Today (8/03/2010) Paul and I are be celebrating our thirty-sixth wedding anniversary by starting our two week NASCAR Road Trip. We will be navigating the toy hauler to Montana for Moses' race on 08/07/2010. Then playing tourist through Wyoming; arriving in Colorado for Moses' race on 08/14/2010.
I will be blogging and posting photos throughout this adventure on my blog, NASCAR Race Mom.
(The times are Pacific Time.)
Travel Journal - Montana Raceway Park to Colorado National Speedway**************************************************************************
Journal Entry - 8/16/2010 7:00 PM
Dinner at Casa de Maria was pretty darn good. Unfortunately their air conditioning has a bit to be desired. We are back on the road and hope to be home right around 10:00 p.m. We can’t wait to see our pound puppies!
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Journal Entry - 8/16/2010 6:00 PM
We stopped in Blithe for some gas. Paul and I also decided to take a break and sat down to a Mexican dinner at Casa de Maria.
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Journal Entry - 8/16/2010 4:00 PM
Just left Moses’ Shop where the temperature is a cool 104 degrees. We stuffed the back of the little red SSR with all our gear. Heading home; it is a four hour drive.
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Journal Entry - 8/16/2010 12:09 PM
Right before Flagstaff, Arizona – there appears to have been a fire in the mountains. Now with the rains, there is flooding everywhere. It looks like we will be driving through right before the main road becomes involved.
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Journal Entry - 8/16/2010 11:06 AM
Just got fuel in Tube City - $3.18 a gallon with 5 Cents going to the Navajo Tribe. Two miles down the road diesel was selling for $3.03. Bummer. The red mountains here are beautiful however. Too bad that the majority of the buildings and houses are in ruins. Now I know why the Building Department is so vital.
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Journal Entry - 8/16/2010 8:30 AM
We just left Four Corners. I learned that the Four Corners is a region of the United States consisting of southwest Colorado, northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona and southeast Utah. The boundaries of the four states listed above meet at one point—the only such geographic point in the entire United States. I bought myself some pretty trinkets. I bought something nice for my BBF Robin also!
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Journal Entry - 8/16/2010 7:30 AM
Paul and I are on the road bright and early. First stop will be at Four Corners to do our tourist thing of the day. It is pretty windy out there.
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Journal Entry - 8/16/2010 4:35 AM
I got up early this morning. Not only did I get a chance to pack up our camp; I was able to get most of the MSR Toy Hauler ready to return to Moses!
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Journal Entry - 8/15/2010 4:35 PM
We made it safe and sound to the KOA Kampground at a decent time. We set-up, had a nice salad dinner, and still had time for a walk. The surrounding area is very striking. This is probably going to be the last night of our two-week NASCAR Adventure. Kind of sad; but we are ready to see our homestead.
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Journal Entry - 8/15/2010 11:00 AM
Saguache County Line – Just parked the MSR Toy Hauler and fixed sandwiches for lunch. What a pretty view of the countryside; lots of pine trees and moths!
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Journal Entry - 8/15/2010 7:41- AM
I can see Denver, Colorado straight ahead.
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Journal Entry - 8/15/2010 7:30- AM
Well, we are finally on the road. We will be over-nighting in the city of Cortez, Colorado. Our two-week NASCAR adventure is rapidly coming to an end.
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Journal Entry - 8/15/2010 5:00- AM
We woke up early to hit the road as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the track locked us in! I called all the numbers I could find . . . so now we just wait.
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Journal Entry - 8/14/2010 10:00- PM
What a tough night for the #16 Hasa Pool Products team! Moses was wicked fast; however a flat tire early in the race put us three laps down! We finished 15th and it dropped us to 6th in the points. On a positive note, I was very proud of the skill level of all the drivers! The K&N Pro Series West put on an excellent show for the Colorado fans.
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Journal Entry - 8/14/2010 9:00 - AM
Today is race day at the Colorado National Speedway. Nineteen NASCAR K&N Pro Series drivers will take the green at 8:20 pm. I will be at the track all day covering the events for Racing West Near Live.
Click here to join in on the conversation. We will cover both practices; qualifying and the 150 lap race.
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Journal Entry - 8/13/2010 10:15- AM
We made it to Colorado National Speedway. Met with Ron from the track and he set us up with our camping site. The MSR Hauler is parked and we are ready for tomorrow!
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Journal Entry - 8/13/2010 9:15- AM
Packed up camp and on the road to the Colorado National Speedway. GPS tells me it is just a short 76 miles away.
