Finally! The last day of travel is here! Apologies to all of you, our passengers. This has taken a little longer than planned, but we very much appreciate your hanging in there 'til the end. There will still be some posts to come, but they will mostly be additional photos and videos, with some background so you know what you're lookin' at.
(editor's note - the delay may actually help to give you some perspective on driving from London to almost Denver... you keep waiting for it to show up, but it never seems to get there...)
We got up early, about 5:30, so we could all meet for breakfast in the lobby. It was a good start. Had some you-make-em waffles fresh from the iron. Mmmmmm! I had a bit extra in the insulin department to work on the syrup... Everyone was eager to get on the road and get home, so we got moving. On the road at 6:35am CT. As Steve was keen to point out, that was 7:35am ET so the race was on to make it in time for dinner. Who wants to have reheated Easter dinner on Easter?
We hit our first stop for gas in Michigan at 10:25am ET. Quick 10-100s, and then we were on our way. Steve was checking the maps regularly to track our progress, and give an ETA for the border. It was looking like we could make it, as long as everything continued going smoothly. It did.
Flint, MI was the next, and final, planned stop for fuel and 10-100s. Everyone was stoked about finally being so close to home. It had been a lot of driving (I had put 5738.7km on the Jeep since leaving London) and we all just wanted to get there. We decided that we would definitely stop at the duty-free in Port Huron as some of the guys wanted to load up as much as they could. Onward ho!
We hit Port and found our way to the duty-free. In we went, and I helped with my knowledge of pricing at the LCBO. There were some great deals at this outlet. I have seen some where the prices were actually better at home than at the supposed duty-free store. (as an aside, just FYI - be careful if you are in airports shopping at their duty-free shops... often they are counting on you to assume that the prices are excellent... they aren't always very good at all... just be aware) There was some discussion of quantities that one could bring back to Canada without any problems, but it wasn't entirely adhered to (back to that shortly). We sorted out some last minute finances in the parking lot, and then Steve and I said our goodbyes.
We would be heading along the 402 for a bit, but as we were going to the lake and the others were going to London now was the time for the formalities. Everyone commented on how much of a blast we had, and how much we looked forward to doing it again, especially with a couple of new guys and their soon-to-be upgraded Jeeps (one finally getting some attention, ahem, and one being shortly acquired). We shook hands, hopped back in the Jeeps, and headed for the border. Oh boy, what fun we would have there...
We are almost home! Life is good, for sure!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Good timing!
Welcome back for a quick "update". Super quick. Turned out that we got through the mountains just in time. The storm we were concerned about missed the area, but a second better storm moved in right behind it and dumped some fun white stuff in piles through the passes we had just grunted through. Like the next day kind of right behind it. Could've been interesting if we had stayed for the Vendor Show on Friday like we were originally planning. There had even been brief talk amongst a few of us about staying for the big draws on the Friday night and then heading out... Hmmmm...
Editor's note: We are heading down to Kingsville tonight for a Thorup brother reunion. It's only a 2hr drive which is really nothing if you think about it. There may be some posting later this evening, or early next week. Stay tuned!
Well, we look forward to having you join us again soon. We will get this finished soon. I promise. And there will be some more pics, and maybe even video, soon. Life is still very good!
the Thorup brothers
Editor's note: We are heading down to Kingsville tonight for a Thorup brother reunion. It's only a 2hr drive which is really nothing if you think about it. There may be some posting later this evening, or early next week. Stay tuned!
Well, we look forward to having you join us again soon. We will get this finished soon. I promise. And there will be some more pics, and maybe even video, soon. Life is still very good!
the Thorup brothers
Thursday, April 15, 2010
NE & IA reviewed...
Hello again. Perhaps some of you were actually hoping for more detail of the trek across Nothingland USA, or more officially, Nebraska and Iowa. Those who aren't interested in the minutiae, skip to the next blog, which will be up soon. If you do like boring details, keep reading, I will boring detail you to death...apparently I am pretty good at it...
