West 2022 – Travel Day to Start

They say that “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. I guess it was the Chinese that said it, but regardless, it’s true. So, I figured that a trip consisting of 10,000 plus miles also started the same way. On June 14, 2022 I put the years of planning into action.

I took the first step. The first step led to a walk out to our backyard for a picture with my wife, a good-bye or sorts. Ya know, if we were never to see each other again, or something like that, we had this moment together right before I left.

Now, these couple of months later it’s almost my wife’s birthday, and I am so happy that God blessed us all with her birth, and her life among us. She is nothing short of sensational.

On my first day of travel, the worst traffic I experienced was in Vermont of all places. I had to sit at the bottom of a mountain road in hot, dry, dusty conditions along Route 9 for at least 15 minutes as one lane was closed for a few miles. It would get better from there.

By 6:32 PM I was outside of Schenectady, NY at a rest stop on the NY Thruway. By midnight I was just outside of Erie, PA and still driving. I hit Ohio and made a stop in Austinburg, OH for a nap in a parking lot. Then it was on to Howe, IN for another quick nap at a rest area, only to wake up and discover that all my potential routes going around Chicago were all backed up for 90 minutes to 150 minutes. This was not my idea of continuing my drive to Moline, IL after driving almost all night. On top of that, it was going to be 100°F in the area during the drive that day. So, I looked for other routes or other things to do along the way. Since I was starting a long trip to check out National Parks and other western points that I had to see I chose a place that was not in my original plans. I went to Indiana Dunes National Park.

At Indiana Dunes I bought National Park passports for my wife and I. The twins already had their NP passports from a visit to Acadia National Park in 2018. The twins and my wife would be joining me in Utah roughly a week later. Anyways, I searched the park maps and found a trail to take a walk in the heat, along the shores of Lake Michigan. I completed the 1.1 mile loop of West Beach – Dunes Succession Trail. It was not a very difficult trail but the sand and the heat definitely made it feel a lot harder than it should have. I am guessing that driving all night on about 2.5 hours of sleep didn’t help the matter any. The dew point was 70 and the ‘feels like’ temperature was 96°F. Either way, it was fun to check out a new place along the route. I mean, that’s what I was doing, exploring where I found myself along the way.

After the dunes walk, I drove the 200 or so miles to my first overnight stop, in Moline. I couldn’t wait to get into a room, blast the air conditioning, shower, and grab a nap. Well, I did shower and cool down, but I did not nap. Instead, after a phone call home, I searched for something to do that evening, in the area of the Mississippi River. The young man at the front desk had told me that the good stuff to do was on the other side of the river in Davenport, IA. So that’s where I went.

I drove across the mighty Mississippi River and into Davenport. I drove directly to the old historic ballpark, Modern Woodmen Park. I paid my $5 to park in their lot, but I had to wait to park the vehicle as a 100-plus car train rambled through on the tracks between the lot entrance and the parking area. It was pretty cool actually.

I didn’t have a ticket for the game but I walked toward the box office to buy one when a woman approached me and asked if I needed a ticket for the game. I did need one. She said that she had several general admission seats available from a group purchase but some folks had not shown up to attend the game. I told her that I would take one and asked what I could pay for the ticket. She said it was already paid for and gave it to me at no charge. Well, that had worked out pretty awesome!

Before I went into the ballpark, I walked up and down the north (west) side of the river for about a mile. As I walked and marveled at the river, the bridges, and the threatening skies overhead, I was smiling while taking all of this new experience in.

I entered the old ballpark and was increasingly impressed as I walked the concourse. As I saw the layout of the park, especially in relation to the mighty river and the Centennial Bridge spanning the river, I was falling in love with this old ball yard. Then the grass embankment in left field, the amusement park, and team store all blew me away. What a place! On top of that, the general admission seats started exactly where the third base dugout ended going out toward the left field corner and into the grassy area behind the outfield fence. What a great place to watch a baseball game. Also it turned out to be a pretty great place to see a storm rolling in from the first base side of the stadium.

The night was hot, windy, humid, and the sky looked like it might drop right out of the sky at any time. This however, did not stop the teams from playing baseball. With no delays for rain, thunder, or lightning, the South Bend Cubs beat the Quad City River Bandits, 15-8. At one point the wind had to be blowing 25+ MPH out to left field. It was awesome!

There was plenty of offense in the game, a few rain showers, a faint rainbow in the sky, and at least several flashes of lightning that were not too far away. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the ballpark on the river’s’ edge. I even purchased a River Bandits t-shirt before I left. What a start to the trip! On the next evening, I planned to be in South Dakota.