Eby On The Road

Reno to ABQ -The Lonely Way

We awoke in Reno to snow falling. We packed up the truck and traveled to the store on the east side of town where we were to be working at that morning. Finishing at the store around 12 we readied ourselves for the long trip we had in front of us. We were going to be traveling to Albuquerque, New Mexico straight with no stops. Now there are two ways to take in order to get to Albuquerque.

1. South on route 95 thru Las Vegas hitting I40 in Arizona and take that the rest of the way.

2. Take route 50 west (aka The loneliest road in America - you'll find numerous blogs on it) through Ely, Nevada, continuing on through Utah.

When entering Utah you continue on I70 all the way to Grand Junction, Colorado where you hit route 50 again until you find route 550 south through Durango, Colorado all the into New Mexico till you are just north of Albuquerque where you go south on I25 into town. Now between the two ways given above to go, way number 1 looks simple and direct, yeah we took way number 2 (figures) So with all that explained this is where the trip took a bizarre turn.

We left Reno at 12pm on Friday March headed to New Mexico in order to update a store and get a good meal from my Mom. We knew it was going to between 17 to 20 hrs to get there but I was loaded down with Coca-Cola (nectar of the Gods) and James had his Red Bull, we were good to go, we thought. Now we took way number 2 on the advice of one of the best road men I know, my Father Eby Sr. We simply overlooked two big points that greatly effected our trip.

1. Dad drove a car.
2. We did not look at the Weather Channel before leaving!!

The first 140 miles were a breeze, it was nice out, the weather had turned clear, we were listening to the XM (which was a life saver when you are on the Loneliest Road in America) and had plenty to eat. We arrived in Austin, Nevada which according to many of there signs was one of the oldest towns in Nevada and from the other signs it seemed real urgent that we get fuel even if we didn’t need it. And with our past history with fuel related problems we didn’t question their suggestions. So we fueled up and took off once again. Now this is where we began to figure something was a bit different then we had been used to. First there was no other living creatures anywhere, just this thin road stretched out in front of us, no houses, no gas stations (we now understood their suggestions), no CELL PHONE towers, nothing. Second, we started to climb, signs for the Toyabe Range of mountains started popping up and snow started falling, and falling and James was driving! (Florida remember.) He was doing well and the roads were ok until we went what felt like vertical, there is a big difference between 3000ft and 7000ft and the snow was coming down sideways and at 15miles per hour we weren’t making great time. So we limped it along another 140 miles never really exceeding 35mph and me gripping every handle in the truck. You see the road was rather narrow, never a real place to pull off, so the Floridian was getting trial by fire in his introduction to blizzard driving. We drove thru the snow reaching Ely, Nevada well after dinner.

We pulled into this little town and saw truck stop and wanting to err on the side of caution filled up once again. What was crazy about this place is that is was snowing like crazy outside, it was a Friday night around 8 or 9pm and the placed was packed, with teenagers. They were everywhere, there was a Subway inside the truck stop and every one of them was chowing down of a sub and just hanging out. We couldn’t figure out the draw of the place but it was the cool place to be. We got our subs, ate and headed back out, we were heading down hill and knew it had to get better, what did we know!!! Just so you know there is an area called Snake Range about 40 miles west of Ely and it will bite you. More snow, driving terrible, blah, blah, blah. I am not real fond of snow anymore by the way. After entering Utah and leaving the snow and mountains of Nevada behind us we kept on, changing drivers about every 150 miles. Why every 150 miles and not 200, well that’s simple the fuel tank was half full at 150 miles and half full was our new empty ok.

So we drove all night and James was sleeping when we were 14 miles south of Montrose, Colorado and I was driving and saw signs for Silverton and my mind drifted to the cowboy stories I had heard as a kid and was looking forward to seeing this famous little town. It was pitch black outside but I knew dawn was coming. We got to Ridgeway and I noticed we were starting to climb and all of the sudden the road became a corkscrew, but it was still dark so I kept driving. As the skies started lighten James awoke and said “whoa” as he look out the window, when I ask him what’s up he just pointed. I hadn’t noticed but as the sun came up I looked myself, we were way up. With no guardrails we passed a sign that said elevation 10,500 ft. We could look straight down, just feet from the edge I began loving the yellow line in the middle of the road and was thankful for no oncoming traffic. If we didn’t know before we knew now that we erred in our decision making on our trip route. Now let me tell you the scenery was unbelievable, the sites were just stunning, being so high up looking at Silverton in the valley. Wildlife and all that goes with being in the mountains it truly was an experience, but the bottom line when you are going up a cork screw of a road 11,000 feet in the air you don’t make very good time and were pushing it. 

The store we needed to see was only open until 12pm and leaving Reno at 12pm the previous and figuring about 18 hours we would make it no problem. Well it was looking like a problem now and when we reached Durango we still had 200 miles to the store and doing the calculations that put us there around 11am as long as we had know problems. (We weren’t all that confident) Again making a long story short we made there a couple minutes after 11am, 23 hours straight on the road. We apologized for our appearance and did our update and headed to Mom’s for a shower and something to eat. But sleep in a bed was not in our future; there were more roads to conquer.