So we left Ogallala,NE at 7:25am MT. We crossed into Central Time at 7:49am, so just like that it was now 8:49am CT. There goes an hour, depending on which school of thought you're in. We hit the Wal-Mart in Lexington around 10:30am. I wanted some Wal-Mart jerky, Sean grabbed some real food (and some sugar), and we all filled up the Jeeps. Sean was already kinda tired so was hoping something that he bought to eat would perk him up. Steve and I were hoping it would too. Last thing we needed was another tired driver... Steve took over driving duties at this point. I think he was bored of sitting in the passenger seat for the better part of 9 days. He had driven the Jeep, albeit briefly, on the Hell's Revenge trail, but since we had gotten partway through Nebraska on the way to Moab, he had sat shotgun. We were back on the road by 11. The next stop could be Iowa!
We ended up stopping just after noon at a rest area past Grand Island,NE for snack and stretch. Steve and I were hoping to make Chicago before we stopped for the night as that would leave us a good 7hrs still from Mom's. We still had about 10hrs of driving though to make our target, and I knew it would be a long shot. Still, aim high and you never know where you'll go. We hit Lincoln around 1:45pm CT and stopped to fill up and get some drinks, and make some room for them (10-100s for all). Back at 'er.
We hit Desoto,IA at 4:35pm (filled the Jeeps and 10-100'd). It's just west of Des Moines, which put us just over 13hrs from the border according to our records coming out. Still a good haul, but if we managed to go straight through to Mom's we could be there for 7am ET, just as they would be getting up. Won't happen, so still pushing for Chicago area for the night. We'll see what happens. Back on the road by 5.
In the next hour or so we had some potential trouble - Ralf's dash went Christmas tree-like. His tranny light and the service light went on. Not good. We pulled over and had a look. Kind of like a group of city workers (from what I hear anyway...), there were 4 guys standing around looking at the engine bay and wondering what do we do. Ralf had crawled underneath the Grand and felt the t-case which was pretty warm. He wouldn't want to leave his hand on it for an extended time kind of warm. We opted to hit the next stop and let the system cool down while we grabbed a bite to eat. We stopped in Williamsburg. Sean grabbed his laptop so we could check out a couple of forums to see what the problem/remedy might be. We hooked up with some of the guys from home, and the news was good. No serious issues, just time for the regularly scheduled service. That had been Sean's guess, and we were all hoping he was right, especially Ralf. Relieved, we hit the road again by 8pm. We discussed options for the drive, and decided that we would continue until someone begged for mercy. Steve and I took the lead, still aiming for Chicago.
We must have taken a wrong turn somewhere and misread the maps because we ended up stopping in Ottawa for the night. Ralf had a brief "nap" on the I-80, so we called it a night. It was midnight, we were a little over halfway across Illinois, and that was it. We filled up the Jeeps so we could head out right away the next morning, then found a hotel. We crashed quickly. We were meeting for breakfast at 6am so we could be on the road by 6:30 and have a chance to get home for dinner. Would we make it to Mom's in time, or would we be re-heating our dinner? I knew there was going to be slim chance of making it to Kitchener for Kel's family's Easter reunion, but you just never know.
One last sleep, folks, and then we're home. Life is good, isn't it?
So we left Ogallala,NE at 7:25am MT. We crossed into Central Time at 7:49am, so just like that it was now 8:49am CT. There goes an hour, depending on which school of thought you're in. We hit the Wal-Mart in Lexington around 10:30am. I wanted some Wal-Mart jerky, Sean grabbed some real food (and some sugar), and we all filled up the Jeeps. Sean was already kinda tired so was hoping something that he bought to eat would perk him up. Steve and I were hoping it would too. Last thing we needed was another tired driver... Steve took over driving duties at this point. I think he was bored of sitting in the passenger seat for the better part of 9 days. He had driven the Jeep, albeit briefly, on the Hell's Revenge trail, but since we had gotten partway through Nebraska on the way to Moab, he had sat shotgun. We were back on the road by 11. The next stop could be Iowa!
We ended up stopping just after noon at a rest area past Grand Island,NE for snack and stretch. Steve and I were hoping to make Chicago before we stopped for the night as that would leave us a good 7hrs still from Mom's. We still had about 10hrs of driving though to make our target, and I knew it would be a long shot. Still, aim high and you never know where you'll go. We hit Lincoln around 1:45pm CT and stopped to fill up and get some drinks, and make some room for them (10-100s for all). Back at 'er.
