On The Way (Finally!)

T

tirolerpeter

New member
After interminable delays due to personal medical problems it is really happening. I am writing this from a Holiday Inn just off I-80 in Cheyenne, WY. I've got a 26' Penske truck with a car trailer and my Hyundai GT loaded on it. My wife is following in her Civic. We have had some delays. Day one was nearly 6 hours of driving to cover 110 miles in a snow storm a week ago Friday. Day two was delayed because of a visit to friends in PA. On day three, the exhaust pipe on my wife's Civic broke off just behind the resonator and dropped down onto the pavement. That took an hour to remove from under the car, and swap her Civic for my GT off the trailer. Of course, she doesn't like my GT seat on long trips, so we spent three hours on day four getting the Civic exhaust fixed so we could swap cars again. Then we hit heavy rain that slowed things down for another day. The truck runs and handles well, but it is governed not to exceed 70 MPH. That is annoying when the speed limit is 75. The most annoying thing is my wife can't seem to drive more than 250 - 300 miles without complaining. Today, Saturday we were going to get in a 350 mile day when snow started before noon and we had to stop here in Cheyenne. I stopped at a DOT facility and they were showing heavy snow and poor visibility on the highway cams in the Laramie area with trucks pulled over waiting for the storm to abate. Now it looks like we won't get to SLC until Monday. Better late then never I guess.
 
Hey-hey! You're almost here! Friend, former Canyons patroller and FTO lurker Acidchrist just made the same trip from Ithaca yesterday -- he called me from Laramie as he approached. It was a fine, fine day with everyone today.

tirolerpeter":306vaviw said:
I've got a 26' Penske truck with a car trailer and my Hyundai GT loaded on it.
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Ironically I drove the identical rig to get here from Albany.

tirolerpeter":306vaviw said:
My wife is following in her Civic.
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Alas, I had only the dog and the cat in the cab to keep me company.

tirolerpeter":306vaviw said:
We have had some delays. Day one was nearly 6 hours of driving to cover 110 miles in a snow storm a week ago Friday.
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I too left in a blizzard, all the way from Albany (left at 2 pm) to night #1 (3 am) in Cleveland.

tirolerpeter":306vaviw said:
The truck runs and handles well, but it is governed not to exceed 70 MPH. That is annoying when the speed limit is 75.
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Ironically, mine had no governor. It won't matter tomorrow, though, for the uphills through Wyoming and Utah will slow you down more than any governor will.

tirolerpeter":306vaviw said:
The most annoying thing is my wife can't seem to drive more than 250 - 300 miles without complaining.
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The dog and the cat did no such thing. :wink:

tirolerpeter":306vaviw said:
Today, Saturday we were going to get in a 350 mile day when snow started before noon and we had to stop here in Cheyenne. I stopped at a DOT facility and they were showing heavy snow and poor visibility on the highway cams in the Laramie area with trucks pulled over waiting for the storm to abate. Now it looks like we won't get to SLC until Monday. Better late then never I guess.
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That stretch just beyond Laramie is very high elevation on the northern shoulder of the Wind River Mountains, very open (not one tree) and therefore very windy (you'll see windmill farms further west in Wyoming around Rock Springs). It's also impossibly remote (be sure to leave Laramie with a full tank, no matter how close to full it may be when you arrive in Laramie). It records more accidents per mile than any other stretch of I-80, from what I understand, so don't treat it lightly.
 
Hi Marc! We will likely shoot for Rock Springs today and then make the downhill (I hope) run into SLC on Monday. I will have to set up some storage space and hire some unloading help to empty the truck. Any ideas on where to hire some labor?
 
tirolerpeter":17d1oz3a said:
Hi Marc! We will likely shoot for Rock Springs today and then make the downhill (I hope) run into SLC on Monday.
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Man, now I know your frustration. Cheyenne to SLC is a one-day drive. We did Albany->SLC and St. Pete, FL->SLC in three days each. With the rental truck/trailer, the Albany run required 16-hour days (on the last day I drove Omaha->SLC). Driving from St. Pete in the Discovery was much quicker, despite a similar distance.

tirolerpeter":17d1oz3a said:
I will have to set up some storage space and hire some unloading help to empty the truck. Any ideas on where to hire some labor?
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For the first load we used Rocky Mountain Movers. For the second load we hired guys on eMove.com. We were very satisfied with both, and eMove was much less expensive.
 
Admin":3sszw1wa said:
tirolerpeter":3sszw1wa said:
Hi Marc! We will likely shoot for Rock Springs today and then make the downhill (I hope) run into SLC on Monday.
Click to expand...

Man, now I know your frustration. Cheyenne to SLC is a one-day drive. We did Albany->SLC and St. Pete, FL->SLC in three days each. With the rental truck/trailer, the Albany run required 16-hour days (on the last day I drove Omaha->SLC). Driving from St. Pete in the Discovery was much quicker, despite a similar distance.

tirolerpeter":3sszw1wa said:
I will have to set up some storage space and hire some unloading help to empty the truck. Any ideas on where to hire some labor?
Click to expand...

For the first load we used Rocky Mountain Movers. For the second load we hired guys on eMove.com. We were very satisfied with both, and eMove was much less expensive.
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Thanks Marc. I'll check it out tonight. We are in Rock Springs as I write this. We had to delay our departure this AM because of a wreck on I-80 just west of Cheyenne. Didn't leave town until nearly 11:00 AM.I know what you mean about the wind! Although, the truck/trailer handled it very well. We will hit SLC tomorrow by around noon. Unless of course, the snow storm jams us up!!!! I'll give you a call some time during the afternoon. We are looking to stay at an "Extended Stay America" in the Sandy area.
 
Well on the bright side, you got snow, must have put a smile on your face :) Once again Peter, best of luck!
 
Life is filled with irony Andy. The last thing I need or want today or tomorrow is SNOW. We have to do the 160 - 170 mile drive down from Rock Springs into SLC, check into a hotel, find a suitable storage location, round up some labor to unload the truck, and get everything unloaded and the truck returned before I run up another day of rental charges. But, we are very close to the end of this journey.
 
The truck is unloaded, stuff is in storage, and we begin "apartment hunting" tomorrow. Had a great dinner at the "Marketplace Oyster House" (The one in Cottonwood Heights) this evening to calm down from the stress of the last few days.
 
Need to re-title this as: "Made It!"

We have settled in to a nice two story 3BR, 2 1/2 Bath, Kitchen, DR, LR, 2 car garage, large basement, Townhouse in South Jordan. A six month lease should give us a chance to get a "read" on the area and the housing market. We are now busily engaged in furnishing the the place with stuff to replace what we had to leave behind. As Marc G noted in another posting, we had a nice evening and dinner at the "Aerie" up at Snowbird and got to know the "locals" a bit. A welcoming bunch if there ever was one. Our prospective future guest list seems to be growing, and we are setting up two bedrooms for guests.
 
tirolerpeter":3c6ahpr3 said:
Our prospective future guest list seems to be growing
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Get used to it. You'll have East Coast friends you never knew you had. :wink:
 
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