- Why are you doing this? I've always wanted to see every state and figured it's best to do it while I'm young. I was furloughed during the 2013 government shut down and realized I was wasting time and money sitting around waiting for a job that I could be furloughed for again in January. I decided if I was going to waste time and money, it would be better to do it on something I'd always wanted to do, so it made for the perfect opening.
- What about your job? I quit it.
- How can you afford this? I had money saved up for a down payment on a house. I couldn't get a loan because my job was deemed too unstable; the next week I was furloughed. So I decided to use some of that money to take this trip instead.
- How do you sleep? Generally, in a sleeping bag, in the front passenger side seat of my car, in a Rest Area. I used to wrap my jacket up to use as a pillow but lately have not needed anything but my headrest.
- Do you get cold? Sometimes I get a little chilled, but my sleeping bag is a triple layered military surplus bag intended to protect against arctic level temperatures so I stay warm enough. I have, however, as I've gone further north, started sleeping with extra layers of socks, a snow hat, and a ski mask.
- How do you bathe/brush your teeth? I brush my teeth in Rest Areas. If I don't have a place to stay at, I don't shower. Every 2 or 3 days I go into a Rest Area bathroom and clean myself with germ sanitizer and baby wipes. Sanitizer first and wipes second because the wipes smell better.
- What do you eat/drink? I was lucky enough to receive some gift cards for my birthday and Christmas from my parents and my friend Kim. If I'm eating at a restaurant I'll normally look for a place I have a card to first. I also will grab one of those giant Walmart subs because they've got pretty good value and I can eat off of that for 2 or 3 days.
- What did you do with your apartment? Moved out.
- What did you do with your stuff? It's all in a storage unit I'm renting while I'm on the road.
- What do you do for health insurance? I'm paying for it out of pocket as an individual.
And now, for a list of small things I've noticed/have irked me/I thought were cool while traveling:
- Traffic lights change a lot more than you think. A small town I passed through in Tennessee had red lights with strobe lights behind them; I'm epileptic, you're gonna give me a seizure while I'm stopped. In Little Rock, I saw a green light with vents on it, like it was wearing Kanye West glasses. In Cheyenne they have a flashing left yellow arrow; it's only purpose is to let you know you don't have the right of way in case you forgot. Some traffic lights go vertical, others go horizontal, some hang over the road, others hang on the corners of the block.
- You see some weird signs and have no idea what they mean. Wyoming had something like "Port of Arrival", in New Mexico there was "Zone of Safe Operation", and, I promise you, leaving Oklahoma City I saw a sign that had just a question mark on it, like somebody told the sign to say something, and the sign said, "I've got no idea what this guy is talking about."
- Truckers are awesome. The vast majority of them are extremely considerate drivers. They stay in the right lane when not passing, they move over when someone is broken down or trying to get in from the on ramp, and, as anyone following me knows, they're good tools to get out of bad weather. I've also noticed a correlation between how many truckers are on the road and how considerate the other drivers are, so their consideration seems to rub off.
- Tennessee loves Dollar General. I saw at least 8 going from Lynchburg to Memphis.
- Starting in Texas, the maximum interstate speed limit you see goes up to 75; that's awesome.
- Texas on ramps and exits are dangerously ridiculous. It also stretches into bordering states, but I first saw it in Texas. In South Carolina, you have a long, straight on ramp and exit of about 70-150 feet (guessing) that's connected to the road going across the interstate. In Texas, to enter the interstate, you have to first take the frontage road. Then, if the frontage road isn't one way, you have to go across a facing lane of traffic to get on the actual on ramp, which tends to be around 40-60 feet long. No extended merging lane, you have 40-60 feet to go from frontage road speed, which could be 0 if you had to wait for a car to pass going the other direction, to, generally, 75, because their interstate speed is faster. And at the end of the on ramp is a yield sign, because apparently the people designing the on ramps realize you don't have a good chance of safely getting in on your first try. And the exits are exactly the same. They're short, even though you're slowing down from a faster speed, have a yield sign at the end because you're merging onto the frontage road, driving across a facing lane of traffic if it's not one way.
- Colorado has been highly overrated for me. I shouldn't say anything until I'm done with the state for good, but I was so ready for Colorado to be the greatest state ever, and it's brought much more grief than enjoyment so far, all reasons relating to my car/driving: 1) You can't have a clean car in Colorado. The day after I went to the Breaking Bad car wash my car was covered in mud/dirt/dust/ice/snow. I was ready for someone to say, "Boy, your car sure does look great," and I'd say, "Thanks, I got it washed at the Breaking Bad car wash." Not anymore: thanks, Colorado. 2) Those following me know, this weather is horrible driving for me. Not just the snow storms, but even casual driving you have to constantly look out for ice and pot holes in the road. 3)All the drivers are impatient. I think this is a combination of larger populations being impatient and me trying to drive more safely, but everyone on the road seems rushed to me. All together, the state just doesn't seem worth the trouble of a long term stay in my eyes.
February 16th: Rocky Mountain National Park
17th: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
18th: Mesa Verde National Park, 4 corners monument
19th: Arches National Park
20th: Canyonlands National Park
21st: Capitol Reef National Park
22nd: Salt Lake City, Great Salt Lake
23rd: Great Basin National Park
24th: Zion National Park
25th: Bryce Canyon National Park
26th: Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Park, Painted Desert
27th: Petrified Forest National Park
28th: Meteor Crator, Grand Canyon National Park, Highway 66
29th: Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, Heart Attack Grill, Sun Buggy Fun Rentals
All dates are tentative, but I know a few people have thought about meeting me in Las Vegas, so I can arrange it so I'm there at a specific time. Those who looked close enough (probably nobody) may have noticed I removed a few items: snowmobiling, skiing, and flyboarding.
Snowmobiling and skiing I removed for a few reasons:
- The money; those two items are actually some of the most expensive ones on my trip, and since I had to spend a fair amount on my car in Dallas, I thought it might be smart to save some money somewhere else.
- Rethinking it, it seems like skiing at least would be a lot more fun to do with friends. It seems a shame to buy some winter clothes and rent ski equipment for a day of fun for myself. I think making a winter break out of the whole thing with some friends would be a lot more fun, so when I get done with my trip, I'll save up and see who among you wants to go on a skiing/snowmobiling trip.
- I hate the freaking snow! At this point, voluntarily participating in an activity that requires snow to happen is like bathing in a vat of my least favorite food (squash). Flyboarding I've rescheduling; it involves being in the water and I wasn't even thinking of how cold it would be when I scheduled it in Utah during winter. Flyboarding is also offered in Florida so I'm going to try to do it then. It's also an event, though, that would probably be more fun with multiple people, so if you want to participate, let me know so I can delay it until after my trip.
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