We hit Desoto,IA at 4:35pm (filled the Jeeps and 10-100'd). It's just west of Des Moines, which put us just over 13hrs from the border according to our records coming out. Still a good haul, but if we managed to go straight through to Mom's we could be there for 7am ET, just as they would be getting up. Won't happen, so still pushing for Chicago area for the night. We'll see what happens. Back on the road by 5.
In the next hour or so we had some potential trouble - Ralf's dash went Christmas tree-like. His tranny light and the service light went on. Not good. We pulled over and had a look. Kind of like a group of city workers (from what I hear anyway...), there were 4 guys standing around looking at the engine bay and wondering what do we do. Ralf had crawled underneath the Grand and felt the t-case which was pretty warm. He wouldn't want to leave his hand on it for an extended time kind of warm. We opted to hit the next stop and let the system cool down while we grabbed a bite to eat. We stopped in Williamsburg. Sean grabbed his laptop so we could check out a couple of forums to see what the problem/remedy might be. We hooked up with some of the guys from home, and the news was good. No serious issues, just time for the regularly scheduled service. That had been Sean's guess, and we were all hoping he was right, especially Ralf. Relieved, we hit the road again by 8pm. We discussed options for the drive, and decided that we would continue until someone begged for mercy. Steve and I took the lead, still aiming for Chicago.
We must have taken a wrong turn somewhere and misread the maps because we ended up stopping in Ottawa for the night. Ralf had a brief "nap" on the I-80, so we called it a night. It was midnight, we were a little over halfway across Illinois, and that was it. We filled up the Jeeps so we could head out right away the next morning, then found a hotel. We crashed quickly. We were meeting for breakfast at 6am so we could be on the road by 6:30 and have a chance to get home for dinner. Would we make it to Mom's in time, or would we be re-heating our dinner? I knew there was going to be slim chance of making it to Kitchener for Kel's family's Easter reunion, but you just never know.
One last sleep, folks, and then we're home. Life is good, isn't it?
Monday, April 12, 2010
Nebraska & Iowa. Whole lotta nothing.
Well. We left the hotel and hit the road. Drove for a bit, got some gas, drove some more, got some more gas, drove a little further, more gas. Pretty boring, eh? This stretch makes driving from London to Windsor along the 401 seem exciting. There is nothing to see. Nothing.
Steve drove through the last part of Nebraska and the first stretch of Iowa. We wanted to make it to Chicago, but had to settle for an hour west of Joliet. There was talk of heading straight through, brief crazy talk from some shotgunners, but someone started nodding off and we called it quits. It was 12:30am CT. We still had a lot of driving to do to get home. So we were to meet for breakfast at 6 or so to be on the road early. Then it was go time...
Editor's note: The "nothing to see" part is most obvious during the day when the apparently camouflaged towns/villages are well hidden. At night you can see faint lights emanating from the homes that must be inhabited by someone. I guess they don't care who can see where they live at night. Or maybe that's how they lure unsuspecting travellers into becoming specimens for the tests on the mothership...
Steve drove through the last part of Nebraska and the first stretch of Iowa. We wanted to make it to Chicago, but had to settle for an hour west of Joliet. There was talk of heading straight through, brief crazy talk from some shotgunners, but someone started nodding off and we called it quits. It was 12:30am CT. We still had a lot of driving to do to get home. So we were to meet for breakfast at 6 or so to be on the road early. Then it was go time...
Editor's note: The "nothing to see" part is most obvious during the day when the apparently camouflaged towns/villages are well hidden. At night you can see faint lights emanating from the homes that must be inhabited by someone. I guess they don't care who can see where they live at night. Or maybe that's how they lure unsuspecting travellers into becoming specimens for the tests on the mothership...
Sunday, April 11, 2010
How low can we go? In gearing...
Back again, and so are you. That's good to see. Let's get back to it. I mentioned that our next stop had been in the Copper Mountain area, but to get there we had to go through the bulk of the high country, including Vail Pass. That's the area that was closed before we went through on the way down to Moab (result of a massive car pile-up in the blizzard they had ), and it was also closed just before we were to head home (another weather-related car accident...notice another pattern here). So here's what happened between Grand Junction and Copper Mountain. Hold on tight.
