This trip is one thing I will never forget. It was absolutely amazing. Not everyone gets to do this in their life, and we did it in just under 3 weeks. Many doubted the budget, the van, and friendships. We made it home with the van working fine, we never broke down. The budget was perfect, like on the spot, we may have had $3 left over. The friendship are all fine as well.
I wont say it was perfect, we had our disagreements, our moments of homesickness, and harsh words, but in the end it was worth it. We learned a lot about each other and ourselves in this process.
"But no man has ever seen his dreams for filled, and regretted the sacrifice necessary to fulfill them"
That statement has never wrung so true to me. I spent a lot of money on this trip, I lost some, I lost my job, I missed my sister's graduation, and I fought with my closest friends. But my dream was fulfilled. I wish some things went a little differently, but I look at this trip and smile. Every long day in that van was worth it. I recommend anyone to do this, if you have the funds and the time, do no pass this up. 9,000 miles of America, I have seen almost everything I ever dreamed of in this country, every mile was worth it.
Tips:
Ear plugs: Someone is going to snore, they help. I'm sorry guys.
Entertainment: Pokemon gets old, so books, music, and other things help so much on long rides.
Alone time: Being in a van with the same people for hours on end day after day can drive you crazy. Time alone can be a breathe of fresh air.
Blog: Whether you make it public or just a note book. It helps to have your memories written down so you can always look back.
My thanks goes out to every friend who supported me on this trip. To my amazing family who helped me in so many ways. The guys, for the most part, putting up with me, I love you all. To the people we meet along the way, you have given me faith in humanity again. To Craig for opening up my mind to see God's Word in a new light and being a great example to a young man. To Chance for an amazing night I will never forget, even the talking wall haha.
God is Boss
Monday, June 7, 2010
Coming Home
After a great night in South Dakota, we awoke to a partially flooded tent and ready to get to really driving home. There were only 2 possible locations we wanted to see from here on out: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Niagara Falls.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ended up being more then anyone of us wanted to pay for, not to mention home was calling our hearts and minds. We shot to Indiana the first day after South Dakota, and weather once again forced us into a hotel for the night.
Then next morning church hunting started up again. We found only one church with a website and times for the service. Liberty Bible Church was huge, not only just the building but the congregation was the largest I've seen in a while. A rough count would be about 600 people, and they have 3 services so all together i could only imagine. This was such an uplifting place, you could tell by looking at the people that they actually wanted to be there. When I see churches that big I figure there must be a catch, bad preaching ( none biblical that is) to left sided ( take a guess) or so feel good ( prosperity types, you know, that guy in Texas with the stadium church...). I was not let down at all. The pastor preached great gospel, the message hit home, he knew the Word, he preached with conviction. I don't even know a church in the area that big, let alone with solid understanding of the bible.
After a great sermon we pushed on. We drove all the way to Buffalo New York. The weather wasn't to bad so we decided to try to camp. There were only to options, a KOA and Branches of Niagara. Now KOA is usually very pricey and we always avoid them to we go to there other. Turns out they are just as bad and tried to sneak some added fees. In a fit of anger we hop in the van peal right out of there and make our way to the KOA down the street. Apparently the younger man working at the former campground didn't take to kindly to our leaving in such a fashion, thus, following us and freaking out.
The KOA was also to much so we ended up grabbing a shady motel across the street, real shady. I wont go into detail but there were mice...
After a good nights sleep only 2 things were on our minds: see Niagara, and get home. Niagara was a couple pictures and peacing out of there. We made good time getting home, and arrived around 4:30. We unloaded Luke and Andrew's stuff so fast and Jesse and I flew to north Belchertown to finish up. Then I took a a quick detour and then home bound.
The Glorious Unseen- Wrapped Up in You
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ended up being more then anyone of us wanted to pay for, not to mention home was calling our hearts and minds. We shot to Indiana the first day after South Dakota, and weather once again forced us into a hotel for the night.
Then next morning church hunting started up again. We found only one church with a website and times for the service. Liberty Bible Church was huge, not only just the building but the congregation was the largest I've seen in a while. A rough count would be about 600 people, and they have 3 services so all together i could only imagine. This was such an uplifting place, you could tell by looking at the people that they actually wanted to be there. When I see churches that big I figure there must be a catch, bad preaching ( none biblical that is) to left sided ( take a guess) or so feel good ( prosperity types, you know, that guy in Texas with the stadium church...). I was not let down at all. The pastor preached great gospel, the message hit home, he knew the Word, he preached with conviction. I don't even know a church in the area that big, let alone with solid understanding of the bible.
