Mount Shasta in the background…
Our mission in Oregon is complete: We rescued the cat (despite challenges) and loaded what we could carry of my mother-in-law’s (MIL) belongings. With the main task done, we opted to make a side-trip into Northern California before returning to Virginia.
My sister-in-law (SIL) lives just a few hours from Medford and wondered why we didn’t plan to visit. Our “fast-n-furious” mission was so focused that we didn’t consider any detours during our return leg to Virginia. We also didn’t realize how close she lives to the Oregon border.
Our scenery in some of Northern California…
Our daughter was cat-sitting back in Virginia, but she had a firm departure date for a planned trip of her own. That meant we couldn’t linger in California for long without risking an unattended house full of hungry pets. We made it to our California stop in time for lunch. Our plan was to stay for two hours and then head east. It’s always good to see the SIL — so good, in fact, that we stayed too long. With that delay cemented and plenty of remote stretches along our planned route, we opted to stay the night and start fresh in the morning.
The next morning, we slipped out early without any “southern goodbyes.” From that point, we had just six days to get home before our cats would begin to miss meals. My goal was to travel about 550 miles (885 km) each day. However, there was a challenge ahead.
Except for the leg between California and Salt Lake City, the weather forecast promised rain nearly all the way back to the east coast. We managed to snap a few photos around Salt Lake City before storms came. But from then on, we were essentially driving inside a moving storm system.
Our daily routine settled into a predictable rhythm: we’d race ahead of the storm cells, offload at a hotel under clear skies, get dinner, and sleep while the rain passed over us. The next morning, we’d reload under dry skies, hit the highway, and eventually catch back up to the weather system by mid-morning.
Eventually, we were in the thickest part of the storm and had full-time rain. We stopped early most evenings and loaded very early each morning. The early schedule allowed us to monopolize the covered loading area at each hotel entrance to stay dry during off-peak hours. We eventually perfected a quick, assembly-line process for packing the car and trailer.
I wish I had more interesting photos to share, but most of our scenery included rain — lots and lots of rain. The constant rain had me thinking about two things. First, our traction and safety on the road. The Michelin CrossClimate2 tires performed very well! I never had even the smallest hint of hydroplaning. My cruising speeds were around 75 mph (120 km/h) unless visibility was poor or the rain was too heavy. Even then, the wide open roads supported 65-70 mph (105-113 km/h) most of the time.
My next thought was about how well the Husky cases were keeping the weather out. I found tiny traces of water intrusion in one case on one day. I also found small amount of water collected in the corrugated pan of the rooftop cargo box.
The tiny amounts of water were probably blown through the lid barriers as wind-driven rain while driving at highway speeds. For what it’s worth, neither the Husky boxes nor the Thule box are guaranteed to seal out such forces. Pack accordingly!
The cat was the undisputed star of the journey! Day 1 of the return trip was rough—he hated the carrier, didn’t know us yet, and voiced his displeasure loudly. By the middle of Day 2, we decided to risk letting him roam free in the cabin.
My wife and I agree that carrier transport is the safest way to travel with a pet. However, he was a different cat once he was uncontained. He slept on laps, on the floor, on an armrest, and atop my toolbox the majority of the time. We kept him away from the driver’s side of the car. His carrier became his outhouse with home-sized litter box, which he used as needed. 😉
By Day 6, we were down to our final leg: a relaxed five-hour drive out of West Virginia. We slept in, had a leisurely breakfast, and enjoyed a stress-free final push. Arriving home to steady Virginia rain, I pulled the trailer straight onto the front lawn right up to the steps for an easy offload.
The rain persisted for another two days. Once the skies cleared, I prioritized cleaning the interior to remove a week’s worth of loose cat hair before moving to the exterior. Sustained highway speeds through rain had caked on a stubborn layer of road grime. It took quite a bit extra elbow grease to clean the paint. What a mess!
It was good to have a clean car again, but the saga was not over! Next, it was time to install my new mobile desk and some antennas for an upcoming exhibition at a “Jamborees on the Air” (JOTA) event. I’ll share more about that in my next post. I’ll also share the nerdy numbers such as total miles driven, fuel economy, and any problems encountered during the trip.
It’s Good to Be Home!
Scott
