Oh how happy we are to be back in Lucy, to be home again!
We took off from Springwood Suites on Nov 1 and we debated for just a bit in how to proceed on us moving Lucy up north to Idaho. The direct route would have taken us straight north through Wyoming and Montana. While we love both states a lot, we do not cherish them in the winter months. From being very windy (East WY) to also climbing passes (MT) we thought we try to skirt around it instead.
The next option we had, and probably should have taken to safe time was I-70 to Salt Lake City. However I wasn’t to excited to take Lucy back on I-70 for two reasons. For one, we have done this drive before when heading to Grand Junction and second it includes a lot of climbing and decent which is always a tad stressful for our baby girl. So we took door number three without a real plan and aimed South! Yes south towards New Mexico because that’s what someone like us does when wanting to get North I guess 😂.
So we went on I-25 South and made it to just short of Santa Fe, NM. Granted we had done this same route when heading to Texas earlier this year but at least it was smooth driving for Lucy. We found a Parking Spot that was very nice and quiet for the night. Now our progress is absolutely much
slower then if we drive a car. For one the speed of course (I did move up to 65 mph on interstates now), but we move shorter distances since we like to still keep our home traditions. We had stopped earlier for Lunch at a Rest Stop, and we also stop for our traditional coffee and cake each day (also done in a rest stop).
Now, if we don’t go for an RV Park or Campground we have several options to choose from each night. When on an interstate the most common choices are Truck Stops, Rest Stops or Parking Spots. Truck Stops are in my eyes good for getting our diesel and maybe stocking up on snacks or getting lunch. I do not like them for an overnight. For one, truckers depend on finding spaces to park, they are crowded, noisy and often very trashy areas to walk the dogs. Next up are Rest Stops which in my eyes are much better as they are less noisy, often cleaner and better areas to walk the pups. They have public bathrooms and vending machines. My favorite however are Parking Spots. Those are a bit like Rest Stops with a pull off from the road but they don’t have any amenities. No Restrooms, no vending, nothing! And that is why I love them. Only self contained vehicles pull in there to spend a night or stretch their legs. The one we found was just east of Santa Fe and it had beautiful views plus a nice area to walk and fairly clean. When we went to sleep it was just us and one van there. When I got up in the morning (well, when the dogs woke me up at o dark 30 as in 6 am) we found ourselves surrounded with Semi Trucks. They all arrived at night and we never even heard them. I have to say truckers are really very considered humans. They are friendly and have always been supportive to us when on the road. So I counted 6 semis but by the time we finished our breakfast there were only two left, plus the van and us. Oh, and one of the truck drivers the night before had me worried for a bit as the truck pulled in and all I saw was him getting out stretching. I was working on Lou our trailer so I asked him if he was going to stay for the night as well. He said no and that he had just woken up and was trying to get moving as the load needs to be delivered to Albuquerque tonight. I was getting worried by then because how was he sleeping while driving and only takes a break to stretch….. well, silly me was told he was part of a team and his teammate was now getting ready to sleep so he would drive now. They don’t spend nights resting as they just take turns. After Albuquerque they will continue on without a break to El Paso, TX which is there home base. Now to me that is crazy. A tough job for sure.
So as to us we had to start brainstorming on how to approach getting to Coeur d’Alene eventually and when we wanted to start moving north. So after we passed Santa Fe and before we got to Albuquerque we turned north. Who would have thought that we would end up spending a night in Colorado again but that is what happened but I tell you more in my next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment