ROAD Life Ed. 14 - Ruby Appreciation
Although we didn't really have the choice of taking Ruby through the mountains in the winter, we greatly missed her.
When we built our plan to spend part of the Holidays out in Washington state, we had 2 options) to fly or to take the trusty truck.
Sure, the truck can actually drive speed limit, has 4WD, can navigate smaller areas, gets double gas mileage, and has a BIGGER gas tank - Ruby has opposite pros that make road tripping much more appealing to me. And forces the adventure experience!! It's like taking the same trail while running vs biking - one is slow motion while one is fast(er).
[It even has a bigger gas tank thank Ruby!!!!! How insane is that?!?!]
Things that I missed dearly about Ruby:
Convenience of cooking while we drive…or when we're feeling less dangerous, a quick stop literally ANYWHERE to cook.
Fridge on board…are you sensing the food theme…? Oh, also a stocked pantry is CLUTCH.
Not wearing a seat belt unless you're driving - I get this is not always the safest thing, but seriously. Doing yoga in the middle aisle beats being cramped in the passenger any day.
Having to book housing or hotels and needing to huck all of our stuff in and out
The cost associated with even the shittiest of motels - Ruby's accommodations are (now) free to us and all OUR space with OUR things #homeonwheels baby!
Check in and check out times - although we still ran into this when we stayed at campgrounds, we didn't have to deal with it when we stayed iin public lands or public parking. When working, 11am check-outs can be quite a nuisance.
Having expectations and normality in your day
The VIEWS you sometimes wake up to (note the sometimes, but let’s be real, the Pilot parking lots are real life too)
But, at the end of the day, this trip just wasn’t in the cards for Ruby, We ran into low visibility and snow for about 20 of the 24 hours on the way out and about 16 of the 24 hours on the way back :D Super fun, but not Ruby-friendly. Sorry sweetie-pie!
Meet our Elfy clan that made it through the mountains and back :D
Peace, love, and 4WD4EVA,
yo’ girl Jen
PS) 3,200 miles in 2 weeks = ~$1500 in Ruby-diesel!!! She’s still amazing, don’t get me wrong. There are just times and places where she thrives & this trip, was not one of them :D
