Norfolk, VA
To see as much of the world as we can,
Using the smallest carbon footprint we can,
Spending the least amount of money we can,
Making as many friends we can.
This has greenery and a few valleys. But. Missouri, Indiana, and western Ohio are all respectably flat and very similar-looking.
Today was a short-ish day of driving, but we crossed a lot of state boundaries in one day. We're getting set up for the final day, which includes Ohio, West …
We kept the first day short. We also failed to realize where the border with Mountain time is.
The objective was is a short jaunt up I15 with time left for a hike in the Cedar Breaks National Monument. The time-zone change meant we had an hour less than we'd …
This was a long day. Upon review, it's better to stop in Grand Junction and maybe do a little hiking there.
Here's the view from I70 in northern Utah.
From there, it transitions to forested mountains. I70 winds through canyons in western slope.
Eastern Colorado and western Kansas are a lot of emptiness.
There's agriculture. And a little oil production.
There's a ton of wind. We had to take pictures of it.
It took some searching to find Martinelli's in Salina …
It was hard to take a picture that feels like it captures eastern Kansas and western Missouri. It's not the epic flat of central and western Kansas. It looks a lot like much of the east. Trees. Fields.
Historic Markers. (This is outside Lawrence, KS.)
Maybe …
Here's how we stand on day D-1. We don't have everything in there, yet, but it looks like we might succeed.
There's some rom abaft of the wheel wells for the bed, table, and the two folding chairs we're keeping.
The other IKEA furniture — table, office chair …
See Seeking Advice. Add this to the question.
"My current thinking is to play around in the Caribbean again for a while then perhaps over towards Central America. Pleasure boating experience is nil. Some deck experience when on the Navy ships."
Important self-reflection on boating experience being nil. That's central …
See Diesel Fuel Consumption for some initial thoughts. We have a mystery.
The diesel system is a well-understood transformation from pounds of fuel to horsepower and torque. Indeed. It's 0.4 pounds of fuel per hour per horsepower (about 18 fluid ounces.) 59 HP is 3.25 gal/hr.
(59 …
Question that came in through a professional connection on Linked In.
"As I start looking at an early retirement, I am seeking advice on any sites you may recommend where I might educate myself. I am leaning more towards a power cruiser style rather than sail, but still welcome any …
We've done this a few times before. Tape out a box on the floor. Move stuff into the box we want to keep. Everything else goes to charity.
Almost ten years ago, we taped out a box the size of a U-Haul trailer to move to Norfolk. Last year, we …
It's been a great year in Nevada. And.
It's drawing to a close.
We're about four weeks from casting off the dock lines here, and making the long voyage back to the Chesapeake Bay.
Stand by. Keep your weather eye open for a double headsail ketch, trimmed in red. Not …
Also Know As "Dispersed Primitive Camping".
See https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/recreation-activities/nevada for details.
This is essential anchoring out. Except with a truck. In the desert.
What's essential here is there are no services available. The BLM interactive web site maps are hard to use.
Not on the boat. Not near the boat. But. Thinking boaty thoughts.
Boulder City, NV, is the home of the Hoover Dam. There are lots of things related to trains and heavy construction. Including an ancient poster for a 65-horse-power diesel engine that consumed "0.44 pounds of fuel per …
Yes, you read the title correctly. Arrived.
While we got to Las Vegas on May 28th, we haven't been able to move into an apartment until today, June 20th.
That's three weeks split between a tiny Air B&B, my daughter's house, and a hotel.
Living …
Not really. We covered about 3100 miles in about 7 days. Distance is about 440 miles per day. Our top speed was about 75 MPH; the 80 MPH speed limit seemed a bit much for a heavily-laden Corolla. This meant we drove six to seven hours a day.
Previous vacation …
Bam! Done!
Today's drive through Utah's central basin was perhaps more breathtaking as any of the last three days.
The northern part of Utah (and western Montana) had snow-capped mountains and pine trees and the kinds of things I grew up with in the Adirondacks of New York.
As we …
Winding down the mountains and through the pine trees of Yellowstone was an amazing end to yesterday and start to today.
Emerging from the Targhee pass into Idaho, the land transforms back to the plains. It looks a lot like Montana looked. Big farms. Cows. More Farms.
Yesterday, I thought the Badlands were amazing. I'm not changing my position, but when you emerge on the west side of Billings and see the actual mountains, it transcends the mere amazement at the badlands.
It was almost "pull over to the side of the road …
Sh*t just got real.
For me, the center of this journey for me was crossing the Missouri in Bismarck, ND. That seems to be the entrance to the west.
The drive from Jamestown to Bismarck is — well — a lot of telephone poles. The exits have numbers and …
Yes, we crossed Minnesota in a day.
The shift in terrain is dramatic. To me, anyway.
Eastern Wisconsin is rolling, with a lot of low, but steep hills. More relief than the northern part of Illinois, Indiana, or Ohio. Nothing like actual mountains of Western Pennsylvania. Enough ups and downs …