When we went through Glenwood Canyon we managed to see part of the highway that was wrecked by the rockslide of March 8th. The hole was right through the roadway, and I could see the rebar sticking out where there had been pavement before. It appeared as though they had managed to fix the holes on the westbound section before we went through last weekend. Traffic was backed up going towards Utah, but we were moving well eastbound. Point for us. The mountain passes were next...
We made it through the hardest part with minimal difficulty, as far as the weather was concerned anyway. There was a big difference for the Thorup boys though on this leg of the trip . We had been leading the way on our first trip through the mountains, but we were tailgunners on the return trip. That meant that instead of being able to haul @$$ to build up some momentum before an incline, we were riding behind Ralf who was now pulling his YJ behind the Grand up the mountainside. Things got a little tricky.
As we had gotten closer to the mountain passes we could see snow falling from the clouds. Sometimes it fell away from us, and sometimes we drove right through it. There wasn't any snow covering the roads, but as we got further up (and down the other sides) there was some slush I guess. Nothing too much, but not the dry pavement we would've preferred. Ralf could gain some speed on the downslopes and would then lose it pretty quick on the next incline. Usually we'd end up behind an 18-wheeler and follow them up the slope. Cliffe had to drop into 2nd a couple of times to keep chugging away. I joked with Steve that we may have to shift into 4L if we got going any slower. It was interesting that on a couple of occasions, as we are tucked in behind a big rig going uphill, that some moron would lay on his horn at us as they passed, as if we were holding up traffic... Not sure where they were going to go, but I guess some of those American drivers can pass through a tractor trailer but can't get around a couple of Jeeps. On the downslopes I had to stay in 3rd a couple of times to prevent overrunning Ralf. We had managed to run in 4th coming from home, but didn't have anyone in front of us for that part. Sean took off up the incline as we approached the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels so he could keep in gear. We caught up to him on the other side without any problems. Ralf may have been a little on edge through the mountains, I know I would've been hauling over 5000lbs behind me, but he didn't seem any worse for the wear afterwards.
While we were at the gas station in Copper Mountain, we saw some guys from California who were heading for Ohio of all places. Sean talked with them for a few minutes, and we ended up seeing them again several stops later as well. The plan was to reach a ways past the other side of Denver, stop for gas, and maybe dinner, and then figure out a plan for the rest of the day's driving. We wanted to get as far as possible as we still had a long way to go, and like I said before, when you are heading home you just want to get there. So off we went.
We reached Denver around 4:56pm MT. There wasn't any snow really anymore, so we managed to avoid the storm we had been worried about. We kept on truckin' and planned to stop for gas whenever Ralf was going to need to fill up. Once he let us know shotgunner/navigator Steve picked Fort Morgan as the best spot. We had to fill up to make it past the Bermuda Triangle of nothingness east of Sterling and the first spot for gas in Nebraska. We ended up eating at Memories, a little restaurant in town that was recommended to us by the lady at the gas station. We filled up our stomachs ( the prime rib was great! ) and checked the map. We were back on the road at 7:50pm MT with a plan of hitting somewhere in Nebraska to sleep.
We crossed the state line at 9:32pm. North Platte was an hour and a half away, but the call was made to crash in Ogallala, NE. We grabbed the first hotel, got our rooms, and went to bed. It was probably around 10:15pm when we got parked in the hotel lot. It was a nice place. Ralf was asleep in about 34 seconds, and Steve didn't even have the TV on to go to sleep. We would be up early to get going. No time to waste. Mom was having dinner at 4:30 on Easter Sunday. Would we make it in time?
Life is still good... Stay tuned fellow virtual travellers.
When we went through Glenwood Canyon we managed to see part of the highway that was wrecked by the rockslide of March 8th. The hole was right through the roadway, and I could see the rebar sticking out where there had been pavement before. It appeared as though they had managed to fix the holes on the westbound section before we went through last weekend. Traffic was backed up going towards Utah, but we were moving well eastbound. Point for us. The mountain passes were next...
