If you don’t already know, we bought a big red truck before embarking on our road trip this past summer. We searched and searched for the perfect truck. Time started running out and we took the plunge on an older but very nice looking truck. The drive home from the dealership was invigorating and terrifying. ‘Did we make the right decision?’ ‘I can’t wait to hit the road!’ ‘What if something goes wrong?’ ‘Can you believe we’re going to sleep in this thing, it’s going to be awesome!’

And it was really really awesome.. until it wasn’t.

A quick summary for you all.

We spent a week straight of long days and nights building out the bed of the truck for living in. Brian has some minor building experience since he worked for Habitat for Humanity for a year after college. But I’m about as good with a hammer as I am with chopsticks.. so I wasn’t much help, I sure tried though! We looked at tons of plans online and sort of created our own using little bits and pieces of other designs. My also brother graciously helped us install a fan/light combo in the hard top, such a nice addition for those hot evenings!

The bottom right picture is the finished product. Our sleeping area is on the right with storage all the way through to the front of the truck. The far right row is split into 3 compartments with lids for access. The middle area is also split into 3 compartments, but tricker to access so we stored items we weren’t going to use as much there. And the far left row has 3 compartments with lids and also doubles as a ‘night stand’ since it’s raised from the sleeping area by a few inches. The right side and the front compartments are where we kept all the essentials like clothes, and toiletries. The ‘kitchen’ was in the back row of seats in the cab. This way we could keep food safe from bears and it was always quickly accessible, even while we were driving. You can also see the fan/light installed in the roof in the two pictures on the right. Nothing fancy but it’ll get the job done was sort of our motto throughout the whole process. Brian kept saying things like, ‘When we get home, I’m going to make this and that better or this and that different.’

Our journey began in July, the first stop was Vail, Colorado to visit with friends and climb mountains and stuff that traditional Coloradians do. As we went to pull out of the driveway, the truck wouldn’t start. My oh my if that wasn’t a sign. All the color immediately drained from my face and I looked to my mom for support. She went into ‘Supermom mode’ and quickly jumped the battery while reassuring me that it was just because the lights were left on inside the cab. Once the truck was running again, we were on our way, leaving my mom in the rearview mirror. My heart rate didn’t slow down until Illinois, I was all nerves about this dang truck.

During our drive out to Colorado the cruise control would randomly go out and the lights in the cab would magically come on and flicker before eventually going out. Every time that happened, Brian and I locked eyes and I could feel the dread radiating from both of us. My fear was that the lights would come on while we were sleeping in the woods somewhere and then the battery would be dead yet again. On our first night we slept in a Burger King parking lot somewhere in Iowa. Brian’s brother rode with us out to Colorado so he slept in the cab, and Brian and I slept in the back. This is where we learned that curtains would have probably been a nice thing to have installed, but we ran out of time. The lights from parking lot never did seem to go out but we were so tired we fell asleep anyways.

After a week in Colorado, we hit the road. This time aiming for somewhere in Utah to pull over and sleep for the night before heading to Los Angeles. As soon as we pulled onto the on ramp, the truck made a grinding noise and took a little bit of time to shift into second gear. Brian and I looked at each other with wide eyes but brushed it off saying, ‘It’s an old truck, probably wasn’t on the highway much.’ We drove for hours into Utah. When we reached the San Rafael Reef, we stopped for a bathroom break, a quick lunch, and to stretch our legs. Getting back onto the highway, the truck took its time again getting into second gear.. and this time it never made it. The truck was going about 30MPH but sounding like it was revving as much as it could. I immediately had tears welling in my eyes, this cannot be happening.

By the grace of someone really important who we pulled over on I-70 opposite of a tow truck. Brian ran across 4 lanes of traffic in over 100 degree weather to chat with the guy. He was having his lunch break.. on the side of the highway! What are the odds?! He radioed in and came onto our side of the road to see what he could do. After tinkering around under the hood, he decided that we needed towed back in the opposite direction we were headed to the nearest town, Green River. I was a puddle at this point. We were trying to get to LA in order to catch our flight to HAWAII. Hawaii, people! There was no way I was going to miss this. Brian and the guy chatted while I spent the entire drive silently crying in the back and listening to the most horrible country music on the radio.

We arrived in Green River after all the shops had closed. The kind tow truck driver dropped our truck off at an auto repair place and we set up camp there for the night. Thankfully, there was a beautiful view of the desert from our parking spot. The temperature barely dipped below 80 all night but we tried to get some rest, hoping for a better day tomorrow. We woke with the sun and had coffee in the parking lot of the repair shop, waiting impatiently for it to open. When it finally did the gentleman behind the counter asked what our issue was and then said, ‘ You need your transmission flushed. I can’t help you with that.. and I doubt anyone in this town can.’ Well, ok then? What were we supposed to do now? We drove to the next auto place down the road (Remember, the truck can drive.. just not very well) and tried our luck there. The man working at that shop took the truck for a spin and came back with the same news. GREAT. I looked up the nearest GMC dealership and found one a whopping 60 miles away. 60 miles isn’t too far for a working vehicle .. but it’s a REALLY LONG WAY for a truck that can only go 30 MPH. There was no way we could afford to get towed all the way to the dealership so we got in the truck and started the long journey north to Price.

I wish someone would have been following us with a camera. We were going so terribly slow. Brian drove on the shoulder the entire 60 miles and I think my legs went numb from the vibration of the rumble strip. There was nothing on the radio or our iTunes that would make us feel better but we stuck with The Beatles for a bit because at least we knew the words. Every once in a while Brian and I would catch each others eye and just laugh. This is really our life, it’s the worst of luck, but what else are we going to do about it? I won’t lie though, I spent my fair share of that 2 hour drive in tears while Brian just kept saying over and over that ‘It would be ok.’

