t stay too long because there was rain in the forecast and apparently there are mud slides on I70 near Canyonville and they close the freeway so we needed to get through there to avoid a 2 hour detour.  The drive was beautiful.  Even with the clouds it was gorgeous.  We cut through the Rockies and were at 9500 ft.  the RV kept chugging along.  18 wheelers were passing us, but we were still moving!

Our goal was to get to Moab and Arches National Park tomorrow so we spent the night at a Walmart so we could get up and out again in the morning.  Long but easy drive to Moab.  Cheryl and I both being big Jerky fans, the highlight of the drive was the stop at a roadside Jerky store.  Unbelievable selection.  We shied away from the exotic flavors like snake and kangaroo and stayed with beef.  There was prime rib, pepper, sweet/spicy.  It was awesome.  

Arches was only 20 miles down the road and we were there before we could even get through one package of jerky.  The day was perfect to see the beauty of the Arches.  Kenzie would have been proud of us as we did quite a bit of hiking.  A little frustrating that dogs were no allowed on any trails so Zuri had to stay in the RV.

Loved Moab.  Found Canyonlands RV Park in town which was convenient.  Stumbled on Spitfire BBQ for a late lunch.  It was a really good place with excellent beer and delicious food.  I especially liked the vibe.   We met a lady who was traveling across the country with her dog.  She was from Jersey and on her way back home. We shared stories about our favorite places and experiences as we both traveled across the country.  Fun time.  

We were undecided on how we spent the last 10 days of our trip.  We heard wonderful things about Zion National Park and the beautiful drive there but it would take us further south and we felt we needed to continue heading towards home.  We decided on Sun Valley for a couple days.  As we were finalizing our plans we got a phone call that a good friend of ours had passed away from pancreatic cancer.  Such terrible news and we are so sad by her passing.  Ugh.  She lived in Richland WA and the funeral would be Friday so we altered our plans to head that direction.  

On our way to Boise we decided to stay one more night is a small town so we picked Snowville ID (pop 139).  Of course there was only one restaurant called Ranch House.  Classic small town café just like we like.  Each table had a little wooden house with a small door that just screamed to be opened and of course Cheryl could not resist the temptation.  There was a loaded mouse trap inside that was triggered when the door was open.  Boom, the house exploded.  It was hilarious!  Throughout our dinner you could hear wooden houses exploding throughout the café.  

The next morning we headed to Boise.  We had a space at Rivers Edge RV park on the Snake River just out side of town but decided to spend some time in town.  We hear about an amazing dog park and of course that was tops on Cheryl's list.  We were there about 15 minutes (of course Zuri didn't want to play) when a dog came up to me.  I'm thinking the dog wants for me to pet it or play with it and next thing you know, it's peeing on my leg.  Seriously?  I'm getting peed on at a dog park in Boise?  Well, that dampened my enthusiasm for hanging out at the dog park so we headed downtown to Guido's for some New York style pizza and a beer before heading to the RV park.

Rivers Edge RV park was located as the name suggests, right on the Snake River and our spot had a gorgeous view.  It was just outside of town with some great scenery so I decided to get up early and go for a bike ride.  Yes first time on the bike since Portland ME.  I must admit it felt great to be back in the saddle, even if it was only for a few hours.  

We made it to the Tri-Cities Wednesday so decided to go to Prosser for some wine tasting and and also catch up with some friends we have in the area.  Of course we had to have lunch with John and Vickiy.  They met us in Walla Walla early in the journey and then again at the end.  We went to Porters BBQ which was terrific.  John and I had "The Jonny Sandwich" which includes brisket, pulled pork and bacon.  Though it wasn't great for my arteries, wow it was good.  

Following a touching service for our friend, it was time to make the final leg down The Gorge back to Portland.  There were mixed emotions as we pulled into the driveway.  The end of a trip of a lifetime had arrived.  It seemed like only yesterday we were on HWY 26 driving to Fort Stevens not knowing what was to come and now we are back in the driveway with unbelievable memories that we will never forget.   88 days, 3800 miles on the bike and 10,400 total miles and 29 states.  What a summer!

What's next?

The Trip Home - Follow the Yellow Brick Road

For those looking for the posts about my ride cross country, the last post was "Day 69."  What continues here is the documentations of our trip home.  You are welcome to follow along though it likely won't be as exciting. 

