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Ed and Donner

Finally

I finally hung Donner's portraint over my fireplace.  From left to right:
Montag (1973-1987);
Kessie (1987-1999) and Sonntag (1987-2001);
Leben (2001-2014) and Erde (2001-2015); and
Donner (2011- ?)

While I enjoyed all of my dogs all the time, he road trips I took with them bring back great memories.

ED

The Defender is back home

Finally, after two months in the garage, the Defender ("Grane") is back home.  With its new transmission and transfer case, not to forget its new engine and just about everything else, it is running better than it was on that cold, snowy December 31, 1993, day when I drove if off the lot of Midlothian Motors in Virginia.  Interestingly enough, it arrived home just two weeks before Land Rover’s alleged successor to the Defender shows up the annual car show in DC.  Sure, I will drop in on the show to take a look at the new Defender, although it really is not a successor to the iconic Defender.  To say it is would be equivalent to saying that the Boeing 737, or whatever,  is the successor to Wright Flyer. When people ask me if I would buy one, I ask them, "Why would I buy one if I have one of the originals?"  Even if I didn't have Grane now, while I would certainly consider one - it is supposed to be the best equipped off-the-shelf 4X vehicle money can buy - I would probably end up with one from one of those outfits that builds the original Defender from kits.

Now that Grane is back home, my focus will now be on OTR-11.  Where to?  When?  I am I just starting to mull over the options.  The two trips I would really like to undertake would be: first,  circumnavigation of North American (ex Mexico, of course), i.e., northeast from DC to ST Johns and the Northwest River in Newfoundland-Labrador, then northwest to both Inuvik (Northwest Territories) and Prudhoe Bay (Alaska), then down to San Diego, then east to Key West (Florida), and then back to DC, a distance of at least 16,830 miles; and second, a trip across Russia from Vladivostok to Saint Petersburg, 5934 miles. Interestingly enough, the latter is only 54 miles more than the outward bound portion of OTR-1, from DC to Prudhoe Bay with Sonntag knack in 2000, but I would have to brush up on my Russian and figure out how to get the Defender there and back first. My guess is that I will settle for something a little but less ambitious (the Yukon?) in deference to Donner’s  preferences, not to mention other factors involving myself. 

ED and Donner, from off the road.

OTR-11?

.

Status of Defender

My mechanic informed me that it was the transfer case that went out on us in Kansas, which is surprising since I just had that replaced about six years ago.  But he also said that since I have the original transmission gear box (LT77), which was superseded in the 1995 NAS Defender by the R380 gear box, that I replace that also.  I agreed, especially since the R380 is more robust than the LT77 and has an option for a higher performance fifth gear, the lack of which I believe caused my transfer case to fail on the snowy, cold, long, empty highway in Kansas two weeks ago.  (I was cruising along in 4^th gear because 5^th didn’t give me the performance I needed.) Since the transmission is 26 years old and will go out sometime, I will save the labor costs to replace it since it can be accessed at the same time as the transfer case. Better to replace it now than have it go out on us in, say, the Yukon. These parts are being specially manufactured in England on November 21 (it takes four days) and by the time they get here and are installed, I will not see the Defender until the second week in December at the earliest. The bottom line is: clearly, I made the right decision to ship the Defender back to DC and rent an SUV to get us home. Donner thinks so, too.

Day 45, Wednesday, November 6, 3:15 p.m., “Donner, I get the feeling…

"Donner, I get the feeling that we are not on the road anymore."

I am making this final posting for OTR-10 as I pull into the driveway at my home in Washington DC. For the first time in 45 days, "home" is no longer where I pitch my tent.

Over the last two score and four days and nights, Donner and I traveled 8,900 miles, passing through, in and out of 29 states in this great land of ours, coming within a day's drive of more than 90% of the population of the USA, and pitching our tent in some of the most beautiful settings on this planet.

We first traveled from the District of Columbia to the Badlands of South Dakota, and then on to Yellowstone National Park, setting up camp at various state parks along the way.

We then drove on to the Grand Tetons, Craters of the Moon in Idaho, and Mount Rainier, before taking a well-deserved respite on a gorgeous bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Washington State.

We then headed south along the West Coast Highway until we took a detour to experience the other-worldly Crater Lake in Oregon, after which we sojourned farther south to camp right on the beach at majestic Walker Lake in California before moving on to breathtaking Death Valley for five days.

We then pointed the Defender northeast and drove through stunning Zion National Park before setting up camp for several days in the forest and then at the north rim of the Grand Canyon. After that, we moved on to the high desert in Utah and put the Defender's reputable prowess to good use on the rugged dirt roads thru photogenic Monument Valley and the adjacent spectacular Valley of the Gods. Resisting the necessity to end the journey, i toyed with the idea of recreating the pleasant evening we spent in Arches last year, but my better judgment took over and i navigated the Defender out of that surreal place and onto I 70, the road that would take us home 2000 miles away, pitching our tent one final time in a movie-set setting in a deep canyon on the great Colorado River.

The weather cooperated beautifully with us the entire journey, although it did mete out challenges with temperatures ranging from the low twenties to 100° the day we entered Death Valley. We outsmarted two historic snowstorms by good planning, lots of experience, and simple old fashioned intuition, not to mention some good luck.

Marauding animals cooperated even more so and we were not harassed as we were in the past by grizzly and black bears or, worse, thieving raccoons.

We pitched our tent in mountains and forests; on lava flows; on lakes, rivers, and creeks; on a bluff overlooking the magnificent Pacific Ocean in Washington State; and in the high desert and in the low desert.

Lady Fortune followed us everywhere this entire trip and I made sure to give her credit where credit was due, and in places where it was not, lest she remember that some miles down the road. One does not cross Lady Fortune.

We met good people, lots of good people, all along the way, the kind of people you wish lived next door to you rather than 3000 miles away.

Donner, who celebrated his fourth year with me along the way, met more dogs than he imagined existed, easily fulfilling his quota of new dogs each day.

The Defender acted exactly as it was meant to the entire route, getting us to where we wanted to go, and then getting us home, or most of the way home. Along the way it celebrated its 238,855th mile, the distance to the moon, and we celebrated that milestone in a fitting fashion. There is a new speedometer waiting for it at home and a new transmission on order from England. And i finally gave it a name after 26 years: Grane, Brunhilde's faithful steed who took her wherever she wanted to go, too, and in the end got her home where she belonged, sort of.

