21-Days / 13-States / Over 7,000 Miles

[Jim Oaks]

​

If anyone's interested:

This past July I set out on a roadtrip from Texas to the northwest. I traveled through 13 states in 21 days, and traveled over 7,000 miles. The majority of mile were on 2-lane US highways, and some back country roads. I probably had no more than 100 miles on the interstate, and that was only to link up with other highways.

Of my 21 days, only 3 nights were spent at a hotel. The rest of the time I either camped, or slept in my truck at rest areas and truck stops.

I blogged about my trip and took a ton of photos. I broke it down in sections so it's easier to read. I took my dog Marley with me, so when you read 'we', I'm referring to the dog and I.

Anyway, I took photos and wrote about it in hopes to encourage others to get out there and explore. When I left on my trip, I had no idea where I was going, where I would stay, and when I would come home.

I'm really anxious to do it again. This last time I did it in my Ford F-350. Next time I want to use a Ford Ranger so I can get to more remote areas.

I hope you'll check it out:

Roadtrip 2017 – Exploring The West

http://www.blueovaltrucks.com/adventures/roadtrip-2017-exploring-the-west/

Happy Travels

 

[MastuhWaffles]

Are the pictures of that old wooden building in colorado?

 

[Jim Oaks]

Yes. That's the Yankee Girl Mine.

 

[bf750]

wow

 

[Jim Oaks]

Those photos are:

RV Museum - Amarillo Texas
Glacier National Park - Montana
A lake in Wyoming
Yaak Falls in Montana
Oregon Pacific Coast along the 101
Yankee Girl Mine - Colorado
Bishop Castle - Colorado
Mountain in Oregon
Mount Saint Helen
My Super Duty at Monarch Pass Colorado - Continental Divide
Along a river leaving Mount Rainier in Washington

.

 

[Dangerrangers]

Very nice Jim , awesome pics , glad you had a good time.

 

[MastuhWaffles]

Yes. That's the Yankee Girl Mine.

Ah okay Ive been there.
I also went up into an old mine system in the mountains near salida colorado. We had an atv exploration up there to the sulfur mines and got to see all the old shacks all over the mountains that had been preserved in time. There was still utensils and coat hangers on the wall.

 

[fangotango306]

This is awesome Jim. Travel is one of the greatest things in life.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Ah okay Ive been there.
I also went up into an old mine system in the mountains near salida colorado. We had an atv exploration up there to the sulfur mines and got to see all the old shacks all over the mountains that had been preserved in time. There was still utensils and coat hangers on the wall.

I'll have to look for that next time I go up there. I wanted to go to the Crystal Mill further north, but it ended up being a lot longer drive back to it then I anticipated. It would have been dark by the time I was taking the trail back out, so opted to turn around, and headed for Utah.

 

[Curious Hound]

Jim,

Awesome blog. I just started scanning it. I'll have to go back and read in more detail and finish it. I'm up to day 7 so far. I would love to take a trip like that. I used to take shorter trips with my dog(s) back when I was single. It's a bit different now with a wife who needs lots of creature comforts.

 

[MastuhWaffles]

I'll have to look for that next time I go up there. I wanted to go to the Crystal Mill further north, but it ended up being a lot longer drive back to it then I anticipated. It would have been dark by the time I was taking the trail back out, so opted to turn around, and headed for Utah.

I think the actual town where it is called Bonanza.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Last week was crazy, actually going thru it today.

Another railroad fun fact for you. The railroads were given a square mile on each side of their track for building the track and developing towns to support the railroad. So to get as much land as they could they basically threw the tracks down. And then a few years later in a lot of areas they went back and laid new track because the first time was done in such a hurry the railbed was junk. So they built a new railbed (then they could keep using the original during construction) within a few years. I grew up between the new and old tressles (nice so there is little wind in the winter). The abandoned one had a huge stone tunnel over a creek which is really cool (and full of minnows and creek chubs) and the new one is much less ornate and brick.

The town I was married in died because of this, they dragged the buildings a few miles miles and made a new town on the new line. Just a church an old elevator and a couple houses left at the old town site, the new town died after the railroad quit stopping there.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I think it's crazy that the real joining of the transcontinental railroad isn't where we've been taught. It wasn't until a train trestle was built over the Missouri River in Nebraska that it finally became a true continuous rail line. I also think it's crazy that one of the golden spikes is allegedly missing, making it a true lost national treasure, and sounds like it could be a Nicholas Cage movie.

Also, the initial link I posted is still good, but I've moved my adventure articles here:

http://blueovaladventures.com/my_adventures/roadtrip-2017-exploring-the-west/

http://blueovaladventures.com

I have more interest in writing about adventure travel and adventure vehicles, than I do about Ford trucks in general, so I split the site up.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I think it's crazy that the real joining of the transcontinental railroad isn't where we've been taught. It wasn't until a train trestle was built over the Missouri River in Nebraska that it finally became a true continuous rail line. I also think it's crazy that one of the golden spikes is allegedly missing, making it a true lost national treasure, and sounds like it could be a Nicholas Cage movie.

Growing up an hour away from Omaha I had never heard that.

It makes sense though, the Missouri used to shift around a lot so it would have been hard to build a bridge over a river that never stayed in one spot.

 

[Jim Oaks]

History tells us that this event completed the Transcontinental Railroad. But it’s a misrepresentation of history. The truth is, and you can search this for yourself, the Transcontinental Railroad had a gap in it because there wasn’t a bridge over the Missouri River in Omaha Nebraska. Passengers and freight would have to be unloaded from a train on one side of the river, loaded on to a ferry (operated by the Union Pacific Transfer Company), transported across the river, and then loaded on to another train. The railroad bridge over the Missouri River that truly created a ‘transcontinental’ railroad wasn’t actually finished until 1872.