Driving cross county is not high on my to do list. We usually try and get from point A to point B as quickly as possible in as little time as possible. On our last journey I vowed that we would not drive cross country again--at least not in the near future. As usual I was wrong. We just finished driving west again. This time we took a different route. That makes some sense since our end destination was Montana rather than Colorado. We also took some time driving. We actually pulled off the road and stayed in hotels. Choosing a hotel while driving cross country is a bit of a crap shoot. It is more like Russian roulette. I guess that is why in past trips, 8 or nine of them we just drove straight through. This time was different. I just cannot make the 36 plus hour drive without sleep, or at best minimal sleep. Also, after one of those journeys, I end up exhausted, taking more time to get my sea legs. So this time we agreed to stop. We were also aided by a GPS which not only got as 99.8% of the way here without a problem, it also allowed us to scout ahead on our route to find dog friendly hotels. Unfortunately, our scout does not allow us to see the interior of the hotels.
On night one we found the bullet. Our place of residence was certainly not a dive, though its levels of comfort and cleanliness matched my college dorm room days. However, night two was much more promising. Yes, we paid more buck and we got more bang. The room was large, spacious and clean. We hesitated a bit when we arrived to the hotel and saw stacks of mattresses by the dumpster, though upon further investigation we learned that all the beds had just been replaced with new pillow top mattresses. (Yes, they were comfortable.)
Today, we arrived at our new home after a last bit of stuttering. Our GPS kept finding the same road again and again. I became frustrated quickly. I was tired and new it. I also just wanted to reach the finish line. When I drive long distances, I feel quite relieved to finish, to stop, to actually get there. It was fascinating to see how the property itself changed in only a month since we last saw it. The grass is green, the rivers are full. I am just a bit concerned about roof over our heads. (picture included)
Oh yeah, and that is the 4 runner after a the cross country run.