We experienced more sunsets in different settings over these 45 days than most people experience in a lifetime.

We had one hiccup along the way, in Kansas, the day after I unofficially announced the (camping part of the) trip over, but with the help of good people and lots of planning, we resolved that quickly and expertly and got on our way in three days.

I kept this blog and took over 1200 photos and videos, in addition to keeping my journal, certainly so that others could ride along with us and share the adventure, but also so that one day when I or the Defender are no longer able to take these incredible journeys with my beloved dogs, through unbelievably beautiful nature, tenting on the road through this fantastic land of ours, i can repeat them over and over again, listening to This Land is Your Land, North to Alaska, Take Me Home Country Road, Red River Rock, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Nessum Dorma, and all that other great music that kept me company over close to 150,000 miles over ten journeys on the road, from sea to shining sea to shining sea.

Although the trip has now officially ended, i will continue to post here from time to time until the Defender is repaired and back home, probably in a few weeks, and then open up OTR-11. In the meantime, although the excitement of my trials and tribulations on the road was not in evidence this trip as it was in the past, and my posts rarely rose above the mundane logistics of the day, and never to the profund musings i would have liked, i hope this blog inspired some readers to do some tenting on the road yourselves. 

There are too many people to thank here for making this 10th " incredible journey" (as the National Geographic" titled our first) possible and a success, including these whose friendship i shared along the way, so i thank each of  you and them here simply with a heartfelt "thank you." And Donner thanks you, too.

Ed and Donner, from home.

Day 45, The last last

I-66, the last highway, which, 75 miles away will take us two blocks from home. But i will first detour to take Donner swimming and to visit the Defender in the hospital.

Day 45, As It Is Happening, Last rest stop of trip, West Virginia.

We probably took 150 rest stops on this trip. Our last one. In three hours, home. (I hope.)

Boy, is this state beautiful. Back country roads the whole trip home. I think it'll be back country roads the next trip.

I did not set out Donner's throne, but he found one that suits him just fine. I hope he is not telling me something.

Day 44, Donner meets his last OtR-10 dog, Sissy

Outside the TipTop Cafe in downtown Elkins, WV

Day 44, The deck on Poplar Cabin at Cheat River

One of the reasons i stay here is for this great hot tub.

Despite all the comforts of this wonderful setting, it is not my style. Give me a tent in any setting you choose, my dogs, and my Defender, and you have my style, at least until the last few days of a journey.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 45, As It Is Happening, 8:00 a.m. Take Me Home, Country Road

The last leg of the trip begins.

Day 44, Tuesday, November 5, Cheat River Lodge, Elkins West Virginia

How does one spend one's last full day of an extraordinary road trip? Here 's how..

Luxuriated three times in the huge hot tub on the deck of my cabin just feet away from the rushing Cheat River;

Jotted down my post-trip to-do list, more than 50 items, with just four days to accomplish them in;

Jotted down my personal to-do list of about another urgent 50 items i must get to within days of returning, after not having thought of a single one in at least 44 days;

Read through my journal and extracted still another 50 items or so to consider for OTR - 11:

Reviewed my own personal goals etc. to start on the day i return (my new year begins the day i return from these trips),

Drove into pleasant town of Elkins to get a splendid Thai massage from Kyle, the owner of Jivaka Wellness Center, to regain my ability to walk after not having used 800 muscles over the last six weeks and overused the other 40.

Walked next door to Jivaka to give Donner a well-deserved, but resisted, bath;

Walked a few doors down to indulge in the best coffee i can recall drinking ever at TipTop Cafe, and to enjoy a veggie salad the likes of which were unseen the previous 43 days and would be hard to come by in DC.

Returned to my cabin for final reflections about what occurred over the last 44 days.

That's how.

Ed and Donner, from off the road

Day 44 Welcome goes out to the folks in Elkins West Virginia

Before this last full day of On The Road-10 ends, today's welcome goes out to all the good people of Elkins who made Donner's and my brief stay here more delightful than i had planned.....

Roxy, Scott and Billy at Cheat River Lodge, whose hospitality is hard to match,

Mark, the multi-talented conversationalist who made us feel right at home in a town new to us,

Kyle, my Thai massage therapist who expertly restored my ability to walk in a straight line after riding almost 9000 miles in the Defender, i,e., the equivalent of riding in a tractor for those who have not experienced it.

The staff at Fancy Paws, who helped restore Donner 's ability to, well, smell like a dog instead of an entire dog-sled team,

The owners of TipTop, the best coffee shop and veggie wrap procurer east of the Pacific Ocean, and to Matty, their barista, who lovingly boxed the sole-remaining pumpkin bar for Donner and me to enjoy on our trip home tomorrow, but which Donner selfishly devoured alone while i stepped out of the Defender to fill up the gas tank.

You are all good people, and lucky to live where and how you do. The values and graciousness that seem to permeate the air in West Virginia are to be envied by all as much as the sheer beauty of this vestibule of heaven you live in.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 43, Cabin at Cheat River Lodge

The other side of our cabin at Cheat River. This is quite a different experience decompressing at a cozy place like this for several days as opposed to the pace and routine of moving on every day. It helps transform the incidents and experiences of the trip into permanent memories. Depending upon your perspective, it sure beats sleeping in a cold, small tent.

Ed

Day 43, Proustian moment, Railroad track in West Virginia at Cheat River

From time to time on my blogs, i made an observation or two about railroad tracks. There is a reason for that. One of the earliest memories i have, from age three, is of a single railroad track stretching far into the distance and then disappearing. Every time i see a single railroad track, that memory, and with it the pleasant circumstances surrounding it, is evoked, along with the smells of kerosene and the fresh morning dew on a grass, other Proustian memories formed at the same time from the summer my famiky spent at a bungalow in upper New York State. During these long trips covering thousands of miles and scores -hundreds, really- of different landscapes, other memories are triggered. Just another serendipitous benefit of these trips.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 42, The Trip So Far, 7564 miles, beautiful West Virginia, 190 to DC

I get the feeling i should have been home yesterday.

