This is the first post of the 2014 Drive Across America road trip

• Up at 4:40, without alarm going off. Slept well enough
• Jim helped me load truck
• Ate two bowls of oatmeal and chatted with family
• Ice tray had not frozen thoroughly overnight
• Goodbyes and well wishes
• Took almost ten minutes to get out of the driveway. Down the road by 6:10
• Stopped at Safeway for quart of motor oil, since truck was about that low on oil. Leak somewhere?
• Also stopped at Chase ATM to deposit Silicon Sage check and get $400 more in cash
• Finally on the road by 6:40
• Foggy through first part of Hwy 152
• San Luis reservoir was pretty low
• Air quality much better along I-5 compared to back in January
• Traffic along I-5 quite reasonable
• Stopped at two rest stops and two gas stations before getting to I-210
• Odometer stopped working on early part of I-5, just about the time that I began using cruise control. Coincidence? It was also rolling over from 12099 to 12100 when it stuck. Trip odometer also quit working. Hmmm.
• Nevertheless, it appears that I’m getting between 25 and 30 miles per gallon with cruise control, 60mph (indicated) and 2500 RPM.
• OAT near Indio got into the 90’s
• Huge backup on northbound Hwy 86 between Salton City and Brawley due to Border Patrol checkpoint
• Car wreck along desert stretch of Hwy 86 before Brawley. Pickup truck belly up, cab crushed. Lots of emergency vehicles