I meant to write as I traveled but it is a difficult thing to do especially when it is just you making the journey. Some nights you are just too tired to do much else and other nights your mind just needs to rest. Anyhow, here is the rest of the story.

From San Francisco, I headed to my sister’s house. She lives on Clear Lake in California. It’s the largest natural lake in California. My sister has a great view of the lake from her house too. I even have a view of the lake from bed when I am there. The other good thing about being at my sister’s is the food. My sister is a good cook. But after a couple days of rest there, it was time to continue my journey.

I didn’t have too far to go the first day. There were things I wanted to see on my way east so I planned to stop and see them. The first stop on the way was Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is a beautiful lake just on the California-Nevada border. I got there in time to take a short hike down to the lake. I had reserved a hotel and spent the night there.

I started down the road fairly early in the morning. I got breakfast for me and gas for the van and I was on my way. A couple of city blocks later and I was already in Nevada. I decided to take Highway 50 across Nevada. It’s called “The Lonliest Road” for good reason. There are only 3 small towns on this highway clear across the state. The rest of the time it’s just wide open country with hills in the distance. It’s pretty country and pretty windy! I stopped for gas in every small town along the road. There was nothing else in between those towns. I saw a small dust devil and the start of some sand dunes too. I wanted to make it halfway across Utah before I stopped for the night.

Salinas, Utah, isn’t a big town but it had a few motels and I stayed in one of them. I was up and on the road early. Utah is a very beautiful state. At least the part I drove through. I wanted to make it all the way to Denver. It was a fairly long drive but not bad. The bad part was I-70 through Colorado was full of holes. Even having to wait for construction and dodging holes I rolled into Denver early evening. I found my hotel and settled in for the night.

It was on to Manhattan, Kansas next. That’s where one of my sons lives. I was going to spend a day or two with him. Just a side note, I-70 east of Denver is not full of holes. It isn’t a bad road at all. Just a bit boring drive is all. Yes, I made it into Manhattan about 6 p.m. after an uneventful few hours.

The next couple of days I spent with my son and even with my other son too. I got to see both of sons with one stop! My youngest lives in the Kansas City area and he came over to see me as well. We all had fun the next couple of days. It was a good visit.

Here are some things I learned on my trip. First, I learned to trust in God more. He kept the van working perfectly for the whole 2000 mile drive. Second, my journey parallels life’s journey. We keep going and it doesn’t stop. But God is always there with us and to help us. I also learned driving across the country is still fun today!

For now, that’s the end of the journey. I had a four hour drive to get all the way to Springfield, Missouri, but it isn’t far to go. We will save that story for another time.