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Journal Entry - 8/13/2010 9:00- AM
What a super tourist day we had yesterday. With our brother Harold as our tour guide, we started out with an excursion of the Budweiser Brewery in Colorado. This was a very interesting and informative hour and ten minute explore of the plant. The one mile trek exposed us not just to the inside workings of the beer factory, but through some beautiful gardens and ended with an introduction to the Clydesdales.
The tour included two glasses of beer. Yummy, but what we liked most was our introduction to Wild Blue; Anheuser Busch's specialty - fruit infused lager! Wild Blue won a gold medal in the fruit beer category at the 2006 North American Beer Awards. While most beers are 4% alcohol content; Wild Blue carries an extra kick with 8% alcohol content. We found it scrumptious.
Next we drove our truck on the Rocky Mountain’s Trail Ridge Road. We spent about two hours viewing spectacular scenic mountain vistas. It is the highest continuous motorway in the United States, with more than eight miles lying above 11,000' and a maximum elevation of 12,183'.
Then we checked out the Essex Park shopping area; beautiful trinkets, but out of our price range. At 4:00 mountain time; we slipped into the Casa Grande Mexican Restaurant and hi-jacked the television remote. Over chips and margaritas, we cheered Moses on to his 3rd place finish in the Montana Raceway Park race; the end to a perfect day.
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Journal Entry - 8/12/2010 4:30- AM
We are getting ready to do the tourist thing today. Thinking about the Budweiser Plant tour; going to the Stanley Hotel; and strolling around Essex Park.
That should take us right up to the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts Bonus Challenge '150' NASCAR K&N Pro Series West broadcast on SPEED Channel at 3 pm PST. Go Moses!
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Journal Entry - 8/11/2010 5:30- PM
We ate at the Texas Roadhouse with Brother Harold. What a fun time. We got to see his place too.
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Journal Entry - 8/11/2010 5:22- PM
The MSR Toy Hauler made it to its resting place at the KOA Kampground in Cheyenne. It is nothing fancy, but has everything we need and the staff is super friendly.
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Journal Entry - 8/11/2010 5:00 PM
We got to the fuel station right before the big rush. That was a good thing because right after we got there, it became a mess. Double that with the fact that the pump was super slow . . . Needless to say we got out of there a bit later than planned – but it is all good.
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Journal Entry - 8/11/2010 11:56 AM
Deer Sighting! We saw a handful of deer eating their lunch to the right of Freeway 25/87.
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Journal Entry - 8/11/2010 11:15 AM
We got fuel at an un-manned Exxon Station. The we jumped in the back of the MSR Toy Hauler for a sandwich.
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Journal Entry - 8/11/2010 10:55 AM
We just stopped at the Rest Stop off of exit 243. What an awesome place to stop. Besides having very modern bathroom facilities; they had a nice information center with a display of Indian and Cowboy artifacts! I guess we did our touristy thing for this day of travel
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Journal Entry - 8/11/2010 10:13 AM
Welcome to Wyoming – Forever West; Speed Limit 75. The highway road is red!
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Journal Entry - 8/11/2010 8:30 AM
We are in the truck, heading east. My GPS informs me that we should be at our next campground around 4:30 p.m.
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Journal Entry - 8/11/2010 4:00 AM
I woke up early. We need to pack up the MSR Toy Hauler for our migration to Wyoming.
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Journal Entry - 8/10/2010 8:00 PM
Paul and I just got back from fishing the Yellowstone River. We caught a total of nothing; no fish dinner for me. We did have fun though.
As I was walking the rock covered shoreline; a snake went right between my feet and escaped into the water; slithering away real fast! Boy, that woke me right yup. I yelled “snake;” Paul responded, “get out of there.” However, I did not move as it was right between my feet and I did not want to spook the poor creature.
As we were walking back to the Toy Hauler, I must have stepped on a field mouse! I startled it and he almost ran up my pant leg. So I started jumping around and the mouse started jumping around. I don't know how Paul was able to refrain from laughter!
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Journal Entry - 8/10/2010 6:00 AM
Wow what a productive day. Working on my blog; went for a morning walk and found our fishing spot for later today; started our laundry; fixed a few things in the Toy Hauler; went for a walk to the store!
We saw a doe in the bushes as we were checking out our fishing hole. Then as we were returning from our trip to the store, a fawn ran past us.
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Journal Entry - 8/10/2010 6:00 AM
Good Morning everyone. We are "camped" in a RV park called the Yellowstone River Campground. I say "camped" because there are too many people here for our taste, but it is a nice place.
