Big Sky to Baltimore to New Orleans - 4000+ miles in 8 days - Now that's truckin!



Heading Down Big Sky



Heading toward a storm in Montana

We are in New Orleans after traveling 4000+ miles in 8 days. It has been quite a return to the truck. On our trip back from Big Sky I was shocked by the amount of flooding in the north west.  The flooding caused a detour from I-90, which was closed from Billings to the Wyoming border, to I-94 but I did get to knock off North Dakota from goal of seeing all 50, now down to South Dakota, Vermont and Alaska.  As the pictures show the flooding was bad and at one point we thought we may come upon more flooded roads.

Besides the flooding we also drove through plenty of rain on our way to Baltimore.  I have to say that at times the rain made me uneasy.  The rain was coming down hard, and with all the tornadoes this spring I can tell you I was nervous.

A couple of humorous moments for me occurred on Thursday night. By that evening I absolutely hit the wall.  I just couldn't sit in my seat any longer and abandon Vince for bed.  As we road across I-70 eastbound in Pennsylvania I thought I was on a bucking horse, thanks to the rough road and a storm accompanied by high winds.  Needless to say I never went to sleep, because I was too busy trying to not fall of the bed.

Then when Vince stopped at a truck stop to go the bathroom I had to ask the question only a novice/non trucker would probably ask, "why are we still going on when the weather is this bad?" My husband's answer, "it is 11:30 pm and this truck stop is probably going to full"  Now this is an answer I get off and on when my loving husband becomes Eeyore, yes that's right Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, "oh bother".  When he becomes Eeyore it amuses me, because he is usually so positive.  He shared that he would make a trip around the lot just to make sure, but his statement was in no way a positive one.  Now I am not as positive as Vince, but I do always try to be positive about finding a parking spot. Vince, who I understand and agree has more experience, is often times negative about finding parking late at night.  However that night as Vince headed around the lot it was only a matter of seconds before I felt movement that made me believe we were adjusting to a parking spot.  The next thing I heard was the truck shut off and all I could do was smile because Eeyore was wrong there was a parking spot.  Although I didn't say anything about the spot, I did share with him that I was relieved that we were parked because within three minutes of stopping, the winds kicked up again and we were suddenly in the middle of a horrible lighting show and torrential rain storm.

After Baltimore we headed up to Harrisburg to the home office to drop our trailer and check in.  As we were talking to dispatchers Chris, Ric and Kevin about our weekend dispatch of Hartford to Rochester.  Kevin asked us to hold up because four agents in New Orleans had just cancelled for Monday. Therefore they were looking at sending us to New Orleans instead of Hartford, before heading to Los Angeles. We checked back in about an hour later and were told to head to NOLA. But before heading to NOLA we had to go to go north to Wappingers Falls, NY to pick up our Los Angeles trailer. We spent the weekend driving and driving and driving.  Okay Vince was driving and I was riding, but trust me being a passenger/cheerleader is tough work. On our travels south we found warmth and sushine but also found additional high water areas, which made us wonder if there is any part of the country right now not dealing with flooding.We arrived in NOLA on Monday in time to help Steve, the lead driver for Shrek put in the show.

Today Vince had to take a 34 hour break from driving, before we could head out again. It was so nice to sit for a day at the Palace truck stop just outside NOLA and get laundry caught up but more importantly just relax.  Tomorrow we are headed to the city of angels, which means another 1900 miles.  I am definitely getting my truckin in this time, no doubt about it.



Flooding in MT



Flooding in ND

Big Sky in May still means gloves and layers

Us in front of Big Sky Mountain

Chalets in Big Sky

Well I finally made it back to the truck.  My flights from Chicago to Seattle to Spokane were uneventful, but I do have one question.  Why do people who have boarding passes in the high B and C category get on Southwest flights, make their way all the way to the back of the plane then look at the flight attendants and ask - "What do I do now?" Seriously - here's an idea get in one of the many seats you passed on the trip to the back of the plane.  We were late getting out of Midway because eight people pulled that stunt.

My arrival in Spokane was a wonderful reunion for us.  I forget how much I love the truck until I get back in it.  Our trip to Big Sky was a lovely drive until we had to climb the mountain, because we got to do that in a driving rain storm.  The water was very high next to the road and just hours after we passed through a culvert became blocked by falling rocks and the road was closed for two days. Talk about your good timing.

We were in Big Sky, not some place Vince and the gang usually go, for the Asian Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) a governmental conference.  Vince was the lead driver on this assignment and in order for him to do it, we needed to go through what I believe was level one security background checks. Thankfully we were both approved, not that there was really any question about that, and so there we were  in Big Sky surrounded by mountains and oh yeah snow. One nice thing about the gig was that they provided Vince a condo for a week at the beginning - the first week of May and then for the weekend when we returned. Snow in the middle of May is just not my idea of a good time, especially when I found myself digging out my gloves Saturday night for Sunday morning's prediction of 32 degree temperatures.

However,the views were beautiful and after a rainy Saturday the sky opened up for two pretty nice days on Sunday and Monday.  I must confess that Vince did try to get me to go on one of the ski lifts on Sunday to get a better view but I was too chicken. I'm sure Elizabeth is not surprised since she has seen how scared I get on the sky ride at the Ohio State fair which is really not that high.  We are headed to Baltimore for a Friday load in and with a I-90 closed in between Harding, MT and the Wyoming border due to flooding, we are making our way via I-94. Which means I got to knock off another state North Dakota, that makes it 47 so far ,only VT and South Dakota of the 48 and Alaska left to see.

Wheels up today!

So glad to report I will be returning to the truck this evening.  I am flying to Spokane to catch up with Vince.  We are then headed to Big Sky, Montana.  So excited that I will be marking off another state.  After Montana I will be down to only 4 of our great 50 to see.  Stay tuned because you never know what stories may come from a 6+ hour flight and our trip (possibly in snow) to Montana.

Also wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you in the over 20 countries who have continued to check in on us over the last few months. Your support is greatly appreciated.  I never thought we would hit over a 1000 views so fast and hope you will continue to share and enjoy our journeys.