Andrew and I left promptly at 7:30am this morning to make one last stop at Cartecay Bike Shop to pick up some parts we ordered a few weeks ago and fix the wheel bearings on the Ellsworth. They did not have the correct tools for the job but luckily we brought an extra set of rims just in case. We’ll have to stop at a bike shop along the way to get the bearings fixed later. Around 9:30am we officially headed west towards Colorado. We have somewhere between 21-23 hours of driving from Ellijay, GA depending on which device we use; Map Quest, Garmin and our iPhone GPS. As of right now, clear skies, an open road, and lush, green mountain ranges are the only things we can see.
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| The truck loaded down. |
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| Andrew did a really good job building all the racks. |
Here is the planned route for today’s journey. Take I-24 through Tennessee and Kentucky, pick up I- 57 in Illinois which turns in I-64 somewhere along the way. Continue west towards St. Louis, MI where we get on get on I- 70 and see the Gateway Arch. We will stay on I-70 all the way to Colorado. After the mountains in Tennessee, we began the long stretch through flat terrain, dirt roads alongside the highway, corn fields as far as the eye can see, hay barrels, antique shops and plenty of road kill. Soon after we got on I-70, we chased the sunset for a good distance across Missouri on our way to Kansas, until it finally disappeared out of sight.
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| St. Louis, MI |
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| Sun setting in the west |
While Andrew took over the night shift, I sat in the passenger seat with an Atlas and flashlight, trying to determine a more distinct route for the next few days of our trip. It looks like we are going to hit Crested Butte on the way back along with Moab, Frutta, Arches National Park and Devil’s Garden in Colorado and Utah. While reading an issue of my National Geographic Traveler magazine today, I came across a quote that I deemed the motto for this trip. It’s simple: “Take your time, give in to temptation.”
I saw on the weather channel yesterday that parts of the mid-west have had temperatures over 100 degrees for 31 days straight. We’re hoping it cools down significantly since we will be sleeping in this region tonight. We drove until 12:30am where we stopped at a rest area past Kansas City. We fell asleep to the sound of semi engines and passing cars on the highway.
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