After a great sermon we pushed on. We drove all the way to Buffalo New York. The weather wasn't to bad so we decided to try to camp. There were only to options, a KOA and Branches of Niagara. Now KOA is usually very pricey and we always avoid them to we go to there other. Turns out they are just as bad and tried to sneak some added fees. In a fit of anger we hop in the van peal right out of there and make our way to the KOA down the street. Apparently the younger man working at the former campground didn't take to kindly to our leaving in such a fashion, thus, following us and freaking out.
The KOA was also to much so we ended up grabbing a shady motel across the street, real shady. I wont go into detail but there were mice...
After a good nights sleep only 2 things were on our minds: see Niagara, and get home. Niagara was a couple pictures and peacing out of there. We made good time getting home, and arrived around 4:30. We unloaded Luke and Andrew's stuff so fast and Jesse and I flew to north Belchertown to finish up. Then I took a a quick detour and then home bound.
The Glorious Unseen- Wrapped Up in You
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Whole lot of nothing, Whole lot of Surma..
There was only one more mountain chain for the rest of the trip. We hauled over it, it was an impressive drive all around though, you could see for miles. Then came the plains on South Dakota.
South Dakota really didn't have much to look at other then Badlands, even Mt Rushmore was a little disappointing. It was rolling hills after rolling hills and hot sticky weather. We spent one night outside Rapid City.
The next day we made our way through Badlands, which was one thing I didn't expect to see in South Dakota. Moving on we hit Sioux Falls. We grabbed a camp ground a couple towns over. One with no real bathrooms or showers, but other then that, pretty nice. That night is when South Dakota made a real turn for the better.
Luke and I met up with a friend of mine from WoW, named Chance Swanson. Between sick nasty go carts, a tour of the city including a talking wall....aka 100 gallons of water being dumped on us, it was one of the best nights of the trip. I learned more about that city then I know about my own town in just a couple hours. Chance is the man for showing us a good time, and I'll make sure I stop by there again.
Every Time I Die
South Dakota really didn't have much to look at other then Badlands, even Mt Rushmore was a little disappointing. It was rolling hills after rolling hills and hot sticky weather. We spent one night outside Rapid City.
The next day we made our way through Badlands, which was one thing I didn't expect to see in South Dakota. Moving on we hit Sioux Falls. We grabbed a camp ground a couple towns over. One with no real bathrooms or showers, but other then that, pretty nice. That night is when South Dakota made a real turn for the better.
Luke and I met up with a friend of mine from WoW, named Chance Swanson. Between sick nasty go carts, a tour of the city including a talking wall....aka 100 gallons of water being dumped on us, it was one of the best nights of the trip. I learned more about that city then I know about my own town in just a couple hours. Chance is the man for showing us a good time, and I'll make sure I stop by there again.
Every Time I Die
Wyoming
We rolled into Grand Tetons National Park on a very cloudy day. It was hard to get a good picture, let alone a good view of the mountain range due to the weather. The visitors center was nice though, had a small telescope with a good view.
The snow continued into Yellowstone as well, along with eh crappy weather. We got in just in time to wait an hour to see old faithful lol. The place was pretty crowded for a rainy day but not really cramped. Sure enough though, old faithful came through and put on an impressive show. It was hard to tell how high the water shot up because of the fog but my guess is about 60 feet. We saw a ton of wild life, deer, elk, moose, and maybe one bear, it was hard to tell. The Bison were the most impressive though, they are huge, and they come right up to the roads.
Leaving the park was a bit tricky though, there was a lot of construction, and the pass was closed earlier that day as well. We made it out though and found ourselves in the friendly town of Cody Wyoming. It was a nice town, about the size of Amherst but had a southern vibe to it in the way it looked. The people were all very hospitable and enjoyable to talk to. We took a walk down main street and wondered into a couple stores, one of which I left with a battle axe, cause, well why not lol. Other then the smell in the air, which was just awful, i have nothing bad to say about the town.
The snow continued into Yellowstone as well, along with eh crappy weather. We got in just in time to wait an hour to see old faithful lol. The place was pretty crowded for a rainy day but not really cramped. Sure enough though, old faithful came through and put on an impressive show. It was hard to tell how high the water shot up because of the fog but my guess is about 60 feet. We saw a ton of wild life, deer, elk, moose, and maybe one bear, it was hard to tell. The Bison were the most impressive though, they are huge, and they come right up to the roads.
