…on Monday evening, April 28.
That’s the Monday after Boomershoot.
I’m driving again this year — the airline baggage fees for assorted rifles, ammo, and a hundred pounds of bench are prohibitive — and last year, I literally made myself sick driving from the San Francisco Bay Area to Tacoma in one sitting on too little sleep. I spent the evening throwing up in Phil’s bathroom, which was mortifying for me and can’t have been pleasant for him and his wife.
So this year, I was going to take a leisurely trip of two driving days each way. That got cut to one day outbound, but I could still make that a sane 12-hour drive by starting from my brother’s place near Tahoe. No problems, a nice sane drive.
Plus, I desperately want to at least drive through Oregon’s Wallowa Valley, which I’ve been jonesing about since I first discovered wallowamountainproperties.com in 2000 or thereabouts. Again, no problems on the outbound trip if I leave from Tahoe.
Anyway, my wife interviewed for a position with an advisory committee to our City Council, and she got it — but now I have to be back in the Bay Area so I can watch her be sworn in at 7pm on Monday night. This means that my return trip will, once again, be insane.
So, I figure after Boomershoot finishes up at 5 or so on Sunday, I’ll high-tail it back to Trib’s Place and try to get a good four or five hours’ sleep while everyone else enjoys the customary after-Boomershoot feast, while I set my alarm for midnight and jet out of Orofino by 12:30 am. Sixteen hours later, I should be pulling in to our driveway — enough time for me to nap a bit, shower and put on a suit before goin’ to meetin.’
The problem is that I’m not all that likely to be able to sleep at 7 o’clock on Sunday night, so I’m risking a sixteen-hour sleep-deprived drive. I already know what that did to me, and the last thing I want to be is sick at my wife’s ceremony.
So, I’m toying with the idea of leaving Orofino immediately after Boomershoot, driving four or five hours to a burg like McCall or Nampa, catching some shuteye in the cab of the truck (cold) or a motel (warm), and waking at two ayem to a twelve-hour drive back home.
Thoughts? What say ye?
Leave immediately and stop.
You likely won’t sleep immediately afterwards, and that time can be better used getting closer to home.
Then you can stop when tired, get a few hours of shuteye and continue.
My vote is with FreddyBoomBoom – be all packed up and ready to jump on the hiway. Go til you’re tired and ready to sleep (and good sleep is better than cold, cramped, truck cab sleep), then hit it for the final leg. Better refreshed and safe than feeling like crap from pushing yourself.
Reminds me of how we used to plan our trips to Reno – always wanted to hit that place brighteyed for sure!
Prudence says bring a relief driver. In the olden days, a trusted teenager would get plugged into this assignment.
On my recent Road Trip, I made one day of 711 miles, Gresham, OR to Santa Nella Village, CA, but it took me 13 hours, with a lot of rest stops because I had a leftover GI tract illness. Most of my other days were 550-650 miles, mostly Interstate highway.
My recommendation if driving alone is plan your stops, and make reservations. Driving to a known destination is easier to do, and your conscious brain over-rules the sub-conscious and you will stay awake to a known destination, but go on by it “because you feel good” and you will pay.
I was almost asleep by the time I made it from Phoenix AZ to Ft. Stockton, TX, having passed my scheduled stop in Van Horn, TX by almost two hours (felt good, let’s keep going, eh?), and to boot, there were almost NO motel rooms left in Ft. Stockton by the time I arrived at sunset.
Also, don’t forget that there will be physical and physiological stress on the range, and for every hour of that outdoor stress, you can probably subtract two hours off of your normal daily capacity for safe driving.
BTW, should you want to go back via I-84 (which would get you close enough to detour through the Wallowa Valley) and I-5, you can plan on a good bed here at Schloss Rivrdog. We are but 10 minutes south of I-84, just East of Portland. I have some EXCELLENT 12-year old sleeping potions on hand.
…or, it suddenly occurred to me that you could drive here to Gresham and leave your vehicle and gear here, either remain overnight or get right on an airplane for So. Cal, then fly back here the following weekend and retrieve your truck. I will be glad to provide jitney service to the airport both ways.
Thanks for the input, everybody.
RD, thank you VERY much for the offer! Let me think about that last one….
BTW, you are still going to Boomershoot, right? I’m looking forward to finally meeting you….
Nope. Not this year. Was intending to, but couldn’t get my rifles worked up in time. This