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Rescue mission is over. Back in Texas part one
10 years ago
General
An Old Fox's life
I will have to admit that this trip I did will probably be my last ever. I knew this would be one hell of a trip when I got onto the flight from Austin to Dallas then I had to take a connecting flight to Seattle. I've flown many times in my life but never stuffed into a plane like sardines in a can like my first Leg of my trip. The plane had no empty seats. Along with the tiny cup of coke a cola and a tiny bag of peanuts and a landing that took as long as the flight I arrived in Dallas.
Arriving at Dallas I had to pee something fierce and ran to bathroom. After the deed I made the boarding line just in time to get my place properly. Getting on the plane in the first group was nice. I grabbed a center seat toward the front and tried to relax in a chair meant for a 100lb midget. I was more than going to regret the tiny seat the rest of the flight. At least there was no full plane and plenty of room between people this time.
4 hours later and three tiny cups of drinks and a bag of pretzels and peanuts. The plane finally landed at Seatac. I got my suitcase and headed for the shuttles to the hotel and much to my surprise they would not come unless I had a reservation. Well there went 21 dollars I had hoped to save by taking a taxi to the Penske Truck Rental place in Seattle. Arriving I soon found out that despite the promises and guarantees Penske made me. "Their was not a 24ft truck in the whole city!"
Upset and with a schedule to make I took the 16ft truck on the words of "They get the same Gas Milage" I soon found out that was just a sales pitch and it would be costly later on. After the check and inspect to find that the new 10600 mile truck had been damaged in several places previous to my taking it. All was recorded in the contract and I got into a new GMC 16ft moving truck and headed to the Seattle ferry to Bremerton.
I only got lost once on the way there. Seattle downtown is interesting but definitely not for a 16ft truck! I found the ferry and got my first sticker shock of a near 60 dollar tab for a ride to Bremerton. Well I found out later that had I driven instead it would have perhaps taken 30 more min and cost 2/3 less in gas but well you learn. The Ferry ride was intresting and I saw the biggest fish dorsal fin in my life along the way. And yes it was cold wet and windy also. (Arrgh)
Docking I drove to Port Angeles WA and found out that it was all two lane roads. Such fun! Arriving around 4pm in the aft I was cooked. The truck was parked and as I found out how easy it was to sleep on a lazyboy chair they packed the truck. I woke up to the smell of burned meat and ate a nice steak that My sis cooked. After I found myself again sleeping. I woke up at around one AM. That was when I woke up Sis and then she made her good bye's and I fired up the truck and away we went.
It was smart of me to start when we did at that time. Getting around the bay so to speak and through Seattle and up over the mountains before daylight. Just after the top of the hill we pulled in for gas and the first of many Mc D's meals. The gas was arrgh 3.08 a gallon! Gaah! In Texas it was 2.06! I began to pray it would get cheaper as we headed to Texas. As we crossed Wa state it was rather desolate other than the huge farms. One point of interest was the huge wind generator facility along the highway.
Idaho was an interesting detour to avoid the fires along the interstate. It was long and mountains along with a new sensation of Engine Brake that I had never experienced. The long stretches of nothing but road and then the Lewis and Clark trail road through the river canyon in Montana and more. It was long hard and mostly single lane. The river trail was pretty and looked great for fly fishing. Still wrestling a wale for a truck through 45mph twisty hilly roads was not much fun. When we exited the river roadway the truck was on fumes and I had to fill up. Surprised we made it.
We entered Wyoming at night fall and closed in on Yellowstone. At around 9pm I was cooked and had to rest. Parking on a scenic overlook on the way to the last town to Yellowstone I crashed in the truck with Sis. It was dark and well soon we found out that the GMC was a real turd when it came to trying to sleep in it. Their was zero room to stretch out in the cab and worse it just sucked totally. After about 4 hours of fitful sleep along with a state trooper's flashing lights and spot light as he kicked the fallen rocks off road not far from us. I fired up the wale and made it into West Yellowstone where I parked it again in the Mc D's parking lot. Their we again crashed after I had filled the tank and waited for the park to open.
We ate a small breakfast at McD's. Then it was off to see some of Yellowstone's sights. And at the gate into the park a nice 30 dollar fee! It was nice to get a map and more from the park entry. We used it to head to Old Faithful. One thing that put a big damper on the trip was that it was raining at the park. the twisty roads were 45pmh only and there were plenty of wild creatures to be seen. Buffalo, deer, antelope and eagles everywhere.
Reaching Mudd Flats I pulled in since it looked really cool and it had bathrooms that we desperately needed. Arrrgh! Rude tourists and having to wait for the bathroom and then finding that they decided to not sit on toilet but pee over it was a pain for me. After that we toured the mud flats and the small geysers along with the neat pools of clear hot water. We took a bunch of pictures and more as we walked the special walk around the flats and looked at the pools and steaming little geysers.
Getting back into the truck. We turned on the heater and tried to dry out while we drove to the next stop Old Faithful. By now the park was getting slightly full. At the start we were one of the first people in it. On the way to old Faithful we ended up in a line of cars and trucks. Soon we had to stop do to a herd of buffalo on the road. I actually laughed as people sat looking at the buffalo nearly face to face from inside cars as they wandered around on the road. Finally they moved on and we continued to old Faithful.
