If you’ve followed our adventures, you may remember that we left Minnie in a storage yard in Virginia last June. At the time, we thought we might sell our Ashland home and move east, but when our sale fell through and the housing market followed down the hole, we decided to stay put. At least for now.
It was a long summer spent waiting for potential buyers to make an offer, all the while missing our portable coastal summer home. Rather than spend January stuck under dreary, cold overcast skies, we made the decision to head east to retrieve Minnie and bring her home by way of the warmer southern states.
But first, we had to drive through California during one of the rainiest winters on record.
Once we reached the Central Valley (and the torrential rain cleared) we could enjoy what weeks of drenching had left behind. Acres of gorgeous green grasses covered the normally parched fields and hills from Sacramento to Bakersfield.
The storms were not finished with the West Coast, but keeping a close eye on the weather it appeared we could safely reach Flagstaff, Arizona on Interstate 40, saving us at least a day and a half of driving farther south to Interstate 10.
After an uneventful drive to Flagstaff, where hotels were not only booked up, but out of this world expensive, I madly scrambled to find a room, booking a hotel that had a restaurant so meals would be close by…just in case the 1-3 inches of snow that was predicted arrived overnight.
What a surprise we woke up to. The Flagstaff airport reported 17 inches of snow. Pretty close to a foot greeted us, creating a giant snowball of anxiety. Fortunately, Reg had a pair of gloves in the truck and the hotel staff loaned him a shovel and assured him the roads ahead were clear. I like to think I did my share, packing up our room and loading our bags on the luggage cart…then pushing the luggage cart down the snow-lined path to load into the truck. What an adventure as we forged on ahead to Albuquerque where we had plans to have dinner with friends.
After just two days of driving, we’re off to quite start. What could possibly happen next?
carryoncouple 
Best wishes. This is Cory’s mom. If you ever need a place to stay or park Minnie, you are welcome to stop by our place in Jonesborough, TN. We can swap traveling stories.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! That would be really fun. I’m not sure we’ll make it to Tennessee this time around…but if we do, I’ll let you know!
LikeLike
😂⛄️Yes, what could possibly happen next?! Just be safe out there!!!
Jeff, too, is taking on a cross country trip – maybe as soon as Friday (he’s checking the weather across his route) to finish up with his brothers house in Tucson and deliver some items to family members. You crazy winter road-trippers ☃️ 🚙
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’ve had two days of mid-60 temps with blue skies…what a relief. I suspect the storms may be following us. ☔️ I hope Jeff is able to dodge the rain!
LikeLike
Hope rest of your trip is smooth sailing. Weather is being rather nasty this winter everywhere. Take care and see you on your return.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Elaine. We expect some more surprises on this trip, but hopefully nothing too crazy!
LikeLike
Thanks for the update, Sue. Stay safe…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Ken. These have been long driving days. We’re looking forward to staying put for longer than 18 hours!
LikeLike
Good luck on the rest of your trip-hopefully the weather will settle down now. We have had quite a wild time here in Mariposa including over a foot of rain, some snow, hail, a 3.5 earthquake and scary winds. Ready for some sun now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Crazy winter for California! But it sure is pretty and green! I hope you get a break soon!
LikeLike