If you plan it they will come... day eighteen

Monday October 14th


 

Monday morning moon-rise over the Rocky Mountains.

Part of our original plan for today was to leave the RV at Bass Pro and take a run up Pikes Peak which would have taken about four hours. This has been on my bucket list for quite some time. But.... we learned from Stewart yesterday that due to construction of a new visitor center at the top the road was open only part way up and you had to take a shuttle from that point on. So with that in mind and considering that the car wasn't running that well we decided not to go and came up with a new plan. 

First things first... we went for breakfast at a great little place called C&C Coffee Kitchen not too far from our overnight spot. The place was clean, the staff cheery and helpful and the food was very good; highly recommended!

Our breakfast provider..

Breakfast done, we refuelled the vehicles and headed north to Denver. Our destination, Hammond's Candies. Hammond's started as a small family business about 100 years ago  with a loyal local following, it has now grown into an iconic brand with international distribution. We arrived about ten minutes before one of their scheduled tours which we joined. Learned about the history of the company, watched candy being made, watched it being packaged, then received a sample as we exited the tour into the gift shop! 
 

At Hammond's Candies.

Some of Hammond's Candies....

We continued northward on I-25 stopping in Loveland CO to pick up groceries and gas. Andrew had to slow his pace in the RV a bit because this stretch of highway was very windy.
Our stop at the Southeast Wyoming Welcome Centre just south of Cheyenne WY was a welcome stretch of legs and quick check on e-mail etc. 

Phyllis braving the wind at the Southeast Wyoming Welcome Center

We turned off the interstate just north of Cheyenne WY to make our way to the Fort Laramie National Historic Site. The same weather system that brought the cooler temperatures had dumped quite a bit of snow here a few days earlier. It was a bit of surprise to still see some of that snow on the side of the road! 

Snow!

Fort Laramie was originally established as a private fur trading fort in 1834, which evolved into the largest and best known military post on the Northern Plains. It was abandoned in 1890 and nearly succumbed to the ravages of time. In 1938 it became part of the National Park Service and restoration projects have been going on since.

At Fort Laramie

Sharon, Andrew and Phyllis enjoying a windy lunch.

After a picnic lunch we took a walk around the buildings, some of which have been restored, others left mere shells of their original. One building that really portrayed the life of the soldiers that were stationed here was the Cavalry Barracks. Rows of single beds lined the outside walls of the upper floor either side of the central stairwell. There was no privacy and very little space for personal items, just a simple box at the foot of each bed and a couple of hooks to hang coats and guns!

Upper floor of the Cavalry Barracks... not much in the way of privacy.

Cavalry Barracks at Fort Laramie.

We headed west to rejoin the interstate then headed north to our next overnight at the KOA in Buffalo WY. It was still fairly windy so that held Andrew up a bit. The Festiva continues to have a miss but we are still maintaining highway speeds.

Heading north

We arrived at the campground just after dark, made our supper then went over our plans for the next day, which was going to be a long one!

Approximate route for today's drive.

Thanks for following along! Please let us know your favorite things about Wyoming in the comments section below.

If you plan they will come... day seventeen

Sunday October 13th


Amarillo by morning, up from San Antone
Everything that I've got, is just what I've got on...

Started humming that one yesterday and it's still in my head! Another sunny day and we're looking forward to what the day has in store for us. If ten Cadillac's partially buried nose down in the middle of a field sounds odd you'd be correct. But Cadillac Ranch  as it's call is an iconic Route 66 landmark, only twenty minutes from our overnight spot and on our route. It's just a short walk off the highway across a field... if it's been raining prepare to get muddy or wear some good boots! What makes this even odder is that you are allowed to spray paint the cars to your hearts content so that even if you go regularly it will never be the same twice.

Cadillac Ranch from the road side.