Day 43, As It Is Happening, 12 noon, TipTop Coffee Shop in lovely downtown Elkins

Came into town to ship back my rented sat phone. What a pleasant town this is. Over the years i have been coming to Cheat River, this is the first time i have taken advantage of the relaxed life in town. I could get used to this life style. Great coffee at TipTop.

Once again, Donner refused to sit down until i fetched his throne from the vehicle and set it out for him. But let me tell you something, he deserves this treatment.

After this, we head back to our cabin to start the decompression and, as important, planning for On The Road 11, wherever that takes us.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 43, Cheat River Lodge, West Virginia

Photo..the view from the rear deck of my cozy log cabin in the Cheat River. I found this jewel of a resort more than three decades ago just after i got Grane, also known as NAS Defender 291.

The more time i drive through and spend in West Virginia, the more i am convinced it may be the most beautiful state overall in the USA. The entire State seems to be in the Appalachian Mountain Range, which runs through 13 eastern states, including my own back yard where I grew up on the Hudson River. Wow, is it pretty, especially in the fall when the hills are resplendent with brilliant fall colors. I spend the last days of my trips here to ease the transition back to city life, but also to remind me that i do not have to travel 9000 miles to surround myself with unsurpassed natural beauty. John Denver was almost right when he referred to West Virginia as "almost heaven." It IS heaven.

Ed and Donner, from off the road in West Virginia

Day 42 photo, what are they?

Does anyone know what kind of creature these are? They have goats' heads. They sure got Donner's interest.

Day 42, West Virginia at last

Made it to the Cheat River Lodge in West Virginia at 3:30. Will spend two or three nights here decompressing from our trip. I cannot think of a better place to do so. If i wait till i get home. (210 miles away) i will never get done the things i need to following a trip, and the list is long.

As i drove through the absolutely marvelous autumn setting of the Appalachians today, the one thought that kept coming to me was how to respond to those who ask how the trip was. Those who followed the blog know the answer to that question. I suspect my simple response will be, "Quite splendid," although it was far, far more than that.

Ed and Donner, from the a cozy log cabin on the Cheat River in West Virginia.

Photo...Donner wasted no time in making himself at home in the cabin.

Day 42, 11:00, As It Is Happening, rest stop somewhere in Ohio, next stop, West Virginia, where i belong

I had almost forgotten how absolutely beautiful the east coast is. Driving back roads all the way now. The countryside is clothed in all its splendid fall wardrobe. It is mesmerizing. Sitting here now on a gorgeous day, listening to some Beethoven, surrounded by pure natural beauty. What a grand country we have. We are all so very lucky.

Day 42, Sunday, November 3, As It Is Happening, Almost Heaven,

While John Denver thought West Virginia was almost Heaven, Donner feels that way about all the space he has in this temporary Defender of ours.

In any event, we are heading to West Virginia now, 254 miles away.

Day 41, Saturday, November 2, Columbus Ohio

Drove 550 miles today -more than i prefer to drive- to make up a day to get back on schedule. Would have been tough to do in the Defender, but the Defender can do things other vehicles do not even think about.

Took a rest stop in every state we passed through today, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. While passing through Ohio, we came upon the John Bryan State Park, where we stayed on day 2. We have now come full circle.

Staying at a Motel 6 tonight. Same room as last year. Woke up to a big drug bust next door here . Exciting.

Tomorrow we hit West Virginia where i hope to spend several days reflecting, or whatever. Then it is back to DC on Tuesday.

It was nothing short of a great trip. Then again, all ten of my trips were the same since all of us made it back safely. That is my only criterion.

I will keep posting something, i hope daily, until the Defender is back home. Then I open up On The Road 11, wherever that might take us.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 41, As It Is Happening, rest stop Indiana , 3pm

Pushing on to Columbus tonight so i can spend a couple of days reflecting in West Virginia. Was planning to visit my lovely ex-wife, Connie, in Indianapolis and then stop off the pay our respects to James Dean, but it will be too dark.

Below photo of a rest stop is as exciting as this last leg of the trip gets for the two of us. Real nice pet area here too. Ironically, rest steps for pets are better and friendlier heading east than west. You go figure.

I will say this, that i am appreciating the sceneds during this drive, especially the vast farms all over. Those good people work hard to feed all of us. God bless them.

Listening to Gotterdamerung. Decided to finally name the Defender, Grane, Brunhilde's great steed. Like Grane, that mighty Defender will take me wherever i want to go. I will have a formal Christening after he returns mended.

The road beckons.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 41: Sat, Nov 2, rest stop in Illinois, 11:30

Just got word that the Defender arrived safely back at Dean's, my mechanic's shop, at 10 this morning. My thanks to Dawn, my broker, and Gary, the indefatigable driver, for their good work. Together with Phil, Austin, and, of course, Jim Pendleton, that pesky issue was resolved in three days.

Spent a pleasant night at La Quinta in Columbia, Missouri, last night. Shared the hotel with the entire women's lacrosse team from the University of Michigan.

Was going to head to Indianapolis today, but decided to push on and head for Columbus, Ohio. While i certainly miss the Defender - okay, the attention we get in the Defender - this VW suv i rented sure makes good time on the road. It took me a while to adjust to all the modern conveniences the Defender does not offer.

I am enjoying the scenery on this part of the trip better this year than last. Last year, it rained the whole way and half the time was in the dark.

The road beckons.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Looks like my camera lens took a hit. Sorry.

Day 40, As It Is Happening, Rest somewhere area in Kansas

Great rest stop. Beautiful scenery. My vote for best rest stop in lower 48, 49 if you include DC, which no one does. First rest stop where there are no No Pets signs, or at least that i can see. And they even have barbecue grills.

Absolutely beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. 50 degrees. In fact, the weather forecast the whole route to DC is grest. Thank goodness for that respite on Wichita. I lucked out again. Now i wish i had brought my tent etc. with me instead of shipping it back in the Defender.

I find it ironic that i wrote last week that i was tempted to ship the Defender back to DC after Denver, and that's exactly what i did. Regardless of the motivation, i am looking forward to my new more robust transmission. I should have upgraded years ago. In fact, Land Rover upgraded the transmission for the 97 Defender, the third and last year they imported them.

