Since Easter landed on the same day we left on our trip this week, we gave Skylar his Easter basket on the bus in his "room." He loved the surprise and it was a nice way to kick off our Eclipse road trip.
2. This doggy.
We got new signs for the bus and we also put our Instagram handle on two of them-one in the back and one on the side of the bus. We hope we can gain new friends while we are traveling. We are excited to be on the road this week.
3. These cookies.
I spent this week making snacks for our trip. I made three dozen chocolate chip cookies, granola mix, two dozen oatmeal cookies, and trail mix. We are hoping to stay on the road driving as much as we can, so these quick snacks will help keep us moving instead of having to stop somewhere to eat.
4. This bee.
My Easter gift from Jeff. He had it sitting on my pillows on the bus when we went to leave.
5. These masks.
I created some face masks of my own with an old cotton shirt that had been through a lot over the years. I took a face mask template and cut out masks to use with aloe, or clay, and save money and the environment from single use face masks. I am currently working on a few different masks to use. I am excited to put an old shirt to good use and keep it out of the landfill.
We stayed the night in Green River, Utah, and boondocked it at a truck stop. It was a Flying J truck stop, so the spot we stopped at was shared by a lot of truck drivers. There were others around us in campers and sprinter vans, so we weren't the only ones ready to bed down for the night. When we woke up the next morning the view was pretty cool. All of the animals were fed, walked, and watered, so we got back on the road and ate breakfast along the way. The weather was still on our side, so it was smooth going from here.
We had a bit of overheating issues going through Moab and towards Colorado. We stopped and let the engine cool down for a couple of hours, but we weren't complaining because the views we had were great!
Poor Jeff was trying to figure out why we were overheating and didn't get to explore the area like Skylar and me did. It was views none of us have ever seen before. I loved every minute of it.
We got a but further and the engine was overheating again. We decided to stop for a lot longer at a rest stop and let it fully cool down and eat some lunch. I made about four-five days worth of chicken salad before we left Oregon and we were able to make sandwiches on the fly during our trip.
This view from the rest stop reminded me of the movie "Cars" where Lightening McQueen is talking about how great everything is and everyone is driving right past it. It was a moment of clarity for me, that's for sure. Look at all the traffic driving and not taking the time to slow down and appreciate the views. Our world is set to be so fast-paced now days and I fear that it's going to get much worse in the coming years. I stood here and thought about how everything seems "okay" at this moment, and I tried to keep my mind present, but it was hard to think about the coming years and what's in store for all of us. Everyone is so self-centered, lost, confused, irrational, and above all just dumb about everything. I hope I am wrong, but I'm afraid I'm not. I hope we, as a family, can be strong through it all.
Skylar used the time after we ate to put together a LEGO set he brought with him on the trip. After a few hours and a cleanup of the bus, we got back on the road.
Only to have to stop again and let the bus cool down. We are stumped at why it keeps overheating, but hopefully it's because of the heat. We may have to do some refiguring to get more air flow into the engine. At least the views are nice each time.
We made it into Moab, Utah, around 1:00 p.m. We absolutely loved Moab. It is a place we felt like we were around "our people." Everyone was loving the bus, and we all walked to the Visitors Center to see what souvenirs we could find.
We finally made it to Arches National Park. Unfortunately, you need a timed pass to actually go into Arches, but we didn't care much about going into the park. We loved the views and a nice family was there in a camper to chit chat with us at the entrance. They even took out picture in front of the sign. It was a cool experience, but we will definitely be returning on another road trip to explore Arches a bit more.
We left Arches National Park and came across Hole N" The Rock. This place was odd. I love quirky, off the wall places, and this place was it. We didn't take the rock house tour, but we did explore the rest of the place. It was a cool place, but totally strange.☺
This place was so quirky.
We collected a few more stickers, coins, and smashed pennies to add to our collection. We started at Hole N" The Rock sticking them on the back of the bus. We are hoping to get a good collection going on this trip. I think this is a good start so far.
We left Hole N" Rock and headed towards Cortez, Colorado. We stopped to have some dinner and let the animals out to stretch their legs and get some food. The ducks were ready for a bit of a break being on their feet, and also get a refresh of their water and food. It was a good time for all of us to get situated to be driving again for awhile, too.
The views along the way were incredible and made the drive so much better. We came up on the Wilson Arch sign and as "luck" would have it, the bus needed to rest a bit and cool down again. We parked right across from the arch. It was the neatest experience.
We all got out of the bus and walked around the area for a bit. Skylar ended up moving the bus up some, too, so that we would be a little more off the main highway.
It was such a pretty day, too. We couldn't have asked for a better way to travel through Utah than the time of year we picked.
I took a panoramic view of where we were parked to see how well it would turn out. I love how it looked. It almost seems like you're right in the same position.
The bus cooled down and we were back on the road to Cortez. We were all getting a bit tired at this point and were ready to call it a night. Jeff pushed on to Cortez, though.
We weren't able to get a good picture of the Utah sign when we came into the state from the west, so one from the east was perfect. We loved all of the stickers and promotional posters up and down the sign posts. All of the different people coming through here posting their swag on the sign almost seemed like we were part of a group. It did give us an idea to get some No Rain the Bus stickers and stick them along the way on our road trips, though. Definitely something we are going to do in the future. I was sad to leave Utah behind, but grateful we made it to Colorado finally. Hopefully, the overheating is over and we can stay the course.
Life at a "Swell's" pace is a lifestyle and travel blog chronicling the life and travels while living in Oregon's beautiful Willamette Valley. It is mostly written by Shelly HW. Click the image to learn more»
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