The Montero got sold to my coworker John. He’s a younger dude. I think he’ll appreciate it.

Coincidentally, I also sold Van-uh White.

Jamie and I flew out to Arizona to see my brother and pickup my dads car trailer so I can pull the Colt from track to track. Flying out there is easy enough. Once we touched down, the trip really started. We needed to find a vehicle to pull the trailer back to Michigan, possibly with a car on it.

I found a bunch of older Chevy trucks, that I could probably flip when I got back here. But, they just didn’t seem like they’d get new back to Michigan.

Then, we met Leo.

Leo, a very interesting fella, had a very interesting vehicle for sale. A 1990 Ford F-350 custom. This is a 4 speed manual with overdrive, behind a 7.3L international diesel engine, to drive a 5.13 geared dually Dana axle. So the drivetrain is great, with 175k miles, only 75k on the motor, he had all the documentation. But the bed, or, back half, really caught my attention. With the tool boxes off the sides, the cap over the bed, the dual tail gates. It checks boxes I didn’t even know I had.

So I bought it. Moby Dick, the white whale. Leo was super cool, he’s a beekeeper, horticulturalist, engineer, chicken keeper, he lives in a wedge of land isolated in the middle of the city. He was a hunter, a farmer, a worker, a good ‘ol American boy. I couldn’t haggle his price, he was spot on for what I wanted to spend, and to me it was totally worth it.

Before I flew out, I had some stuff shipped to my brothers house for the drive back. Tent, sleeping bags, air mattress, trailer brake, wiring, a fair amount of stuff, not all needed, but just in case. All we really needed was the air mattress, which fits perfectly in the bed, with room all around it, and the sleeping bags. We picked up other stuff at goodwill, like pillows, and some quilts, cast iron skillet and pan. Just some stuff to keep us comfy.

We took the truck up to Tonto land bridge with my brothers mighty max on the trailer as the first test. The white whale didn’t skip a beat.

After some sight seeing, we parted ways with my brother and set off on the rest of our adventure.

After a lot of road, that pretty much looked the same, we hit our first rest spot. We planned to camp at a national forest in New Mexico, but the government shutdown meant, government ran parks, were shut down. So we camped in a casino parking lot. In 15°F weather. That was cold.

Through New Mexico, into Texas, Jamie made the decision that we have to stop at the Cadillac ranch, because she knew I’d love it.

She was right. It was awesome!

We camped in a Walmart parking lot for a few hours, then hit the road again.

Then after trekking through Oklahoma, and into Missouri, we stopped at Han the sushi man’s sushi bar, ate a ton of sushi, the took a hour nap in the parking lot. At this point, I’ve lost track of time.

Once I got my rest, we headed towards my sisters house in Illinois. Up to this point we pretty much stuck to route 66. Once we hit St Louis, we got onto the main highway. This truck loves going 55. Not 70. At 70, you can watch the fuel level go down. So, 55 in a 70 it is.

We made it to my sisters, no problem. Took a few hour nap, then got on the road to Jamie’s parents house in Laporte to see her family before they left town.

We made it, an hour early. 😂

So to recap;

Flew to Arizona on Monday.

Lined up a truck on Tuesday.

Bought the truck on Wednesday.

Left Mesa, AZ Thursday morning.

Got to Cadillac ranch on Friday.

Had sushi on Saturday.

Got back to Michigan on Sunday.

2,025 miles, tons of sun shine, bunches of smiles, lots of fun, it was a great trip!