I was also commenting to myself last week that i have never gotten sick on any of my trips. Oops, I spoke too soon. I have been nursing a stomach ailment since Monday. I will manage.

The road beckons.

Ed and Donner, from the road , Pomona KS

Day 40, As It Is Happening, moving on to Columbia Mo.

“Donner, i get the feeling we are not in Kansas, or the Defender, anymore.”

The Defender is halfway to DC, but we are just starting out. A very pleasant stay at La Quinta. Will probably stay in them all the way to DC.

I leave Wichita with a very positive impression. Good people, willing to help strangers in need of a hotel, or new transmission.

Above is our temporary Defender. Not quite like the real thing, but it will have to do.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 39, The Trip So Far, 7453 miles, 1251 to DC, Wichita, KS

Day 4, I-70 saga, the Decision

I spent a lot of time last night going over my options, torn between my mantra, "drive the Defender back to Dc," and the Salina Rule, "if the Defender cannot be repaired fully in a reasonable period of time, ship it back." Although i found in Jim an experienced mechanic (he owns a number of Defenders himself) who would get the job done right, because of parts availability and my hesitancy to test drive a new transmission 1200 miles to DC in problematic weather i decided to ship the Defender to DC after all. If all goes according to plan, a trucker will pick up the Defender at the Land Rover dealer today at six (for delivery in DC on Saturday), and i will rent an SUV starting tomorrow to get us home.

With the decision made, the only thoughts now in my head now are how lucky i was to end up here. I owe that decision to Phil, the AAA driver who suggested Wichita and the Land Rover dealer. After that, the list of extremely helpful people gets longer and longer - Lea and Jeff, as well as others, at the pleasant oasis i am in, La Quinta; Austin and Brandon, as wll as others, at Land Rover; Jim, of course, and those who helped him; the extremely cooperative Dawn of Casey and Dawn trucking who arranged for truck; Greg at Rovers North who provided critical parts availability information, the friendly Cansas from Kansas at Chillis restaurant, to name a few, but the list goes on and on. Without the involvement of good people like this, these unexpected layovers would not be pleasant at all.

Of course, at some point my attention will turn to how what happened was allowed to happen. The tentative double answer is this. First, you just do not replace your transmission willy nilly; you replace it when it is not working, and i had no prior indications that it was not that i recognized as such. Second, 90 percent of my miles these days are put on the Defender on these long Road trips to , which means i should expect 90 percent of problems to show up on the road. I know that before i set out and accept that risk. Fortunately, it did not show up until this trip was just about over and that it did not show up just two hundred miles earlier. Things would be otherwise be turning quite differentlyo, i am afraid. The bottom line is that it did nothing to disturb the success of this trip, but enhanced it.

I got some packing to do.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 3, i-70 saga, continued

Dawn, an auto transport broker, just called me to say she found  a carrier who can pick the Defender up Friday and drop it off next Monday or Tuesday for $1600. The carrier i used in 2016 wants $3990, but no promise of when it can be picked up.

Jim, the very capable mechanic Land Rover found for me, evaluated the Defender tonight and told me that i need a new transmission. But depending upon parts availability, it might take two weeks.

If i ship the Defender home, the car i will have to rent to get us home will cost $900 with the drop-off charge, and my room here costs $93 a day.

Even after Jim fixes what he thinks is wrong with it, i may have to still or want to ship the Defender home,

Auto van transports that can take my vehicle are hard to come by, but they do come along, but sometimes at a higher cost.

A decision under uncertainty for sure, although i can finish that book if i decide to stay here and wait for the Defender to be ready.

What would you do?

Interestingly enough, i hace replaced everything in the Defender except the transmission. Until now, that is.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Happy ”Birthday,” Donner.

Four years ago today, i woke up at 5:00 a.m. and looked at my Facebook page before i left for the train to NYC to see some shows that weekend. Among the postings i found was a three-minute video of a four-year old German shepherd named Thunder who was eligible to be put to sleep that night. He was sick, never trained or walked on a leash, had never  been inside, and had been chained up in several back yards his entire life. "How can i go to New York and enjoy myself knowing that this dog might be desd tonight?" I asked myself. I could not. At 9:00, i was on a plane to Los Angeles from DC  to adopt him. I renamed him Donner, which means Thunder in German, so he thinks he has an entirely new life, but is a daily reminder to me of the life he had for his first four years. What a great dog he is. I sure lucked out.

Below are  the two photos of Donner i saw on my Facebook  page four years ago today, and below that is his official portrait in his new life.

I will never know Donner's real birthday, so i celebrate it on the day he came into my life. He does not care, as long as i treat him the way he deserves. And he deserves the best.

Here 's the link to the video i saw of Donner.

https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=494535337385772&_rdr

Donner's official portrait.

Day 3 , I 70 saga, Wichita Kansas

I have an appointment later today with Jim Pendleton, an independent mechanic who works a lot on Land Rovers and some Defenders. We will meet at the Land Rover facility where my Defender is parked and he will evaluate it there. If i decide to go ahead with his doing the work, he will haul it over to his yard and start the work tomorrow. If i decide to not proceed with his doing the work, or he declines to do it, i will have no choice but to ship the Defender back home. It could turn out that i end up having Jim do the work and then shipping it back home, depending upon how long it takes to do the job.

The Land Rover team thinks it is the transfer case that is the problem. If it indeed is that, transfer cases just don’t fail with a loud POP, so something else happened to cause it to fail?  I will soon find out. Did i break any axle  maybe? 

I only have one bid from an auto transport company, the same one who hauled the Defender back in 2016 from Salina, Utah, for the same price. The problem is that with the roof rack the Defender is 84.5 inches high and that requires two berths in the truck.

If i have to ship it back, sometime after Monday i will rent an SUV and drive home and then have someone turn over the keys to the Defender when the truck comes.

I am sitting here in this hotel thinking about how lucky i was that this thing happened where and when it did. Had it happened just a few hundred miles back, that is, the night before, or on any number of other risky places just in recent days, things would be turning out differently.  Again, I lucked out, if there is such a thing as simultaneous good and bad luck.