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Journal Entry - 8/9/2010 8:46 PM
Well, we made it! We are in Space 68 in the Yellowstone River Campground. Just in time for a shower and bed!
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Journal Entry - 8/9/2010 7:00 PM
Well that didn’t work out. The Lazy Heart Spear Ranch was just too small for our rig! We did stop at an old fashion A&W drive thru for dinner. The food was okay and we got out of there for under twenty dollars which included a $5.00 tip.
We located our next potential campground. The Yellowstone River Campground (http://www.yellowstonerivercampground.com/) is a bit pricey but we are ready for a good night sleep. Fingers crossed!
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Journal Entry - 8/9/2010 5:33 PM
Looks like we drove right though the bad weather. We were able to stop and get a bit of blue sky. It was enough so that we could locate our night’s resting ground - Lazy Heart Spear Ranch RV Park. It only has three spots total and no internet; but heh it will work for us!
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Journal Entry - 8/9/2010 5:06 PM
We went from a campground, that was muggy and very hot; now twenty minutes down the road the temperature dropped down to 64 degrees. Furthermore, it is windy as can be and raining!
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Journal Entry - 8/9/2010 4:42 PM
We found James Kepp RV Park; where we thought we were going to stay. Boy did the internet ever steer us wrong. There were no hook-up and no internet and also no campers. Paul and I thought that we would spend the night anyway until we got out of the truck. Paul got bit by three mosquitoes right away. Needless to say we now know why the campground is deserted.
We are back on the road looking for our nights lodging. On the high side, as we were leaving the park, a deer ran right across our path. What a sight.
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Journal Entry - 8/9/2010 2:42 PM
We just turned onto Highway 66.
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Journal Entry - 8/9/2010 2:27 PM
Paul spotted a couple of bucks of the side of the freeway. They were magnificent!
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Journal Entry - 8/9/2010 2:21 PM
We just stopped at Stromberg Enterprises for fuel; but more importantly we purchased our fishing licenses!
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Journal Entry - 8/9/2010 1:52 PM
Still on the road; about 80 miles west of the Hwy 66. All we have been looking at for the last couple of hours is wheat fields. It looks like the locals are harvesting.
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Journal Entry - 8/9/2010 10:30 AM
The MSR Toy Hauler stopped at Marias Pass for some lunch. What a beautiful view. Marias Pass (el. 5213 ft. /1588 m.) is a high mountain pass near Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana.
The pass was charted by John Frank Stevens, principal engineer of the Great Northern Railway, in December 1889. The location of the pass had been rumored for several years beforehand, but it took Stevens and a Blackfeet Indian guide named Coonsah to discover it. The pass proved ideal for a railroad!
The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Monument is a tapering 60-foot tall obelisk which resembles the Washington Monument. That’s Paul standing to the right of the monument.
The MSR Toy Hauler
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Journal Entry - 8/9/2010 9:40 AM
We are driving east on US 2, through beautiful Montana Forests. What a pretty tree laced countryside. Unfortunately, there is no internet service. I will work on my photos while I am offline.
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I am preparing our breakfast; we are still camped out at the Montana Raceway Park. It is certainly eerie being at this wonderful race facility alone.
Out my kitchen window I can see the ticket booth surrounded by the multi-colored checkered flags. Out of the bedroom window, I have an awesome view of the Montana mountainside.
We had a wonderful weekend and must now make our way down to Colorado National Speedway, Dacono, CO for the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts Bonus Challenge "150."
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Journal Entry - 8/8/2010 10:40 AM
Paul and I are heading out soon to take our Red Bus Tour. I will post some photos in the morning! Everyone enjoy their Sunday.
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Journal Entry - 8/8/2010 10:21 AM
NASCAR Race Mom Say Thank You Montana
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Journal Entry - 8/8/2010 10:15 AM
A Good Night's Haul
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Journal Entry - 8/8/2010 7:15 AM
Just waking up in the Toy Hauler, (MSR Central); opened my eyes to an empty bottle of Korbel Champagne on my breakfast table. What a super night we had. Moses drove the #16 Hasa Pool Products/White Flyer Toyota from his 13th place starting position to a podium finish. On the way he collected the Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award and the Coca-Cola Move Of The Race Award. Did I mention that I was a proud mom?
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Journal Entry - 8/7/2010 11:15 AM
Today's practice should begin in 15 minutes.
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Journal Entry - 8/7/2010 10:44 AM
At the Montana Raceway Park; Drivers and their Crew Chiefs are in their meeting at the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Hauler.
