I quit, for now. I am running out of funds, I did not plan to pay so much on rentals for shelter, I am exhausted, discouraged, disappointed, questioning everything I am doing wondering why I am even doing this. Time to head south then make my way back home to Wisconsin. So long beautiful yet brutal Idaho.

I’m Lost

You would think my “TRD Off Road” Toyota would come with a compass, I mean… My Honda Civic Type R tells me which direction I am heading. As the road clears up, we wait a long 3 hours in traffic to get out of Cascade and I head out, following my downloaded maps to Ogden UT. A few long snowy hours go by, it’s just not getting any better, why is it getting colder? Why is the sun on my left side? Wha….. Oh, I am heading in the complete wrong direction. I am heading to Montana. I now have to drive 5 hours south now vs my initial 3 hours, which will equal 14 hours of driving today. Nice going.

Frustrated, Overwhelmed, Exhausted Panicking, All The Above

Onward we must go. Now the anger is kicking in, I decide to call my mother and vent. She always knows how to calm me down when I am near mental break down. As the hours pass, Turbo and I finally make it to Utah and crash for the night at a truck stop. It’s not very cozy but its 55 degrees out so I will take it. The trucks keep me up all night as they idle, but at least I am not frozen. I feel like Oregon tried to kill me, Idaho held me hostage, my time in Utah was too short but I’ll be back in a couple weeks when I pick up my Civic and drive that across the country. There is one more shot to make a good road trip in hopefully good June weather. Excited to see “the beef state” signs entering Wyoming, beef jerky is life.

So Windy it’s Hard to Breathe

All would be nice and relaxing if there wasn’t 80 mph winds. Maybe I would stop and explore some of these small old towns.. Should I stay? Should I wait it out? Do I push my limits? The wind is about to rip my luggage apart on my roof rack… I’m out. Off to South Dakota.

Oh Great, a Storm Rolling in

I catch a glimpse of a big dark never ending storm cloud. Here we go!

Trying to avoid hail and tornado warnings… I decided to drive straight through South Dakota. Minutes again turn into hours. I am still watching flashes of lightning in my rear-view window, an occasional strike on the side of me, rain and small hail beating down on my windows. It’s now 3am and I am a storm chaser, but opposite. I am a storm runner? Is that a thing? Because it should be, this is exhausting. But what else do you do in South Dakota?

It’s Been Hours of Nothingness

There is no sign of life during a tornado at 3am somewhere near “Whitney”, I am about an hour away from Rapid City, at least there should be civilization there and hopefully some shelter.

Low and behold, another truck stop to sleep. I am so grateful for this, it feels like I’ve found land after months at sea. Taking a mental note: do not pack the rear of your car with SO many supplies. Pack light and make sure there is room for you to lay because sleeping upright in the front seat with a dog is not comfortable. At least there will be coffee in the morning.