Trek East

Utah - Denver - Kansas - Missouri - Illinois - Indiana - Ohio - West Virginia - Pennsylvania - Maryland - Virginia/DC

= 2300 miles (in 3 days!)

We left early in the morning on Wednesday, January 19th so we could make it a long way. We headed north to I-80, only to be turned back because the road was closed to all those without chains on their tires. So we decided to take I-70 to Virginia instead of I-80. YIKES!!

Day 1: We drove for 18 hours and only made it just past the Kansas border. It took us over 12 hours just to drive to Denver!! Then when we got there, just in time for rush hour, it was HORRIBLE traffic. It took us an hour and half just to get through Denver to find a place to stop for dinner with the kids. All the while McCall was SICK! She threw up once while I was driving through Vale pass - which was beautiful, but extreme white knuckle driving. It was snowing, the plows had only cleared one lane and all the big trucks were pulled over in the next lane as far as they could to chain up. So I puttered along at minimal speed and my hands and forearms literally ached after that stretch from holding the wheel so tightly. It was my first time driving to Denver and I wasn't all that excited to ever do it again! We made it to Oakley, Kansas and stayed the night (what was left of it) in a hotel that smelled vaguely like pickles!

Day 2: Just keep driving, driving, driving!! Kansas was a large state! It went on forever. Half way through it I downloaded Angry Birds on my iPhone and that helped me make it through! The roads were much better, but we still saw truck after truck in the ditch, having rolled over, there were so many accidents that we lost count. It was amazing. So glad we decided to stop instead of drive through the night. We made it all the way through Kansas and were able to drive through St. Louis at night and see the arch all lit up, gorgeous! But way to cold and behind to stop and enjoy sites along the way. We needed to be in Virginia by Friday afternoon to sign papers - That had to be postponed ... slow going!! We made it to somewhere in Indiana and stayed. I really liked Illinois and Indiana - rolling hills full of trees and streams and creeks are my friend. Wish I could have slowed down and appreciated it more, only at a different time of year :)

Day 3: More driving - all the while losing hours! By this point we were on East Coast time and dying! When you stop at a hotel to sleep at 1:00 am and think I have 6 hours before we need to be on the road again, only to discover it is really 2:00 am and you only have 5 hours does things to people. It makes them grumpy! But this day of driving was even more beautiful. We were able to see so much of the country and enjoy so many places. But hopefully never again in January!