The long voyage home......................(continued)

      So, I left off with the last hike I did in Chicago. Technically it was at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL. (about an hour west of the city) Anywho, that was a good time, and it was also the last time I would spend doing any outdoor activities in the Midwest before I hit the road. I hadn't the slightest clue what was in store for me. Just in preparation, time it took at least a month of solid packing, sorting and throwing stuff out that we weren't hauling with us. We had a lot of crap to throw out! We also had a lot of really good stuff that we donated. It is really funny how you can unintentionally build up a ton of crap so quickly and not even realize it. So anyway, We purchased plane tickets for the wife and lil guy about a month in advance of the trip. On March 6th I loaded them up on the plane, and then I headed to my storage space to fill up the van. That in itself was a huge job that took way longer than I thought it would. Around six hours of packing and rearranging later, I was ready to roll. So, I got a few hours of sleep at my sisters house, said my good-bye's and hit the road. It was tough saying good bye, but exciting to be hitting the road. The night before the first stretch I got about 4 hours of sleep. When I woke up, I had a bite to eat and then drove for roughly 18 hours.I made it all the way from Chicago, to about 15 minutes outside of denver. That was really a long haul for me. Here are some pictures from that stretch of the drive.........

The first picture of the trip wasn't taken till I was aproaching the Mississippi River

Welcome to IOWA!!!!!!

The people of Iowa welcome me..........

Mother nature wasn't making me feel so welcome though.....

Flipped over Semi on the side of the road.......














I was set back about an hour and a half due to this  accident................hope everyone was alright

The next pic is just after crossing the Mississippi River into Iowa.................

This picture ended up a little out of order, just didn't feel like fixing it.

The sign says Welcome to Omaha

I always swore that I would never drive through Nebraska again..............yet here I was...........again. At least I got to drive through it at night.






 


 
So, I finally arrived in Colorado. I continued to drive most of the night. I didn't stop till about 4:30a.m. for a nap. Then I was up at about 6:30a.m. and back on the road again.










more to come soon...............

 I should be able to finish this trip up in one or two more posts..................
Till then    
TIght Lines
Woollybuggin