In the meantime, the pace here is rather slow, not what i am used to on these trips, or anytime. The hotel is somewhat distant from everything so without a vehicle we are limited. But i will admit that this unexpected layover is a bit more comfortable than the five others i went through in the past on these trips, but that does not exactly make me a happy camper. Donner is using the time to catch up on rest, as if he did not have enough on the trip. I just may do the same.

Ed and Donner, from the road, i mean, off the road.

Day 2 of I-70 saga, in Wichita Kansas

Comfortably ensconced in La Quinta Hotel. Speaking for Donner, this sure beats those cold tents.

Spent the day working on plans A, drive Defender home, B, ship the Defender home and rent a car to get us home, and C, leave the Defender here and come back for it latter.

Drove the Defender -with great care- one mile to the Land Rover dealer this morning after downloading what we will need into the hotel. A lot of clanging. The Land Rover staff was extremely helpful, but suggested some other mechanics better suited to handle this. One looks very promising. He will evaluate the problem tomorrow and then i will decide what to do.

The problem with taking the Defender on the road is that it is difficult to find mechanics who can work in it, or even have the special tools required. It's the risk i take on these trips, willingly

The worst part about these unprogrammed layovers is that they are an abrupt change of pace from what preceded them, and i do mean abrupt. Fortunately, i have the work on plans to keep me busy. The danger is the Patty Hearst syndrome.

But the one thing you can always count on is the willingness of total strangers to help out, much in evidence here . And that started right from the beginning of this saga with the people who stopped at the 176th Street exit to ask if i needed help, e,g., the woman in the Jeep and Chris Wallace (both were awarded On The Road patches), and, if course, Phil from the towing company with whom i exchanged stories for four hours during the drive to Wichita, and whose advice was superb.

Best case scenario is that i am back on the road Saturday. Worse case, three weeks. But in case of the latter, i will probably ship the Defender back to DC.

Ed and Donner, from the road)

Day 1 of Trip interruption, the Wichita Kansas Saga

For those who did not read my earlier posting, the Defender had a hiccup today, a big one. Sometime around 2, driving down cold, snowy I-70, headed for DC, 1500 or so miles distant, by way of Toledo tonight, my transmission threw a tantrum of sorts...a loud popping sound, grinding noises, and then smoke. I was able to drive it a mile off the highway to a remote road, and called AAA for assistance. Donner and i sat in the Defender for almost five hours in the cold and snow waiting for aye AAA truck, and he finally arrived before six, just as dark set in. Fortunately, we had plenty of gas and we so kept somewhat warm with the engine and heater on.

Originally, i set out plans to take the Defender to Topeka, where we had plans to spend the night anyway, but Phil, the very able AAA driver suggested Wichita, where there was a Land Rover dealer. I called the service department there and they said if i brought out in tomorrow, they might be able to asses what needs to be done over the next week. But that it would be at least two weeks before they could get to it.

Phil and i headed to a nearby La Quinta Hotel where i just finished setting up "camp" day for a week or longer. Depending upon what happens at LandRover, one option is to have the Defender shipped back home once again, but this time we will drive back ourselves instead of flying.in the meantime, i have my days cut out for me work8ng on plans A, B, and C, still fresh from my trip three years ago.

I took a risk taking this trip with the Defender, and i am glad i did. The trip was perfect until now, just four days from home. You win some, and you lose some. But i will say this, that formidable machine will get back on the road one way or another. Vincrro, Vincero, VINCERO.


I Will post at least once a day about this saga.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 36, Somewhere in Kansas, a slight trip Interruption

At about 2pm, i was driving up an incline somewhere along the long empty stretch in fourth gear in Kansas when I heard a loud pop from my transmission. I then tried to put the transmission in 5th gear, but heard all kinds of grinding. I then pulled off at a nearby exit and the cab starting filling with smoke. I called AAA to tow me to Topeka, 200 miles away to a Motel 60 off i-70. Tomorrow, i will see if I can find a mechanic in Topeka who can repair whatever might be the problem. If it cannot be repaired, or if it is, but i do not have the confidence to drive it 1100 miles back to DC, i will wait in Topeka until it can be shipped back and rent a van to drive us home. We are off the highway, but it is cold 30 degrees and snowing. Fortunately, the engine is running and we have heat, without the blasts of cold air we get when driving.

If it is not one thing, it is another. But I will deal with this as i have everything else and we will win.

Ed and Donner, from the road, the cold, snowy road in Kansas.

Top photo...the Defender disabled
Bottom photo ...where we are

Day 36, As It Is Happening, 350 mile drive to Topeka

At a rest stop now to get some heat in the Defender.

Top photo...here is our lovely view the whole way today. The good news is that i-70 was closed last night just hours after we got on it.

Middle photo - Donner's view the whole trip so far today.

Bottom photo - the wind chill factor is so cold in the Defender today, i had to block off the the air vents in the dashboard, even though they are already shut closed.

This is as exciting as this last leg of the trips gets.

The cold road beckons.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 35, 930 pm, Goodland Kansas

If there is to be one reason why i will never take another road trip, or even drive a vehicle again, i just experienced it. That stretch of road between Denver and Kansas, especially at night, which is how i have always experienced it, is absolutely terrible. It got worse after my earlier report....high winds, made worse by the trucks passing in either direction; an undivided two-lane highway (with only thin cones separating opposing traffic) in 20-mile zones. I learned when i showed up at my bivouac for the night that they often shut down the i - hundreds of miles of it - due to high winds, and since there is no alternative route, travelers have to bivouac here, sonetimes for days.

The worst part about driving this stretch at night is that you get the impression you are driving through a dark tunnel. You have no sense of i scenery around you and you stsrt to hallucinate about what scenery's there...Forest? Canyons? Steep drop-offs, etc.

What you see is this...a big black screen in front of you with sometimes hundreds of bits of light: white, red, orange, green, blue, in different shapes abd sizes, appearing all over the screen, and moving. Your job is threefold...first, to find the five white strips of road lines that tell you where to go next, five and no more because you cannot see beyond five; second, try to guess if any two white lights you see approaching are headlamps of an oncoming vehicle or some extraneous something else; and third, if those lights are indeed an oncoming vehicke, if you are in its lane or vice versa.

