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Event Coverage B-bop's Laid off, make the most of it Solo road trip

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by b-bop, May 23, 2016.

  1. b-bop
    Joined: May 19, 2008
    Posts: 987

    b-bop
    Member

    OK, sure it's a stupid title for a thread post, but just plain old "road trip" sounded lack luster. Some of my favorite threads on the HAMB are from John at "ACME speed shop "when he hits the road and also Roger, "40StudeDude". Both of these guys know how to hit the secondary highways and take you along for the ride. So buckle in and lets hit the road.

    When I travel alone, I very rarely stay in campsites with my teardrop. So it is sometimes tough for me to compose anything worthwhile while I am on the road. I usually post quick updates on my Facebook account so that my family still knows I am alive and out there somewhere. I have been home now for a month or so catching up on my "honey do" list.

    The trip started last November when I got laid off from my job. I had seen the writing on the wall for a couple months and I had told my wife that if I got the punt, I was taking off in my Model A and teardrop and would be MIA for a while. The corporate bullshit had just wore me out. I spent the last two months of my job, training a bunch of dimwits in India how to do my job. Or should I say the processes involved with doing my job. You cannot take 35 years of telecom data/knowledge and download it overseas to a couple guys listening on a conference call in a couple months. I am sure they are doing just fine...Hahahaha.
     
  2. Trucker Jim
    Joined: Mar 28, 2016
    Posts: 67

    Trucker Jim

    Put us in the passenger seat !!

    Jim
     
  3. 2935ford
    Joined: Jan 6, 2006
    Posts: 3,843

    2935ford
    Member

    Been there done that......only my transition on my way out the door was to a group of Russians in Russia!

    Enjoy your time off, I sure did and ended up getting a better job sooner than I cared for.

    Ok so on with the show.......let's see the travel pics! :)
     
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  4. b-bop
    Joined: May 19, 2008
    Posts: 987

    b-bop
    Member

    The trip started November 15th at 5:30 in the morning. I got laid off on November 4th but had to prep the car and trailer and make sure I was ready for a long solo trip. I also have a daughter that lives in Las Vegas so my wife was down visiting her when I got let go so I had to wait until she got home. Leaving in mid November to head for the south is a little late for snow birds, but I had a good window to get to Vegas but weather was closing in.

    5:30 am and heading for the south.
    20151115_053557.jpg

    I am not a coffee drinker, but I do have a massive mug that will keep a Coke slurpee frozen for most of the day. I made Claresholm by 6:30 driving through some pea soup thick fog where you could not see more than a car length.

    20151115_065433.jpg
     
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  5. I'm keen to see your trip, bring on the pics.
     
  6. b-bop
    Joined: May 19, 2008
    Posts: 987

    b-bop
    Member

    Made great time through Alberta and Montana. There was a little snow on the road here and there but nothing much to worry about. My big worry was Monida Pass on the Montana Idaho border. It is known for major snowfall. There are snow sticks pounded into the side of the road with markings every foot so plow operators know where the side of the road is and how deep the snow is. Those sticks are about 9 ft tall. As you can see by the pics I managed to slip right on by on dry pavement.

    Heading south just south of Great Falls, MT. I love this section of highway.
    IMG_0585.jpg
    Getting close to Monida Pass
    IMG_0588.jpg

    Yeee haw. Monida Pass and no snow on the road.
    20151115_152002.jpg
     
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  7. b-bop
    Joined: May 19, 2008
    Posts: 987

    b-bop
    Member

    Driving through Idaho, I thought I had beat the weather and would be close to Vegas by midnight. But I started to pick up a drive line vibration and I did not want to be on the side of the road in the dark. If you are ever driving through Utah on a Sunday, beware, there are not many parts shops open. I kinda miss those days as a kid when everything was closed on Sunday, but when you are trying to beat a storm front that is closing in on you, your butt starts to pucker. At Salt Lake City, I decided that the U-Joint that was wobbling may not make it and there is not much between SLC and St George UT. Its about 300 miles and 4 hours in the dark and I knew "Daddio211" could have helped me source parts in St. George, but I was not going to risk it. So I parked for the night a couple blocks from Kindig It Design. I rolled into their parking lot at around 7, surprised to see a couple of the guys already there. I told them about my problem and they wheeled out a floor jack and jackstands and jumped right on it. I cannot say thanks enough for these guys. I think it was Will and Tommy that helped me out, but damm, I am getting old and should write this stuff down when it happens and not rely on my leaky memory.

