Monday morning, first of the month, we decided that we were not very keen on this frigid weather. Since our storage does not open until 8:30, we were up bright and early, did all the prep in order to leave and decided to wait at their gates until someone arrived. As luck would have it, there was someone just waiting in his car at 8:10 so he let us in. The temps were -18c so the next question was "wonder if it will start". We started the generator as the batteries were not too responsive and we desperately needed to turn the furnace on, then we boosted with the jeep to give some extra battery power. Well, after about four tries, it sputtered, and sputtered, and it started. We were starting to get some heat from the furnace, Gerry hooked up the jeep, and half hour later, we were down the road.
Other than being cold it was great driving. The border crossing was the same as in the past, quick and easy. It was almost as if someone had drawn a line - the road was covered in packed snow, much had chunks broken out so it also was very rough.
After about three hours, the roads were clear and it was smooth sailing.
When going straight south, our first stop is usually Gillette, WY, and this was out plan. It was an easy drive except it was almost dusk and there were deer everywhere - in the fields, in the ditches; although we did not see any on the roads - fortunately.
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| Sorry - a bit blurry |
By the time we got to Gillette, the weather had warmed considerably so we stayed at Walmart, went and got a few groceries, and had a great sleep. But morning seemed to come mighty early - as in 3:00 a.m. Well, we hit the road by 4 which would put us through Denver in mid morning and hopefully when the traffic was perhaps the lightest, plus a storm was coming in and we definitely wanted to get ahead of it. It was great driving and all of a sudden there was a warning sign - our plans were scuttled.
It was de je vu of 2003 - same trip. same scenario. We pulled into Wheatland and decided to wait out the wind. After an hour and a half, we didn't know how long it would last, the snow was still in the forecast so we chose to head east to try to skirt around it. We did have to backtrack some but it was a case of going north to go south, and going east to go west. It was a several hundred mile detour, but no wind, and no snow - success!
While this all meant an extra day on the road, it meant a decent drive, and maybe an extra tank of fuel!
After a couple more days on the road, we settled in at Why, AZ for a few days to enjoy some sunshine and warmer weather.
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| A pretty site as you drive down the highway |
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| Fog down in the valley - looked heavy but wasn't |
And it was time for some cleanup from the summer and the trip. But first we had to fix a bay door.
The hinge on our bay doors is a strip of rubber. Well in time, the rubber deteriorates (particularly in the sun), and when you go to open the bay door, it comes off in your hands. That was as soon as we got here. It wasn't a huge surprise as it has happened several times in the past. This time, it was just the two of us to get it replaced (and we do have spare hinge).
It actually went surprisingly well.
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| Here we are - plugged into a cactus!! |
Tomorrow will be another cleanup day. I hope you all had a great week, in spite of the full moon. I'll be back next week!! Take care!
