Know the HEIGHT of your RIG!
Richard and I don’t believe in living a boring life! As our blog subtitle says, “Life is always an adVENTURE!” There have definitely been some hair raising moments but we were NOT expecting one today!
As we were coming along I70 into Columbus, OH I noticed a sign that said EB I70 was closed in 4 miles! I made mention of it to Richard who was working on his computer beside me. He quickly got on Google. I was in the wrong lane to be able to turn onto 670 so we ended up taking the next exit into downtown Columbus! Thankfully I was the one driving. No, I am not saying Richard can’t drive the rig as well as I can BUT he is much better on technology than me and thus able to navigate via the phone whereas I have been given the ability to laugh in the face of danger when driving the rig so turning down narrow streets doesn’t faze me as much as him. In fact, just a little while before I had made mention that I was going to buy Caleb ice cream for dessert when we stopped for diesel. Richard looked at me and said, “Just so you know, you are NOT stopping at a Dairy Queen.” LOL! On our way west one year we were looking for ice cream. I saw a Dairy Queen and just pulled in. Richard was in a flat panic that we wouldn’t be able to get all the way around! We parked at the back and when ready to leave we had to wait for the drive-thru to empty before we could pull out! (He is a great balance for me! We make a good team 😉 )
SO, back to today! We found ourselves heading directly towards downtown. The truck GPS was “yelling” at us to turn around and get back on to the closed I70. Google was telling us to keep going straight through Columbus and out the other side. The height of our rig is approximately 13 ft 9 inches. As we were going along we came to a bridge with no height sign on it. Whilst it was definitely high enough we both held our breaths as I drove under it! Breathing a sigh of relief, we soon saw the next bridge which was clearly marked 13ft 6″! Eek! I quickly took a right turn down a narrow street thanking the Lord that we were doing this in the daylight as it certainly did not look like an area you would want to park in, let alone get out. By this time the GPS had caught up. At the end of the street one of them was telling us to turn left, the other one to turn right. I looked left and saw another bridge, this one only 12ft 6″ so it was not a hard decision to turn right 😉 We finally got back on a main road, headed onto 670 and then on to I70 past the closed section. Phew!
The condition of I70 in Illinois and Indiana was AWFUL! SO many bumps and potholes. Our poor rig was really jostled around not to mention us! (Most folks driving cars probably don’t notice it as much as their suspensions are softer.) Once we hit Ohio the road was SO much smoother 🙂 Thank you Ohio!
After arriving in the dark the last two nights, SO SO thankful to get to Wolfies campground in Zanesville, OH in the light. We were actually sitting down to tea by 5pm! Whilst the approach to the campground is somewhat narrow and twisty, it is a very nice campground and the first pull-thru we have had this trip. Would definitely stay here again!
Last leg of the trip to Cleveland tomorrow. Talk with you again soon, Liz
