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Well I did it. Flew to St. Louis yesterday morning and drove it home. Spent most of today stripping it and reconnecting all the police bypass crap. Should be a fun DD.
I drove from Arizona to Wyoming on Saturday to watch the total eclipse on Monday, giving me a day in case of any problems.
Stayed with and spent some time with a friend who lives in Casper and watched the eclipse on Monday with him and his extended family who came in for the eclipse.
The eclipse was relatively boring the first hour plus leading up to the totality. Interesting to watch thru the glasses but not much dimming of the light. I doubt I would have noticed until the actual totality if I didn't know the partial eclipse was happening. Then when the few minutes of totality hit, it was almost like someone turned off the light switch and it was like a night with a full moon. Totally freaked out the hundreds of bees in a nearby garden I was keeping an eye on to see what they would do. They also didn't take any note until the totality, then made a bee-line to the hive.
After the eclipse, my plan was to drive a few hundred miles toward home to avoid the hotel price gouging along the totality path. Problem was, I did not adequately plan for the fact that half of Colorado would be taking the exact same 2 lane blacktop home at the same time. Total gridlock for as far as you could see which is considerable since Wyoming has the second biggest sky (after Montana).
So, I started calling motels in Casper. Chain hotels apparently had projected demand after the eclipse to still be high, so they weren't $1,500 like the night before but still in the multi hundreds for the budget chains. And the rest didn't have vacancies which I now suspect is where the quick people had moved from their $1,500 rooms. I was about to give up when I stumbled on the Yellowstone Inn. A call confirmed a vacancy and a rate of $50 (cash only).
When I got there, it was the old fashion U shape motel. In the center court, there were maybe 10 identical and very small tents, apparently for guests who thought the rooms were too luxurious.
When I entered the office, the first thing I saw was a BIG sign saying "If the cops haul you off, no refund!". I figure still better than sleeping in the car. I asked if there are other parking areas in case I didn't want to park next to another car (the rooms were small with one parking spot heavily angled nose in). The clerk said only one other guest owned a car and my room wasn't next to them. LoL
After checking in, I found there was no soap in the room (but there was a half empty tube of toothpaste), so I went back to the office and asked for a bar. The clerk gave me one and apologized saying they don't usually put any in the rooms because guests made too much of a mess with the soap. Still trying to figure that one out.
Don't really have anything to say about the half-ply toilet paper other than it was so thin, there must have been about 2,000 sheets on a roll.
Didn't feel like going back to the office when I noticed there were no drinking cups. Fortunately, the sink faucet was high enough above the sink you could drink from the flow.
I turned on the light above the head board but nothing happened, so I pulled on the cord to see if it was plugged in and the end came up with no plug on it just two strands of twisted copper sticking out of the insulator. Looking around the room, most of the outlets had radiating burn marks from them. To top it off, no curtains, just blinds that didn't work, so anyone walking by could look in.
The weather required no AC, but I ran the fan on high anyway to drown out any screams or sirens that might interrupt my sleep
Went to sleep early and woke up Tuesday around 2 AM, still alive. I hopped in the Mustang and 13 hours, 983 miles, two gas stops later was home that day around 3 PM in Scottsdale.
On the way, I dodged eight bunnies, two mule deer and five elk although technically the elk were off the road before I got to them, so more braking than dodging. One other bunny I did not successfully dodge. The closest call was one of the mule deer before dawn because it was in the middle of a tiny town and my guard was down.
None of the eclipse pictures turned out, probably because I am clueless about the proper settings. The auto settings didn't work with or without the eclipse glasses over the lense/sensors.
Since I made a similar break in trip last year and took lots of pics, I didn't stop to take any pictures of the very scenic route this time. But I did get some pictures of the room. I wanted a picture of the "no refund" sign but the office was closed when I left. Should have got it up front, but that's hindsight.
But honestly, I would have slept in the car before staying there. I'm sorta OCD, clean freak and a bit germaphobic. Like David Puddy, that place would have had me running for the Phisohex.
