Dan's North American Journey--4 months on the road

[DHC6twinotter]

Hey all,

So, I've been on the road for nearly a month, and I thought I should go ahead and start a thread about my trip. Up to now, most of my trip has consisted of visiting friends/family and a few museums. I haven't had the chance to explore the back country much, but once I leave Nebraska, that should change.

Right now I'm in Lincoln, Nebraska visiting family and enjoying the food from Valentino's and Taco Inn. Over the course of the next few days, I'll try to catch you up with my progress thus far.

A North American Journey​

The plan? I don't really have one. My contract at work expired a couple months ago, so I figured I'd take the opportunity to do a trip across the U.S. This trip has two goals: First, while on the road, I'll be searching for a jobs hopefully within my field of study (GIS), and, second, I'd like to see and experience some of the great things this country has to offer.

Between the ages of 8 and 12, my family (my parents, my sister, my brother, and myfself) spent those 4 years traveling around the States. Anybody remember the TV show Promised Land on CBS? That was us, except for we didn't have a Suburban and Airstream camper...we had a 1984 Buick Century with a ugly, brown car-top-carrier. The five of us had a blast, and I'm excited to experience life on the road once again.

I left North Carolina on June 10th. From there I stopped in Norfolk, VA; Washington DC; Chicago, IL; Oshkosh, Wi; Lincoln, NE; and a few other places in between. I'll update you all with the places I've been thus far, and here's a very rough outline of my upcoming schedule:

July 10-20: Head northwest from Nebraska to the following areas:
-Mount Rushmore
-Badlands
-Grand Tetons
-Yellowstone
-Glacier NP
-Waterton Lakes International Peace Park (Canadian side of Glacier)
July 20-Aug 5: Head south from Montana to the following areas:
-Drive around northern UT and visit what I can there.
-Rocky Mountain National Park
-Drive around CO
-Maybe do the Alpine Loop in CO
-Moab
-Arches National Park
-Canyonlands National Park
Aug 5-9: Visit friends in El Paso, TX. Maybe drive to Big Bend.
August 10-30: Stay somewhere around Flagstaff, Prescott, or Sedona, AZ. Visit Grand Canyon sometime in there.
September 1st-?: Stay in Southern California. Visit Yosemite sometime and DV if not too hot.
September 21-24: Ultimate Yota Pismo Jamboree
October 5-7: BrickCon LEGO convention in Seattle, WA (unsure if I will make it)
October sometime: Fly back to NC, then to the Philippines to help my sister and her family move there. (unsure of this as well)

After October: I have no clue. If I have a job lined up, great! If not, then I may settle down somewhere out West (southern CA or, more likely, northern AZ) or maybe head back to NC and settle down in the Raleigh area.

Continue reading below for the updates, and I'll try to update whenever I can bum internet off a restaurant or hotel.

Thanks,
Daniel

 

[DHC6twinotter]

Post 1: Virginia ​

I664/Monitor-Marrimac bridge-tunnel

June 10th: I left Fayetteville, NC and headed up to Norfolk, VA to meet my brother and his wife. I've always liked the Hampton Roads region, and thought all the underwater tunnels were pretty awesome.

This area is also rich in history, and I drove up to Jamestown and Yorktown to check out some of the historical stuff.

Jamestown Archeological Dig

In 1994, an archeological project, The Jamestown Rediscovery, was started. A few days before I arrived, the archeologists discovered horse bones in the remains of a cellar. The ribs had been butchered, and the archeologists believe the horse was eaten during the winter of 1609.

Jamestown Church

Archeologists also recently discovered the remains of old posts around the church tower. The church and tower were built in 1639, and archeologists think the old posts were used to construct the tower. The tower is the only remaining part of the church, and one of the oldest European built structures in the U.S.

Yorktown, VA

I also made a short trip to Yorktown. This area has become a tourist trap, and I didn't stay very long. They did have some great old houses, and some still had canon balls wedged in the walls.

