nebraska | Off-road Vegan

We started in Lincoln, Nebraska after an amazing night’s rest and a break from the Jeep.

We filled up on gas, OJ and truck stop coffee before heading out on 80 West. It was a beautiful morning in Lincoln, with bluebird skies and warm temps.

Nebraska, while actually a really cool state, was my nemesis on this trip. The sheer size of this state, when coupled with the rather drab scenes, makes it a monotonous drive. There is, however a beauty in the stark flatness, combined with what seems like “small town” America. I want to visit Nebraska more, as long as I don’t have to drive across it.

Truck stop coffee: Actually not that bad, but no soy creamer 😦

The mile markers passed rather quickly toward Wyoming with little issue.

Toward the Western end of the state, the winds began to pick up, and pretty strong. Signs warned of empty trailers with 50+ MPH headwinds. The Jeep is not very aerodynamic, and the soft top made conversation and music pretty pointless.

Once we entered Wyoming (finally!) the winds were howling pretty crazy.

The I-80 corridor will always hold a special place in my heart. Melanie and I had plane tickets on 9/11 to attend her brother’s wedding in Iowa. With United rebooking us repeatedly and the FAA eventually restricting all flights, we had no more options.

Until I found a car to rent.

So we drove that little Mazda from Palo Alto, CA all the way to Burlington, IA. It took us 40 hours of straight driving and early relationship building. If two newly-dating people can survive that much time together in a car, well…maybe that explains our 11 year success with our marriage.

The sun slowly slipped behind the mountainscape as we progressed through Wyoming. Looking out my driver’s side window I could not help but be mesmerized by the starry night sky. It was absolutely amazing.

Making our way into Utah, we found a great place to crash for the night for our final push into Oregon.

No matter where you are, Jeeps are nearby.

VEGAN SITUATION:

As we head further West there are more Taco Bells when in a pinch. Along this corridor, that is honestly the best bet. We did not have time to go into supermarkets, so I have no idea what those were like, but I will remain pessimistic. Some truck stops have bananas and other goodies.

There are a few moments in the life of a family that are foundational, concrete changes. These include deaths, births, new jobs, new homes, and moving out. This past week, our clan experienced two of these.

My grandmother, Hilma May Clark, passed away after a long and healthy life of being a beautiful grandmother. I remember picking fresh blueberries in the rainforests of Alaska, and bringing them to her to bake us some Swedish Blueberry Bread. She was the absolute matriarch of our family, and she leaves not a vacancy of loss but a vacancy of just being there. She was a constant person in my life since I was born, even sneaking me behind the bar at the restaurant she worked at to steal me some maraschino cherries when I was a toddler.

As I made travel plans to fly home and support the family with her passing, I also found out my little sister (who was planning on moving to Portland anyway) needed a co-pilot to drive her 1999 Jeep Wrangler from Vermont to Oregon. Everything lined up perfectly, and we left Saturday morning at 9:30.

Saying goodbye to my parents was especially harder this time, as I left with my sister. With my grandmother gone and now Jess, they would truly experience an empty nest for the first time. Maybe it was just a release of the compounded emotions of the week. Either way, tears were flying as we all said our final goodbyes before the trip.

Google Maps was our guiding star, leading us into New York and through the Adirondacks. The snow was beautiful and I was surprised to find us passing through Speculator – the same town I went to summer camp in as a little boy. The town has hardly changed.

A quick stop for coffee in Rochester, NY was not nearly enough to catch up with an old friend. Ryder and I were buddies when growing up and the last time we saw each other we were blowing dust out of Nintendo cartridges. It was great seeing him again, and we look forward to seeing him on the left coast soon.

We then made our way through Pennsylvania and Ohio. The initial plan was to stop off in Cleveland for the night but the area was under a winter storm warning. We could stop and spend the next day in a blizzard, or keep trucking and skip it all. We opted to skip it.

The Jeep continued through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

We did pull of somewhere in Ohio for a couple of hours of “sleep” (the seats can’t recline and the 8 degree temps were far from sleepable).

Wathcing the sunrise from the driver’s seat: Morning in Illinois.

I did however manage to break my personal best record for longest driving without a break (the 2 hours of sleep is being reviewed by the judges) but I am happy with a 26 hour stretch.

No sleep til this point: Brooklyn, Iowa.

Pulling into Lincoln, Nebraska we decided to take it easy and get out of the Jeep. With a quick visit with family and some delicious local beers, we headed back to the hotel and got a great night’s sleep.

VEGAN SITUATION:

I have been living off a giant bag of pretzels and Clif Bars with the occasional stop at Subway. We did find a Chipotle in Ohio (but with no Sofritas!) Less than optimal, but we hope to make Salt Lake tonight (the US’ #1 vegan city as names by VegNews!) and as we move West the options will open up.

I have noticed the larger truck stops (Loves, Flying J, TA) have a large selection of seeds, nuts, and vegan snacks. They will work in a pinch!