Change Your Backyard

WA, ID, MT, WY, SD, MN, IA, IN, IL, KY

October 1 - 8, 2010

      Every now and again I get these inclinations to do something adventurous and on a grand scale: like taking a position in the company that required me to relocate to a country when I’d never been abroad before; or leaving my career job to live in a Eurovan and travel the world to explore and rock climb full time.  My latest adventure was my desire to spend some time in Kentucky climbing.  My options were to drive, live in the van or fly and rent a car. The drive and the flight cost were comparable so it came down to how much housing and the car would cost. The van won, but it meant I would have to drive across the country, which I had done twice before, but never by myself.

      The week leading up to my departure was chaotic. There was a lot to do before I left and I had caught a nasty bug that undermined my ability to fully execute on my plan.  Appointments were dropped or rescheduled; I missed a bit of work, which put me behind in what I had wanted to accomplish; and in the end, I had to delay my departure by a full day and then some. This was a costly decision, but necessary.

     The upside to the delay meant I could take my nephews climbing. They had never climbed outside in Seattle before and I wanted to share that experience with them.  I didn’t get to climb much, but I had a wonderful time watching them. They are each very good at it, and approach climbing with different styles. In my opinion, the oldest holds the most promise for the sport, though he claims he’s not interested in pursuing it.

      I left Sunday afternoon, well into the day and much later than I would have liked. Taking the delays in stride, I headed off on my adventure East. Taking the 90 across is convenient because you don’t have to think about where you are going, you just drive. There was heavy rain all the way into Montana, but fortunately, exceptionally good weather the entire rest of the trip.

     Driving across the country leaves a lot of time to daydream.  To avoid this, I dug up an old ebook, one I’d already listened to on a prior cross country trip. To my surprise, after the first few chapters played, I realized I had forgotten most of the story. I was relieved to find it enjoyable to listen to a second time.  With the ebook playing, Ken Follet’s End of the World, time went by quickly. I made really good progress the first 2 days, sleeping in Billings, Montana the first night and Sioux City the next.  I couldn’t drive straight through because I was working during the day and driving only in the early morning and at night. Having delayed my start meant I was in the middle of my journey when I had to cut back on driving because my work became more demanding. For this night, I got a hotel in Minnesota. 

      Working on the road can be a challenge. Fortunately, I have the van. All I really need is reliable internet and a reasonably quiet location. One day, my backyard was a rest stop with wireless internet where I looked out over Big Horn National Forest and it’s mountains.  Another day, I sat next to a Laundromat offering free wi-fi and was so hungry by the end of the day that I sampled t    he local pizza joint next door. It claimed to be the best in town, albeit the town was quite small. The pizza was tasty but the to-go box was not user friendly, especially when I was expecting a lid to pop open while driving. Their box was a puzzle with custom flaps, folds and insertion points that made it nearly impossible to maneuver with one hand. 

      The last two days after this point did not go as well as the first part of the trip. I was definitely tired of driving, but I had many hours left ahead of me. And, now that the west was behind me, I missed the no-nonsense direction of the 90. Road names were changing and I had to pay attention to exits. Nevertheless, I threw out the written instructions on accident, got confused multiple times at various interchanges and found myself lost on at least 3 different occasions. The first time, I circled the direction I was to take, stopped, cross-examined the map against my streets and trips application and finally headed off on the right path.  The second time this happened, I thought I must have passed the interchange (not realizing the spoke and wheel model employed) and exited too soon. I found myself fueling up in a very sketchy part of town with a young man goggling at me. He hung around outside the door of the cashier while I was paying and I really wondered if I would have to deal with him before making my exit.  Fortunately, as I signed my paper, he went off and I never saw him again.  The last time this happened, I was looking for a place to crash and ended up circling around the area taking alternate freeway routes accidentally before finally exiting and holing up.  That was very late in the night when I expected people to be sleeping, but there was a lot of traffic and people about. This made for an uncomfortable rest because I wanted to remain unnoticed but anywhere I went, someone was there.

        Despite the e-book, there were times when my mind wandered. For instance, in Coeur d’Alene, I remembered my old triathlon swim instructor who used to race there and I tried to imagine where his race might have traveled as I passed. In Montana, I remembered the night I crashed my good friend’s van and how he, his girlfriend and I had to abort our attempt to be in Cleveland when the Tribe went to the World Series. We had to fix the van in town and turn around. My poor friend and his girlfriend had already driven from San Francisco to Seattle to pick me up. The blizzard we encountered was completely unexpected (to us) and assisted with the cause of the accident.  I remember how awful I felt and embarrassed because I recall feeling more confident about driving in those conditions and even offered to take the wheel at some point. Fortunately, no one was hurt, despite the 180 on the freeway.