 

[DHC6twinotter]

Post 2: Virginia to Illinois​

From Yorktown and Jamestown, I drove up to the northern VA and stayed overnight in a rest area off of I66. This was my first night sleeping in the 4Runner, and, despite it being warm, I was pretty comfortable. The Shikibuton foam mattress I have is a perfect fit for the 4Runner and provides adequate cushion for my 250 pound frame. While at the rest area, some guy with his motorcycle spent several hours sleeping a few parking spots over from me. He slept on the ground next to the motorcycle. No sleeping bag or anything. I felt pretty happy to have my enclosed space with my nice mattress.

The next day, I drove over to the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum at the Dulles Airport just to the west of Washington DC. It's an amazing museum.

Lockheed Martin F-35B engine and lift fan

Space Shuttle Discovery

The F-35B engine and lift fan display was one of the highlights for me, as well as the space shuttle Discovery and the B-29. I'm also a fan of radial and rotary (the piston type) engines, so the engine displays were really interesting as well.


After visiting the Udvar Hazy Center, I visited a good friend, Bruce, and his wife, Helena, in Bethesda, MD. I've known Bruce since I was 5, and it was really great to see them again.

June 13, I left Bethesda, MD and started to make my way to Wheeling, Il for a LEGO Convention (yes, I'm 29 and I still like building with LEGO :yikes: ).

I hit my first major climb on I68 in Maryland. Mountain driving is great, and I was excited to finally be in some hills. I pulled off to a rest area at the top of Sideling Hill to take some pictures, like the one above.

After I parked and took in the view for a few minutes, I noticed smoke coming out from under the 4Runner...d'oh!

 

[DHC6twinotter]

Post 3: Illinois to Wisconsin​

The clutch was slipping, and the smoke was evidence of that. I really wish I would have been able to get the clutch replaced before I left. I tried to take it easy the rest of the way, but I could smell the clutch burning on a few of the long climbs. As much as I love mountain driving, I was pretty happy to finally make it though Maryland and West Virginia.

Wind Turbines in IL

Between Indianapolis and Chicago, I passed seemingly hundreds, if not thousands, of wind turbines. They were dotting the landscape as far as I could see in either direction. They weren't some rinky-dink turbine either...these were huge! I was pretty blown away.


In Wheeling, IL, I attended the Brickworld LEGO convention. There were some pretty impressive displays:

LEGO Village and Castle

LEGO Cathedral

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader two sided Mosiac--Anakin Skywalker when viewed from the left and Darth Vader when viewed from the right.

Two LEGO Technic models build by yours truly.

 

[DHC6twinotter]

Post 4: Union, IL​

From the LEGO convention, I drove over to Union, IL to visit the Illinois Railway Museum. Supposedly, this is the largest train museum in the United States, and maybe the world.

The above picture is GE turbine locomotive. Only two remain. Built in 1960, this locomotive has a 850hp diesel engine and cab in the forward unit, the turbine and generators in the 2nd unit, and fuel oil for the turbine in the 3rd unit. The diesel engine is used for low speed movement and starting the turbine.

 

[DHC6twinotter]

Post 5: Wisconsin​

From Union, Illinois, I drove up to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I had a couple weeks to spare, so I decided to go Oshkosh and do a bit of volunteer prep work for the AirVenture Fly-In. This turned out really nice, and I was given a place to stay in an old farm house, and free food on weekends.

The farm house had a couple other volunteers staying there. When I stepped through the back door and into the kitchen, Bud was the first person I met. He is a large guy with a long white beard. Reminded me of Santa Clause. He was drinking a gallon of chocolate milk, and using two fingers, he was eating some kind of bacon flavored dip straight from the jar.

While there, I painted this:

Paint Project

What did I get myself into?! The building was a pain to paint. All the vertical groves in the siding had to be painted with a brush. Took forever! After 2.5 days of painting, I was really happy to finally be done painting....or so I thought.

Then they asked me to paint the interior. I figured it was probably sheetrock and couldn't be that bad. I was wrong. The interior had the same vertical siding as the outside, only this time, they wanted a three tone paint job. Brown on the bottom half, white on the top, and a beige chair railing. Yay! I'm far too meticulous of a painter to ever be efficient at it. After 8 days, I was glad to finally be done. Oh, on my last day of working in 90+ degree heat, they told me the AC worked, despite all the electrical work and bare wires hanging out everywhere.