We didn’t get up too early after our late night in Nashville as we were not looking forward to the drive across the middle of America.  We figured we would get on the freeway and I70 and drive about 300-350 miles and just see where we feel like stopping for the night.  The RV continues to keep rolling along though it definitely surges going up hills and while accelerating (and I get the flashing check engine light) but on the open road with the cruise control set at 65 she just purrs like a kitten.  We prefer to add 93 octane gas (still holding on to Coffman recommendation) but since we left the east coast, the best we can find is 91 so I also add some octane boost.  Couple that with the injector cleaner that we started using back in Aurora and we have quite the additive cocktail mixed up every time we fill up.  It aint cheap either!  I typically add two cans of each additive and have to run the credit card twice.  Ouch!

After about an hour, we went through St Louis and had to make a stop at the Gateway to the West monument.  It looks really cool against the St Louis skyline and is huge (630 ft high and 630 ft wide).  Parking for the RV was a little tenuous as they had us park along the tilted riverbank and I thought for sure we were going to tip over.  We made sure to all get out on the high side just in case.   From there it was a very boring ride.  All those things you hear about nothing in Kansas?  Believe it.  There is nothing in Kansas.  We decided to go to Topeka.  That would leave us a day and a half of driving to get to Denver where we will have lunch with Cheryl's Aunt, Uncle and Cousins.  We used our harvest host membership again and stopped at 4204 Main Street Brewing.  Yes that is the name (and the address).  We figured dry camping made sense as we will be on the road again first thing in the morning.  The big concern was the temperature since we didn’t have 30 amp power for AC.  The forecast was for a “cool” night of 70 so we took a chance.  4204 Main Street Brewing is a very neat place with good food and an amazing outdoor area where Cheryl and I played corn hole.  As night approached, the temperature did not drop and it was still very warm and humid.  I did my best to build an air conditioner, but it was no match for 80 degrees and 80% humidity.  

After a long, sweaty, sleepless night, we were back on the road.  After only about an hour, to our delight, we saw a billboard for the Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego KS just 10 miles off I70.  Of course we HAD to go there.  Apparently, 15 years ago, a couple had a vast amount of Wizard of Oz memorabilia and decided to open up a museum in Wamego KS.  The rest of the town followed their lead and the town became an Oz themed destination (well, for people like us).  There is a yellow brick road, Toto’s Tacos and the Oz winery.  After our tour through the museum we did a little tasting at the Oz winery.  A charming place and the wine names that all have to do with the Wizard of Oz.  “Drunken Munchkin,” “Flying Monkey,” “Angry Trees” (you get the idea.)  It was a lot of fun.    

We had to hit the road (black, not yellow in this case) and get some miles behind us.  We all found our spots in the RV for the next few hours.  I was in the driver seat, Cheryl in the back and of course Zuri in her space in direct line of the AC.  

Cheryl found a terrific RV park (more like a gravel parking lot
with some hook ups) but it was exactly what we wanted as the electrical will allow us to run the AC and we will be here for less than 12 hours.  We only have 150 miles to Denver which feels like the West so we are getting closer!

The Trip Home - The Grand Ole Opry

For those looking for the posts about my ride cross country, the last post was "Day 69."  What continues here is the documentations of our trip home.  You are welcome to follow along though it likely won't be as exciting. 

Saturday was August 28^th and Cheryl and my 38^th wedding anniversary.  38 years!  It has been truly an amazing time.  We should get an extra year for 90 days in a 24 foot RV!  We didn’t have anything special planned other than trying to get to Nashville.  After we said good-bye to Kenzie, Cheryl and I started the journey west hoping we could make it to Nashville about 300 miles away.  The drive was on HWY 40 the entire way and not especially memorable.  The RV continues to chug along and actually ran pretty well. 

We arrived in Nashville in the mid afternoon at Nashville RV Resort.  We spent some time settling in and pulling together our evening agenda.  Though there are many sights and attractions to consider, including the Country Music Hall of Fame, Johnny Cash Museum, Ryman Auditorium and many others, we decided a show at the Grand Ole Opry and a walk down Broadway Street finding a place for dinner would make for a nice anniversary. 

We were fortunate that tonight was a weekly show at the Grand Ole Opry where there are multiple stars each singing a few songs.  The show was broken up into two halves.  The 1^st half was the legends John Conlee, Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press and Connie Smith.  Bobby Bones did a funny comedy routine and then the 2^nd half consisted of the young big hitters.  Michael Ray, Rodney Crowell, Laine Hardy and Lauren Alaina.  According to the couple next to us, this was a great line up though I didn’t know any of them.  It was a very entertaining show and fun to be in the building where so many famous people have performed over the years. 

