Ellie and I loaded up the rest of our things in the car and once again were off on our road trip to Kansas City (there’s only one KC and that’s in Missouri) leaving the beautiful northern California area of Dunnagin around 10am in the morning.
The planned route was to hit I80 east to hi-way 99 south route to miss any snow complications that had been dominating recently. I never did run into the 99 south connection so ended up heading to Reno where I saw that I could connect to a southern route through Nevada to Arizona and I40 (Old Route 66). That would put me on my trip back that I had come. It was a much more scenic view through the Sierra mountains so all was not lost.
I had my gas money to get me back with about half of my rent needed to secure my apartment that I had been able to get so I would have a place to live when I got there. That meant once again the dreaded standing out and soliciting for more money. I was lucky enough to get close to that with a little more help from my friends.
We headed south on I-95 from Reno where we had to get our first gas fill in Hawthorn, Nev.. That’s where, stopping at the first gas station in town, I found out that I would pay $.20 more for gas since there were two more stations on the south of town selling for less (go figure). But the real stinger was when my engine light came on after filling-up with gas. It was then that I became anxious that I may have major car problems and not get to KC. There wasn’t anything I could do so I had to once again pray to big “G” for assistance which was answered with no complications.
It was night time and pitch black on the hi-way drive until I hit the neon lights of Las Vegas (a beautiful experience). I got to see casinos I had been to in the past (Rio) as I drove through to my next route connection hi-way 93 south to my first destination lay-over, Kingman, AZ. I got gas for a much better price this time at a truck stop where Ellie and I got a nights sleep in the car (around 10:30pm). I had a sun-screen that I lined the drivers’ and half of the front window to block out most of the parking lot lights so I got a fairly good sleep considering.
I was on the road once again around 5:30am as were some truckers that were beginning their day of driving. I passed through Flagstaff, AZ about 2-hrs later and continued through on the scenic “Old Route 66” drive to my next destination of Toucomcari, NM for another night of rest at a Flying J truck stop. I arrived around 6pm and decided to get sleep with plans on waking around mid-nite to continue my journey to KC. I awoke around 1am and was on the road again 30-minutes later. I made KC around noon that day and spent my first night with my good friend, Ken, at his apartment.
Overall, the trip wasn’t too bad and my car didn’t give me any problems with the engine light still registering. Ellie was great, as she has been, throughout my entire plight and homeless flight. She seems to have that adaptability and resiliency that I’ve had to endure these past years and especially past months. She would sit or laydown on her sheepskin mat during the drive but I began noticing more and more that she preferred the security of my lap which I complied considering the upheaval of her life going from a lease-free environment back to the leash. So, here we are back in KC, Dec. 2, 2010. “MEANT TO BE”
God bless and God speed
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