If you plan it they will come... day twelve

Tuesday October 8th

We enjoyed the it so much yesterday we decided to get up early, head back to the beach and watch the sunrise. It was a beautiful morning with a light breeze and just a few clouds in the sky. Again, we were surprised by the number people out and about, some walking their dog, others just enjoying the dawn of a new day.

 

Here comes the sun.....

Sharon on the beach just after sunrise

One last look before we get on our way.

We made our way back to the RV Park, had breakfast, packed up and headed westward along highway US 98 before turning north to rejoin I-10.

If you plan it they will come... day eleven

Monday October 7th

It's beach day! It's also Andrew and Phyllis' wedding anniversary! Our KOA had a complimentary breakfast so we took advantage of that before heading off for the day. 

Anniversary breakfast for Andrew and Phyllis!

Our first stop would be Jacksonville Beach, about an hour away. Our route took us over the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge, one of the largest cable stay bridges in the USA.It's also know as the Dames Point Bridge.

A soggy morning drive.

If you plan it they will come... day five

Tuesday October 1st

Our day started with cloudy skies but fortunately the rain had stopped. I don't think we've had a day yet when we haven't had to use the windshield wipers! Today's drive will take us off the turnpike and away from the tolls that go along with it. We continued eastward for fifteen minutes and turned off at exit 180. 

Ready for another day on the road at the Sideling Hill Service Plaza

Once we left the turnpike the driving became less stressful and more enjoyable. We were now on a rolling two lane diving through valleys and climbing over passes. The clouds hadn't lifted and the fog lingered. And yes, we had to use the wipers. 

On highway 30 east of Mcconnellsburg PA

Our destination this morning was the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum.

If you plan it they will come... day four

Monday September 30th

Foggy start to our day....

Woke up to a foggy, muggy morning at the Knute Rockne Travel Plaza. Other than driving there wasn't much planned for the day. After our breakfast we hopped back on the turnpike with the plan to stop for a break at the Wyandot Service Plaza in Ohio. The drive was fairly uneventful for us but Andrew discovered that he hadn't closed the outside cover for the RV's fridge properly and it decided it wanted to stay in Indiana.

If you plan it they will come... day three

Sunday September 29th.

Sunday morning dawned cool and crisp after a night of rain. As we were planning the trip from the comfort of home we had decided that 7:30 would be a great time to hit the road. We have quickly learned that 8:30 is much more realistic! 

Almost ready to hit the road

Today is to be another long day of driving with only one tourist type stop. That stop is the Field of Dreams movie site just outside of Dyersville IA. But before we reached Dyersville we took a break at the Top of Iowa Visitor Center just across the state line near Northwood. It's very clean and well maintained and the staff we met were very knowledgeable.
 

At the Top of Iowa Visitor Center near Northwood IA

If you've followed our past road trips you may remember this map with the yellow states being ones we've been in or through...

If you plan it they will come.... day zero

We are about to embark on will most likely be our longest road trip to date! It's been a bit of an adventure already with a number of mechanical issues that needed looking after with the car... new head gasket and valve seals, replaced the turbo, and a new front crank seal to name a couple. I also had the wheels rotated and balanced and did an oil change.

This trip will be a little different than our previous ones in that we will be travelling with Sharon's sister and her husband. We will be in the Festiva and they will be in their class C motor home. This allows us a bit more flexibility as we don't have to rely on hotels for our accommodations! We do have a few hotel nights booked though.

Here's a general overview of our trip:

• 2 provinces
• 22 states, 12 of which we haven't been in before
• approximately 11,000km / 6,800 miles
• 20 days
• 1 Festiva meet!

 

Approximate route

A few of things we're looking forward to:

• Time in Amish country
• Two full days in Washington DC
• A return to Festiva Madness! Our last visit was back in 2011
• visiting the towns where a couple of our favorite HGTV shows are based
• New Orleans
• Pikes Peak

I'm going to try and post updates daily but it might end up being weekly, that will depend on access to wi-fi.

What are your favorite road-tripping hacks? We'd love to hear from you so leave your comments below.