Category Archives: 2008 – The Moving Trip

One year ago today, Smartz and I pulled up the Pennsylvania stakes and started the fun journey across the country that would lead us to Seattle.

[If you click on the links, it'll take you to the photo galleries for each day. Tons of great pics!]

Our First Day on the road was short and very Civil War. I was my way of saying “so long” to my favorite east coast places. We hit Gettysburg, Cedar Creek (for the reenactment) and Antietam.

The Second Day, we drove through the Maryland panhandle and then stopped over for a good-bye at Rati and Dwija’s house. We stayed there for the night and for a whole day (the third day).

After the day off, we hit the road again. The Fourth Day started the actual trip. We decided to base the entire run around odd things that we could find without going too far out of the way. A corn field, rock garden and a memorial to a Native American chief were among the oddities we discovered this day.

The Fifth Day, starting in Richmond, Indiana, we discovered the world was flat as we sped through Indiana, Illinois and several other states that start with “I.” We followed mostly older two-lanes and discovered giant trees, old watch towers, crossed Route 66, the future birth place of James T. Kirk and quite a lot of other fun things.

After crashing on the floor of one of Sarah’s friends in Des Moines, we took off for the Sixth Day, discovering that western Iowa is pretty cool, even in the rain. We saw a bank hit by Bonnie and Clyde, the site of the first train robbery in the West, nearly got stuck in the mud looking for a tree in the middle of the road, saw a giant covered wagon, entered Nebraska and then hit a lot of snow.

A week into the trip, the Seventh Day brought us trains, old ghost towns, trains, a big boot, Carhenge, trains, buttes, Fort Robinson, trains, jackalopes, Hell’s Half Acre and one of the coolest motels I’ve ever stayed in. We made it to Wyoming.

The Eighth Day we started before dawn and caught the sun rising over the mountains. We traveled a lot of the same roads that I took during a couple days on Scoot 66. We saw more Jackalopes, more snow, Jackson Hole, a giant potato, the lava flows of Idaho, the first (very small) nuclear power plant, the Oregon Trail and ended up near Boise. This was a very beautiful day.

The Ninth Day was our last day on the road. It was a quick shot to Seattle, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t see some great things, like Baker City and an Oregon Trail museum, along the way.

We arrived in Seattle and into the loving arms of Ryan, Jaime and family who took us in for a few days until we found our own little slice of heaven in Seattle.

I still haven’t gotten used to the fact that we now live in Seattle. I’ll see a piece of mail or Mt. Rainier or the skyline and think “holy crap… we live in Seattle!” It never gets old.

Well folks, we’re here! The day’s drive was pretty nice. Very pretty with a stop in Baker City, Oregon at the Oregon Trail Interpretative Center.

Mostly, we stuck to the interstates, which is not my favorite way to travel. However, it got us here pretty quickly, which, for today, was the important thing.

And now the trip is at an end. For me, it was a fairly short trip. I had a great time and thanks to all who read along with it.

It was Sarah’s first time across the country (by car), so I hope she enjoyed it. For me, it was my seventh, but the first time at most of the places.

In 2008, I have been in every state west of the Mississippi River, except Louisiana. Sorry, Louisiana, you’ll have to wait for another time. I think in 2008, I was able to visit 30 states. Not bad, really.

Thanks for reading, folks!
Here are the pics from today.

For those who followed me on Scoot 66, this day might look a bit familiar to you. This is pretty much the only time on “The Moving Trip” that I’ve covered ground previously covered on Scoot 66.

Today we hit the Grand Tetons and the Lava Beds of Idaho. We also traced a bit of the Oregon Trail. Just like on Scoot 66.

Now, there’s obviously a different feel here. For one, I’m with Smartz. I’m also in a car. It was a very different trip.

We’re moving out of the Wild West towns and into the immigrant trails towns. Both are pretty well gone and most definitely depressed. Dubois and Jackson, Wyoming were obvious exceptions – but we breezed through them (with the exception of a stop at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum.

All in all, a good day.

Check out the pictures and get the full story.

Big thanks to Ally for allowing us to crash on her floor last night. Yay!

We left around 7:30 and were originally hoping to make it to Alliance, Nebraska – but that quickly was realized to be a nonreality and it wasn’t because it rained all damn day.

Our first few stops were along US Route 6. We saw a bank knocked over by Bonnie & Clyde, the site of the first train robbery in the west (by Jessie James) and searched vein for a tree in the middle of a road. This was all in Iowa!

Then came Nebraska and more Route 6, including Lincoln, Nebraska. We then turned to US 34 and Nebraska Route 2, which was pretty damn beautiful.

You can read all about it and see the pics here!

Today was flat. Very flat. But we saw some fun things and had some disappointments.

One cool thing was that we crossed Route 66 in Chenoa, Illinois. We were on US 24. Though I have been through Chenoa three times before, I have no real memory of the place. I don’t think I’ve ever stopped or took a picture of it.

Well today I did, and you’ll get to see.

The disappointment was Seuart-based. Remember the “Sunday in the Park” Topiary in Columbus that we saw? Well there is supposedly another one in Davenport. This one isn’t shrubbery, but fiberglass (I think). It looks really cool. See? (This is the original painting.)

If you like the painting, there was a musical called “Sunday in the Park with George” about Seuart and his painting. There’s a fun clip here.

But ohhh, that is not what it looked like today. You’ll have to check out my pics to see.

And speaking of which – here are my pics!