On the road...again!

[CobraJoe]

Have a safe trip Hugh and good luck with the white, lumpy rain. 

[Ford Blue blood]

Be careful Hugh, that white stuff can be tricky!  Great part is the roads clean fairly quickly (except in the mountains) and just leave a mess.

No, that is not a "fade to white" paint job on my black truck!

[mustang6984]

Thanks guys...I am hoping Alvin was correct in his info shared with me...the weather forecast he saw for the area was that the weather would be clearing out about a day ahead of me...so hopefully I'll not encounter any of that "white lumpy rain"...
And one of the good things about I-90 in Montana is that being a primary thoroughfare for commerce, they tend to try and keep it clean as fast as possible. Slow and easy will be the mantra I suppose.
I'll try to post updates as we progress along the way.

Off we go!!!   

[RICH MUISE]

Be safe!!! Even down here in Texas, around Amarillo anyway, they have the highways prepped with that pre-freeze stuff they lay down. Been in the 30's at night for a while.

[terry_208]

I hope you have a safe and uneventful trip! Be safe.

[RICH MUISE]

Snow forecast here for tonight thru Wednesday! 18* tomorrow.

[mustang6984]

Well we made it as far as Ellensburg WA. Not great progress...but there are these large hills called the Cascades...
Took some time to get used to the truck with this much weight on it as well. Once we got off the Olympic and Cascade mountains, things seemed to be okay.
So real progress traveling probably won't come until tomorrow afternoon after we get out of W. Montana. Most of today's speed was at 45-55 mph. On flats 60-65 was comfortable. No snow other than at the top of White Pass on HWY 12, and that was so minimal it barely rates a mention. The good weather of Sunday in Port Angeles seems to be cleaning things out ahead of us as it moves east!   

[mustang6984]

Okay...here I go again. Leaving Shell Knob in a couple of hours heading west. Hope to be done and BACK on the road to Shell Knob by the 29th or 30th...and last trip!
Going low though...couple of reasons...one...have to go pick up bob in AZ, and most importantly...I have zero interest in being shoved off the road due to unfriendly weather conditions in Montana or elsewhere.

I will try to keep a posting going on my progress.

[RICH MUISE]

Be careful Hugh!! You're going to be going thru some Covid hot spots, like Amarillo, and all of New Mexico. We've had 497 deaths in Amarillo so far, so we're having to be super careful at our age. I'd really like to sit down with you again over dinner, and this time, able to take you for a ride in the '57 but as mentioned previously, I'm going to have to pass on asking you to stop and let Sasha romp for a while. Sorry about that, buddy. This really sucks.....but I've got to make the wife and cousin's safety priority.
Who is Bob? I vaguely remember something about a house in Arizona, but my memory.........

[RICH MUISE]

Hugh, got to thinking, with that BS I said yesterday in mind, it does not apply if you need assistance in my area. I'll PM you my phone numbers. I can be to the OK border in less than 2 hrs, and the NM border about an hour. Call me if you need help, tools, a ride, etc.

[terry_208]

My wife and I have become very concerned about having people come into our house as well.  It's been reported that Boise has the highest positivity rate in the nation. Having said that, if you are coming through Boise, I will meet you outside the house and like Rich, offer assistance should you need it. 

Hugh, should you still want the rotisserie and have room/time to haul it, I can meet you at the intersection of I84 and Hi way 95.  It's pretty much a straight shot south to Las Vegas.

Don't forget, I still have your "electrical" shop manual for the 69's.  If you can't make here, pm me your address in Shell Knob and I'll mail it to you!

[CobraJoe]

That's an awesome offer guys! 