Leaving the park was a bit tricky though, there was a lot of construction, and the pass was closed earlier that day as well. We made it out though and found ourselves in the friendly town of Cody Wyoming. It was a nice town, about the size of Amherst but had a southern vibe to it in the way it looked. The people were all very hospitable and enjoyable to talk to. We took a walk down main street and wondered into a couple stores, one of which I left with a battle axe, cause, well why not lol. Other then the smell in the air, which was just awful, i have nothing bad to say about the town.
Oregon and Idaho
After a solid nights camping we hit up the Vortex house. It was just a strange place. Weird optical illusions I say rather then anything unnatural.
Idaho was rather boring, we stopped by Craters of the Moon, which was basically miles of volcanic rock. We didn't stay to long. We moved on to a campground a couple hours past that and set up base camp just in time for the rain to start. Luckily we set it up next to a pavilion and dragged it under that. I ended up making a pretty good meal that night for everyone. Something more then the usual turkey sandwich or pasta.
Idaho was rather boring, we stopped by Craters of the Moon, which was basically miles of volcanic rock. We didn't stay to long. We moved on to a campground a couple hours past that and set up base camp just in time for the rain to start. Luckily we set it up next to a pavilion and dragged it under that. I ended up making a pretty good meal that night for everyone. Something more then the usual turkey sandwich or pasta.
The Great White North?
After a beautiful sunset in northern Cali, after the best dinner of the trip thus far, we hit the sack. Waking up early Sunday morning we searched for a church in the area. Google showed us a couple but only 2 had times. There was a Baptist church and a Lutheran church. We figured we would try something new, and new we got, kinda. We walked in to a sanctuary nearly filled with old people, and a very young pastor. Not much to say about the place, just that i find that the first church to break away from the catholic church, they seem, very catholic lol.
Moving on north once more, we started up the summit of Crater Lake. At this point we were kinda used to seeing snow on higher elevations, but not this much. The visitors center and the main look out was covered with 12 ft of snow. We stood on the top of trees and slid down the roof of the visitors center. The view was great though, its a giant lake, and the fact that its on top of the mountain is baffling.
Do to the snow we headed down the mountain in search of a warm campground to stay the night.
Moving on north once more, we started up the summit of Crater Lake. At this point we were kinda used to seeing snow on higher elevations, but not this much. The visitors center and the main look out was covered with 12 ft of snow. We stood on the top of trees and slid down the roof of the visitors center. The view was great though, its a giant lake, and the fact that its on top of the mountain is baffling.
Do to the snow we headed down the mountain in search of a warm campground to stay the night.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
In the Midst of Giants
After a horrible nights sleep we pushed on to the Redwoods. The traffic was slow, on a winding road. I was getting tired, I drove from Sacramento and during the whole San Fransisco escapade.
I gave the keys to Andrew and tried to get a little shut eye. Then BOOM we get pulled over after about 5 minutes. Andrew gets busted for going over the yellow line a couple times. The officer gives me crap for not caring proof of insurance, he was gonna give me a citation for it. Well lucky for us Andrew uses his "Sirs" and "Officers" and flashes his own badge.
Andrew gets his first sobriety test and we walk lol.
With me back in the drivers seat hit the Redwoods. These trees just blew my mind. I could never truly fathom just how big they are. These trees were massive. One was hollowed out and I could stand in the middle, arms outstretched, and still not touch the walls.
We hiked a couple short trails and just took in the scenery. This was by far the most impressive stop on the whole trip. I would go into more detail, but I really just can't put it into words.
All the campgrounds up north were packed. We ended up at a cheep motel where I write this now. We took a drive out to a beach and watched a real west coast sunset. A sunset not on the cape. It was beautiful. A bit chilly and the rocky beach wasn't my first choice, but a great experience none the less.
I gave the keys to Andrew and tried to get a little shut eye. Then BOOM we get pulled over after about 5 minutes. Andrew gets busted for going over the yellow line a couple times. The officer gives me crap for not caring proof of insurance, he was gonna give me a citation for it. Well lucky for us Andrew uses his "Sirs" and "Officers" and flashes his own badge.
Andrew gets his first sobriety test and we walk lol.
With me back in the drivers seat hit the Redwoods. These trees just blew my mind. I could never truly fathom just how big they are. These trees were massive. One was hollowed out and I could stand in the middle, arms outstretched, and still not touch the walls.
We hiked a couple short trails and just took in the scenery. This was by far the most impressive stop on the whole trip. I would go into more detail, but I really just can't put it into words.
All the campgrounds up north were packed. We ended up at a cheep motel where I write this now. We took a drive out to a beach and watched a real west coast sunset. A sunset not on the cape. It was beautiful. A bit chilly and the rocky beach wasn't my first choice, but a great experience none the less.
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