Driving cross country is not high on my to-do list. We usually try to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible in as little time as possible. On our last journey, I vowed that we would not drive cross country again—at least not in the near future. As usual, I was wrong. We just finished driving west again. This time, we took a different route. That makes some sense since our end destination was Montana rather than Colorado. We also took some time driving. We actually pulled off the road and stayed in hotels. Choosing a hotel while driving cross country is a bit of a crapshoot. It is more like Russian roulette. I guess that is why, in past trips, eight or nine of them, we just drove straight through. This time was different. I just cannot make the 36-plus-hour drive without sleep, or at best minimal sleep. Also, after one of those journeys, I end up exhausted, taking more time to get my sea legs. So this time, we agreed to stop. We were also aided by a GPS, which not only got us 99.8% of the way here without a problem, it also allowed us to scout ahead on our route to find dog-friendly hotels. Unfortunately, our scout does not allow us to see the interior of the hotels.
On night one, we found the bullet. Our place of residence was certainly not a dive, though its levels of comfort and cleanliness matched my college dorm room days. However, night two was much more promising. Yes, we paid more bucks, and we got more bang. The room was large, spacious, and clean. We hesitated a bit when we arrived at the hotel and saw stacks of mattresses by the dumpster, though upon further investigation, we learned that all the beds had just been replaced with new pillow-top mattresses. (Yes, they were comfortable.)
Today, we arrived at our new home after a last bit of stuttering. Our GPS kept finding the same road again and again. I became frustrated quickly. I was tired and knew it. I also just wanted to reach the finish line. When I drive long distances, I feel quite relieved to finish, to stop, to actually get there. It was fascinating to see how the property itself changed in only a month since we last saw it. The grass is green, the rivers are full. I am just a bit concerned about the roof over our heads. (picture included)
Oh yeah, and that is the 4Runner after the cross country run.
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