That was a crazy trip!

Let me tell you about a crazy trip.  Initially the plan was to move out of apartment and drive cross country to San Francisco the last week of August but because of Irene and the fact our apartment was a foot above sea level and only a few steps away from the water at high tide we had to get out of there a week early.  Of course we couldn't get the U-haul a week early so we had to be a little creative and use my trailer to get everything out in time.

After stuffing everything into a garage we survived the hurricane and now had to figure out how to get everything into a U-haul.  Of course now we had no power which meant no way to do laundry, take showers and when the sun went down we were packing in the dark.  So when everything was ready to go we were already looking worse for the wear before we even got out of Connecticut but away we went.

First stop was Chicago (my home town) where we stayed with friends and got a chance to see my old house and school.  When I was growing my parents painted the house a color they called "Red Wine" but it instantly faded into a color that me and my friends would call pink.

After doing a drive by tour of my childhood we set out west of Chicago, an area we knew nothing about. Iowa was filled with nothing but flat corn fields for as far as the eye can see as well as some of the craziest rain storms I have ever experienced.

If you ever drive cross country via I-80 it is important to know you basically have to stay in North Platte, NE.  The book On The Road mentions that eventually civilization appears to end and the only place you can find a bed for a night is North Platte.  The town is so proud of the fact they are in the middle of no where it is more or less their motto.

After driving through Iowa and Nebraska I now realize how vast the US is and what they mean by "Bread Basket".  Wyoming is where I think the "Big Country" begins.  Cattle and prairies with occasional mountains that you could see in the distance.  Amazingly despite the fact the land was mostly flat our elevation was around 8,000 feet.

The land starts to transform as you approach Utah.  The prairies disappear and you are surrounded by beautiful red canyons.  We drove through the canyons and Park City as the sun was setting.

All for now but there is still a sunset drive into Salt Lake City, making it through the salt flats, Burning Man and Lake Tahoe.