Two Weeks on the Road With Aden — Part II — First Leg
The drive on AZ 202 was freeing. The past month had been a grind despite having had a few days already in San Diego with my family. I was still bound up and I was missing my son. Maybe I have it too good and don’t recognize that. Certainly, many thousands are worse off.
It was after 5 am. I felt like I had taken off from the QT in Chandler/Gilbert like I was on the run. Always on the run.
Finally on the highway and heading out towards Wickenberg [where I knew we would finally be out on some open road and off towards even more].
Last time I had driven a vehicle this large was the moving van from California to Arizona. Aden was just around 18-months. Now he’s almost 10. How things have changed. For the past few years, we have taken road trips together [just us boys]. He’s been a good travel buddy. My one and only. He now has a little more in the attitude and opinion department. Still a great partner. My favorite. He’s knocked out in the back of this loaner RV.
A little lonely up here in the front, but I am still happy. Very happy. I still have responsibilities [clients counting on me, people wanting money from for their work]. But I feel as if I have escaped! And I feel like it's my time to be the ultimate Dad. No wires and nets.
Kingman is likely our first stop for gas and is over 200 miles away. Lots of time to think. I suspect Aden won’t wake until we get there. Maybe not even until we hit Vegas in around 320 miles total on the road. The main thought is, and will be the rest of the trip, is how many more of these are left? He’s almost 10. Maybe I get the last one just before he’s 19 before he heads to college. 9 more tops. Have to make these awesome.
We pull into Kingman and he is awake. Trying to find a McDonalds that is not 10 miles off I-40. Never mind. As we pulled into the gas station, a few Gatorades come back up from my travel partner. No McDonalds today, at least not now. And I have to lecture him no more orange flavors — water only.
The open roller coaster of a road is the first battle with the wind between Kingman and the Arizona/Nevada line. More thinking. What’s with this idea I am somehow on the clock with my son? Sure things have changed since he was a baby……and will continue to change. His attitudes, opinions, and tolerance for me, and of me, will continue to. No doubt. They are supposed to. But to the extent, he won’t do a roadie with me? Guess time will tell and no obsessing will change that.
Hoover Dam. Aden agrees we should stop. Check it out. In the RV we have to park way the hell back in Arizona. It's already over 100. So no hiking back to the visitor center in Nevada today. Will have to come back in cooler weather. Actually worked out better. We got some amazing views. And of course, I had to get pictures. Aden was still in his pajamas around 10:30. And he could care less. He’s still 9 and can totally rock a Sponge Bob onesie with a hood.
Drive through Vegas was quite the adventure. Lotta road work. Even on a Sunday. Congested with all the folks like us plus the traffic back to LA. Fortunately, we got past that fairly quickly. On to Mesquite and St. George and wide-open expanse before Provo and the outer Salt Lake burbs.
Gas stop in St. Goerge, UT. 117. Wow! And we have no waste cap. The decision to stay in a hotel in Draper, UT is looking like a genius plan on my part.
The drive up I-15 was brutal. Very windy. Should have got off the Interstate a long way back. This is sucking. Why did I let this boy talk me into renting a box truck with sleeper compartments…
Stop at Draper for the night. Michelle would lose it. The state prison can be hit anyone without a good arm. The only thing around to eat is McDonald's. Second MCD of the day after brunch in Henderson, NV. Learned how tall the RV is attempting to take it through the drive-up window. Still got our order in as a partial walk-up. Dinner in the room, hot showers, and a Suns Game 3 lose. Mixed review of the night. But the bed is awesome and the AC is on blast.
The next morning we take it easy. We are going to go to Crater of the Moon only, so no need to push the needle. Not a lot of miles in the grand scheme. Likely another hotel as southern Idaho looks to be in the ’90s. No closer yet to figure out who this nearly 10-year old boy is yet. I know he’s changed. But we still have a lot of distractions.
Stopped for gas and lunch. An A&W Rootbeer. Wow. No way the health code rating is above a C. Flies and clogged grease traps OH MY. We powered down the lunch but I told Aden that we would both feel like shit before we saw potato fields. Not at all the A&W I recall in Maine when I used to walk there with my Mom around the age of 3. Road food. Won’t kill you. But certainly makes skipping lunch the next day mighty attractive.
Driving through the gateway town to Crater of the Moon, I think, I could live here. Its low key. Tourism yes. But seems okay to me. Slow and quiet.
Crater of the Moon was unreal. We could have camped there!!! Easily the biggest regret of the trip for not camping there. I wimped out. Let the 90 degrees [that will likely burn off soon after 6 pm] dissuade me from staying. But wow!!! How cool it would have been to see the sunset, the star show, and the sunrise. Mistake. We have to come back. October maybe. Maybe next April or right after school lets out in 2022.
In Aden’s eyes. I killed it though. Awesome room in Idaho Falls with a balcony view of the Snake River. He loved it so much he thought we should buy the room and do an episode of Vacation Rental on HGTV. Hot Dominoes Pizza, some interesting shows on the Weather Channel. He was in heaven. Next stop, the great state of Montana.
Can’t wait.