We made it through the hardest part with minimal difficulty, as far as the weather was concerned anyway. There was a big difference for the Thorup boys though on this leg of the trip . We had been leading the way on our first trip through the mountains, but we were tailgunners on the return trip. That meant that instead of being able to haul @$$ to build up some momentum before an incline, we were riding behind Ralf who was now pulling his YJ behind the Grand up the mountainside. Things got a little tricky.
As we had gotten closer to the mountain passes we could see snow falling from the clouds. Sometimes it fell away from us, and sometimes we drove right through it. There wasn't any snow covering the roads, but as we got further up (and down the other sides) there was some slush I guess. Nothing too much, but not the dry pavement we would've preferred. Ralf could gain some speed on the downslopes and would then lose it pretty quick on the next incline. Usually we'd end up behind an 18-wheeler and follow them up the slope. Cliffe had to drop into 2nd a couple of times to keep chugging away. I joked with Steve that we may have to shift into 4L if we got going any slower. It was interesting that on a couple of occasions, as we are tucked in behind a big rig going uphill, that some moron would lay on his horn at us as they passed, as if we were holding up traffic... Not sure where they were going to go, but I guess some of those American drivers can pass through a tractor trailer but can't get around a couple of Jeeps. On the downslopes I had to stay in 3rd a couple of times to prevent overrunning Ralf. We had managed to run in 4th coming from home, but didn't have anyone in front of us for that part. Sean took off up the incline as we approached the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels so he could keep in gear. We caught up to him on the other side without any problems. Ralf may have been a little on edge through the mountains, I know I would've been hauling over 5000lbs behind me, but he didn't seem any worse for the wear afterwards.
While we were at the gas station in Copper Mountain, we saw some guys from California who were heading for Ohio of all places. Sean talked with them for a few minutes, and we ended up seeing them again several stops later as well. The plan was to reach a ways past the other side of Denver, stop for gas, and maybe dinner, and then figure out a plan for the rest of the day's driving. We wanted to get as far as possible as we still had a long way to go, and like I said before, when you are heading home you just want to get there. So off we went.
We reached Denver around 4:56pm MT. There wasn't any snow really anymore, so we managed to avoid the storm we had been worried about. We kept on truckin' and planned to stop for gas whenever Ralf was going to need to fill up. Once he let us know shotgunner/navigator Steve picked Fort Morgan as the best spot. We had to fill up to make it past the Bermuda Triangle of nothingness east of Sterling and the first spot for gas in Nebraska. We ended up eating at Memories, a little restaurant in town that was recommended to us by the lady at the gas station. We filled up our stomachs ( the prime rib was great! ) and checked the map. We were back on the road at 7:50pm MT with a plan of hitting somewhere in Nebraska to sleep.
We crossed the state line at 9:32pm. North Platte was an hour and a half away, but the call was made to crash in Ogallala, NE. We grabbed the first hotel, got our rooms, and went to bed. It was probably around 10:15pm when we got parked in the hotel lot. It was a nice place. Ralf was asleep in about 34 seconds, and Steve didn't even have the TV on to go to sleep. We would be up early to get going. No time to waste. Mom was having dinner at 4:30 on Easter Sunday. Would we make it in time?
Life is still good... Stay tuned fellow virtual travellers.
Headin' for mountains of low gearing
Welcome back. So when I left you we had just left Moab. It was a sad day. We will be back for sure, though. No doubts about it. Some likely sooner than others, and some driving newer (to them anyway) Jeeps. Steve had already talked to Pauline (his best.wife.ever.) earlier in the week about doing some juggling to get some work done to the TJ so it would be ready for next year. Looks like he's hooked, sorry P! And Cameron has set 2 weeks as the timeframe for himself to find a Jeep. Nothing like Moab and the Easter Jeep Safari to get you in the game...
So we took the faster but less scenic way back to I-70. The back way was perfect for setting the tone on the way in, but when you are heading home, you kind of just want to get there. We had to pull over before we got too far as the Warthog was running a little light on tire pressure. 20psi might be good for Top of the World, but would not be kind on the 2800km return trek across the continent... When we left Moab we had put 3159.8km on the JK since I had left London. We were going to be close to putting 6000km on Cliffe in 10 days by the time we got back if the calculations were right. Wow.