After the show we caught an Uber to Broadway street and I got to say, it took me a little by surprise.  It was CRAZY.  People have compared Broadway Street in Nashville to The Strip in Vegas and in my humble opinion it’s not even close.  Sure Vegas is MUCH bigger but the Nashville crowd was much wilder.  They close down the street and there are bands playing with the doors open in nearly every bar/restaurant and as you walk down the street you can hear them all playing at once.  Bachelorette parties everywhere.  Celebrating our 38^th anniversary, Cheryl and I felt a little out of place.  We showed up a too late for a nice dinner and even the multi-level food court was shutting down so we settled for some Italian pasta in To Go containers.  Dessert was some not so good lemon cake for $10.  Not much of an anniversary meal.  Oh well, this entire trip has been about adjustments.  We’ll do something better when we get home. 

Tomorrow starts the looooooong road to Denver. 

The Trip Home - Asheville "Plan B"

For those looking for the posts about my ride cross country, the last post was "Day 69."  What continues here is the documentations of our trip home.  You are welcome to follow along though it likely won't be as exciting. 

It is over 461 miles to Ashville from Washington DC and since we did not leave DC until after 1 pm and we don’t like to drive more than 350 miles a day that leaves a midpoint stop somewhere.  We looked “Harvest Host” and what appeared to be a fun distillery called Old Nick Williams Distillery 326 miles away.  That would leave us a short drive to Ashville on Friday.  

The route took us through Durham NC, home of Duke University and Cameron Indoor Stadium.  We first had lunch at a fun brew pub called Grub Durham on campus.  Our attempt to get to Cameron failed miserably.  As you can imagine, parking the RV on campus so we could walk to Cameron was impossible and even a drive by was difficult because it was tucked off the road and behind the trees.  Swing and a MISS!

We continued on to the Old Nick Williams Distillery.  The distillery is currently owned by Zeb and Ashlee who are the decedents of the founder who first opened it in 1768.  It is claimed to be the oldest distillery in NC and possibly the USA.  Zeb and Ashlee were terrific and even though we showed up just before closing, they continued to serve us and talk about the history of the business and their current plans well into the evening.  Fun Fact is that this distillery was featured on the reality show Moonshiners.  When it got late, Zeb prepared one last drink for us and allowed us to stay on the distillery porch with the music playing as long as we wanted.  “Just unplug the jukebox and turn off the lights when you’re done.” He said as he got into his pickup.   It was a beautiful night, but we didn’t stay out too long as we wanted to get to Ashville early the next day.  

We made it to Asheville before noon and our original plan was to float the river then check out a few restaurants and breweries as Asheville is known for it’s restaurant and pub scene.  Unfortunately, a few days earlier the French Broad River flooded, and it was still very muddy and not good for floating.  So, Kenzie pulled together a terrific “Plan B.”  An Asheville Pub Crawl.  Perfect!

I’m a little embarrassed to say that we hit 10 different breweries/wineries/restaurants.  I will say that after the first few, we quickly decided that we could not order our own drink at each location if we expected to finish, so we started sharing beverages.  Some may call us wussies but I think intelligence won out this time.  Here is the list: Home Ground Pub, Plebb Urban Winery, Wedge Brewing, 12 Bones BBQ, Old London Road Pub, Iconic Kitchen and Drinks, Burial Brewing, Green Man Brewing, Catawba Brewing and Bhramari Brewing.  

I will admit that I had heard so many great things about Asheville that I tried to lower my expectations so as not to be disappointed, but I was very impressed.  So many unique places to go.  The food was outstanding (really liked 12 Bones BBQ) and beer and wine delicious.  Good vibe throughout.  We spent the most time at Catawba Brewing as there were a couple of fun bands playing.  There was a short interruption as the local baseball team set off some amazing fireworks after their game and the field was next to Catawba Brewing so we got a front row seat.  What a fun day/evening.

Video at Catawba Brewing

Surprisingly, I didn’t feel too bad the next morning and we got Kenzie off in time for her Saturday morning flight.  It was back to just Cheryl and I for the rest of the trip home.  We thoroughly enjoyed our few days with Kenz and were sorry she had to go.