    While I was waiting in their waiting room and Kevin was writing up my bill, he checked the weather and said that I may be in for a rough ride the rest of the day. I remember thinking, a little snow won't slow me down much. I only made it to Provo, just south of SLC and started getting hammered. I pulled off and found a McDonalds's to grab some free wifi. I had to get on line anyways to do my wife's payroll which is all on my PC and she does not do any "computer stuff"

    Down and out at the Kindig It Design shop in SLC waiting for a couple new U-joints.
    20151116_082917.jpg

    Got as far as Provo before the white stuff stopped me.

    20151116_102425.jpg
     
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  8. b-bop
    Joined: May 19, 2008
    Posts: 987

    b-bop
    Member

    After stopping for an hour or so, the sky started to lighten up a bit. I knew from looking at the forecast that the road road was going to be a little rough, but with two new U-joints and a full tank of gas, I decided to make a run for it. Good thing I grew up driving in lots of snow because I was now in the thick of it. I started passsing all kinds of semi's in the ditch. I laughed out loud, thinking, yup, those guys are "professional" drivers. Pretty soon the slow lane disappeared and all I could do is follow two black lines and a Semi that knew how to drive. It was a little hairy pulling the trailer and sliding around, but by this point there was nowhere to get off. I had the forethought to grab a small shower squeegee and toss it in the car before I left "just in case" . What a life saver. Who knew Rain-x did not work when the rain was frozen. Guess I should have picked up some Snow-x.

    IMG_0594.jpg IMG_0596.jpg IMG_0597.jpg IMG_0600.jpg IMG_0601.jpg
     
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  9. Bulletnose26
    Joined: Jul 21, 2013
    Posts: 170

    Bulletnose26
    Member

    What a way to make good use of your time off.
    I do like the road trip threads as well, thanks for sharing.
     
    OahuEli likes this.
  10. porkshop
    Joined: Jan 22, 2004
    Posts: 1,738

    porkshop
    Member
    from Clovis Ca

    This is getting good.cant wait for more....
     
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  11. Biting my nails for ya!!!
     
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  12. b-bop
    Joined: May 19, 2008
    Posts: 987

    b-bop
    Member

    After that last picture was taken, I figured I better keep both hands on the wheel. The snow was now starting to pile up in the middle of the lane and I could both hear and feel the groan of the splash apron below the radiator as it spread the slush/slop/snow around when the pile was too high to clear it. The temp gauge on my car was starting to rise and there was no where to pull over. The lane next to me was about a foot deep by now. I think we were close to 7000 ft of elevation and then everything stopped. We were right at the summit and so I plowed myself a road as carefully as possible towards the guardrail on the right hand side. I got out of the car and the radiator was packed with slush and could not breathe. No sooner did I shut the car down, and the overflow let go and green antifreeze puked all over the freshly fallen snow. Interstate 15 which was down to a single lane was at a stand still. I popped the hood and knew it was going to be a while before I could add anything to the motor so I sat and waited. A Highway patrol pulled up beside me with a goofy grin and asked if I was OK. I explained my overheating issue and told him I was OK but need to wait for it to cool down. He said we would be there a while, because another Semi, had slid sideways across both lanes a mile ahead and it would be a while before they could tow him out of the way.