The weather was clear, some clouds, but no bad stuff that we could see. The mountains were the big concern. The storm was supposed to come through at any time really. We were hoping to stay ahead of it, or at least have the weather people be wrong and have the storm miss us entirely. We'd have to wait and see. So far so good. We crossed the border and entered Colorado at 11:34am. So long Utah! (tip for people who like their beer with alcohol in it - bring some with you if you are going to be wanting any beer in Utah, they can have a maximum of 3.2% if it's brewed in the state. just some FYI )
Our first stop was in Grand Junction, CO. We grabbed some gas and some snacks - jerky for the Thorup boys. Gotta love that stuff! We listened to the radio for any weather updates, and checked out channel 19 on the CBs to see what the truckers were saying. Nothing. No useful info anywhere. We could hear what the weather had been like the day before in the Grand Junction area. But who cares what it did yesterday? Seriously. So we headed east once again. Ralf was leading sometimes, Warthog occasionally, and sometimes us. It didn't make much difference. You could see the clouds sort of starting to gather in the distance, or was it just our imagination? Still no news about the storm on the radio or CB. Figure we may need to get closer to the mountains first. Fingers crossed...
Our next stop was in the Copper Mountain ski area. Pretty nice place. It was 3:22pm MT. We were about an hour and a half from Denver. Time to fill up and make the run through to the other side. Back soon!
So we took the faster but less scenic way back to I-70. The back way was perfect for setting the tone on the way in, but when you are heading home, you kind of just want to get there. We had to pull over before we got too far as the Warthog was running a little light on tire pressure. 20psi might be good for Top of the World, but would not be kind on the 2800km return trek across the continent... When we left Moab we had put 3159.8km on the JK since I had left London. We were going to be close to putting 6000km on Cliffe in 10 days by the time we got back if the calculations were right. Wow.
The weather was clear, some clouds, but no bad stuff that we could see. The mountains were the big concern. The storm was supposed to come through at any time really. We were hoping to stay ahead of it, or at least have the weather people be wrong and have the storm miss us entirely. We'd have to wait and see. So far so good. We crossed the border and entered Colorado at 11:34am. So long Utah! (tip for people who like their beer with alcohol in it - bring some with you if you are going to be wanting any beer in Utah, they can have a maximum of 3.2% if it's brewed in the state. just some FYI )
Our first stop was in Grand Junction, CO. We grabbed some gas and some snacks - jerky for the Thorup boys. Gotta love that stuff! We listened to the radio for any weather updates, and checked out channel 19 on the CBs to see what the truckers were saying. Nothing. No useful info anywhere. We could hear what the weather had been like the day before in the Grand Junction area. But who cares what it did yesterday? Seriously. So we headed east once again. Ralf was leading sometimes, Warthog occasionally, and sometimes us. It didn't make much difference. You could see the clouds sort of starting to gather in the distance, or was it just our imagination? Still no news about the storm on the radio or CB. Figure we may need to get closer to the mountains first. Fingers crossed...
Our next stop was in the Copper Mountain ski area. Pretty nice place. It was 3:22pm MT. We were about an hour and a half from Denver. Time to fill up and make the run through to the other side. Back soon!
Time to get a computer at home...
Hello friends. As you likely noticed, there was no new info posted on Saturday morning as promised. It appears as though my local library is not able to assist me with getting onto the blog. Guess a home computer would be useful. Anyway, this is simply to let you know that there will be a post tonight. A real one with actual details and stories. It is currently 11:37am and I will be back here posting after work. Please stick around, we are almost done...
We ended up leaving Moab around 9:52am MT after getting some sleep, some breakfast, the Jeeps all packed up, and filling up with gas. The plan had been to wash or at least hose off the Warthog and Cliffe, but we didn't. That was going to be a problem. I'll get to that later on. Let's just say our trip home could have been made longer...
Life is good...we'll be doing this again. See you soon!
The Thorup Brothers
We ended up leaving Moab around 9:52am MT after getting some sleep, some breakfast, the Jeeps all packed up, and filling up with gas. The plan had been to wash or at least hose off the Warthog and Cliffe, but we didn't. That was going to be a problem. I'll get to that later on. Let's just say our trip home could have been made longer...
Life is good...we'll be doing this again. See you soon!
The Thorup Brothers
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