Welcome To:
4-Ever-Hitched
We made a trip to Tennessee to pickup our new Oliver Elite II travel trailer at the Oliver factory. This blogsite features photos captured during our journey, pages featuring reviews of our favorite campgrounds and a blog of upgrades we've made.
You can learn more about Oliver Travel trailers at the link below:
Day 1 - Everett WA to Baker City OR
The Road to Tennessee
We scheduled 5 days to drive from Everett WA to Hohenwald TN. On the first day we decided to stop and tour the Hanford WA - Manhattan Project National Historic Park. During the visit we enjoyed a 3 hour bus ride and tour of the Hanford B Reactor which produced plutonium for the war effort.
Day 2 - Baker City OR to Rock Springs WY
A happy detour
Our planned route would take us from Baker City through Boise ID, Twin Falls ID, and down I-84 to Ogden UT and I-80 across Wyoming. However...a major road construction issue on I-84/I-86 interchange caused us to "miss the turn" and we ended up going on I-86 through Pocatello. We adjusted our route to follow one of the main Oregon Trail paths through Lava Hot Springs and Soda Springs ID then South on US-30 through Cokeville and Kemmerer WY rejoining I-80 at Little America. It was a great detour and actually saved us about an hour drive time....(according to the Waze App.)
Day 3 - Rock Springs WY to York, NE
Flat and fast!
Let's just say this was a big drive day. Driving at full highway speeds (80 MPH) through Nebraska for an elapsed 11 hours with one lunch break. Early on along this route we went through some very interesting passes in Wyoming and then across some of the wide open spaces of Nebraska. At one point we decided to count "Westbound Semi's". Over a 20 minute span we counted an average of 12 semi's per passenger car. (No Kidding!)
Day 4 - York NE to Cape Girardeau MO
What....still flooding?
A mere 600 mile day. In spite of the remaining spring flood devastation to the freeways and highways we made some time for historic stops. At one point, the interstate was down to one lane southbound only. We stopped in Independence MO at the Frontier Trails Museum. Rose's great grandfather was one of the Wagon Train Leaders for over 6 overland trips. This site was one of the main jumping off points. As we arrived at Cape Girardeau the city had "Boil Water" orders in place due to continued flooding, so our hotel provided bottled water! Just like the good old days on the Oregon Trail. (No Dysentery Today!)
Day 5 - Cape Girardeau MO to Linden TN - 213 Miles
Rivers to the hills!
Driving the 213 miles to Linden along the mighty Missouri River was quite interesting. The communities along the river were all still struggling to repair their homes and businesses. In many of the areas even the rest stops had flooded. As we approached our hotel in the small town of Linden, we took an opportunity to wash the bug splats off the truck before our factory visit the next day. The midwest, and in particular Missouri had some of the biggest bugs and horse flies we've ever seen. We are spending tonight about 20 miles East of Hohenwald and will drive to Oliver Sales to pickup our trailer tomorrow.