OTR Again

[Yamaki]

I sort of feel like Willie Nelson... we are On The Road Again.

Today we will be headed out to Phoenix via Boise, Salt Lake City & Flagstaff and hope to have selected our new residence in Arizona by the end of next week. If we have to stay a bit longer I'll put the wife on a plane next Friday and I'll stay behind, finishing up the home tours.

As you may have surmised we are driving. I love road trips! While winter is not be best time to be driving through the Intermountain West we do have a very capable vehicle, all the traction devices & emergency supplies we could possibly need and considerable experience driving in winter conditions. If it gets too bad we won't be pushing our luck. We'll just check in to a motel and wait it out.

We are also performing Pony Express tasks along the way delivering items to family members with stops in LaGrande, Oregon; Provo, Utah & Fountain Hills, Arizona.

I put about 2500 music files on a USB thumb drive so we have plenty of tunes for the trip.

My only real concern is that the Mrs. insists on driving the first leg to Boise and I get to be the passenger. She might just change her mind if she encounters ice on the infamous Cabbage Hill pass... Pray for me, gents.

[Antonmb]

Safe travels and happy trails Michael!

[Higgens]

Best wishes on your trip, Michael. I’ve made the trek across I-84 numerous times traveling between Boise and Olympia, WA. Spring through fall, it’s one of the most beautiful stretches of interstate highway in the US. Winter is a completely different story. In January ‘17 a snow storm came out of nowhere. It took us 5 hours to get from Ontario to Baker City. Some of the most treacherous driving I’ve ever experienced. There is a good camera system in place now that allows you to monitor traffic and weather conditions in the mountain passes. Good luck on your trip.

[damacman]

Crazy weather in AZ at present with a LOT of snow up North. Be careful!

[W9TR]

We just got back to Colorado from Wisconsin. We took the Southern route and timed our departure to avoid the bad weather. It added about 2 hours to the trip but we avoided all the snow. 1300 miles. Glad to be back!

[Yamaki]

Just got home tonight after a 9 day road trip with my 2017 2500 Cummins. I didn't tow anything and the only load in the truck was me & the Mrs with our luggage and a cooler or two.

The first leg started in Portland OR and continued through Boise ID, Provo UT, Flagstaff AZ and ended in Phoenix AZ. That leg started on 11/29 and we arrived in Phoenix on 12/2.

After most of a week of running around in the Phoenix metro area with all those crazy drivers at high rates of speed, I put the wife on a plane Friday and I headed back to Portland via truck the next day. This time the route was from Phoenix to Apache Junction to Wickenburg AZ, on to Kingman, through Las Vegas, St. George UT, Salt Lake City, Boise and eventually I ended up back in Portland. I left Phoenix on 12/7. I can be a Road Warrior when needed.

Both of those routes have some significant elevation changes and freeway speed limits ranging from 65 MPH to 80 MPH. I made best use of the Cummins power to cruise up and over those hills with ease and at the posted speed limits. I admit I rode it hard and put it away wet but the Ram didn't seem to care.

My total fuel usage for the entire trip was 158.19 gallons. I traveled a total of 3370 miles and even though I had quite a bit of around town driving I still managed a respectable 21.3 miles per gallon.

The truck ran flawlessly the entire trip but we did not make an offer on a house as of yet. We do have some possibilities and have quite a bit to discuss before we make that selection.