During the paint job, I was treated with the occasional sound of a Bassler Turbine DC-3, the jet engine on a Saber, and the sound of radial engines.

Many hacked up VW Bugs are used for various purposes during the airshows, but mostly for flight-line operations. They've become an icon at the airshow.

Scooters donated by Honda

On my last day, I managed to visit the EAA Museum. This is a surprisingly great museum with many rare aircraft, and I especially liked the radial engine "shop" they had.

Space Ship 1

Buggati Racer. This plane was powered by two Buggati V12 engines mounted behind each other in the rear. Power was transferred to the counter-rotating prop via two drive shafts that ran along either side of the cockpit.

Whitman Airport Control Tower. During the week of AirVenture, this control tower is the busiest in the world. To handle the amount of flights coming in for the show, 3 airplanes land simultaneously on the same runway. There are various colored dots on the runway for pilots to "aim" for. There are a total of 2 paved runways, 2 grass strips, plus a seaplane base a few miles away. It's crazy!

All my hard work was rewarded with a flight in a 1927 Travel Air. The open cockpit flight was amazing, and I love the sound of the 7 cylinder radial engine.

 

[DHC6twinotter]

I need to hurry up and get you all updated so I can start posting new stuff. The last few days have been awesome, and I managed to get some great pictures.

Let me know if I'm posting too many pictures. Also, I'm still learning photography, so if anybody has any suggestions about how I can improve, please let me know.

 

[DHC6twinotter]

Northern Wisconsin​

While in Wisconsin, I decided to drive up to the tip of the "thumb".

Light house on the shore of Lake Michigan. Algoma, WI.

Feed store in Algoma, WI.

I found a road that weaved its way along the shore of Lake Michigan. I really didn't know where I was going, but I figured it would be difficult to get lost on a narrow peninsula.

Shore of Lake Michigan

On this winding road, I found Cave Point County Park. This place was really awesome, but I really wish I could have seen it in the early morning sunlight.

Cave Point County Park, Wisconsin

As I followed the road up a bit more, I rounded a bend and was surprised at what I saw. Ford Model A's! Lots of them! As it turns out, here in the middle of nowhere, there was Model A gathering. Way cool.

Model A gathering

Then I reached the tip of the peninsula. There's a ferry that runs over to Washington Island, but I was running low on fuel and daylight, so I had to turn back.

Tip of the Wisconsin "thumb"

Then I headed down the Green Bay side of the Peninsula. This side of the Peninsula was dotted by neat little bay side town.

I passed a neat looking barn with graffiti painted all over it. Turns out that years ago, boaters would sign their name on the building whenever they came to port. The city continues this tradition and lets anybody sign their name.

Anderson Warehouse Graffiti

Sunset over Green Bay

On the way up, I passed this place.

Pooh Soon? I caught a blimps of the sign as I was passing by. What's Pooh Soon? I thought maybe it was a pharmacy that specialized in laxatives, but that would be odd. As I drove by again for a second look and a picture, I realized it was some kind of Thai restaurant. Pooh soon indeed!

 

[azken]

I am thoroughly enjoying your travel experience...your pictures and narrative are great...thanks for taking the time to share.

Ken

 

[r3run33]

thanks for posting!!! sometime you pass through a state and have no idea what is available.

 

[ExpoMike]

Nice pics and report so far. BTW, if you look at those letters, its Pooh Saan. Those are A's (see the little tail).

 

[oneenv]

Nice write up! Pictures look great. How about a picture of your rig......and how's the clutch doing?

If you end up in Raleigh look me up.

Safe travels.

Eli

 

[DHC6twinotter]

Post 7: Nebraska​

So, as I type this, I'm listening to a Rapid City rock station. The DJ forgot to turn off his mic as the song is playing, and right now I'm listing to the Eagles with the melodious sounds of the DJ hacking and blowing his nose in the background. What a hoot.

