Driving across America #1: Redmond, WA to Sumner, IA and Mullens, WV
News, Bad Drivers, Guns ·Sunday June 20, 2010 @ 17:20 EDT (link)
This summer we elected to drive across these United States, to visit our parents and see the sights along the way. And this was the way of it.
The trip to West Virginia, where we were headed first, was about 42 hours, which we did over three days. We left our apartment in Redmond at 1640 on June 19, but I-405S was so jammed up near I-90 that it took about an hour to get onto it. Shout-outs to bad drivers WA 958 VQP in a maroon Ford Contour, "Fairest" sticker in rear window and WA 742 SVU in an old dark green Nissan Sentra, for letting half the world butt in line. Honey was driving; I took over near Spokane. Lot of beautiful mountain views from the windows (although it was dark when we drove across most of the Cascades in Idaho: a short but very twisty crossing of the panhandle).
We hit the Montana border at 2335 PST (time zone change at the border—following times MST), stopped briefly at a rest area before Missoula, leaving at 0141, and then stopped for a brief sleep at another rest area, 0321-0727, with Honey driving again. Of course, you don't see all that much from the highway: some nice scenery, for sure, but it's nothing like having the time to explore, take in some parks, maybe even camp for a few days, which we'd like to go back and do in some of states within driving distance, especially Montana. And there weren't any pictures while I was driving.
We reached Wyoming at 1615, just crossing a small strip of it on US-212 rather than heading further south on the I-90, rejoining the I-90 in South Dakota: in retrospect we probably didn't save much time since the two arcs (212 and 90) are about the same length: but Google Maps sent us along the 212, possibly not accounting for conditions. We either missed the sign or there was no sign, so didn't notice when we crossed into South Dakota. Since people had spoken highly of it—and there were signs for miles—we stopped in at Wall Drug, but it really wasn't that impressive: it's a set of touristy stores under one roof with a Western theme; we weren't there long. We stopped at 0035 in Mitchell, SD at the Kelly Inn, about 70 miles west of the I-29 crossroads (and Sioux Falls). We rested well and checked out at 1026. Since I had my handguns with me, we had to make some stops to reposition them according to the patchwork of local laws that infringe in various ways on the right to property and self-defense, following, at worst case, the federal safe passage law that inhibits states from bothering travelers if firearms are stored in a certain way (FOPA). Many states allow open carry in vehicles; some have reciprocity with Washington, or accept any permit, or don't require one at all ("constitutional carry"). I had brought a printout of the various restrictions with us, but we had no trouble.
The Goldens', Sumner, IA
Many years ago—it must have been around 1990—Ted and Lois Golden had left the Welland Gospel Hall (link is to the Brethrenpedia… I'm as surprised as you are) where we attended when we first moved to Canada; "Uncle" Ted was my Sunday School teacher, and we knew their children well and visited often. They left suddenly—plant shutdown—and moved to Iowa, which to me was as remote as outer space at the time, but I filed it away. I'd found Virginia ("Ginny") on Facebook, and through her Ted and Lois, and contacted them about stopping by on our trip, since, fortuitously (providentially!) we were passing through the state. As it happened we weren't to be too far from their home in Sumner, and when we arrived at 1745 Lois invited us for a delicious home-cooked dinner and we visited with her, Ted, Virginia, and the kittehs—Virginia rescues them and there's always a number around.
Orange kitteh
Ted, Virginia, and Lois Golden
Honey holding a kitteh
We stayed about four hours catching up, and left at about 2115. At 0015 we entered Illinois, one of the most anti-gun (anti-individual, anti-rights) states in the nation (up there with a few other contenders such as CA, NY, NJ, MA, MD, HI— the usual suspects). No stops there: just passing through. Their neighbor, Indiana, is much friendlier and would be a place we'd consider living if we moved back east; beautiful scenery (trees and hills rather than the mountains and plains further west), nice mix of rural and urban. We slept at a rest area again, 0147-0600, drove all day, and arrived at Honey's parents in Mullens, West Virginia at 1720 on Sunday, June 20, as planned on our trip calendar, which sketched out dates and gave us plenty of time for a somewhat leisurely journey. It had been a long time since we had seen everyone, especially for me, and the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness.
Books finished: Rich Dad's Guide To Becoming Rich Without Cutting Up Your Credit Cards.
We hit the Montana border at 2335 PST (time zone change at the border—following times MST), stopped briefly at a rest area before Missoula, leaving at 0141, and then stopped for a brief sleep at another rest area, 0321-0727, with Honey driving again. Of course, you don't see all that much from the highway: some nice scenery, for sure, but it's nothing like having the time to explore, take in some parks, maybe even camp for a few days, which we'd like to go back and do in some of states within driving distance, especially Montana. And there weren't any pictures while I was driving.
