Kaz the soul crushing rubble roads July 28. Lacking the nimbleness of the noble Lada or the soviet sorcery of the giant Kamaz, the Dixie Chicken bus plods along at incredibly slow speeds, switching between the dirt tracks and the cratered 50 year old gravel road....
A new day in Kazakhstan July 27 We all had a restful night in Atryau courtesy of my Marriott points--a welcome respite after the 36 hour stretch we spent in the bus without a break. Wait, it really was 36 hours? We got in at Luhansk...
Kazakhstan - this is not a good start to your relationship with the Dixie Chickens! It all started at the border. The grim-faced guard spilt all of us off from Don to go to a far away office while he inspected the vehicle with Don. Then,...
A few photos from the random pile: Sarita and her stuffed chicken friend, scary basement dryers in Odessa, Bears and Llamas at the zoo hotel, Sarita and Caroline couch-sharing, the bus on the ferry crossing near Galati, Romania, and Don's gas station attendant friend adding a...
Eastern Ukrainian to the Russian border, July 24 and on to the Kazakhstan border July 25 Got a good start from the zoo hotel heading toward the Ukrainian border with Russia. Life on board settling to a new normal, with Pietro and Stefano fitting right in with...
Odessa Ukraine and onward to Kiev and further east-July 21-25 Sarita found us a pretty decent hotel for our two night rest in Odessa at the hotel Zhirka, nice except for prostitute floor (2nd) where Sarita and a few others were staying. We were on 4th,...
Eastern Europe July 16-21 We left out early and very hungover and tired from Klenova Castle. Our few hours' sleep was interrupted by a group of drunken ralliers playing golf among the tents. Unfortunately no one had the energy to get out of their tents and...
Mongol Rally first days July 13th-16th (Typed on a phone, so please forgive errors) The first week of the rally passed like a tornado. Long days of driving, a few memorable nights of parties, and the feeling of rushing to the next destination. Plus, without Internet access,...
So lots of times, especially the horrible moments, I play a mental game I call "Bus or Couch" with myself. This invokes thinking how much easier life would be if we just stayed on the couch instead of taking this insane trip. Today was one where...