Thankfully, the dealership was expecting us. We got out of the car and I immediately started to tear up. This is not how we were hoping our ‘Summer of Adventure’ would go and it had hardly started. They took the truck in right away and gave it a look over while we were waiting. The news came; we needed a new transmission.. we hadn’t even had the truck for two months! They originally said it was going to take two weeks to get the transmission shipped and installed but somehow the combination of my tears and Brian pleading with them that we had a flight to catch made them reconsider and said it would be done in a couple days. Still trying to figure out the logic on that one. They dropped us off at the cheapest motel which also offers a discount for cars that are broken down? I guess Utah is just swimming with broken down vehicles? We spent the next two days feeling a bit sorry for ourselves, walking around Price, and watching a lot of trashy T.V. Nearly $4,000 later and a few days lost, we were back on the road, fingers crossed we would make it to LA.

During this time, family member kindly started a Go Fund Me for our truck and so many people poured money and love into making our vacation just a little less stressful. We are forever grateful to all of those people! I know I’ve thanked you before.. but thank you again!

We drove the 10 hours to LA mostly through the night, only stopping for gas and to use the bathroom, and arrived at 3AM. We pulled into Brian’s brothers driveway and slept in the truck until morning, not wanting to wake everyone, including a tiny baby, up. The next week was spent not driving the truck and trying to forget about all the problems we had had with it thus far.

Look for Part II in the next week. If you can believe it, even more goes wrong with Big Red!

Our time in Grand Teton National Park was short and sweet, only spending one night there. Per usual, Brian and I went on a hike as soon as we got to the park in the late afternoon. We hiked around Jenny Lake, enjoying the views of the Tetons towering above us. By the time the hike was complete, the sun was setting and we were pushing our limit to find a camping spot that was still available. On the road to the camp area we were stopped for a good while by a herd of bison in the road. Can you believe I was annoyed at the beautiful bison because we were in a hurry and I was stressed? Well, I was. I look back now and enjoy the memory but at the time I was not impressed. We maneuvered around the herd and arrived at the camp area, it was packed to the brim. People were already double camped in the spots. It’s nearly 9pm at this time, we hadn’t eaten dinner, and we were getting desperate.

After some bickering about where we should go and what we should do and if we should even stay in the park we settled into our spot for the evening. The ‘spot’ being a muddy median of a dirt road that had about 47 signs that said NO PARKING around it. I’m a rule follower, but after realizing we would be up before the sun anyways, we took the risk. Shortly after we parked a sweet gal in her tiny pull behind camper followed our lead by parking in the forbidden median. As she leveled her camper we made a pact to not tattle on each other the next morning. She promptly hopped out of the drivers seat, said goodnight, and nestled into her home on wheels for the evening. Now, remember that detail.

Brian and I began to cook dinner on the tailgate of the truck. There’s only room for our mattress in the back so no nestling in to our truck until it’s time for bed. We opted for ramen because it was so late on top of being tired and cold. I started boiling the water and as I did the strangest melody arose from the distance.

Beneath the Tetons and a blanket of shimmering stars a herd of elk started bugling. At nearly the same moment a pack of wolves started howling a bit further away. If you have never heard an elk bugle, do a quick internet search, it’s beautiful but also a bit eerie, especially in the darkness of night. I’m certain you know what wolves sound like.. but close your eyes and take a moment to imagine it. I turned off the stove so we could listen uninterrupted, dinner would have to wait, this was too special. Brian and I clicked our headlamps off too and we sat hand in hand, soaking up the bone chilling tune. The elks high pitched call cut through the darkness while the classic wolf howl made me feel like I was on the set of some werewolf movie. We eventually laid on our backs and watched the stars twinkle above to the perfect soundtrack.

Remember that detail about the woman nestled in her warm camper? She missed the song. She was too busy with the blue glow of her computer shining through the window. I thought about knocking on her door, but by the time I headed towards her, the song had been ended, just as quickly as it began. I guess Brian and I were just in the right place at the right time.. for once, being late to our campsite served us well.

I wanted to pop in to say I haven’t forgotten about this blog. We haven’t been traveling, but we have settled down back into the Vail Valley.. a place I think will always be home. 2018 came and went in a blur of hikes, sights, and endless miles on the road. When I think about blogging about our ‘Summer of Adventure’, frankly, I get really overwhelmed. Brian and I did so much traveling in such a short amount of time. So, I’ve decided that instead of writing a tedious day by day playbook of our summer, I wanted to share with you moments that I will never ever ever forget. The stars in Utah, the wildlife in Yellowstone, one of the best meals I’ve ever had, camping in a hurricane, etc. They won’t be in any type of order, but know that they’re coming! I love to share with you.. but I will say that this is partly for me also. What is so vivid in my mind today may not be such a colorful detail filled story ten years down the road.

I hope that when you read the posts it feels like we’re sitting right across from each other sipping coffee and nibbling on sweets. Everyone has been so curious about our trip but when we meet up with friends and it comes up in conversation it goes a little something like this; ‘First we went to LA then we went to Hawaii which was AWESOME, we broke down f o r e v e r in Utah and that sucked, then we went to Yellowstone and saw wolves and then came home!’ Uhhh.. what? I feel like our friends seem a bit disappointed by the run down.. and these posts are here to fix that. I love you all but if I sat down with each of you and talked about the trip, we may still be chatting by 2020!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for checking in and I cannot wait to begin sharing these blips of paradise from my mind with you.