    So we waited. I scrapped off the radiator which had about two inches of snow and slush pancaked onto the front. It did not take very long, maybe 40 minutes and the traffic started to move again. There I was on the side of the road in a Model A pulling a teardrop and when I looked at the traffic going by at 5 mph, every single passenger had their phone pressed to the window taking pictures of the dumb ass hot rodder that does not know what time of year it is. :)


    When I finally got back going and got down from the summit and into Beaver UT, this is what my ride looked like. It was worse at the top of the hill , but lots of snow had already fallen off.

    20151116_162129.jpg 20151116_162138.jpg 20151116_162221.jpg 20151116_163347.jpg
     
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  13. b-bop
    Joined: May 19, 2008
    Posts: 987

    b-bop
    Member

    I did take one selfie because I thought, If some moron Semi driver smokes me and launches me over the edge, there will be one last picture of the guy the "Loves to drive 'em". By the way, my hair is not white, that is from standing outide the car for 2 minutes.

    IMG_0606.jpg
     
  14. b-bop
    Joined: May 19, 2008
    Posts: 987

    b-bop
    Member

    Heading south on I-15 after Cedar City, the elevation drops and the temperature goes up. Now if you happened to be on the highway that day and saw me, I may have looked like a really sad DUI case. But every vehicle had brought their fair share of snow and slush and I was dodging ice and snow balls like a drunken sailor walking on the top deck in 12 foot seas.
    Finally the lights of St. George. Still a ways to get to my daughters house and call it a night. I noticed coming into Vegas that my hands hurt, probably from holding onto the wheel too tightly for too many miles. There was also a little bit of a pucker left in the leather seat from a little too much clenching while sliding through the snow.

    IMG_0609.jpg
     
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  15. I really like road trips. Keep it coming.
     
    b-bop likes this.
  16. Road Trip? That's an adventure in my book! great stuff!
     
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  17. Man,if I was driving in those weather conditions you couldn't drive a needle up my arse with a sledge hammer! :D HRP
     
    Luke stone, OahuEli, flyin-t and 5 others like this.
  18. Great story so far.:)
     
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  19. wow , you are a brave man to be doing that with such a nice car

    and to think i had my `28 Tudor out yesterday on a beautiful day for a 20 mile drive and was not happy i got a little tree sap on it
     
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  20. belair
    Joined: Jul 10, 2006
    Posts: 9,013

    belair
    Member

    Great stuff.
     
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  21. MORE !
     
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  22. You're my kind of guy! :)
     
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  23. Ford52PU
    Joined: Jan 31, 2007
    Posts: 519

    Ford52PU
    Member
    from PA

    subscribing!
     
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  24. would you like a good recommendation for a head shrink??? or you already have one?
     
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  25. Crazy Canadians........looks like fun Barry!

    Can't wait to see more.
     
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  26. b-bop likes this.
  27. Blue One
    Joined: Feb 6, 2010
    Posts: 11,459

    Blue One
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Alberta

    This thread just proves that us Canadians don't let a little thing like winter or snow keep us on the couch :D
    Good story.
     
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  28. AVater
    Joined: Dec 9, 2008
    Posts: 3,148

    AVater
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    1. Connecticut HAMB'ers

    Keep on keepin on and sharing the photos!
     
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  29. Bill Rinaldi
    Joined: Mar 23, 2006
    Posts: 1,877

    Bill Rinaldi
    Member

    I've read a road trip naration of yours before, when you took off with a couple of buddies----Your really an EXCELLENT writer! Looking forward to "the rest of the story". I do have a question about your tagalong trailer. When your in cold country and you shut down for the night, how do you sleep warm? Polar sleeping bag? some sort of heater? (but I think that would require a generator) And WHERE do you shut down for the night, seeing as you don't usually stay at a campground. Thanks Bill
     
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  30. This is good...Do you have decent heat and defrost? My parents yanked a kit teardrop around the nation, and just about yanked the rear axle out from under it. I hope it holds up well!
     
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