Cmon man. You're a housing contractor. Hell Mother Nature about to boost your business. At least you don't own an insurance company. Lol. Y'all don't flood where you are right?
Well I think 25" of rain might be a problem but no we don't typically flood. Had a storm come through and dump 6" in one hour a few years back and we were fine.
Yeah business could be good but labor and supplies will be short and costs will be high.
I drove from Arizona to Wyoming on Saturday to watch the total eclipse on Monday, giving me a day in case of any problems.
Stayed with and spent some time with a friend who lives in Casper and watched the eclipse on Monday with him and his extended family who came in for the eclipse.
The eclipse was relatively boring the first hour plus leading up to the totality. Interesting to watch thru the glasses but not much dimming of the light. I doubt I would have noticed until the actual totality if I didn't know the partial eclipse was happening. Then when the few minutes of totality hit, it was almost like someone turned off the light switch and it was like a night with a full moon. Totally freaked out the hundreds of bees in a nearby garden I was keeping an eye on to see what they would do. They also didn't take any note until the totality, then made a bee-line to the hive.
After the eclipse, my plan was to drive a few hundred miles toward home to avoid the hotel price gouging along the totality path. Problem was, I did not adequately plan for the fact that half of Colorado would be taking the exact same 2 lane blacktop home at the same time. Total gridlock for as far as you could see which is considerable since Wyoming has the second biggest sky (after Montana).
So, I started calling motels in Casper. Chain hotels apparently had projected demand after the eclipse to still be high, so they weren't $1,500 like the night before but still in the multi hundreds for the budget chains. And the rest didn't have vacancies which I now suspect is where the quick people had moved from their $1,500 rooms. I was about to give up when I stumbled on the Yellowstone Inn. A call confirmed a vacancy and a rate of $50 (cash only).
When I got there, it was the old fashion U shape motel. In the center court, there were maybe 10 identical and very small tents, apparently for guests who thought the rooms were too luxurious.
When I entered the office, the first thing I saw was a BIG sign saying "If the cops haul you off, no refund!". I figure still better than sleeping in the car. I asked if there are other parking areas in case I didn't want to park next to another car (the rooms were small with one parking spot heavily angled nose in). The clerk said only one other guest owned a car and my room wasn't next to them. LoL
After checking in, I found there was no soap in the room (but there was a half empty tube of toothpaste), so I went back to the office and asked for a bar. The clerk gave me one and apologized saying they don't usually put any in the rooms because guests made too much of a mess with the soap. Still trying to figure that one out.
Don't really have anything to say about the half-ply toilet paper other than it was so thin, there must have been about 2,000 sheets on a roll.
Didn't feel like going back to the office when I noticed there were no drinking cups. Fortunately, the sink faucet was high enough above the sink you could drink from the flow.
I turned on the light above the head board but nothing happened, so I pulled on the cord to see if it was plugged in and the end came up with no plug on it just two strands of twisted copper sticking out of the insulator. Looking around the room, most of the outlets had radiating burn marks from them. To top it off, no curtains, just blinds that didn't work, so anyone walking by could look in.
The weather required no AC, but I ran the fan on high anyway to drown out any screams or sirens that might interrupt my sleep
Went to sleep early and woke up Tuesday around 2 AM, still alive. I hopped in the Mustang and 13 hours, 983 miles, two gas stops later was home that day around 3 PM in Scottsdale.
On the way, I dodged eight bunnies, two mule deer and five elk although technically the elk were off the road before I got to them, so more braking than dodging. One other bunny I did not successfully dodge. The closest call was one of the mule deer before dawn because it was in the middle of a tiny town and my guard was down.
None of the eclipse pictures turned out, probably because I am clueless about the proper settings. The auto settings didn't work with or without the eclipse glasses over the lense/sensors.
Since I made a similar break in trip last year and took lots of pics, I didn't stop to take any pictures of the very scenic route this time. But I did get some pictures of the room. I wanted a picture of the "no refund" sign but the office was closed when I left. Should have got it up front, but that's hindsight.
You were brave, that place looks nasty. I agree with Rather B Blown, I would have slept in my car.
8/15/17, 06:07 AM
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