When you approach one of the small towns about 50 miles apart, things get worse because hundreds of more small lights just pop out of nowhere and you have to then factor them into your task of trying to find the next fifty feet of your drive.

Your attention cannot be distracted for a second as you are driving...you have to pay attebtion to the road and only the road, which is what i did. But that can be a probelm. When i started the drive at 4, i had a full tank of gas and figured i could make it to Goodland on it, only 200 miles away. When i checked into my room tonight, i glanced-at my fuel guage, and you saw what it showed. Empty. Actually, when i filled up, i saw that i had 1,3 gallons left, or 20 miles. Close call.

Earlier today, i decided that i would not camp tonight in Goodland as it would be way too cold and i could not afford to take hours to set up and break camp in the cold. I planned to take a rustic cabin instead. But the weather was so bitter cold when we arrived here, i scrapped that plan and took a room at Motel 6. Donner appreciated that, as i am sure i will.

Despite the unwelcome excitement of the trip here , i had a plesabt visit with my grad school roommate Bob and his wife, Dorothy. Their gracious hospitality made up for what came later.

The good news is that i dodged that big Denver snowstorm for the most part, and probably saved three days by doing so.

My plan tomorrow was to camp at wonderful Perry Lake in Kansas, but with rain and mid-20s forecast for there tomorrow, i think i will pass that and try for another Motel 6 right off i-70 in Topeka, 350 miles up the road, my daily goal My goal on this leg of the trip is not to continue the edventure, but to get home as fast as i possibky can. Donner would second that, i am sure.

Time to get some shuteye.

Ed

Day 35 photo, driving at night on this stretch of I-70 requires your undivided attention on the road

So, when i pulled into our bivouac for the night, look how much gas we had left, 1.3 gallons, 20 miles. The last time i had a chance to look at it, it was full.

Day 35 photo, cold, cold, cold in the Defender

It was so cold in the Defender on the drive from Denver, i had to bundle Donner up.

Because the Defender is so drafty, you measure the temperature in terms of wind-chill. My guess is that today it was in the low 30s, especially because of the high winds on I-70.

Day 35 photo, Our campsite on the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon

What a way to spend what may be our final camp of this trip.

Day 35, As It Is Happening, 7pm, on I70 to Kansas

Outran the storm after 60 miles, but then dark set In, and i mean dark. No lights on this highway except the glaring headlights of oncoming traffic. . Halfway to Kansas now. Really cold, high 20s. And most of it comes right into the Defender through the numerous entry points provided courtesy of Land Rover. Have to drive with winter coat and gloves on. New windshield wipers useless. Light on new temperature gauge went out just when i needed it. Life on the road, i guess. I do know one thing, no camping for us tonight.

Ed and Donner, from the road , cold, dark road, that is.

Day 35, As It Is Happening, leaving Denver

Just left Denver at 4. Nice visit with my grad school roommate. Snowing heavily when i left. Just got on to I-70. Have 171 more miles to go. Trying to outrun the storm. Hope to miss the worst if it. Cold riding in the Defender.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 35, As It Is Happening, rest stop in the Rockies

Day 35, As It Is Happening, rest stop in the Rockies

Just dodged the big snow by a few hours. Lucky us.

Day 34, Saturday, October 26, Glenwood Canyon resort, Colorado

Join me for a moment by envisioning the setting in which i scribe this posting...alone in my cold tent with complete dark and cold outside; my beloved dog, Donner, beside me already deep asleep; Wagner's Gotterdamerung playing on my iPad; a bottle (186 ml) of Sutter Home Merlot waiting for me to enjoy;  in a deep canyon with the Colorado River rushing by  five feet from us, a single railroad track just on the other bank' of the narrow river waiting to bring back memories of my years on the banks of the Hudson River; billions of stars above our heads in the clear night sky providing the only light outside; and hundreds - maybe thousands - of fresh new memories of the people, dogs, mountains, forests, canyons, rivers, mesas, deserts, lakes, plains, prairies, and Ocean (oh, the views!), camps, experiences, and campfires we just accumulated over these last 34 days. If you can envision that setting, that is what i am basking in right now. Life does not get any better than this, on the road anyway. Wow! What a way to end this incredible journey, or at least this Act. It is for moments like this that i make these journeys.

The day was one of chances. I really wanted to spend at least one day camped alone in the desert in the incredible Valley of the Gods, but after i studied the weather forecast on the route home, my better judgment told me i could always come back -and vowed to do so- and to move on, and so we did, up highway 191 to Moab and from there to I-70, the road that would take us home.

The struggle between the call of the road and the desire to immerse myself some more in this bounty of sheer beauty was not yet over, as i pulled into Arches to see if i could snag a campsite cancellation for just one night, hoping to recreate the glorious night we spent  there last year, willing to accept whatever  consequences were meted out to me after we moved on into the bad westher up the road. But my better judgment succeeded again as it forced me make an abrupt U turn in that spectaular park, and get back on the road. Intuition always served me well, and so i conceded, and we headed to I-70, 29 miles distant.

I digress for a moment. Seigfried's Funeral Music is now playing.  On August 21, 2000, on my first road trip, as i sat with my dog Sonntag at midnight on a prominence jutting out onto the tundra on the North Slope in Alaska, 150 miles from the Arctic Ocean, in what was an absolutely gorgeous setting, the northwest sky filled with multiple brilliant colors of the setting sun, the snow-peaked saw-toothed peaks of the Brooks Range behind us, the vast Arctic National Wildlife Reserve immediately to the northeast on the other side of the empty Dalton Highway, i vowed to Sonntag that one day i would return to that spot and scatter his and his beloved sister Kessie's ashes there. Exactly one year later to the day, i kept my promise. With Seigfried's Funeral Music playing on my DVD player, i carried their ashes from the Defender to the exact spot of my promise and then scattered their ashes over the tundra to the sounds of the Immolation scene, the last nine minutes of Gotterdamerung. No one was there to witness that scene but my dogs, Leben and Erde. But what a grip on my memory it still holds after 18 years. That's the kind of memories these road trips create. (The exact spot of the scene was captured  for posterity in the National Geographic with the photo of Sonntag and me heading into our tent at night in a snowstorm, which was taken the night after my vow, when we returned to that spot to camp again. (You can see that photo elsewhere on my blog if it does not appear below.)