Intermission

Technorati Profile

Hey everybody!  This is the Moose, Eby's kid brother, I've been tweaking a few things.  Stay tuned as Eby returns tomorrow with more from this wild trip.  We'll catch you up to date and get you on the road with him as soon as possible.  Hey drop a comment now and then to let us know you're along for the ride!

Later

Welcome to Reno...groovy

After surviving the Diesel Fuel Adventure, IKEA Campers, and The Blizzard of Donners Pass we finally rolled into Reno.  Nothng would be greater than finding a hotel and getting some rest. For once we found it right off of the main strip.  It was called the Bonanza Inn and it was awesome.  It felt like stepping back in time (in a good way) when we checked in. The owner had been there for 50 years and there was great pictures on the walls the history of Reno.  The rooms still used keys unlike the little credit card keys we all use now. Unless of course the magnetic strip doesn’t lose in power while you are standing in the snow in your boxer shorts because you had to get something out of the truck.  Sorry that’s another story.  Finally James and I got to our rooms to settle down for the evening.  Each one was decorated from the 60’s yet extremely clean and just nice.  It was exactly what a road warrior would be looking for at the end of a long trip. Ate at buffet, and called it a night.  Donners Pass behind us, we were hoping for smooth sailing the rest of the way. Of course we truly had not idea what the "rest of the way" would mean!

From IKEA to Snow Chain Rackets

Once we had found the mysterious fountain of diesel and our truck had filled up from it's shores, we headed north to Santa Rosa and fixed up another store and then it was off to Sacramento where we decided to stay the night. Of course even finding a place to sleep didn't happen with out a hitch. Ikea in West Sacramento was having a grand opening, and people had traveled from hundreds of miles for this opening. I think we were pretty lucky to find a room that night. ABC News 10 later reported

Nearly 2,000 people turned out Wednesday morning for the 265,000 square-foot store's opening. The West Sacramento location is the 27th U.S. store for the Swedish furniture chain and the first Northern California location outside of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Crazy furniture shoppers (How crazy? Click Here to read just how wild it gets.)

As we worked the stores on both ends of town, we both realized how beautiful Sacramento is. It seemed like a nice, sunny  day and good for driving. By the time late afternoon came around we were on our way east for a nice ride from Sacramento to Reno. At this point I had never heard of a place by the name of Donners Pass and James had never heard of tire chains. We were about to get our education on both in a hurry. As we listened to the weather on the XM radio we began hearing about the 3 ft of snow that had fallen and the signs on the side of the road warned of severe snow pack and that were chains required. We were driving a rental truck and didn’t have chains (most likely since we didn't think about that in Southern California during early March! James was bewildered on how a chain was going to help us navigate in the snow. In his defense he has lived his entire life in southern Florida.

The further up the mountain we drove the darker it became and there was more and more snow on cars coming down the mountain. We finally were made to pull off at a check point and asked if we have chains.

When I told the man no he just replied, “You’re not going any further without them, pull down to that house and buy some.” Pull down to a house and buy chains. James was completely confused now. We pulled down to this house with a sign outside that simply said Chains for Sale. We walked in and we didn’t even have to ask. The old man walked out looked at our truck, looked at the tires. He went back in to the many shelves of Chains in a bag. He dropped a bag in front of us and $90 dollars later we were headed up the mountain. What a racket! That man has to love the winter...he sells snow chains.

Well with the magic chains were allowed to continue are journey up the mountain until we were told the chains had to actually be put on the truck. And don’t you know right on the side of the road there were guys with orange vests on. Any idea what their job was? You are right! give them $30 dollars and they will put the chains on for you. I am telling you these guys love the snow. So now we traveled over Donners Pass.

We went from asphalt to snow pack, back to asphalt where, and I know you will find this hard to believe, there were guys there with orange vests on and for only $20 would take your chains off. Well this is where it stops for me. I am sorry if I hurt the Donners Pass economy that day but I took the chains off myself. No help from James as he found this desire was to pepper me with snowballs the whole time I worked. It must be that people from Florida lose their mind in the snow.

Diesel?? What Would You Want That For?

In the following days we worked in San Jose -  Oakland and then on our third day we traveled through the amazing city of San Francisco. What an incredible great city! I felt like I was in an Italian postcard as the homes and business rose into the hills surround the city. We worked setting up a store in the morning across the water in Oakland and then traveled south of San Fran near the airport to work in another store before again heading back north. James was driving when we left the store because yours truly was all geared up to see the Golden Gate Bridge.

