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View Full Version : The Great Wesyward Expansion Tour Of 2014



SiouzQ.
7-15-14, 2:35pm
I have been home from my road trip for several weeks, but have been extremely busy and haven't felt like doing a long post. Today I am home sick with a fever so it seems as good a time as any!

I left Ann Arbor at 4:45pm on Friday June 6 and took I-94 west to I-69 south. Camped the first night in Indiana between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. The next day spent driving through the rest of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. Spent the second night near Joplin in a weird (but cheap) little campground where rednecks in big pickups kept driving around the gravel campground road all night and kind of creeping me out. The next day was spent driving through Oklahoma and I made it to Amarillo by Sunday evening just in time to set up my new awesome tent before it got dark and THE STORM CAME. I had just enough time to scrabble out of the tent and get in the car when high winds and a deluge hit. It lasted all night, the water in my campsite was about 6 inches deep, but the tent stayed put somehow! I even had to move my car to higher ground because I was afraid the water was going to come in. By morning it was sunny but very cold and I felt a little bit discouraged as I put on jeans, warm socks and a sweatshirt, thinking, WTF, it's supposed to be HOT when I go west!

I made it into New Mexico, and it was hot dry and sunny just like I knew it would be. Spent some time looking around Tucumcari ~ I got off old Route 66 and actually went into downtown which had definitely seen much better times in the past (ie, lots of closed businesses and derelict buildings. I took a bunch of pictures ~ I just love the light quality in New Mexico!

I then set up camp for a few nights in Cedar Crest which is on the south end of the Turquoise Trail. I had some bead shopping for my business in Albuquerque to do, and I needed to drop off the new work to the gallery in Madrid that I'm in. Madrid is a lovely little town so I spent some time there walking around, continuing to make connections with other artists. After that it was to Santa Fe (more bead shopping) and to replenish my dwindling stock of food at their Wholefoods. Then onward to Bandelier, where I camped one night (campsite #27 was ready and waiting for me)!

Next day headed northwest to Abique, and then onto Pagosa Springs, CO, where I made good use of a hot springs pool. From there I headed west towards Durango, Cortez, and on into Utah, ending up in Moab. Found some pretty nice, fairly cheap camping along the Colorado River just outside of town, so I spent five days there hiking and exploring. I LOVE IT there, can't get enough of that red rock, so I think I will go back next summer :)

Then I had to think about actually turning my back on the west and heading back home. Money starting feeling like it was dwindling pretty rapidly by then. I took a nice drive through the Castle Valley road, which is a long but very scenic way to get up to I-70. East I-70 to Grand Juction, then south so I could go to Black Canyon of the Gunnison, then a long but again, very scenic winding my way through the Rockies, over Monarch Pass and then towards Colorado Springs to visit a friend.

Then three very long days of just driving east through Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Something like a total of 4300 miles in two weeks, about $487 in gasoline; all in all, I think the entire trip only set me back about $1100 or so dollars.

So back to the grind and I am already planning next years trip, thinking about how I will have more paid vacation time if I keep banking it up like I do, and then how much more money I will have to save up to be gone for that much longer. I would like to do at least three, maybe four weeks, so I am going to try to save at least $2000, if not more, specifically for travel because that is really the only thing I want to do at this phase of my life. And if I tie it in with my jewelry business by dropping things off to galleries, wholesale supply shopping, researching new galleries, etc, I can see it being a win-win situation for me, doing what I love to do!

If I can figure it out, will will post some pictures from this trip!

razz
7-15-14, 2:57pm
You can also use the costs as a deductible business expense, can't you? Sounds like a lovely trip so thanks for sharing it.

Gardenarian
7-15-14, 3:41pm
Sounds like a fantastic trip (tho' the storm sounds scary)!
It wasn't too hot for hiking at Moab?
I'm curious as to what kind of tent and other equipment you use - we're looking into getting rid of our moldy smelling old gear.
I've been following your Facebook page and I love the work you do - there was one antler thing I was very tempted by! It sounds like this trip provided lots of new inspiration.

Hope your fever is nothing serious and that you are feeling better soon!

Also - did you bring a guitar with you? I've just started playing and am really enjoying it - obsessing over it a little :)

SiouzQ.
7-15-14, 6:36pm
Geez, I just saw the typo in the title of my thread.. Westward! I bought a Marmot Limelight 2 tent for under $200, and it was the perfect size for one person. Super easy and quick to set up, which is why I didn't mind moving campsites almost every night. Way easier than my old and beloved Sierra Designs tent that I had used for the past twenty years. I did bring my guitar (not my good Taylor, but my first guitar, an Alverez that the dryness of the desert air wouldn't have any ill effect on). Never did find any open mics to go to, but played in the campgrounds I was at. I always forget how far sound travels; I would think I was playing fairly softly but people would walk by and compliment me, which is always nice to hear.

God, I just love it out west...I want to move out there really, really bad, the feeling is getting stronger and stronger as the years go by. However, I am committed to staying in Ann Arbor to help my mom as she grows older and has more health problems, which are occurring at a pretty regular rate these days. It is the least I can do, and I am happy to do it. I view this time in my life as my preparation for a big change that will come in the next five or ten years ~ I'm going to work as much as I can, stay out of debt, build my business, save for retirement, all that stuff. I can get very motivated for long term goals if I know what I am doing now are the stepping stones towards those goals :)

I sure understand that "obsession part" about the guitar! Good for you, Gardenarian!

lhamo
7-16-14, 7:29am
SQ,

Sounds like an awesome trip.

So pleased to see how you have managed to turn things around for yourself the past few years. I still remember all the issues you had with your DD, with the crazy guitar shop madness, etc. and when you first made that decision to leave that job and head west. I hope things don't get too hard with your mom, and that eventually you'll be able to follow your dream and find your spot.

lhamo

Spartana
7-16-14, 2:43pm
Hey SQ great trip - thanks for posting that (waiting for photos!!!). I'm glad you got to go out there and see it all. It is a wonderful area of the country. I also love that part of Utah and So. Colorado and try to go there often. Long drive though that's for sure. You might want to look into seeing how much it would cost to fly and then rent a car at your destination next time. I've been doing this more often when I only have a week or 2, and it actually is quite a bit cheaper then driving my self back and forth. Also saves both wear and tear on my vehicle and gives me more time in the place I want to visit.

awakenedsoul
7-16-14, 5:52pm
Your trip sounds great. Thanks for posting about it. I used to live in Santa Fe. It was so beautiful. I really felt pulled to move there from NY after my first visit. I'd love to go back and see how it's changed. I still keep in touch with a couple of good friends I met there. (Although we have all moved away to other parts of the country.)

Congratulations on your steps towards your goals. I'm sure you'll get there...

Float On
7-16-14, 7:24pm
Those rednecks in their trucks at Joplin were probably trying to just work up their nerve to go drive down the spook light road.
Tucumcari is always our goal for the first day of driving to NM. The next morning we hit Santa Rosa. There is a wonderful mission ruin that I've gotten some great photos of. This time we stopped to look at "The Blue Hole". Glad you had a great trip. We were sad to find that two galleries we always sold to in Santa Fe and Albuquerque were closed. Wasn't Bandelier great? That is where a monsoon storm caught us, we drove on to Taos that day and there were several spots in the road that had been underwater and mud previously in he day.