I continue. Nature makes things somewhat pleasant for those of us from the east who are heading  back home on I-70 from Moab by providing hundreds of miles of spectacular scenery until Denver. I took no photos. If you wish to see what i mean, get onto Googel Earth Street View and take the ride yourself. Put play Red River Rock and Take Me Home Country Road as you take the ride.

With the breathtaking scenery unfolding without end to the left snd right, and appropriate music wafting from my ipad, my mind was frequently preoccupied  with developing a contingency plan for tonight. With a big snow strom about to hit Denver tomorrow, and the propsect that I-  70 would be closed, as it often is during these storms, do i  head for Denver tonight and stay there in a motel or camp right on the Colorado River in the wondeful camp i stayed in last year in a cabin (the weather was too foul to camp in a tent)?  At 5 pm, just minutes from the camp, i called my college roommate, Bob, who lives in Denver, about the weather. The storm is not expected until late tomorrow afternoon, he told me, which would give me time to get to Denver tomorrow, spend some time with Bob, and then, snow or no snow, drive the 155 miles to Goodland Kansas where we will stay in a rustic cabjn i know about there to avoid the expected 21 degree weather at night. (The Defender would welcome the snow wherever it falls.) The decision was easy - Glenwood Canyon it is, and so that's where we are.

I have alresdy described the setting of this fantastic place in which we are camped. (We are alone except for a small group of Boy Scouts at the other end.) Tonight will be the last good weather (if sleeping in a tent in 31 degrees is your meaning of good weather), so our decision to move on this morning and then to stay put here tonight turned out to be the right one, at least i hope.

Every day on my road trips, i start the day's drive by playing Pete Seger's rendition of This Land is Your Land. Tomorrow, that changes to John Denver's Take Me Home Country Road, which is also appropriate because West Virginia is our destination, to decompress and reflect for a few days, and maybe read some more of that one good book i brought along, before heading back to DC.

My bottle of Merlot beckons my attention.

Ed and Donner, from the road on the grand Colorado River.

Below is the National Geographic photo i wrote about above. It has significance for this year's blog in that that very site provided the inspiration for OTR 2 and all of the fantastic road trips i have taken since. Make a vow to return somewhere, and you will. The red circle marks the prominence over which i scattered Sonntag's and Kessie's ashes, where i also want mine scattered someday with my other dogs'. (My first dog Montag's were already scattered in the Shedandoah mountains, where we spent many memorable nights in our tent after hiking the magnificent trails there.)

Day 34, Saturday, October 26, Glenwood Canyon resort, Colorado

Join me for a moment by envisioning the setting in which i scribe this posting...alone in my cold tent with complete dark and cold outside; my beloved dog, Donner, beside me already deep asleep; Wagner's Gotterdamerung playing on my iPad; a bottle (186 ml) of Sutter Home Merlot waiting for me to enjoy;  in a deep canyon with the Colorado River rushing by  five feet from us, a single railroad track just on the other bank' of the narrow river waiting to bring back memories of my years on the banks of the Hudson River; billions of stars above our heads in the clear night sky providing the only light outside; and hundreds - maybe thousands - of fresh new memories of the people, dogs, mountains, forests, canyons, rivers, mesas, deserts, lakes, plains, prairies, and Ocean (oh, the views!), camps, experiences, and campfires we just accumulated over these last 34 days. If you can envision that setting, that is what i am basking in right now. Life does not get any better than this, on the road anyway. Wow! What a way to end this incredible journey, or at least this Act. It is for moments like this that i make these journeys.

The day was one of chances. I really wanted to spend at least one day camped alone in the desert in the incredible Valley of the Gods, but after i studied the weather forecast on the route home, my better judgment told me i could always come back -and vowed to do so- and to move on, and so we did, up highway 191 to Moab and from there to I-70, the road that would take us home.

The struggle between the call of the road and the desire to immerse myself some more in this bounty of sheer beauty was not yet over, as i pulled into Arches to see if i could snag a campsite cancellation for just one night, hoping to recreate the glorious night we spent  there last year, willing to accept whatever  consequences were meted out to me after we moved on into the bad westher up the road. But my better judgment succeeded again as it forced me make an abrupt U turn in that spectaular park, and get back on the road. Intuition always served me well, and so i conceded, and we headed to I-70, 29 miles distant.

I digress for a moment. Seigfried's Funeral Music is now playing.  On August 21, 2000, on my first road trip, as i sat with my dog Sonntag at midnight on a prominence jutting out onto the tundra on the North Slope in Alaska, 150 miles from the Arctic Ocean, in what was an absolutely gorgeous setting, the northwest sky filled with multiple brilliant colors of the setting sun, the snow-peaked saw-toothed peaks of the Brooks Range behind us, the vast Arctic National Wildlife Reserve immediately to the northeast on the other side of the empty Dalton Highway, i vowed to Sonntag that one day i would return to that spot and scatter his and his beloved sister Kessie's ashes there. Exactly one year later to the day, i kept my promise. With Seigfried's Funeral Music playing on my DVD player, i carried their ashes from the Defender to the exact spot of my promise and then scattered their ashes over the tundra to the sounds of the Immolation scene, the last nine minutes of Gotterdamerung. No one was there to witness that scene but my dogs, Leben and Erde. But what a grip on my memory it still holds after 18 years. That's the kind of memories these road trips create. (The exact spot of the scene was captured  for posterity in the National Geographic with the photo of Sonntag and me heading into our tent at night in a snowstorm, which was taken the night after my vow, when we returned to that spot to camp again. (You can see that photo elsewhere on my blog if it does not appear below.)

I continue. Nature makes things somewhat pleasant for those of us from the east who are heading  back home on I-70 from Moab by providing hundreds of miles of spectacular scenery until Denver. I took no photos. If you wish to see what i mean, get onto Googel Earth Street View and take the ride yourself. Put play Red River Rock and Take Me Home Country Road as you take the ride.

