Move to Fort Lewis - Day 5

So the moment finally arrived, we were leaving Sierra Vista FOREVER!!!! (ok, just for a little bit; I mean everyone knows Fort Huachuca is a black hole and eventually sucks everyone back into it. Oh and it also sucks out their brains and makes them think they like it there and Sierra Vista would be a great place to retire...)

So, we're off, and driving too! As we have to drop the travel trailer off in Utah with my parents, we are driving both cars. It should be noted here that getting both vehicles ready for this trip has taken a very large chunk out of my bonus money. But ready they are, and Pamela has the grand am with Cheeto, Marshmallow and Bekah, and I have the truck with Cookie and Brenton. I think I got the better end of the deal!

So, with Sierra Vista where it properly belongs (in the rear-view mirror) we set out for Washington. We stopped for breakfast in Tucson at the Cracker Barrel; doing this would soon become a trend as we traversed the country. Anyway, with our bellies full of crackery goodness, we drove and drove and drove. So, you may remember my last post with the picture of signs to Mormon Lake, yes? Some of the more astute readers of this blog will have wondered, as I did, how I happened upon that sign on the way to Flagstaff when Flagstaff is not at all on the way to Washington. It would seem that I made an error, a word here which means jacked up the directions real bad! One would tend to think that since I was going to Vegas and then on to Utah, and had made the trip several times, I would know what I'm doing. Turns out one would be mistaken. As we drove through Phoenix, I was chatting with my lovely wife and I couldn't remember the name of the highway we needed to take to get to Vegas. What's that? The 93, you say? Yes thank you, you're most helpful... my navigational system, however, was even more than less than unhelpful. I mentioned that I wanted to go to Vegas, and Mrs. Potts (yes we named the navigation system) suggested a route. Without actually looking at said route, I happily selected the suggested route and went back to chatting. Sad for us... Mrs. Potts apparently wanted us to visit Flagstaff again on our way to Vegas. We happily obliged. Honestly, it wasn't even until we were actually in Flagstaff and turning onto the 40 that I realized we had gone 173 miles out of our way. So it was with great regret and sadness that as I got gas in Kingman, AZ, I realized I had been driving for 10 hours, had spent over $200 in gas and was still in Arizona. Not a pretty moment in the Shane family. Oh well, moving on...

Now, as many of you (I say many, but since there are probably no more than three of you saps reading this I suppose many is a bit of an exaggeration, and that's a surprisingly difficult word to spell) anyway, as many of you know, it is unlawful to bring a trailer across the Hoover Dam, so we had to go through Laughlin. All I can say is, going up a 6% grade with a 2000lbs, 18 foot trailer in 105 degree weather was no picnic, for me or the truck. But Pedro (yes, we named the truck, what part of the Shane insanity aren't you getting?) did just wonderfully. We made it into Vegas that evening and stayed with Pamela's brother Sam and his awesome family. We even went to Del Taco for dinner which tasted like heaven! Actually, we got an even better treat when it was decided that Pamela's sister Jennifer (Lord lover her!) offered to take Bekah and Brenton to her apartment for the night. So Mom and Dad actually got to sleep! Well, that's all I can stand to write this morning. Till next time!