Fly Over States
Speaking from experience… there is no better way to learn how to drive a trailer than taking it for a ~spin~ across the country. If it wasn’t for my copilot Ricky and remote trailer gurus, JC and Mike Lynch, being on speed dial, I would probably be in a ditch somewhere with my rig, still stuck in the Home Depot parking lot, or driving with the wrong trailer hitch ball size (the classic 2 and 5/16 or 2 in dilemma). So huge shoutout to these three 🖤 I am an independent gal but not gonna lie I was in over my head on this one.
The fact that Ricky put up with my antics for 2,061 miles, is a victory in itself. When he wasn’t polluting the car with an open beef jerky bag or proving the trailer can be backed up without jackknifing it, he dropped some incredible wisdom as we traversed to Arkansas. He pointed out that people are extraordinary… in every sense of the word… extraordinarily beautiful… extraordinarily unique… extraordinarily passionate… the list goes on. As we drove through the middle of the country this became more apparent.
We met some extraordinary characters along the way from Santa Cruz, California to Bentonville, Arkansas. For example, a semi-truck driver who looked like he could star in the next highway horror film but was actually a complete sweetheart. Or a barista boy from North Platte, who looked like a sweetheart but is probably the horror film star based on the uncomfortable amount of time he stared at us. Or a nurse who was so excited to hear Ricky was an EMT when we pulled over to help a car accident that she grabbed his shoulders and shook him while she yelled that they were going to “WORK TOGETHER” to help the passenger of the crashed vehicle who unfortunately was not wearing pants at the time of the incident.
I forgot how extraordinarily friendly midwesterners are. Don’t get me wrong the west coast is an amazing place. But if you make eye contact with someone it’s as if you are asking to square up in the parking lot. If you do that in the midwest more often than not you get a friendly hello accompanied by a wave. And unlike the south, when people are nice to you… they genuinely mean it. It’s not just a I’ll be nice to your face but then talk sh*t when you leave situation. I know I’m generalizing, and I have some southern gems in my life who are not like that but to the rest of the south that is like this… well bless your heart.
Where else would someone give you two extra meals and a frosty just for turning extra wide in a drive thru to ensure we didn’t hit their ordering sign with the trailer? … extraordinary. Where else can you be humbled by losing Tic-Tac-Toe to a chicken?... extraordinary. Where else would someone let us know the hidden back roads so we wouldn’t have to do a 20 point turn (if I am driving. Ricky could have done it in 3) when a road was blocked by a stopped train? (the direct quote was: “I’d hate to see you have to turn this pig around”)... extraordinary.
Which brings me to my next point… where else would a town be blocked by a train for an extended period of time? These “fly over states” operate at an extraordinary pace. A local assured us not to worry that it couldn’t be stopped for more than 20 min or it gets fined. I have been so caught up in this fast-paced world that waiting 20 min for a train seems like the biggest inconvenience. But unless you need to get to a hospital those 20 min are most likely not the end of the world. There is nothing quite like driving through the vacant corn fields for hours to make you realize that at the end of the day, the work email or text response you are stressing over truly doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
If you get the chance to be immersed in the heart of the midwest, soak it all in… including the incredibly priced yet horrible food options on I-80. Stop at the absurd roadside attractions, like the stuffed arctic penguin mascot of a town in Wyoming (it was supposed to be living but it didn’t make it during the voyage to the middle of the states due to the change in climate…who would have thought?!? But the fact that they still kept it as the mascot, just now lifeless, cracks me up). Appreciate the fact people are extraordinary in EVERY sense of the word even when it is to a fault, because otherwise life would be so boring.
As for a report on our final destination, Bentonville, Arkansas, aka the home of Walmart… You can’t buy alcohol on Sunday, the city shows up rain or shine for a ride in movie, and I don’t think I have ever sweat that much in my entire life.
beep beep,
E (trucker name: mighty 🐻)