On the Road Again

It has been an interesting time in the United States this spring and early summer: from mandatory COVID-19 lockdowns to large-scale protests. It may not seem like the ideal time to load up your car and head across the country on a road trip, but that is exactly what I decided to do. I can work remote from anywhere right now, so why not the west?

The ~2000 mile trip from Acworth, GA to Sun Valley, ID took two days and a few extra hours on the third. For those interested, day one was Acworth to Omaha, NE where I was able to stay with Uncle Warren. Day two was Omaha to Ogden, UT with a detour to the Nebraska high point. Day 3 was Ogden to Ketchum, ID. More to come on that.

So far, the trip has taken me through nine states: Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho.

Day 1

Setting Out

While on a multi-day roadtrip where you don’t get to mountain bike, its important to make sure to keep the fitness up. I made sure to do some kettlebell rows and shoulder presses when I stopped for gas. I’m sure people were staring but… who cares?

Kansas City, Missouri

Since there are protests in most major cities, I steered away from downtown… just to avoid any closed roads or traffic really. I think most protests have turned completely peaceful at this point. A lot of the BBQ restaurants I wanted to check out were inside the city so I went a bit north to Iron Horse BBQ. I had the brisket. I’d give it a 6/10 rating: good but no Heirloom Market (Smyrna) or B’s Cracklin (Atlanta).

I finished up the day by rolling into Bellevue Nebraska, a suburb of Omaha. You might think a road trip by oneself is lonely, but I disagree. Day 1 went by rapidly, with a mix of Audiobooks (Long Walk to Freedom my Nelson Mandela) and some classic rock tunes to close out the last 90 minutes of driving.

And I had some good company to have a beer with before crashing for the night.  😉

Day 2

Nowhere

Sometimes this felt shockingly true. There’s not a lot going on in Nebraska, at least off I-80. Fortunately I had a 6-hour work call that I was able to participate in (complete with video chat here and there) along the drive which made it go by really quickly.

Panorama Point

About thirty minutes off I-80 is the highest point in Nebraska, Panorama Point. It sits right near the Nebraska/Wyoming/Colorado border.

As the sign says, the highest point is on private land and is an active bison and wind farm. The owners are kind enough to allow visitors to drive in and view the high point, but hiking is prohibited as they do not want the liability for the deaths of those that are mauled by bison 😉

Make sure to remember your $3, which is what the owners request for a visit. If you’re feeling generous (and grateful that they share their property) you can drop a $5er instead.

Treacherous conditions. Challenging weather. A slog of a 15-foot hike from the truck to the marker. But I persevered. I didn’t give up. And I made it!

Per my usual tradition with state high points, I picked up a Zipline Daaang IPA for when I stopped for the night. Not my favorite beer ever but still good to celebrate another highest point in the books.

Because of my Mountain Bike obsession, the highest points journey has taken a bit of a backseat over the past few years. Nearly all my vacation time has been consumed with bike-related travel. No regrets.

As I reflect on this journey so far (33 complete), I am really happy I undertook it. While not everything you will see makes a legendary instagram photo (and Nebraska is certainly no exception) or get your adrenaline rushing, the goal of visiting the high points has taken me to a lot of places I would never have gone otherwise. I have found that there’s a unique beauty to everything. Every place has something to offer if you’re willing to look for it. Nebraska is no exception as I really enjoyed the open country, big sky, wind farms (I always love seeing those), bright green fields of crops, and gusty winds.

Wyoming

Next state up was Wyoming. I was met with some heavy winds (45+ mph) that hurt gas mileage significantly, but were pretty uneventful otherwise.

I found Abe. He was born in Wyoming so this statue is to celebrate that fact. Im not sure why he’s wearing those large shares though. I guess its sunny in Wyoming most of the time.

Utah

After the Nebraska high point I got kind of torn about where to go next. Idaho (where I was headed) had weather rolling in that might prohibit riding. My friend encouraged stopping off in Colorado for a few days… but the day was still fairly young and I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave 11+ hours of driving when it was time to head to Idaho. I decided to press on across Wyoming, and eventually settled on a 30 minute detour to stay in Ogden, UT because hotels were easy to find. I missed what was probably the shorter and more scenic drive, but I’ll probably come back that way on the backside of the trip, so no worries.

I got into Ogden around 10pm local time and was pretty tired. Nothing to report from there. The next morning, the final of the drive, I passed through the city proper. I also saw the turnoffs for Powder Mountain and Snowbasin ski resorts. I have not been to those yet but I want to visit soon.

Idaho

I finally arrived in Idaho on Friday morning. I feel like I made pretty good time. 29 hours of driving over two days with a single driver? I’m pleased with the progress.

I stopped for lunch in Twin Falls, which was surprisingly busy. Right as you enter town, there’s an amazing overlook with the Snake River winding through below. All the spots on the river are kayakers and paddle boarders.

And finally, the road into Ketchum, Idaho. Back into the mountains and time for some adventure.

I feel a little bad for all these bugs… there must be thousands that were killed in my journey across the country. Sorry little fellas.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more over the next 4-6 weeks as the adventure continues.