[mustang6984]

Okay...the poop hit the roundy-round. No idea where (and no one can ever answer the question "where" they get it with any intelligence though I can say it was in Missouri. Doc stated as much when we narrowed down time frames and incubation periods) but I got the COVID...heavy! My life wasn't in any danger...but my life sure sucked eggs for a few days prior to entering the hospital and after arriving.
I arrived in Port Angeles WA on the 23rd, and was in hospital the 24th. Was released This past Monday.
I am still on oxygen and may be until end of April.
My days seem to be improving, though by 5 p.m. I am tired.
Rich...I already have your numbers...both of them.
Bob is my friend who my wife and I have adopted and are taking with us to Missouri because his kids will never step up to the bar to take care of him as he grows older. IF he ever gets older...he wore out 2 work crews in Bisbee AZ that were in their mid 30's to late 40's! He is 9 years and 11 month older than I...(he won't admit to the 10 year thing.) LOL!!! He is 77.
He is now taking care of me ironically. But I am gaining more functionality with each day.
I did stop at Terry's house in the rain, and grabbed the rotisserie and the manual to complete my collection for the '69 Mustang! Thanks a ton for those manuals, Terry! Will make that job MUCH easier trust me!
Driving my 2014 F-350 I was never in danger of needing any road assistance...but thanks everyone. (I LOVE my "new" F-350!!!)
I was NEVER in doubt that should I need help on the road from any part of the country where any of you live, from CA to MA I'd get it.
My wife has it also...but the version she has is known by doctors as the "I have a really crappy cold" version. Go figure! 

So...now I have to hire a crew to do what I was gonna do...because all I can do is sit on a stool and direct traffic. But bottom line, I'll be home probably by end of January or close, we will only drive 6-8 hours per day...so what would normally be a 3-3 1/2 day trip...will probably be 8 days. It is what it is I guess.

Poor Sasha is so confused...and she HATES the oxygen machine...I think she sees it as the reason I am sick. Poor girl, LOL!!!

I will snoop around and see what I can find to answer some more questions tomorrow. And when I go back on the road, I may have a hard time getting on the 'net...I couldn't get on in any hotel/motel I stayed in, though I am taking my computer to a friend's house tomorrow, he has a magic wall and the secret wrist snap that allows him to throw the laptop just so...and make the needed attitude adjustments!  He has an idea what is going on. We shall see.
Glad to be back and a special "shout out" to Alvin who has checked in on me several times once he figured out something was a little off bubble! Thanks Buddy!

OH...one more tidbit of interest...I left Missouri at 228.5 pounds,  massive drop of weight between March and September of 2020 totaling 30 pounds...on my own with no controlled diet. (my doc in Branson has just left me to my own regimen..and shakes his head when I come to see him.
When they checked me into the hospital on Christmas Eve...7 days after hitting the road...I was at 214 pounds! Not the way I would recommend losing the weight, though I would be willing to split the difference and keep 7 0f it off. I told my wife I was sending Sasha and Bob in before I get out the truck so she doesn't shoot the stranger coming in her door with his own service weapon!!!  LOL!!!   

[Ford Blue blood]

Hugh it is really great to hear from you again and that you are on the road to recovering!  My brother just went through what you and your wife did.  He lost 30 lbs during the month of November with the covid.  His wife had it also and like your wife her case was "just a cold".  He is 72, his wife is 73 and a 2 1/2 year cancer survivor.

We as many have been laying relatively low.  Car guy funerals seam to be the "social" events that rule our lives now.  Seams like there is one a week, thankfully, or not, none have been covid related.  No advice I can give except when you start feeling frisky be careful!  Going at it hard will be costly, ask my brother....

[mustang6984]

Thanks. Yea...there will be no "frisky"...my goal is to be done with this sooner rather than later due to stupidity. when the doc says I can be a little more active that is when I will be.
I'll need t hire a crew back home to unload as well....and there the shop will sit until doc says otherwise.
I have books to read and when he says I can there is a river near me and maybe I can sit and fish AND read! LOL!!! I started buying books years ago with an eye toward reading in retirement...and my wife is a gigantic James Patterson fan...so easy will most assuredly be the rule of the day...along with walks to try and keep some of this weight off, ad the doc said she wanted my to walk to help with lung capacity regeneration.