Anyways, as my poor effort to keep you all updated proceeds, this post will highlight what I did in Nebraska.

My 88 year old grandmother lives in Nebraska, and we had sort of a mini family reunion. I also had the clutch replaced at a local shop. I had the kit from Marlin Crawler with me, so I had them put that in. Nothing too exciting for you all I suppose, so here are some other highlights of the trip:

Spent Indepedence Day in Lincoln. After a day at the Omaha Zoo with my nephew and niece (5 and 7), nobody felt like going anywhere. We sat out on the driveway and watched the neighbors shoot of their fireworks. It turned out really awesome, and I've never seen so many fireworks! Fireworks were going off all around us for hours on both the 3rd and 4th. It was insane.

Fireworks over Lincoln

My uncle and I drove out to the farm where he and my mom grew up. Right now it's all bean fields, but my grandparents used it as an apiary when they lived there.

Farmhouse where mom grew up.

We also ran up the road a bit to check out my Grandpa's old bee truck.

Grandpa's 1945 Ford 2 ton truck with wheelbase stretch

It's a 1945 Ford 2 ton truck. It has a flathead V8, 4 spd manual trans, and 2 speed rear axle. My grandfather had the frame and wheelbase stretched shortly after he bought the truck new in '45. He also had an auxiliary fuel tank, which was nothing more than a barrel strapped to the driver's side. He used it to haul his bees around, but he stopped migrating with the bees shortly after he bought the truck. The truck broke down, and he gave it to the neighbor in '77. It's been sitting in the garage since. Everybody is pretty adamant about it being a '45, but from the little research I've done, the 2 ton trucks weren't out till '46, so I dunno.

Anyways, the reason I'm telling you all this is because this may be my truck once I settle down. I can get the truck free, but I've got to decide if I want or can restore it.

While in Nebraska, I also stopped by the Strategic Air and Space Museum. If you like old bombers, this is the museum to to go. They have rare aircraft like the B-36, B-29, B-47, B-58, B-1B, SR-71, and many more. I just went to see the B-36 mostly.

Two of the four turbojet engines and intakes for three of the six 28 cylinder "corncob" radial engines used on the B-36

Three of the six pusher props on the B-36


You know you're in the midwest when you see this:

But if you're confused what pop is, some places have a sign like this:

 

[DHC6twinotter]

Eli, I lived in Fayetteville before leaving on this trip. I went up to Raleigh at least once a month. Didn't know there were any expo member up there.

I may be back in the Raleigh area if my job search out west doesn't pan out.

 

[DHC6twinotter]

Post 8: Nebraska to South Dakota​

My trip has taken taken a drastic turn. As you can see, up till now, my trip has been focusing more on seeing family and attending a few other events in between. Now that I've left Nebraska, the trip will focus more on visiting parks and some of the back country. I will be doing much more truck camping, and things should be much more interesting.

I left Nebraska on July 11th. I'll be heading up to the Badlands and the Black Hills, with a couple stops on the way. The new clutch is great, although I'm having to get used to driving my 4Runner all over again. It's really nice to no longer have to push the clutch pedal all the way to floor whenever I want to change gears.

I stopped at Harold Warp's Pioneer Village in Minded, NE. You want to see old tractors? They've got a couple hundred. You want to see old cars? They've got a few hundred. You want to see old outboard boat motors? They've got a couple hundred. You want to see old stagecoaches and carriages? They've got a couple hundred. You want to see old airplane engines? They've got a few of those. Old steam powered fire trucks? They've got a few of those. You get the idea. They've got a lot of a lot. This place is crazy.

Otto Engine. This was the first 4 stroke engine built

1937 Cord

Steam Powered Fire Engine

From the museum, I drove up and stayed overnight in the Nebraska National Forest. Pretty neat park, although the section I stayed in had few trees.

While prepping my wonderful breakfast (cereal), I realized I left all my silverware at home. Not sure I how did that. I know I set the silverware aside to bring, but I guess I left it somewhere. However, I did have a giant stirring spoon, so that filled the breakfast spoon role for now.

After breakfast, I continued my drive up highway 83 to South Dakota and the Badlands.