With the breathtaking scenery unfolding without end to the left snd right, and appropriate music wafting from my ipad, my mind was frequently preoccupied  with developing a contingency plan for tonight. With a big snow strom about to hit Denver tomorrow, and the propsect that I-  70 would be closed, as it often is during these storms, do i  head for Denver tonight and stay there in a motel or camp right on the Colorado River in the wondeful camp i stayed in last year in a cabin (the weather was too foul to camp in a tent)?  At 5 pm, just minutes from the camp, i called my college roommate, Bob, who lives in Denver, about the weather. The storm is not expected until late tomorrow afternoon, he told me, which would give me time to get to Denver tomorrow, spend some time with Bob, and then, snow or no snow, drive the 155 miles to Goodland Kansas where we will stay in a rustic cabjn i know about there to avoid the expected 21 degree weather at night. (The Defender would welcome the snow wherever it falls.) The decision was easy - Glenwood Canyon it is, and so that's where we are.

I have alresdy described the setting of this fantastic place in which we are camped. (We are alone except for a small group of Boy Scouts at the other end.) Tonight will be the last good weather (if sleeping in a tent in 31 degrees is your meaning of good weather), so our decision to move on this morning and then to stay put here tonight turned out to be the right one, at least i hope.

Every day on my road trips, i start the day's drive by playing Pete Seger's rendition of This Land is Your Land. Tomorrow, that changes to John Denver's Take Me Home Country Road, which is also appropriate because West Virginia is our destination

My bottle of Merlot beckons.

Ed and Donner, from the road on the grand Colorado River.

Below is the National Geographic photo i wrote about above. It has significance for this year's blog in that that very site provided the inspiration for OTR 2 and all of the fantastic road trips i have taken since. Make a vow to return somewhere, and you will.
The red circke marks the prominence over which i scattered Sonntag's and Kessie's ashes, where i also want mine scattered someday with my other dogs'. (My first dog Montag's were already scattered in the Shedandoah mountains, where we spent many memorable nights in our tent after hiking the magnificent trails there.)

Day 34, The Trip So Far, 6824 miles, Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, on the grand Colorado River, the real end of Act IV

What a way to end Act IV! Even Donner thinks so. Tonight, for the first time on this trip, declined to go into the tent right after it was set up, or before it was finished being set up, as he is sometimes wont to do.

Day 34, As It Is Happening, home for 34, Glenwood Canyon, Colorado

Would you look at this site! Clearly, on of my best ever, number 32-34. Right on the great Colorado River. We arrived just after 5, and had camp set up before losing daylight.

Two great decisions today, which i will explain later in my posting for today. My intuition and experience paid off twice today. Another 10 of a day, and perhaps the last one at that, but i still have 1900 miles to go on this fantastic journey with the greatest travel partner, Donner.

Day 34, As It Is Happening, rest stop 2, somewhere along the Colorado River

This was the first of my ten road trips i actively resisted ending. Perhaps i will change my mind over the next three days of snow. At least Utah and Colorado eased the suffering by offering a beautiful 300-drive from Moab to Denver. After that, i just may be tempted to ship the Defender home, that drive is so unattractive, except in West Virginia, where i belong. Take it from there, John Denver.

About the snow, don't get me wrong, i love slow, but to ski in it, not drive hundreds of miles in it.

That's the same Colorado River i hope to camp on, 77 miles up the road. I wonder if the Defender can handle that.

The road beckons.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 34, As It Is Happening, I-70, the last highway and byway

Just ahead you can see i70, the last of more than 120 highways and byways we have traveled on this journey, and which will take us to our front door, 2008 miles away. Of course, i struggled with considering extending this journey some more as i passed Arches National Park, but my better judgment won and we are heading home. Our destination for tonight is Glenwood Springs Colorado, where i hope to set up camp right on the Colorado River, if the weather cooperates.

The road beckons.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 34, As It Is Happening, the first rest stop on the long journey home

The final Act, the drive back east, of this fantastic journey started today. I was looking for every reason to prolong the journey, and found many, but it is time to start to bring this fantastic journey to an end, still 2200 miles distant. If i found a reason to end it, the weatherman provided it. We are now heading for Denver, where we will drive right into an historic snowstorm tomorrow, and then the real cold weather after that as we head east. And here i thought i left that cold and white stuff back in the north.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 34 welcome goes out to Nina of Arizona

Today's warm welcome goes out to Nina of Arizona, a neighbor at Recapture Lodge. (Most people admire my dog on this journey, but Nina admired my JEEP license plate, probably because she drives a pretty cool Jeep herself.) I'm sorry we did not have a chance to chat longer, but the road beckoned the two of us in different directions, Thanks for your stories about exploring that fantastic area we both took advantage of. (If you see this, please send me the name of that cool light on your drivers 's side.) Safe journey back home, and to your dog.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 33 welcome to Charlie and Al

Today's welcome goes out to...

Charlie Pike from Kansas, a neighbor at Recapture Lodge. Thanks for your for sharing your stories of backpacking and off-roading at Moab with me.

Al, whom i met at Goosenecks State Park in the desert at Valley of the Gods. Thanks for sharing with me your Navy stories and experiences of life on the road. Safe travels everywhere.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 33, Valley of the Gods, Utah

Quck posting.

Finally got into the Valley of the Gods today. The place is unreal. We spent three hours driving the 16 mile dirt road thru the Valley and then drove part way up the 1200 foot incline of the Cedar Mesa over 13 miles to Muley Point. Time forced us to turn back. Unreal views of Monument Valley.

I Was considering staying around here for an extra day here but i just looked at the weather report... the weather In the Denver area turns bad starting Sunday....cold (0 predicted for the night i want to camp west of there) and 8 inches of snow Sunday in Denver. Here i go again, having to dodge these historic snowstorms on this trip, coming and going. And every return trip through Denver was the same. Why me?

Gotta run.

Ed and Donner, from the road

Day 33, Valley of the Gods

The drive took us the entire length of that range you see in the distance. Even the Defender loved it - it was in its element.

Day 33, Valley of the Gods

It's as if they were all hand sculpted.

Day 33, Valley of the Gods

We took a hike and found these ruins.

Day 33, Valley of the Gods, Muley Point

See that highpoint on that rock? It's probably 3000 feet high. That's Muley Point. There is a difficult dirt road that climbs up that rock to the top. We got halfway there and had to turn back due to time. But we saw what we wanted to. This is not a drive for someone who has difficulty with heights, or driving in a straight line.