      In Sheridan, I looked out over Big Horn and thought of my friends in TenSleep. They had already left for the Red and I imagined they were already there, probably acclimating by now. In Minnesota, I thought about my grandmother’s stories of how she met my grandfather. It always started something like, ‘there was a bridge that we used to cross.’ This bridge connected Minnesota to Wisconsin.  My grandfather apparently lived in Wisconsin, just beyond that bridge.  In South Dakota, I marveled at how little development there was along that I-90 stretch. I kept strict watch on my fuel gauge and held my breath those last few miles until I found civilization and a fuel stop. At one point I had to stop to adjust something in the van that had come loose. I pulled off into pitch darkness. There was no one on the highway and no one and nothing along this exit. As I stepped into the back of the van to make the adjustment, I could almost hear my heart beating as it seemed to have moved and was putting pressure in my throat. At the same time, my stomach felt sick with unease as if I expected someone to jump out of the darkness and attack me in my vulnerable state.   

      At some point my Visa stopped working at the pump and I had to pay inside all the time. This was a bit inconvenient and led to the most interesting human interactions of my trip, but it also meant I was weary of stopping at fuel stations late in the night, especially since I was driving on west coast time the whole way. This particular night it was clear I wouldn’t make my target destination on the tank of fuel I had. As I came into an urban town in Illinois, I decided to camp there for the night and thought of my Aunt who used to live here with her family. I had visited her here several times. I recalled the first time I went to see her. My boyfriend and I drove 8 hours, which at the time seemed forever to me. I marveled at my Aunt’ s Victorian home, her choice of music (Bonnie Raitt stands out),  her living Christmas tree, and even left a sleeping bag there on accident.  I also remember my internship at the University of Illinois and training for a triathlon in the lake behind her house with my cousins who are fishes. I remember the wicked storm that crossed through and all of the tornadoes that hit just before I arrived. And, I remember those last few moments with her before saying goodbye, when my cousin and I awkwardly thwarted her attempt to cut into a scarf. I remembered her fondly and wished very much that they were still there.  The town didn’t seem very safe for me that night and I hardly slept. Had I been sure I could refuel, I would have driven until sunrise. 

       Continuing my travels, I remembered old friends who were from Iowa and that led me to reflect on the relationship I was in at that time. I miss him sometimes. I’m also reminded of dining on the waterfront in downtown Portland with my other Aunt and her family. We had been overheard discussing something and a pair of elderly strangers piped in a remark. When they asked us where we were from, we said Ohio, but when the man suggested something about Ohio his wife cut him off saying we were from Iowa, not Ohio! My family and I looked at one another and smiled. None of us corrected her. That incident still puts a smile on my face.  

      Finally making my way into Kentucky, I see signs for Cincinnati. I won’t be making a trek to Ohio on this part of the trip. I consider what visits are going to be like now that my sister and her family have moved and one of my nephews is now in school out of state.  I also think of my old room mate who moved back to Kentucky and was recently engaged. I think it will be fun to catch up and meet his fiancée.  

      Welcome to Kentucky and I’m crossing the Ohio River and looking out at downtown Louisville. I’m remembering the slugger’s museum visit and such that we toured when the Canadians were in town a few years ago. I also remember the BW we stayed in near the climbing gym as I sit in the lobby trying to find a low cost hotel in the area. It’s my last hotel stay. I have a lot of work, some laundry and such to do before heading into the gorge. I’m tired from not sleeping well the night before and my tolerance for mishaps and such is low. My nerves have been on edge for too long and I need a restful night to shake it off and regroup.  I won’t make the climbing gym tonight as planned. 

      62 chapters into the e-book, and the book and the journey are nearly over.  I've seen the Mountain Peaks of the west, rolling foothills, lakes, streams and the mighty Missippi and I've marveled at the landscape shifts that became pasture land, corn fields, rolling hills and meadows. I've even experienced west coast, mid-west and souther culture with the Cowboy hats of the mid-west to the southern flair of Kentucky. I live in a diverse country!

      Traveling across the country has been an adventure and I’m happy to have made it safely. Now, it’s time for some climbing in the gorge. The adventure continues!  

Thanks for reading and safe travels to you!