So... after 3 years at work, and almost 3 years married... I took a much needed extended vacation...

Sure... I have had a 3/4 day weekend from time to time... but never anything longer than that... and mostly just for Jeep Events (hehehehe)

Laurie and I took 2 weeks off to help out my brother and sister in law...

He finished up his 6 years in the Army, so we flew to Tacoma, Washington to move him back home (Buffalo, NY).

We got there Tuesday the 22nd, and the fun was already beginning... What started out as a 16 ft moving truck I had to drive back turned into 26 feet (26 feet of box... almost 30 feet total).

GVW 26000... most you could drive without a CDL...

I was ready and psyched for the challenge...

Took til thursday to get his whole house loaded (of course if I had spent less time drooling over his neighbors sweet jeep I would have been done quicker... Laurie was mad I had taken more pictures of the Jeep than anything else on the trip at this point...)

So with the truck loaded we went to sister in laws Uncles beach house... Vashon Island...

Spent the day there... then the night... then hit the road refreshed...

The original plan was to hit Redwood National Forest first... Ed (brother) and I scratched that to spend 2 days in Yellowstone National Forrest for our first big stop.

We got the truck weighed for the military, then hit the road...

14,000 pounds of household goods... wow... no wonder my back was sore.

Our first break was just outside Boise, Idaho...

Ed and I were on 2 way radios to help navigate the truck through rush hour... he and I were venting about a jerk who rushed into my blind spot cutting me off...

Not even an hour later we parked... I didn't like the space, so radioed I was moving the truck... Ed didn't here me... As I moved I heard scraping... checked mirrors and saw the tree branches I was wrapping, and tire on the curb, so I continued since Laurie gave me the all clear on the passenger side...

Turns out the rubbing was my brothers car on the passenger side of the truck (his driver door)... now without a mirror or plastic door panel...

A bunch of customers rushed the truck ready to drag me out... my brother explained who I was, and no punches were thrown...

3 rolls of duct tape and a movie (Dark Knight) to calm the nerves and we were back on the road.

Next day we hit Yellowstone...the drive up the "hill" into Yellowstone was scary to say the least... my ears are still ringing...

at the time we didn't know what happened... there was a LOUD bang (explosion) in the cab of the truck... I wasn't sure if it was a bad backfire, tie strap snapping, ammo shell... didn't know... MUCH later we found a can of soda had gotten hot, and the shaking of the road made it explode under the seat... sweet...

Camp sites were tight maneuvering so I stayed with the truck in town while the other 3 went to find a site...

Ed found the only one with space available... and with good reason... think the main road at old Paragon... with the eroded ditches... etc...

Fun for a Penske... but Laurie reassured everyone that I could make it with the truck... she said this was like a mild green for me...

The 5 mile drive at night looked like Blare Witch... bare burned out trees from a fire, winding dusty dirt road... and then a swarm of mosquitoes...

Once we got the fire going it was all good... but still spooky.

Next morning the car wouldn't start... dead battery... my brother and I tried to push... his wife swore the brake wasn't on... we stopped pushing and it rolled... it was in gear and she did not push in the clutch...

We used the truck to jump... drove into town... waited for 3 other people to ask for batteries (no joke... either the park rangers go around and turn on your lights, or it is the bermuda triangle of batteries... conspiracy???)

Spent the rest of the day touring Yellowstone... LOTS of wildlife... Old Faithful was also impressive... I was amazed how huge the park was.

We moved camp into the park itself... got woken up to some good entertainment...

'Park Ranger"... "No I'm not (nearby camper)... Park Ranger.... No park ranger here sir... No I AM A PARK RANGER.... ohhhhhh... then a lecture from the Ranger on beer bottles... apparently they attract bears... hmmm... Grizzlies with alcohol addiction... I'd like to see that...

Next morning off to Madison Montana (5 minutes outside Yellowstone)... The FLying Pig Rafting company...

Whitewater rafting 16 miles down Yellowstone River was AWESOME!!! ok... not as good as wheeling... but still a RUSH... We did A LOT of crazy stuff... convincing the guide to let us flip the raft "so we knew how to recover of course"... swimming the last leg of rapids (Class 1... which is like a green/blue equivalent to trails)...

Our take on it was we signed the waiver... lets get our moneys worth...

The best was trying to hang off a bridge with the paddle... of course physics escaped us... 10 mph floating vs stationary bridge equals fun for onlookers...

From yellowstone we hit Sturgis... dammit... a few days before bike fest started... oh well... still a TON of motorcycles, trikes, and other contraptions all over South Dakota...

Mt. Rushmore was ok... as was Mall Of America after that... places I can say are impressive, but probably not worth the trip back to see again...

It was crunch time friday... so we logged 17 hours of wheel time and 700 miles from Wisconsin to Cleveland, OH...

Then it was a power nap at a truck stop and push on to Buffalo... 12 hours later the truck was unloaded and parked at my parents house...

The break was short as I had to be back at work Sunday night (8/3) for an overnight inventory...

Rolled into Baltimore (still with the truck... had to be returned to Baltimore) at 10PM. and hopped right into the Jeep for work...

That was a HUGE transition... I locked the brakes about 3 times trying to get used to the difference... and it felt so tiny I almost feel clusterphobic...

3810 miles logged on the truck in roughly 6 days... and one hell of a memory...

Now we are trying to plan out a return to Yellowstone next year... soooooo much to see there...

But we will probably just fly to Sturgis and rent an RV next time...

A ton of pictures to come as soon as I get unpacked...

Brother and Sister In Law crashing with us for the week to see Baltimore and DC... so it may be a bit... but I will keep u posted.

Thanks for taking the time to read it... hope you enjoyed.

Tony and Laurie

PS... a phone call while on the road got a new door waiting here... put it on last night... now I have to sort out 10 wires all the same color... right now the power locks make the speaker pop... don't wanna know what happens when the radio is turned on

Sounds like you had a good time and a much needed break. Does this mean you aren't coming to JOTB?

I have over 5 CDs of photos from this trip (over 1500). I didn't want to kill Photobucket so I uploaded enough to do a slide show...

If you are interested in looking here it is...

If you are bored sometime and want to see all the shots I can send you copies of the CDs... it is mostly scenic shots of wildlife, foliage, sunsets, stars, mountains, etc.

The only photos I did not take are of rafting... did not want to ruin my gear on the run (yet I take it wheeling thru mud :scratch: )