Neither of us "Road Warriors" took time to notice the fuel gauge was buried in the red. Let me make a long story short. While I was busy trying to take pictures with my stupid cell phone of one of the most famous bridges (you can see them here as soon as I can get them loaded) James was busy panicking about the fact that we were on empty. There is obviously no emergency diesel on the bridge as they didn't have the foresight to see a couple of googly eyed touristy type morons who would forget to fuel up before heading out! Of course there is no diesel fuel after the bridge and I mean well after the bridge. If you haven't traveled north across the bridge, the terrain becomes extrememly hilly. We finally got off an exit and the first gas station we flew into had no diesel. It seemed logical to me to ask the guys that were renting trucks next door where we could get diesel. They apparently didn’t buy into my logic and seemed confused with my questioning so it seemed we were stuck. We drove about another mile and again another gas station with no diesel. 

We were growing extremely tense and turned of the XM radio, as if by removing noise in the cab of the truck we were going to eek  out another mile. There was little conversation between us as we both leaned forward in our seats, again hoping somehow it would help us further down the road. At the second station I went in to ask, hoping someone would know where we could purchase what we found to be rare substance, diesel fuel. Inside was a teenage girl cleaning the restroom; “Oh great” was my thought as we, tried in my broken Spanish and her broken English, to communicate. She pointed and tried to explain to me where to go finally relenting to drawing me a map. Her English was better then my Spanish. With new life and map in hand I hopped in the cab and we were off. We turned up a hill down a hill, getting off the exit she clearly marked and there it was not one but two stations with big signs diesel. Yeah!!! “Sorry sir we don’t take credit cards...”  No I only wish I was kidding. So limping, spitting, and putting we pulled in the next station. Fill it up please!!! Then off again...

Perilous Pit Stop

I left Los Angeles on March 6^th and with my co-worker James headed out to set up stores with our product (porcelain tile). Our plan was to cover as much of the west as we could, but we had no idea what the next week held for us. We headed north on the 101 out of L.A. toward San Luis Obesqio. Something about the Pacific just brings out s sense of awe in me.  Being an East Coast guy, up until recently I never knew all I was missing in my first 3 decades on this big planet.   

The Pacific was absolutely unbelievable on the day we set out, the mist hung tight to the water trying to shroud it in some sort of Agatha Christie mystery. Skies were slightly overcast and it was a beautiful day. As we moved along that first day we stopped at a little convenience store along the road.Apparently James had a need to buy 10 avocados for a dollar.  Meanwhile I ran in the store and grabbed a Coke, ok two Cokes. Cokes are definitely one of the natural sources of life.

As I was checking out and salivating over my Coca-Cola, the pictures behind the counter demanded my attention. They were pictures of the store during the many mudslides that befall the west coast. Each of these 5 or 6 picture was dated from the past decade with the most recent being from just a few months previous. I asked about the pictures and he told me how fortunate he had been, never losing his business. He went on telling me the stories of the walls of mud crashing past his store but it continued to stand. I paid for my Cokes and as I walked out I said that I hoped to see him again. He let me know that wouldn’t be possible because this was last day he would be open, when I asked him why he simply said “My luck is bound to run out.” He was getting out of the mud’s way. We stayed the night in Salinas, CA.

March Madness Begins

What brings someone to the point that they would think others would be interested in their story much more their opinion even.  For my brother (writer for the Guatemala Adoption Blog) it was after a 19 month adoption where his wife spent 14 months in Guatemala fostering their child.  In that circle, his research has weight to it when it is posted on his blog.  For me, it was the month of March 2006.  Looking back I still marvel at all I was fortunate to see, everyone I was honored to meet, and all of the places I was able to go.  All of this of course was for work but in March my eyes were opened to the privilege I have had to be able to travel this great land we live in.  I have learned valuable tips that now through "Eby Hits The Road" I hope to pass on to you! I also hope that through this, both I and other readers can hear back from you about your experience as well.  For now, let me bring you up to speed on March 2006.

March was a crazy month...even for me. I, after spending over 300 nights on the road last year, found March 2006 to be extreme. I worked in 17 states, drove over 6000 miles while flying well over 15,000 miles. One of the interesting things from the month March was the cities that I traveled through. This list is like a who's who of US cities:

Los Angeles
San Francisco
Sacramento
Reno
Las Vegas
San Diego
Miami
Chicago
Baltimore
Washington D.C.
Philadelphia
Chicago
New York
Albuquerque

In one month I was in cities that all growing up I had read, and learned about. This is one of the benefits of being a road warrior, the sights, the people, seeing things some people only read about.

Did I see you on my journey, not likely but then again not impossible.  Stay tuned for the month that changed my life.  If you see me in the corner of  your favorite greasy spoon typing on this laptop, drop by and say hello.  Who knows, you'll probably enter the hallowed halls of "Eby Hits The Road!"

Eby Hits The Road

So here we go.  Buckle that seat belt and get ready for the ride of your life.  Through this weblog we will explore this great nation, see some awesome places, and meet some great people through the eyes and ears of Eby, one of this countries great travelers!  Currently we're testing a few spots to determine the best place to meet with you and to share these adventures. If you happen upon this site while we're testing it out, let us know what you think!