Road trips aren't supposed to be EZ.

In the U.S., we have a tradition of ‘road trips’ that reaches back over 100 years. Zócalo Public Square, a magazine of ideas published by Arizona State University, as reported in Time magazine, calls the road trip the signature all-American adventure⁽¹⁾. Indeed, it has long taken an adventurous motorist to complete a truly epic road trip. Such trips were long much more arduous, uncomfortable, and dangerous than the drives we normally complete today.

A proper road trip can be made alone but most often includes friends and/or family members. The road trip is the embodiment of the ‘hero’s quest,’ which is an essential part of Western literature. The drive, regardless of length, may provide adventure, awe, great fun, hardship, suffering, despair, fear, and joy. All on one trip! A good road trip will build character. As with the hero’s quest, there should be a reward at the end.

It has long been my belief that there ‘must needs be opposition in all things.’ In other words, you have to experience discomfort to truly appreciate luxury.

My eldest son, Derek, along with his wife, Jillian, and their son, Ian recently completed a road trip that surely includes the primary essential elements listed above and fine-tuned their appreciation for the finer things of life, such as air conditioning, comfortable seating, and quiet transport. Their quest was to return Jillian’s father, Manny, to his home in Silver Springs, Nevada after his weeks-long visit in San Antonio. The nearly 1,700-mile trek was part of the second half of the story, as they had made the reverse trek after flying to Reno from Texas several weeks earlier, driving Manny, in his early-‘90s Ford Econoline van, to their home for an extended visit with his family and old friends in Texas. You see, Manny won’t fly. As Manny is a senior citizen, his family doesn’t trust his ability to drive great distances alone.

The earlier trip to Texas in May had involved all the normally expected inconveniences of a long drive, plus some minor adventures, with the van showing a tendency to overheat, but the intrepid travelers were able to overcome that problem and thought they had accomplished a permanent fix. The old van may not have proved the most comfortable way to travel, but the trip was accomplished with a minimum of difficulties and in an expeditious fashion. The trip in July to return Manny to Nevada was going to be a bit different, as the vehicle’s air conditioning had recently failed. Their schedule did not leave time for repairs before the trip.

The portion of the journey that brought them to our home in Mesa, Arizona, was accomplished safely. The adults took turns driving and sleeping, so the total elapsed time was a little less than 20 hours. Twenty hours without air conditioning. Twenty hours with the windows down at 60 mph, wind whipping against sweaty skin and roaring in tired ears. There would be a shower, a meal, and a night’s sleep in cool quarters for them on their arrival in Mesa, and, Boy! Did they ever need it!

From Mesa, they made the decision to drive the remainder of Arizona at night hoping it would be a bit cooler. They also decided to change their route from the most direct route to one that would take them to higher altitudes and cooler temperatures by going north to Flagstaff and then west on IH-40 to Nevada. That routing choice may have been less advantageous than expected. The route from Phoenix to Flagstaff is a gentle climb of over 5,000 feet in less than 150 miles. The van didn’t like the climb and overheated several times during the cool, night-time, climb up to Flagstaff.

I’ll let one of the road-trip participants, my son, Derek, tell you a bit about the trip in his own words:

15:11 July 5, 2021 – We made it safely to Silver Springs. We didn’t think the van would overheat in the cold weather, we were more worried about climbing the hills near Tonopah (Nevada) during the day. Turns out that having to stop a few times while climbing up to Flagstaff made the 5 hour trip to Vegas take about 8 hours. The weather was good while we were up there, though. I got some sleep after getting to Kingman, maybe 4 hours of broken sleep in the van while Jill was driving. We made Vegas by sunup, and then we swapped drivers again in Tonopah. We did also have to baby the van up the hill to Tonopah, and the rest of the way to Silver Springs, though, and that was not fun. We had to run the heat in the cabin to keep heat off the engine, and turn off the engine and coast down the big hills to help the coolant stay cool. Turns out, the internet says 100% engine coolant^* boils at about 388°. We did that twice. All this while driving across the desert without working A/C. Still, all in all, a safe trip, although long and tiring.

* Note: Most mechanics recommend a 50% coolant/water mix for optimal cooling.

 The road-trip is something that my family has been well-trained into from their youth. We have endured many at my hands. Some we may have enjoyed. Without fail, they yield awe and adventure. The best ones leave us all feeling a bit like we’ve completed an epic quest.

  

(1(1) Blodgett, P. J. (2015, August 15). How Americans Fell in Love with Taking Road Trips. Time. https://time.com/3998949/road-trip-history/. Accessed July 6, 2021.