Made it to Bull Shoals

September 14, 2026

Made it to Bull Shoals. Thankfully, they left an ashtray out for me, and the view is pretty damn nice. It’s hot as a mother and I’m soaked, but the …

Highway Z

September 14, 2026

Stopped and washed a bunch of Missouri bugs off the 4Runner, then promptly went back to work reducing the bug population. Took Highway Z down toward Arkansas — nice, winding, …

Detour through Clinton

September 14, 2026

Google rerouted me through Clinton, Missouri, so I stopped to see my nephew and his wife. Great visit, got to drop off my gift and tour their home. Of course, …

Good morning, Topeka

September 14, 2026

Waking up anywhere is good — even in a Walmart parking lot. Another day begins. Apparently Topeka had a big sale on loud mufflers sometime in the last year, because …

Made it to Topeka

September 13, 2026

Made it to Topeka. Had a pretty good sandwich at Blue Moose, followed by Cold Stone to make sure I didn’t accidentally end the day with a calorie deficit. It’s …

Fighting the wind

September 13, 2026

Things are moving a little slower than planned. I’ve made this drive toward Iowa a bunch of times, usually on I-80, and the wind almost always seems to be helping …

Halfway there

September 13, 2026

Everything is still going well. Shout-out to Burlington for making drive-through liquor access so convenient. Haha. I’m about halfway through today’s eight-hour goal, so I pulled off for a quick …

On the road

September 13, 2026

Pulled out at exactly 10 a.m. and, so far, everything is going according to plan. It took about half an hour to get clear of Denver, and now it’s just …

Almost ready

September 11, 2026

After the fiasco with the drawer system, I upgraded to a Gobi rack — which, of course, made everything heavier. So I had to build a collapsible hoist system just …

Finished the armor

September 1, 2026

I’ve had the RCI armor sitting around for at least three years. I had already installed the front and middle skid plates and the gas tank skid, but never got …