Our Trip Across the Country

On Thursday, July 27, Satchel the Cat and I began a 2,800-plus mile trip across the United States from Forty Fort, Pa. to Portland, Oregon across I-80 to I-84 to I-5.

Day 1: Thursday, July 27
We left early in the morning with my loaded down 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier. I was expecting Satchel to be miserable, but she was very relaxed and spent most of her time sleeping. In fact, when I stopped for gas, she did not even bother to move from her spot.

Around 12:30 p.m., we arrived in Huron, Ohio to visit my sister Joey. After driving for six hours, this was the perfect stopping point. We got the chance to have a nice lunch with Molly (my oldest sister), Joey, my nephew Michael and my mom. It was also a chance for Satchel to stretch and hang out with Michael. She really likes Michael.

From there, we headed to Joliet, Ill. The temperatures were hot in Ohio, but it was an easy drive. As soon as we crossed the Indiana border, rain began to fall. It rained the whole way across the Hoosier state. I have never seen lightning bolts like we saw in Indiana. It was an amazing storm! We arrived at the hotel in Joliet around 9:30 p.m. Prior to our arrival, there were four tornadoes in Joliet. Thankfully, we missed the tornadoes and were able to get a good night's rest.

Day 2: Friday, July 28
My original plan for Day Two was to travel from Joliet, Ill. to Rawlins, Wy. Unfortunately, we only made it to about 100 miles from the Wyoming border. It was extremely hot that day (the heat index was in the low 100's). By the time night rolled around, it was still hot and I had no cell phone service in Nebraska. I didn't like traveling on a desolate highway with no cell service so we stopped a bit early.

Nebraska is the Cornhusker state. It is a fitting name since there is a lot of corn in Nebraska. The state is about 450 miles long, but it seemed like 900 miles at times since the only scenery change was the change of farms. It was a pretty state, but very boring. Most of the large corn farms seemed to be in eastern and central Nebraska. The western part of the state seemed to have large cattle farms.

When you travel across the country with a cat, radio is important. I brought my MP3 player, but I enjoy listening to local radio to pass the time. The radio stations in Iowa were great. There was good talk radio, good sports talk and good rock 'n roll stations. Unfortunately, Nebraska did not have as good of a selection. This made the trip seem even longer.

The best part of Friday was our stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. My dear friend, Sean Ulmer, is the curator at the museum and he was kind enough to give me a brief tour. It was wonderful to see Sean and to see him doing a job that he loves. If you have a chance to visit Cedar Rapids, stop in and see collections that Sean has put together for the museum. They are fantastic!

Day 3 & Day 4: Saturday, July 29 and Sunday, July 30
Saturday morning brought more heat, but it was an easy drive. We finally arrived in Wyoming around mid-morning. Nebraska is boring, but Wyoming is more boring and more desolate. It's a beautiful state, but there is very little traffic on the highways and the towns are few and far between one another. While Nebraska seems to only have corn and cattle, Wyoming seems to only have oil wells, cattle and buffaloes. And, like Nebraska, there are very few good radio stations.

What amazed me about Wyoming was the oil wells. There seemed to be a lot of oil wells. Not sure if this is related, but I paid as low as $2.69 a gallon for gas there. That was much bettered than the $3.19 that I paid in Sydney, Nebraska. Yikes!

Utah and Idaho were beautiful on I-80. By the time I reached Utah, the temperatures had finally dropped and the sun was setting. It was a very easy drive from Utah through to Oregon. When I arrived in Oregon on Sunday morning, it was a wonderful feeling. I felt like I never left! I was thrilled to be back home the great northwest!

Satchel the Cat
Can a cat become a saint? If so, Satche the Cat is a saint. She was fantastic during the whole trip. She got a little antsy late at night, but overall, she was a pleasure to travel with across the country.