All Categories - Cindy P Gates, Artist

Road Trip: Eight Thousand Miles Camping in a Prius with Two Not-So-Little Dogs

1/29/2019

Well, some of you may have heard about our plan. Some have heard and think we are nuts. We are. On May 20th, tomorrow, we are leaving on a road trip to the east coast and back. We are taking Luna and Rita, and we have outfitted our "big" Prius with a platform bed. We also have a tent that will attach to the back of the car. There is tons of storage under the platform, and the dog crates fit perfectly. So, please stay tuned for updates if you are interested. I hope to post a few pictures and five things each day that surprise us, bug us, or that we find funny.

Our goal is to hit Scarsdale, New York, and help Sophie and Mike move back to California. Oh, and Callie too. They will caravan back with us. Not to worry. We will not have four people and three dogs sleep in the car!

The only bummer is that it looks like we will have rain for at least the first couple of days. Thank goodness there are dog-friendly hotels along the way!

If you need to get in touch, I will have my bcgates@sbcglobal.net email up and running, and my cell phone should work. However, I realize that we may hit some spots without coverage, so don't worry if we don't update.

The girls are ready.

Bill building the platform. Looks like he has his priorities right.

That's it. Going minimal. The curtain is for privacy while we sleep. I've made cardboard cutouts for the side windows that pop in. Coleman stove, small cooler, decks of cards, flask of whiskey. What more would we need

Day 1 What I Know for Sure

1/29/2019

1. If your new iPad doesn't charge, Los Banos is the place to be.
2. The Central Valley is the polar opposite to home but oh, so important.
3.Selfie sticks are everywhere and ridiculous.
4. It is good to be humbled by Yosemite.
5. Always put a harness on your dogs when you get out of the car. Bobcats and bears make them nuts.
6. It snows over Tioga Pass in May.

6. When your camp stove is missing a part and you didn't know cuz you haven't used it for a zillion years, you punt. It all works out with peanut butter and a local beer.
7. Silver Lake is beautiful.

7. We all fit on the bed and were warm.
8. Some plans don't work out. We had planned to do planks and squats every time we stopped for breaks. Did it once.

What I don't know is why there are so many brown dying trees by Tuolomne Meadows???

Day 2

1/29/2019

1. Bill didn't check email
2. So much color!
3. Lee Vining to Kershaw-Ryan state park in Nevada. Go Dodgers. Get it? Kershaw?

4. Bought a new stove. Old one was a wedding gift from Grandma Beebe who would have preferred something more traditional, but bought us camping gear. Loved her.

5. Internet...not so much. Typing on iPhone causes errors. Having fun and will update when I can.

6. Nevadans have a sense of humor. Near Tonopah, site of flight tactical training and past protests, a town sign that said Population: Humans. Another sign: Will Rogers never met Harry Reid. And my favorite:

7. Traditional mountain potatoes for dinner!

Day 3

1/28/2019

1. Wild flowers everywhere! So proud of Bill. He's finally getting out of his head and noticing things. Still hasn't checked email. A record.

2. Morning coffee in Cedar City. Yum

3. Beautiful trip near Gooseberry Peak as the road heads towards Bryce.

4. Gas is $2.99 a gallon!
5. Camped at the Unita-Wasatch-Cache National Forest near Mapleton. Twenty bucks! Still wondering about the lack of rainbows. It was raining when we got here, but Bill proudly put up the tent lickety-split. I didn't know the tent had a beer holder

6. 365 miles today at 44 mpg. Pretty good considering we've been climbing mountains!

7. Haven't seen a Prius since Day 1. I think we look like hippies

Day 4

1/28/2019

1. Poured last night but we're warm. So green. They actually have this thing called water in these parts.

2. Dinosaur, Utah! The only dinosaurs we saw were these.

3. Which reminds me, there are so many abandoned vehicles and RVs littering the land. Walt would have his pick.

4. Over Soldier Pass. 34 degrees and snowing. Gorgeous.

Fashion dictates that stripes are in.

