The final stretch home …

After leaving Austin, we still have a long way to go until we leave Hwy 50 to finally get back onto I-80 west just outside of Reno. We stop just before the state border and Kirk attempts to win our vacation money by investing $20 in the slot machines – unsuccessfully.

Then we cross into California, over the Donner Pass and descend to Sacramento. From here on it’s a very familiar trip home (same route as from Rollins Lake), and by 6:00 PM we are finally home!

After 3 weeks and 2 days of travelling, including 166 hours of driving (8,181 miles) through 28 States (or 27 plus DC), and visiting with 44 people it is time to unpack, clean up and relax!

After having said goodbye to I-70 here, Hwy 50 west will be our new trail for the next day and 3 states, as we’re headed towards Nevada, to drive along “the loneliest highway” through that state and into California on our quest home.

Everything on 50 takes longer … although it doesn’t seem like it from looking at the map, every hour only gets us just barely over an inch on the map! We drive on and on, crossing from Utah into Nevada, and over seven passes (most over 7,000 ft high) before calling it a night in Austin, NV – pretty much smack dab in the middle of the state and along Hwy 50. The Pony Express RV Park hosts 7 full-jhook up sites on a gravel lot. That’s it. But while at first we are alone (besides an RV in storage), we soon are joined by another trailer camping family. They too went with Google Maps as this being the only campground in town and missed the sign for the one just 100 yards down the street – which does have showers … Well, we have hook ups. Good enough!

Refreshed we are ready to get back onto I-70 west and explore some more of Colorado.

We do stray from the freeway to leave out a shorter section with tunnel in favor of the Loveland Pass, 11,990 feet elevation, including the Continental Divide and get our feet wet (or cold) in the snow! After passing a couple of ski areas, we are back onto I-70 and zip past Vail, Aspen and other fancy ski resort towns. It’s a beautiful drive through the Rocky Mountains, definitely a much better choice than the “faster” I-80.

Soon we’re cruising through the stunning Glenwood Canyon, continue to crisscross over and along the Colorado River and through more canyons into Grand Junction. We’re approaching the stat border soon, and make our way into yet another state on the trip and along I-70: Utah.

It’s approaching 5pm when we turn onto Hwy 191 south towards Moab, UT. Just a half hour down the road, passing by the entrance to Canyonlands National Park on the west, we turn east into the Arches National Park! It is too late for the Visitor Center, but with the park open 24 hrs, we are perfectly timed for great pre-sunset lights on the spectacular rock formations here.

Park Avenue is just the beginning of the beautiful sights to see here. We continue along the route to see Courthouse Towers, the Petrified Dunes and the Balanced Rock. Then we stop for a little hike around the first group of main arches: the Windows. North Window, South Window, Double Arch, Turret Arch are all worth the visit. To make the best of the light, we continue on further, passing the Fiery Furnace and Salt Valley views to see more arches near the Devils Garden trailhead and campground, including Skyline Arch. Here is where we stop and enjoy our picnic dinner watching the sunset. It is dark as we head back out of the park, to continue back to our route … knowing that we have to come back some day to see more!

We’re heading back up towards I-70, and stop for gas at Crescent Junction (which is really only a gas station). Good thing we’re still good to go another 20 miles to the next town, as this place charges $5 a gallon – twice the going rate! Green River has multiple gas stations at normal pricing, and we fill up before heading out into the dark and empty wilderness along I-70 (next services: 106 miles!). About 20 miles later it is past 11pm as we pull over for the night, at the San Rafael Reef Vista Point.

From here on out, it will be 880 miles that we stay on I-70 … but not so fast! While Kansas seems to be a never-ending state when you drive along the freeway, it’s actually beautifully calming. And getting tougher on the truck (or should I say the gas mileage) as we climb the high plains going west.

After what feels like forever (but actually only 254 miles), we are moving the clock back 1 hour to Mountain Time zone, as we are finally ready to leave Kansas behind and cross over into Colorado. What stays the same is our freeway (I-70 west) and the continued climb up higher. 181 miles to Denver, CO and then about 30 more to our campground west of Denver in Central City, CO.

Today holds our last “visit” for this trip! By mid-morning, we are back on the road and head further south, to Marshfield, MO, where we will meet for the first time ever cousins of Kirk’s dad. A little out of our original way, but definitely worth the detour.

We get to meet the Keeler family, including Dianne – the daughter of Paul Burnett, who was the brother of Kirk’s grandma Nettie Sylvester – and her husband Leray, her brother Wayne Burnett, Doren and Lisa Keeler, as well as Lisa Lampe and a couple more family members.

They made lunch for us – including a delicious blackberry cobbler – and after a few hours of exchanging family stories, we are back on the road. We’re heading west, following I-44 just across the border into Oklahoma. Then it’s off the interstate and onto county roads, where we immediately cross into the next state: Kansas, where we are heading first north and soon west towards Wichita.

A big thunder & lightning storm catches up to us well after dark, so we pull off at a rest area to spend the night.

