This post was last updated on April 8th, 2014 at 05:18 pm
Well I am officially starting to pack for my yearly migration from Michigan to Idaho. Its a grueling long drive, but it needs to be done. It becomes a pretty serious change in lifestyle for months. I go from sitting on my computer and fishing on occasion, to being on the river everyday almost for 4 straight months. I really hope all of the feathering om my mouse this winter/spring, doesn’t affect my guiding ability with all the carpal tunnel I have amassed.
The process of moving is not an easy one. I use my drift boat as a trailer to transport all of my things. I throw my boat cover on and drive for almost 2 straight days. There have been some extreme events that take place on this trip almost every time. A few years ago I was in the middle of Nebraska cruising along in a thunder storm, when out of nowhere I start to smell smoke. I look behind me and underneath my dog in the back seat was smoke coming out of a crack between the two seats. I immediately pulled over and pulled everything out on the side of the highway. I had stacked some of my most important things in the backseat to keep them safe from the weather. They were piled high from the floor to the ceiling. Everything ended up wet, and it turns out there was a fire that started in my spare tire compartment. That little relay box that runs my trailer wires from inside the car to the trailer had started on fire. I caught it quick before too much damage had been done, but it was an absolute nightmare.
The next trip I was driving through the middle of nowhere in Wyoming. If you have driven through there you know what I am talking about. Even though you are on a major highway, there can be a gap of almost 100 miles between towns. The exits don’t have any services and when you pull off the road you are on a dirt 2 track road that sees about 2 cars a day. Most of the people who pull off are doing so to let their dogs out, or pee themselves. Anyway I had a trailer bearing blow out there in the high desert. With my boat overloaded with nearly everything I own I was not about to leave it on the side of the highway. So I turned around and headed back towards rock springs. I drove on the shoulder for almost 50 miles before arriving. I had to stop almost every mile to push the wheel back on my trailer. It took many hours at just a couple miles per hour to arrive back in rock springs. When I arrived the guy at the repair place charged me over 300$ for the bearing and parts. These parts can be purchased at any auto store for $12.95…. He also charged me over 100$ in labor and made me wait almost 8 hours while he eventually got around to fixing it. I watched a guy come in for a transmission change and leave before I did. Had I known I was going to get robbed blind, I would have jacked it up and put the bearing in myself, I have done it more than enough times. For your reference the place that robbed and took advantage of me was Skip’s Tire Service. If you are forced to do business with these guys like I was, be prepared to be ripped off bad!
Here’s to an uneventful trip. Once I get through Chicago I always feel much better, I really dislike that place! I especially hate the toll roads. How nice that they use our tax dollars to build the raods and then charge us to drive through. That place is the biggest cesspool on earth. That city takes up too much space, its not like you can just drive around it. I won’t even start to tell you about my experience last time I tried to avoid paying the tolls by driving through the ghetto. They make it really inconvenient for you to make it through that city without paying them any money.
My new house is embedded in the side of a mountain way back in the sticks. I really hope I can get decent internet, otherwise this will be my last post for a few months. However I will be sure to make it to a coffee shop here and there to delete all of the spam comments that pile up every day. They are usually from Japanese websites and people writing reviews of their “cheap rayban sunglasses”.
This has somehow turned into a serious rant post. I guess the thought of moving has brought out a little anger. Hopefully it won’t be long and I will be posting pictures of huge western brown trout!