Epic Road Trip

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 11/07/2020 at 06:11 • Filed to: None

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Since my mom and I always lived far from family, our vacations always consisted of 1,000+ mile road trips once every year or two since I was young. When I was old enough to drive, my mom thought it would be a great idea to visit her uncle living near Seattle. We thought we could see some sights along the way, but had two destinations firmly in mind - Disneyland on the way there and Yellowstone on the way home. After a few weeks of planning, the final decision was to spend three weeks on the road, drive over five thousand miles, and visit at least seven theme, state, and national parks.

Our weapon of choice: an ‘84 Subaru GL Wagon with a 5-speed MT (sadly, no AWD).

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The first leg of the trip was going West along I-40. You do not know the meaning of flat, desolate highway until you drive this route. Making it worse were the long days - traveling west gained us time which we felt obligated to use! The two places of note for that first leg were the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . We didn’t get to spend much time at either place, but they both made an impact. I still keep a piece of petrified wood (bought from the shop inside the park) on my desk and I still have my favorite map:

Getting to Disneyland was uneventful and I can’t say I was terribly impressed with Mickey and Company, but it was something I could check off the bucket list.

I thought the natural wonders were much better than the land of the Mouse, so we made adjusted our plan accordingly. The second leg of the journey took us north to see the Sequoia National Forest, then north on I-5 so we could make up some time traversing northern California. After crossing into Oregon, we turned west to get to the coast, then back-tracked to the Redwood National Forest so we could be impressed by some more big trees.

Trees are neat, but driving is more exciting. The next leg of our journey took us north along Hwy 101, arguably some of the best winding roads in some of the most scenic country I had ever seen. There were the requisite stops at every lighthouse, cave, and tourist trap along the route, but those just gave us an opportunity to rest between some of the most exciting roads I had ever driven. Remember, we were in a fully-laden wagon that wasn’t designed for making great time on winding roads. We needed to stop occasionally and gather our wits!

While all of this was great fun, we did have an uncle to see, so we shunted over to Portland to catch I-5 again and make up some time. During our layover, we were treated to fishing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a trip to Pike’s Market in Seattle, and a drive + hike up Mount Ranier.

While I meant to get all the pictures and share the best of the rest of the trip, we’ll just have to settle for the abbreviated version which will disappear soon anyway....

After a week of bumming around Washington, we made our way home along a more northern route with stops/overnight stays in Yellowstone and Colorado Springs before making the final dash home. Perhaps I’ll find a way to fill in all the details over at our new platform, wherever it might be.

To my Oppo friends, you have provided many memories and much joy over the years. I sincerely hope we all find a good landing spot and can continue our journey. If we end up on different islands in this digital ocean, I wish you all the best, even those who I’ve made so mad they wouldn’t consider sharing a beer with me. It seems we have options and I’m happy to lend a hand in building the new community. Just let me know. I can always be reached at my username over at the google mail.

-BicycleBuck

shop-teacher > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/07/2020 at 09:47

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That sounds like an amazing trip! I really need to take m y family on a trip like that soon.

I echo your thoughts about this community. You said it better than I could have. 

DipodomysDeserti > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/07/2020 at 10:37

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Disneyland is a tough pill to swallow after hanging out in the plateau region of northern Arizona.  We do this route every other year with our kids, but usually end up cutting through southern Utah into northern Arizona.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/07/2020 at 10:41

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www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > DipodomysDeserti 11/07/2020 at 10:41

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www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

just-a-scratch > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/07/2020 at 10:46

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My most memorable road trip was a bit similar, but solo. Seattle to Tucson to LA and back home. Wa king up in my car at the ri m of the grand canyon, and the pur ple color of the sunset heading west out of AZ were highlights.

Taylor Martin > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/07/2020 at 10:54

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That’s a heck of a road trip. I want to do one similar sometime in my life, though it’ll probably be up the east coast. I’ve already driven 95 South from MD to FL and then back up 95 North from FL to MD a half a dozen times, so taking some back roads along the way might be nice.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/07/2020 at 13:37

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Submitted!

TheRealBicycleBuck > DipodomysDeserti 11/07/2020 at 13:38

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Disney was a once-in-a-lifetime stop. And that was enough. :)

TheRealBicycleBuck > just-a-scratch 11/07/2020 at 13:40

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One of the best parts was sunrise over the canyon. There was a fog rolling in off the north rim and it was the coolest thing to see. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > shop-teacher 11/07/2020 at 13:41

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I’m still hoping to take the kids on a trip like this. I have two summers left with my son and I’m hoping my daughter will want to come along. 

shop-teacher > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/07/2020 at 18:12

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My daughters are 5 and about to be 8, so I have some time. That said, I am very much aware of how quickly that time will go away.