Tuesday is “guys’ breakfast day” and Kirk gets to join Mike, Rich and a couple of others in their weekly routine, while Lynn and I enjoy breakfast at their house. Lynn is a great cook and host, and we could not have asked for a better stay!

But by late morning, it is time for us to say goodbye to the Farley’s and continue on our trip. We head west, and cross the border into Iowa. From here on, it’s south, and into the next state: Missouri.

It’s a long drive, but just in time for (a later-than-usual) dinner we arrive in Warrensburg, MO, near Whiteman AFB, where Kirk’s friends Jeff and Angela live with their two kids, Ashley and Austin. They were also stationed in Spangdahlem, Germany when Kirk was there, and there is a funny story around Kirk’s 2nd departure for Germany and Ashley’s date of birth … ask him and he will tell!

After a little catching up, we all head out to dinner at a local restaurant in town and more stories are being told. It feels like time just flew by since Kirk and them last saw each other, but it has been almost 18 years.

Too soon it is time to say goodbye for us again, as we are still heading on for a little longer before calling it a day. About an hour south is the Cozy Cove RV Park in Clinton, and we check in for the night after 11pm.

By early afternoon, Mike is taking on a “tour” to show us the sights of Princeton, IL. Not only the 4 huge flags at the freeway exit to guide visitors to President Ronald Reagan’s birthplace (about 30 miles from here), or the huge new water tower (big enough for a town of 40,000 … let alone the 4,800 who live here), but more importantly the old Farley farm, where Kirk’s mom Pat and her siblings grew up, the high school in Malden (where Pat graduated from)and other hometown highlights, but also the historical covered bridge (as well as the new covered bridge).

The family gets back together for dinner, and Kirk and I enjoy being hosted, fed, entertained – and have a chance to take a break and relax – as we’re spending quality time with family. And to make the day even better, both the A’s and the White Sox win their respective games this evening (the Warriors not so much) …

After packing up our camp site we head down further south on I-75 to Lexington, KY.

We’re literally “making the rounds” around my old stomping grounds, starting with a visit to the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort at the north end of town, where I used to work for 18 months, starting 1997. Good memories! Instead of my dog Ben I now have J.T. in my arms, and Kirk snaps a photo of us in front of “The Mansion”, previously a fine dining restaurant where my British roommate Darren used to work (while I was in Banquets most of the time).

Then we take Hwy 4 “New Circle Rd”) and Man O’ War Blvd around the city to the south side, where I used to live – first driving by Beechwood Circle, then Brandywine Apartments on Trent Blvd, before a quick stop closer to downtown/campus on Central Ave.

Kirk makes me pay for this round by deciding on White Castle as our restaurant of choice for lunch. A #7 combo gets us 10 (!) sliders, 2 fries and 2 drinks…. I guess you’d have to watch Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle to get it … A first & last for me!

Then we’re heading west, but not too far. Frankfort, KY is already our next stop. Kirk’s cousin Kathy (his mom’s brother’s daughter) lives here and we are stopping by to say Hi! After just a quick visit however we are back on the road – we have plenty of miles (and a couple of stops along the way) still ahead of us today.

Louisville, KY is home to the famous Louisville Slugger (the largest baseball bat in the world!) and its museum, and with Kirk being a baseball fan, this is a must-see. It’s pouring rain, and lighting & thundering right as we are checking it out … time to head on.

We cross the Ohio River and enter Indiana. It’s flat now, but not dark yet, and just at sunset we reach Indianapolis, IN, where we get off the freeway to stop by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the famous Indy 500 car race. A quick video and a few photos, and on we go.

With about 4-5 hours left to our destination in Illinois, only the time zone change (to Central) makes the arrival time in Princeton, IL a little more bearable … 2am. But Mike and Lynn, Kirk’s uncle & aunt are waiting for us and while the trailer gets parked in the driveway, the 3 of us sleep in the house. Aaahhhh …

It’s time to get dressed in our A’s gear this morning, and by noon we’re dropping J.T. off at a dog sitter in Florence, KY where she will spend the day with several other dogs (big and small) at Celia’s home. We are heading on to downtown Cincinnati, where at the Great American Ballpark the Cincinnati Reds are playing the Oakland A’s for game 2 of the series today!

We pick up our tickets, and explore the Riverpark and walk around the ballpark. Then we stop for lunch, before it’s time to head inside and collect our giveways: the Reds Garden Gnome! The game starts just after 4pm, and while we are in time to watch some practice on the field, very few players are stopping to sign autographs, and we come up empty.

The game is pretty slow paced, and **spoiler alert** the A’s loose. Game 2 brought the same results as the night before … 2:1 Reds.

After we stroll through the few blocks up from the park and find the Observation deck (at the Hilton) already closed, we get some local ice cream, listen to the summer stage band perform and soon head back out.

J.T. did really well in “camp”, but couldn’t be more thrilled when we pick her up. Then we return to our campground to wind down …