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Journal Entry - 8/7/2010 9:40 AM
Just about ready to make our way to the #16 Hauler. I forgot to mention that we (Paul, Moses, Sitara, and I) enjoyed a late dinner at the Winchester Steakhouse last night. Located at 2205 US Hwy. 93 South in Kalispell; the food and service were really good. Paul had his usual, Chicken and I must say it was the best chicken I have ever tasted! Check it out if you are in the area!
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Journal Entry - 8/7/2010 7:30 AM
The track supplied us with another awesome breakfast. Have I mentioned how nice they are here at the Raceway?
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Journal Entry - 8/7/2010 4:48 AM
Waking up at the Montana Raceway Park RV campground. It looks to be good racing weather. Wish us good luck today! Go Moses.
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Journal Entry - 8/6/2010 4:28 PM
Both practices went well. Times posted on this blog - Track closes in an hour.
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Journal Entry - 8/6/2010 4:28 PM
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series engines have started up and the pit area is readying for their first practice.
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Journal Entry - 8/6/2010 3:40 PM
The weather had cleared for a few hours. However, the clouds just returned and it has started raining again. The Mandatory Crew Chief Meeting is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. Wow, it has started hailing!
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Journal Entry - 8/6/2010 11:00 AM
Registration opens
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Journal Entry - 8/6/2010 10:00 AM
The drizzle has morphed to “sprinkles.” According to the
weathercentral.com, it is expected to be mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms today. The chance of precipitation is 40 percent; some thunderstorms may produce gusty winds...Small hail and heavy rainfall. The highs are expected in the upper 70s to mid 80s.
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Journal Entry - 8/6/2010 8:50 AM
This is our 08/03 Travel Route
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Journal Entry - 8/6/2010 8:30 AM
It has started drizzling here, but the race activities are not scheduled until 1:00 p.m. when tech inspections begin.
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Journal Entry - 8/6/2010 7:30 AM
Montana Raceway Park served up this delicious, nourishing and free breakfast.
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Journal Entry - 8/6/2010 6:48 AM
The Toyota / NAPA Auto Parts Bonus Challenge 150 Photo Album is posted on Facebook.
Click here to access it.**************************************************************************
Journal Entry - 8/6/2010 4:40 AM
Good Morning from the Montana Raceway Park. Paul and I have a really nice RV parking spot here at the track. Furthermore, the track staff have been wonderful.
Sorry that I was unable to do any blog entries yesterday afternoon. While the Montana countryside provides a beautiful canvas of nature; it did not supply any internet access.
The #16 Hauler driver, Andy became my hero last night as he opened up the team trailer for me. I was able to grab my camera battery charger and will be posting photos from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Pre-Race Party ASAP!
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Journal Entry - 8/5/2010 10:40 AM
This road trip has given me a chance to catch up a bit on my reading. I am trying to finish off, “Chicken Soup for the Soul NASCAR.” My friend Becca Gladden gave me a copy when we got together for a “tweetup ***” before the Phoenix International Raceway event this year.
This easy read contains 101 Stories of Family, Fortitude, and Fast Cars. I highly recommend it. Becca’s story starts on page 322 and is entitled “My Own Victory Lane.” A must read!
Becca Gladden is a freelance writer and analyst covering NASCAR's Sprint Cup series for various print, multimedia and internet outlets, and a proud member of the National Motorsports Press Association.
(***A tweetup is an organized or impromptu gathering of people that use Twitter.)
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Journal Entry - 8/5/2010 8:12 AM
We just crossed the Montana border. For the last hour, we have seen a whole bunch of nothing; just prairie. Paul is so bored he is reading off every mile marker. I think he is trying to annoy me.
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Journal Entry - 8/5/2010 7:30 AM
Our 08/04 Travel Route
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Journal Entry - 8/5/2010 7:00 AM
Back on the road. Leaving Idaho Falls and should be at the Montana Raceway Park in time for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Pre-Race Party! Montana Raceway Park will be kicking off its big weekend with a Race Party on Thursday, Aug. 5. The party, which is open to everyone, begins at 5 p.m. and will include a free barbecue dinner. An autograph session is scheduled at 7 p.m. For more information, contact the track office at 406-257-7223.
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Journal Entry - 8/5/2010 3:11 AM
I am just waking up at the Targhee Inn & RV Park. Yup it is a bit early, but had a good night’s sleep at this small but interesting establishment. Discovered my battery charger does not work; therefore no photos until I retrieve my original battery charger from the #16 hauler tomorrow night. I am bummed.
