So you thought you had a hard time getting to St. Louis...

[Bob Steele]

Mike and Navid Shafa from Team 1983 volunteered to man a truck to take pit supplies from about 12 Pacific Northwest Teams to St. Louis this year....
the following is part of a blog they have been keeping.

They hit big snow in Montana... see below...
They are a wonderful inspiration to all of us... persistence... hard work...
We all owe them a big debt of gratitude for getting our supplies through

Mike and Navid ... you guys rock... this is a long read but a good one...
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Days 2 and 3 (We didn’t have differentiation between the two, so this will cover both)

My bronchitis still won’t go away, I joke that it’s the price I pay for high-fiving so many judges this season. Sunday morning we had a bit of a late start, we gassed up and paid the good ol’ oil company 300 bucks to fill in. Stimulating the economy!

We got comfy before we left. I even put on my shorts, since we had such lovely weather through Eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho. I later regretted this decision as you will soon find out.

Off we went from Coeur d’Alene towards Montana. Right after we started, the snow was affectionate towards us and persisted to follow. As the day progressed it got worse. Sometimes hard, sometimes slow. But by the end of the day, the snow was coming down harder and harder. We had a blizzard on our hands.

We didn’t have a choice, we needed to keep going until we saw blue sky. We couldn’t afford to get stuck in a storm and let the teams of the northwest down.

At Billings we stimulated the economy again with nearly another $300. We had a quick meal at Denny’s and were back on our way. But this time, snow was no longer a gentle or pretty friend. The dusting in Billings had grown, suddenly to one inch. Another half an hour wen t by, another inch, yet another half hour and another inch. It was up to 6inches at some points.

It’s hard to explain but it was a very strange snowing, the drifting added a whole other dimension. The changing winds made the snow spiral and dance around us as we were tossed about by the wind.

It was a Sunday night, and there was no one on the road. Not even truckers. All the way from Billings, through Wyoming, we were alone. I-90 was all to ourselves. Nobody passed us, and we didn’t pass anybody. It was eerie, something wasn’t normal. This was I-90, the artery from the west to the east and we hadn’t seen anyone in hours.

We stopped at someplace in desperate need of a bathroom break, coffee and some local company. But the town was vacant. Signs were on; lights were on too, snow drifted under the canopy of the gas station. The snow was nearly 10 inches high and we were still alone.

We pressed on through the night, and at about a quarter to 5, we saw the first snow prowler, in Sundance Wyoming. We decided at 5 o’clock we would call the earliest rising skunk we know (Ken), to check on the weather for us.

I never thought I would be thankful that many of the NW teams brought everything they own to St. Louis, because the heavy load had dropped our mileage to an average of 7mpg. However, thanks to the weight on board, we hardly had to worry about our traction and we only began to slip out bad once and recovered easily.

We pulled in to a gas station/ truck stop, where the snow was plowed under the pump canopy. We saw a trucker who just came back from South Dakota and he said that they asked all the residents to avoid unnecessary travel. Rental trucks and U-hauls would not be allowed, professionals with traction control will be considered.

After talking to our weatherman again, Ken said that besides the heavy storm front in South Dakota, much of Nebraska would also be shut down.

So we spoke with the truckers and found out that south was our only way to keep moving forward. So with the approval from our weatherman, we kept going. The further south we went, the less snow we saw.

We hit the southern part of Wyoming, heading towards Newcastle. Maybe you know Newcastle, it’s famous for being one of the richest neighborhoods, with a large population of Arabian racehorses. Of course, the roads are plowed clear in front of their mansions, even if I90 hasn’t been touched

We headed further south and loved the green fields. No more snow half way up the rim of the tires.

By now, the truck was frozen shut . We had solid ice, a few inches thick. Snow covered the back as well. We had no way to get to our reserve snacks or our clothing. I was freezing with only my shorts and a t-shirt. We kept driving.

So by Monday evening we’d made it to Grand Island Nebraska. The temperature, 24 Degrees, winds of 50mph and I’m still in shorts. We’d put in nearly 2000 miles and we had less than 600 miles to St. Louis. With weary and laden eyes, we decided to make this town a temporary home. We started searching for a self-service car wash to de-ice the truck.

