C3Q II Daily Dispatches From The Road- 10/5/26

2 States: 27) Utah, 28) Arizona

Today was difficult and the strain and rigor of 12 hour driving days is taking a toll on both the Challenger and our bodies. The pace of the trip has started to catch up with us. My wife reached a breaking point of exhaustion after days of long drives, meals on the road and monitoring and caring for my health. At the same time, my glucose shot beyond the 400 danger zone that could incur coma inducing consequences and adding another layer of stress to an already difficult day. For the first time, it felt like all three of us- The Challenger, my wife and I, were being pushed to our limits. 

We had no choice but to slow down, regroup and deal with one problem at a time. For a moment, the miles stopped mattering. We needed to take care of each other before we could keep moving. Because of this recent development, Zoraya had to administer the first fast acting emergency insulin shot of the trip. This was a major setback considering we had managed to keep my blood sugar levels below 300 for the past month through diet, exercise and heat therapy without the insulin shots. In addition my A1C has started to climb back up. Normal is 6 and although I started at 13 over the past 3 months we got it down to 7.9 and is now back to 9.5 I am also beginning to re-experience tingling and pain in my extremities of toes, feet and calves, a sign of  neuropathy beginning which worst case scenario can lead to amputation. If anyone was under the false impression that this was going to be a leisurely vacation to 48 states, they would be grossly mistaken. It is in fact a long arduous, grueling undertaking and it comes to no surprise that no one else has attempted it before or since 2016.

It took four hours to cut through Nevada with the Ruby Mountains Range, nicknamed the “Swiss Alps of Nevada” running parallel on my left. We reached the border of Nevada and Utah, the “Crossroads of the West” to make a posting and it was not a moment too soon. The Challenger had taken some damage and began to show the wear and tear of the many miles we put on this trip. The critical tipping point was when I pushed the Challenger to at least 155 miles per hour (without the nitrous) on a long desolate stretch of road and making sure there were no vehicles, intersections or structures anywhere along the parallel path. It was only after easing off the accelerator that we both heard rattling on the drivers side front end of the vehicle. I inspected the damage when we pulled over to the Utah welcome site for photographs. Then I noticed the driver side front end spoiler dragging on the ground. The 155 velocity wind resistance had done its damage. It took an hour to tape all the pieces together with the magical miracle duct tape.



As dusk began to settle on the horizon, Zoraya's anxiety rose. This was due to her prior nightmare experience ten years on our first transcontinental 48 state trip. Apparently, on a stormy night, she took over driving duties due to my exhaustion and she experienced a dramatic near miss collision with “multiple mooses”. (Yes,i know its meese) It was so traumatizing that to this day ten years later, whenever the sun goes down and wildlife warning and danger signs start blinking, it creates a triggering emotional effect on her. So whenever we pass by a deer, moose or cattle sign, they serve more as trigger warning, and not in a good way. However, with a massive blunt hit to the front driver's side, I was proven wrong. Before the violent impact I pumped the brakes hard to avoid hitting two deer on each side of the lane. I was driving and and for a split second they seemed to be running in the opposite direction and I was about to experience a near miss right through the middle. Unfortunately, as it often happens, at the last second, the deer switched directions and I clipped it in the head and it recoiled back to the front fender leaving five point antler dents on the driver's side and increasing the damage to the already broken spoiler and headlight frame. It bent the front fender so much so, when I open the driver's side door, it still makes a clicking sound of its now deformed opening. A few miles down the road we pulled into a gas station to inspect the damage and luckily there were no remnants of the deer other than a few hairs. Who knows, maybe it survived the ordeal as we did.