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Journal Entry - 8/4/2010 3:45 PM
I forgot to report that my salad last night featured the "Heart of the Palm." I had never even heard of the vegetable before. Heart of palm, also called palm heart, palmito, burglar's thigh, chonta or swamp cabbage, is harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees. They are kinda like a pickle with the vinegar, but not quite as crunchy. I loved it and got to eat Paul's Palm Heart as well! I recommend that you try it if you get the chance.
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Journal Entry - 8/4/2010 3:25 PM
We just crossed over into Idaho. We plan on stopping in a couple of hours at the Targhee Inn & RV. An early dinner and a good night's rest is in order. (http://www.targheeinn.com/)
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Journal Entry - 8/4/2010 1:15 PM
Thunder and lightning; with rain so fast and furious we could not see thirty feet in front of the truck. Additionally, the temperature dropped from 91 degrees to 67 degrees in ten minutes. NASCAR Race Mom is in awe.
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Journal Entry - 8/4/2010 12:56 AM
We are driving through Provo, Utah. It is drizzling and humid here. Provo is the third largest city in the state of Utah.
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Journal Entry - 8/4/2010 10:55 AM
This is our 08/03 Travel Route
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Journal Entry - 8/4/2010 8:45 AM
The Arizona desert barren is morphing to a lush Utah green. My updates will be sporadic as the internet fades in and out as we traverse the mountains.
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Journal Entry - 8/4/2010 8:11 AM
The MSR Toy Hauler just crossed the Utah border. It is very pretty with lots of red rock mountains. The highway looks newly paved and is very smooth.
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Journal Entry - 8/4/2010 7:43 AM
We just crossed back over into Arizona
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Journal Entry - 8/4/2010 7:30 AM
We are back on the road. Bad news, I was going to take photos but the battery in my camera died; will recharge it when we stop for the night.
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Journal Entry - 8/4/2010 6:20 AM
We are just finished breakfast in the Toy Hauler. My husband is entertaining me by dancing to Justin Timberlake – “I'm bringin' sexy back” – Can life be any better!
Anniversary dinner was fun. We ate at Katherine’s, fine dining in the Casa Blanca Casino. Katherine’s is “consistently voted Mesquite's #1 gourmet restaurant, Katherine’s features dry-aged beef, and Italian specialties”
However, Paul had his usual, the Chicken Marsala, with you guessed it burnt with all the sauces on the side. I had the Grilled Pacific Salmon. For the bill of $57, it was a very good meal. However, our luck in the casino stank!
Back our mobile residence, the night was interesting. We are just getting use to the Toy Hauler. Somehow we popped the outside breaker and had to climb all around under the Hauler to find the breaker in the dark and in 100 degree weather at 9:30 at night. Then we must have forgotten all the patient teachings of our oldest son Moses, because we could not figure out the air conditioning nor the TV. We finally resorted to reading the manual . . . . amazing. . . we got everything working fine.
We had tried to find a campground with hook-ups but all the ones we had marked down were all closed. I think that the bad economy has had a ghastly influence on the small town of Mesquite. We ended up in the parking lot of the now defunct Oasis Casino. The good news . . . it was free.
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Journal Entry - 8/3/2010 7:07 PM
We just drove by the Las Vegas Speedway. Now looking for some place to get a good dinner.
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Journal Entry - 8/3/2010 5:45 PM
We just crossed over into Nevada. Primm (formerly known as State Line) is a tiny community in Clark County, Nevada, primarily notable for its position straddling Interstate 15 where it crosses the border between California and Nevada. Just notice a sign; littering will cost you $2,000.00!
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Journal Entry - 8/3/2010 4:40 PM
Just passed Zzyzx, California, formerly Camp Soda and Soda Springs, is a settlement in San Bernardino County, California. It is the former site of the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa and now the site of the Desert Studies Center. The site is also the location of Lake Tuendae, originally part of the spa, and now a refuge habitat of the endangered Mohave tui chub.
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Journal Entry - 8/3/2010 4:13 PM
We must still be in California - because the freeway is very bumpy!
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Journal Entry - 8/3/2010 3:41 PM
It is 102 here in Barstow, California – good thing the air conditioning in this truck works great.
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Journal Entry - 8/3/2010 1:33 PM
Toy Hauler is loaded and cleaned. We are getting a bit of a late start; had some errands to finish for my father this morning. Hopefully, we will set up camp around 7 or 8 just north of Las Vegas. Paul says no casinos this time around. Our time table will not allow it.
“I really like the Montana track,” said Smith. ”The fans are great. When the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West comes there, it’s a big event. The racing should be good. I like the Toyota Camry we’re bringing to the race. It should be good. I’m looking forward to it.”