The first two were drive-through and wouldn’t do us any good. The first self-service was closed, even though the signs read open. After one and a half hours of searching with hardly any help from the locals, we found one. The last local we had asked had said it would be down the road across from Casey’s. Apparently Casey’s General store is big around here and that would explain why we couldn’t find it across from the first or second Casey’s we saw…

We turned on the car wash and sure enough the high pressure rinse was hot. It took a long time for the ice to come loose and my dad ended up drenched. We managed to clear the back of the truck and the door. So we decided to find food and lodging. After a hot meal and a room ready for us, we went to get our bags from the back of the truck, but to our amazement and just our luck, the hot water that had helped free the ice from the truck had frozen inside the lock and we had no clue.

So with a turn of the key and a snap, we had half the key in the lock and the other half in our hands. Now imagine this, we haven’t taken a shower in over a day and a half and haven’t stopped. We now have a room to sleep in with no new clothes. We called a lock smith, but he wasn’t in the mood for night service, even though its name” Ace 24/7” led us to believe that we would get help. Note to readers, if you ever visit Grand Island Nebraska, find a different locksmith, this guy is lame.

The irony of the situation was painful, but certainly humorous to us in a sick kind of way. We had all of the tools for every team in the Pacific Northwest in the back of the truck and we have to go to Walmart to buy tools to break the lock.

These locks are burglar proof, can’t be cut with bolt cutters, can’t be drilled out. If you remember someone tried to break into our trailer at school before and they ended up cutting the handle of the trailer with a torch instead. But this didn’t stop the Shafa’s, with $2.97 crappy pliers from Walmart and a bit of the key left inside the lock, it was a matter of finesse and time, before the lock was free of the latch. My dad is certainly a “Skunk of all trades”: as Ken calls him, Mike “McGiver” Shafa.

After opening the truck to get our bags, we were surprised to see some snow inside. Apparently the truck doors aren’t wind proof or moisture proof. Ice built up a bit, but no problems here. The OMAX water bottles and coke were frozen, thankfully they didn’t explode. It was time to call it quits.

We got our clothes and we were ready for bed. Wish us luck and See us in St. Louis, hopefully without any more surprises. I’ll upload this tomorrow when we get to Lincoln, Nebraska.

Stay Smelly Skunks , we sure have!

-Mike and Navid

P.S. We still have about 500lbs of ice frozen to the bottom of the truck as a souvenir from Montana. None of it has come off yet, since the temperatures have been so low.

Mike and Navid ... we salute you!!

[Thad House]

Wow. Thank you guys so much. I'm glad they made it through safely. Hopefully the rest of the trip is easier on them.

[zachmartin1806]

That is the definition of dedication and perseverance I applaud you two for what your are doing to help all of those teams

[artdutra04]

For de-iceing locks, hand sanitizer works really well in a pinch. The main ingredient (ethanol) when mixed with water has a lower freezing point than water alone, which has the effect of melting the ice.

[twetherbee]

Having grown up in Casper, WY, I can certainly relate to their ordeal. One summer while I was in college, I worked in an oilfield (Teapot Dome for any history buffs) and it snowed in that part of Wyoming in June. Hope they have a safe trip the rest of the way.

[CalTran]

My god. That is insane. From those of us on 2410, we salute you for making it all the way from the Pacific Northwest down to here through all that.

[JohnSchneider]

The fact that this says "days 2 and 3" leads me to believe there is more. And I very much want to read the rest.

[Bstep]

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

The fact that this says "days 2 and 3" leads me to believe there is more. And I very much want to read the rest.

Here is a link to our team blog. Navid posted about the first day of the trip here.

http://team1983.wordpress.com/

[CrazyMohawk]

Sounds like fun. Hope everyone's stuff gets their safe and sound.

[faust1706]

Are they doing something along the lines of "if you want your pit taken to st louis, have it in kc by ___" I can't image that drive. The worst I've done is st louis to omaha, to shian, to salt lake city, then back up and around and again. Twas horrible.

[Michael Hill]

This reads like a Lewis and Clark adventure.

[kwotremb]

Haha, could not imagine driving in that stuff with a huge trailer. I have done some bad snow drives in the UP of Michigan with lake effect snow (there where white out at points) but would never want to do it with a huge trailer.

All teams should feel lucky to have you help them out. Wish you the best of luck and hope the trip back it much easier. Thanks for the read though, it was fun.