6. Haven't seen a Prius.

7. Frickin' freezing. Stayed at Rabbit Ears Hotel. Shower. Bed. Dog lovers. 341 miles today. 48 average mpg

Day 5 Oh my! Part 1

1/28/2019

1. Couple of Priuses in the parking lot. Bill checked email. Watched Dodger game. Kinda normal.

2. I'm wondering about the grammar on these signs. "Icy roads may exist." Hm.

3. We drove over Rabbit Ears Pass from Steamboat Springs. 9400 ft. 34 degrees. The mighty Prius took on a Ford truck and won. Colorado doesn't label the passes and elevations. Weird.

4. Bill: Last night I felt like I'd won a Survivor reward challenge. Shower. Soft bed. Steak burrito. Emails from home.
5. Cows are happy in Colorado too.
6. Stapleton dog park.

Taking a deep breath. We will need it.

1/28/2019

Short Update

1/28/2019

Regular day. Dodged a tornado. No big deal. Safe and sound. (Scared the crap out of us!) I will blog more tomorrow.

Day 5 Part 2

1/28/2019

1. I don't know why the last post was wonky. Oh well. You get the gist. Apologies.
2. Went over Winter Park Peak Pass before Denver. Magnificent. 11,282 ft. As you can see, we are not shying away from the roads we love. Snowed again.

3. Okay. Here we go. Adventure. Headed east on 70 and saw this. No problem.

4. Warning pops up on phone. We are headed on 36, a smaller road. Cars pull off. We park by a brick gas station. Rain is pounding. I look behind. We're next to a trailer park. Bad juju. Tornado is close. Dogs are asleep. Rain lets up and cars start to leave. Driving along and the road is covered with hail. Sign in the distance. It's where the tornado sat down. Sheesh. More hail. More rain.

5. We are clear. Tiny high school in the middle of nowhere. Sign in front says "Congratulations Ted and Dylan." I thought MY high school was small!

6. Kansas isn't flat. It's all relative.

7. Looked at Prairie Dog State Park. Beautiful but storms coming. A little freaked out. Plus, the cooler chest tipped over and our bedding is wet. Kinda funny. Yay for hotels with dryers. Wakeensie Kansas. 525 miles today!!!!! And lots of respect for the weather. The dogs are incredible.

Day 6

1/28/2019

1. What I thought was Cream of Wheat at breakfast was actually sausage gravy. We aren't in California anymore.
2. We left our memory foam in Wakeenie, Kansas. Sounds like a song, right? Seriously, it held 947 gallons of water (big cooler chest) and would never have dried.
3. There are museums everywhere! Oz, Eisenhower, auto racing, combat air museum, agriculture hall of fame, museum of museums. I lied; made the last one up.
4. Did you know Topeka means "place to dig potatoes"? Also Brown vs Board of Education site. I bow.
5. Kansas City, here we come! Pee-pets-palate. Jacob Loose Park for the dogs. I mean, it was so the dogs could walk. Not that it was...you know. Never mind.

Now this is the best! Gates Barbecue! Bill had had it at a conference. Of course we had to stop for lunch.

And finally, a stop for a new camping mattress. Two conditions of this trip: comfortable bed and no tornados. Fail.

6. Back roads are better than highways. Not the Deliverance kind but those that line little towns.

Memorial Day 2015

7. Camped at Long Branch State Park in Missouri. Beautiful reservoir. Crowds are gone. $13 bucks! Complete with view, misquitos, and leftover dinner. Perfect evening. Fireflies!!!!!

8. New bed is comfortable. All snuggled in. Pups snoring. "Bill, what's that on your leg?" A tick. And then another. And then...ticks all over. Dead ticks. Dead ticks in the bed and on the pillows. Thank you Frontline!!!! Could have been worse. Dodgers could have lost.
9. Hubcap gone with the wind.
10. 477 miles. 40 mpg.