Miles Across the Midwest
I knew in preparation for the trip I wanted to stick to an 8 hour-ish drive cap each day for a few reasons:
First, to not burn myself out and allow plenty of wiggle room and time for stops
Second, if anything unexpected happens - weather, bad traffic, a necessary detour - I have plenty of time to get from point A to point B
Third, I like to make stops along the way (my bladder only makes it 1.5-2 hours) and also just like to get out and stretch
The 8 hour cap seemed to work well - on day one traveling from Louisville, KY to Topeka, KS, I stopped about an hour into the drive for a bathroom break. It was both a little frustrating and liberating at the same time to have only made it an hour from home - this was my time and I could stop when I wanted and needed and didn’t need to worry about anyone else and just did what my body needed.
Day one was a lot of rain and overcast skies across rolling fields in Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. The anxiety I’d felt about the trip the night before leaving melted away about two hours into the drive - I was excited, eager, and looking forward to the adventure. I was still worried about how Tater (my eight year old greyhound mix) and Elmer (my one year old beagle mix) would do staying with my parents for the next few months.
The stay in Topeka was great - the hotel was clean, hotel staff was kind, and it was so easy to sleep after the first day of driving.
Day two was sunny and bright and I’d found out that I-70 had just reopened that morning. I’d heard that the long road across Kansas and Eastern Colorado would be easy/boring but that wasn’t the case for me. The rain I’d experienced in Missouri had been snow in Kansas and Colorado and had actually shut down the highway the day before. On the drive from Topeka to Denver, I found out why.
At the start of the drive, there was a dusting of snow on the side of the road which gradually became snow drifts. The GPS kept telling me to re-route (assuming it was using the prior day’s data when I-70 ha been closed), seeing clear roads and thinking I-70 was my best bet, I continued on, disregarding Google’s suggestions.
Crossing into Colorado from Kansas was when things changed. The road was instantly rougher and seemingly out of nowhere the roads became very slushy in spots. At one point. we were down to one lane without any warning and luckily with the long straight roads, it made it simple, albeit nerve-wracking, to continue aiming forward with the car. At some point, the roads cleared permanently and with my car thoroughly coated in salt, dirt, and slush, I finally spotted mountains on the horizon.
When I was finally “in Denver”, it still took about 30 minutes to get to where I was staying. Like any good road trip that last little bit of time to my destination is when I got the most impatient. I got to my AirBnB around 4, and had finally arrived at my first stopping point for a few days.
