It was mid October, Ski Resorts in California and Colorado opened, and the Northeast saw its first snow.
Time to make moves: Andy, a home-less Erik Olson (who has since sold his car-home from Episode 1) Shane McFalls (our camera guy) and I loaded up two vehicles and set out for the promised land.
We switched up our route from Episode 3 last year(I-80). I-70 was a few hours longer, but allowed us to see a whole new world of cities, cornfields, and pavement. We left Western NY on Andy’s Birthday, hopping in the cars right after the cake was consumed. The first two days of driving were pretty boring and brought us down to I-70 through New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Each night before bed we rearranged both cars, stacking bags to the ceiling to make room to sleep.
After passing through Indiana and Illinois, we stopped in St. Louis, Missouri to check out the famous Gateway Arch. There just so happened to be some sort of event/protest and an activist convinced us to be in a photo for something.
We later found out we were part of “Action at the Arch” an event put on by Green Peace to raise awareness for climate change.
Next up, we continued west to Gary’s Pumpkin Patch and Fall Festival in Grantville, Kansas. We got lost in a Corn maze at night, sampled fresh kettle corn, and sipped on apple cider slushies. The highlight of the night was most definitely the pig races. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Who would’ve guessed Kansas could be so exciting?
Stay tuned for more on our cross country voyage and Episode 3.
-Will