Their we found many buses and rows of RV's and more awaiting us in the parking lot. Finding a decent spot I parked and we walked across the lot to the huge lodge located not far from the geyser. Once inside it was nice and warm and smelled nice of fresh cooked food along with many people. What surprised me is that after listening and talking. We were a minority at Old Faithful. Nearly everyone was a foreign visitor! I was rather bummed that we missed the going off of the geyser by a few minutes. Arrgh!
Arriving at Dallas I had to pee something fierce and ran to bathroom. After the deed I made the boarding line just in time to get my place properly. Getting on the plane in the first group was nice. I grabbed a center seat toward the front and tried to relax in a chair meant for a 100lb midget. I was more than going to regret the tiny seat the rest of the flight. At least there was no full plane and plenty of room between people this time.
4 hours later and three tiny cups of drinks and a bag of pretzels and peanuts. The plane finally landed at Seatac. I got my suitcase and headed for the shuttles to the hotel and much to my surprise they would not come unless I had a reservation. Well there went 21 dollars I had hoped to save by taking a taxi to the Penske Truck Rental place in Seattle. Arriving I soon found out that despite the promises and guarantees Penske made me. "Their was not a 24ft truck in the whole city!"
Upset and with a schedule to make I took the 16ft truck on the words of "They get the same Gas Milage" I soon found out that was just a sales pitch and it would be costly later on. After the check and inspect to find that the new 10600 mile truck had been damaged in several places previous to my taking it. All was recorded in the contract and I got into a new GMC 16ft moving truck and headed to the Seattle ferry to Bremerton.
I only got lost once on the way there. Seattle downtown is interesting but definitely not for a 16ft truck! I found the ferry and got my first sticker shock of a near 60 dollar tab for a ride to Bremerton. Well I found out later that had I driven instead it would have perhaps taken 30 more min and cost 2/3 less in gas but well you learn. The Ferry ride was intresting and I saw the biggest fish dorsal fin in my life along the way. And yes it was cold wet and windy also. (Arrgh)
Docking I drove to Port Angeles WA and found out that it was all two lane roads. Such fun! Arriving around 4pm in the aft I was cooked. The truck was parked and as I found out how easy it was to sleep on a lazyboy chair they packed the truck. I woke up to the smell of burned meat and ate a nice steak that My sis cooked. After I found myself again sleeping. I woke up at around one AM. That was when I woke up Sis and then she made her good bye's and I fired up the truck and away we went.
It was smart of me to start when we did at that time. Getting around the bay so to speak and through Seattle and up over the mountains before daylight. Just after the top of the hill we pulled in for gas and the first of many Mc D's meals. The gas was arrgh 3.08 a gallon! Gaah! In Texas it was 2.06! I began to pray it would get cheaper as we headed to Texas. As we crossed Wa state it was rather desolate other than the huge farms. One point of interest was the huge wind generator facility along the highway.
Idaho was an interesting detour to avoid the fires along the interstate. It was long and mountains along with a new sensation of Engine Brake that I had never experienced. The long stretches of nothing but road and then the Lewis and Clark trail road through the river canyon in Montana and more. It was long hard and mostly single lane. The river trail was pretty and looked great for fly fishing. Still wrestling a wale for a truck through 45mph twisty hilly roads was not much fun. When we exited the river roadway the truck was on fumes and I had to fill up. Surprised we made it.
We entered Wyoming at night fall and closed in on Yellowstone. At around 9pm I was cooked and had to rest. Parking on a scenic overlook on the way to the last town to Yellowstone I crashed in the truck with Sis. It was dark and well soon we found out that the GMC was a real turd when it came to trying to sleep in it. Their was zero room to stretch out in the cab and worse it just sucked totally. After about 4 hours of fitful sleep along with a state trooper's flashing lights and spot light as he kicked the fallen rocks off road not far from us. I fired up the wale and made it into West Yellowstone where I parked it again in the Mc D's parking lot. Their we again crashed after I had filled the tank and waited for the park to open.
We ate a small breakfast at McD's. Then it was off to see some of Yellowstone's sights. And at the gate into the park a nice 30 dollar fee! It was nice to get a map and more from the park entry. We used it to head to Old Faithful. One thing that put a big damper on the trip was that it was raining at the park. the twisty roads were 45pmh only and there were plenty of wild creatures to be seen. Buffalo, deer, antelope and eagles everywhere.
Reaching Mudd Flats I pulled in since it looked really cool and it had bathrooms that we desperately needed. Arrrgh! Rude tourists and having to wait for the bathroom and then finding that they decided to not sit on toilet but pee over it was a pain for me. After that we toured the mud flats and the small geysers along with the neat pools of clear hot water. We took a bunch of pictures and more as we walked the special walk around the flats and looked at the pools and steaming little geysers.
Getting back into the truck. We turned on the heater and tried to dry out while we drove to the next stop Old Faithful. By now the park was getting slightly full. At the start we were one of the first people in it. On the way to old Faithful we ended up in a line of cars and trucks. Soon we had to stop do to a herd of buffalo on the road. I actually laughed as people sat looking at the buffalo nearly face to face from inside cars as they wandered around on the road. Finally they moved on and we continued to old Faithful.
Their we found many buses and rows of RV's and more awaiting us in the parking lot. Finding a decent spot I parked and we walked across the lot to the huge lodge located not far from the geyser. Once inside it was nice and warm and smelled nice of fresh cooked food along with many people. What surprised me is that after listening and talking. We were a minority at Old Faithful. Nearly everyone was a foreign visitor! I was rather bummed that we missed the going off of the geyser by a few minutes. Arrgh!
