Day 1: Somerset Center to Plainfield, IL (260 miles)
We actually took our truck to a wonderful Toyota dealership in Naperville, IL because the air conditioning was giving us some trouble. They fit us in at the end of the day and let us unhitch the rig in their lot. They were really very good to work with and though they could not figure out what was wrong with the A/C, we were glad that the issue was documented and entered into Toyota's system. As a side note we have not had any further problems with it and still don't know what happened. That night we boondocked in a Walmart parking lot. We always call ahead to find out if it is allowed.
Day 2: Plainfield, IL to Des Moines, IA (315 miles)
We found a Walmart in Des Moines that had a bike path that ran along the back of the parking lot by a river. We went for a nice walk and saw two deer cross the path right in the middle of the city! When we got to the place where they had crossed we saw one of them browsing along the river. It was an unreal scene to find! Though we had called ahead to find out if overnight parking was ok, when we arrived we found signs saying "no overnight parking." I went in and spoke with customer service and it turned out that they prefer to have RVs only in certain parts of their lot or in the neighboring Sam's Club lot. We moved to the Sam's Club lot which was less congested and had a very nice night.
From the window this is what we saw for a couple of days (that's a corn field in the distance).
Day 3: Des Moines, IA to York, NE (235 miles)
We paid for a night at York KAMPgound right off the I-80. This was a no frills place with a gravel lot, no trees, and a fairly new laundry/bathroom/shower facility. It was totally worth the $31 (Good Sam discount) to use these facilities and have full hook-ups for the night. We usually leave in the morning between 9-10 a.m. and arrive in the early afternoon between 2-3 p.m. with a few stops during the day for gas, rest stops and lunch.
Day 4: York, NE to North Platte, NE (180 miles)
North Platte ended up being a great stop. As we moved west the weather was getting hotter (high of 90s) so we didn't want to boondock - we wanted A/C in the trailer! I found the I-80 Lakeside Campground on one of my RV apps and it turned out to be really great for our family. They have a beautiful lake and playground. It was the perfect place to play outside and our site was gorgeous.
As a bonus, we went to the Golden Spike which gives a view of the largest train yard in the world!
It was fortunate we found North Platte on a short driving day so that we had all afternoon and evening to play and sight-see. We also went to an excellent Mexican restaurant in town called Margaritas. I didn't expect great Mexican food in Nebraska, but we were all very surprised at how delicious it was. For instance, I had a mushroom burrito (vegan) and it was amazing!
Day 5: North Platte, NE to Denver, CO (265 miles)
The road to Denver was memorable because there were thunderstorms which slowed us down quite a bit. At points the visibility was very low, other times it was just sprinkling. The thunderstorms took out a busy signal light and we crawled through an intersection. It was getting late and we were heading to a Cabella's, but as we sat at the light I searched for something closer because we were really ready to stop. I found a Bass Pro Shop a couple miles away so we headed there but it turned out it was in a mall. It was still raining out - we placed a call to the store to ask about overnight parking not very hopeful. The customer service person stated that all of the parking is managed by the mall and that we had to call mall security and they provided the number. Really thinking this was a lost cause we called mall security. To our great surprise we were told that it was perfectly fine and that a security personnel would come by our trailer with a waiver form! Shortly thereafter a very professional individual approached us and we filled out the paperwork. The best part was that we were parked between the Bass Pro Shop and a Harkins movie theatre so we decided to go see a movie (something we have not done since we left AZ 10 weeks ago! We saw Incredibles II and we all loved it. These are the lucky twists of fate that occur when we don't specifically plan every move but have a general idea of what we want to do.
Day 6: Denver, CO to Moab, UT (355 miles)
In retrospect I wish we would have broken this drive into two days - there were so many beautiful places in Colorado that I wish we could have checked out. Also, because this was a very mountainous road with steep up and down grades we drove slower, which meant many hours on the road. Between 200-250 miles is perfect for us. As we approach 300 miles in a day the kids get really sick of the drive and as they get agitated we get agitated...but we thought that we could do it as it was our last day driving before a significant break in Moab. With that said the kids were SO good throughout this drive. They were getting along, Sister is acting older and working out her differences with Brother with words instead of screams....very good. The road fatigue hit the adults this day because of the steep grades and increasing heat. Eating lunch in the Hideout is great in 70 degree weather but really unbearable in the 90s. We can count on the trailer being many degrees hotter inside than outside. The route included many tunnels, bridges and scenic views. It was an adventurous drive - not for everyone, but we are experienced mountain drivers! One of the coolest parts of the drive was the Eisenhower Tunnel - you have to read about it. It seemed to go on forever, but it was only 1.6 miles! Also there was a crazy "bridge" that I have now learned is called a viaduct lasting 12 miles and paralleling the Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon. I had no idea what we would be driving through, but now that I know I am amazed at the ingenuity of the engineers who made this design to reduce the environmental impact of the Interstate. However, this sort of driving requires a high level of alert when towing the rig, which is tiring. Also there are long stretches of road without services between these places and that means timing gas and bathroom breaks so as to minimize the number of stops.
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| One of the long tunnels (not Eisenhower as I was driving and not taking pictures at that point!) |
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| Picture from Wikipedia of Glenwood Canyon Viaduct |
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| One of many scenic views along the I-70 |
This is a nice campground with good shade trees and a pool. It is about 3 miles from the Arches National Park entrance and about 40 miles from the Canyonlands National Park Entrance. Next posts will be about Arches and Canyonlands!
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