Home again safe, sound and freezing

Laura & Joan at the distillery

The long ride home is over. After a wonderful stay at my sister’s house in North Aurora, Illinois along with her husband, we made the final 5-hour leg trip home to Lapeer on Wednesday.

We had dry, but cold weather from Des Moines to North Aurora on Monday. The only obstacle on that trip was some extensive construction on I-88 which was surprising because that is a fairly new toll road.

The highest temperature during the day Monday was a 39 degree temperature just before we arrived at Laura’s house.

My sister was still working (she works from home) so we entertained ourselves by catching up on email and Facebook until she was done working.

As is the custom, my sister cooked my favorite dinner, spaghetti, which I consumed in great quantities. If I haven’t said so previously, my sister is a great, great cook.

In the morning while my brother-in-law worked, we headed to Fox River Distillery near my sister's house to get a personal tour of the place from my sister. I'm not a drinker, but they have won a bunch of awards for their Bourbon, whiskey and moonshine, so we bought some bottles for the Family Literacy Center Auction later this year.

Some barrels of bourbon

The next day, all of us went to the Ellwood House in DeKalb, Illinois for a wonderful house tour. Built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the home was the residence of a man who produced barbed wire and turned it into a multi-million dollar operation.

Our tour guide was wonderful and we learned a lot about the house and its family. Afterwards, we went to a really nice restaurant (the name of which I can’t remember right now) and then headed home for our final night on the road.

My sister and brother-in-law were kind enough to remodel the guest bathroom for us prior to our arrival so we felt very special, although I’m sure she didn’t do it just for us.

The "still"

The next morning we were up early and then on the road for the short trip home through Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

As we always seem to do, we hit a major traffic jam on I-80 through parts of Illinois and Indiana which was due to a traffic accident. That cost us about 40 minutes, but soon we were off and running and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

From the time we left California we never had a temperature above 57 and Wednesday was no exception although we did hit 57 a couple times during the trip.

The product

Entering Michigan we were immediately struck by the poor conditions of the freeway, but then that is always the case in Michigan. We have some of the highest gas taxes in the country, yet still some of the worst roads. Gas prices in Michigan are second highest to any we saw with the exception of California.

The house came through the winter in good condition (thanks Tim) but we do seem to have a little bit of a septic back up issue brewing, something we are in the process of taking care of. We had a nice dfinner Friday night with daughter Elin and son Tim at Whitey’s in Davison and I have already started back to work driving my bus.

Of course, the weather has turned crappy since we’ve been home and as I write this we are in the middle of a stupid ice storm. I guess if I want to avoid Michigan’s bad weather we’ll have to stay in Tucson until June.

Laura & Me

So another winter trip to Arizona is in the books and life is back to real here in Michigan. I thank all of you for following along and the Lord willing we’ll do it all over again next year. Peace!

Mileage out (Des Moines): 103945

Mileage in (North Aurora) 104255

Time out: 10:12 a.m. (Central Daylight Time)

Time in:  3:10 p.m. (Central Daylight Time)

Mileage out (North Aurora): 104255

Mileage in (Lapeer, MI): 104589

Time out: 8:40 a.m. (CDT)

Time in: 3:08 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time)

A white knuckle ride to Des Moines

A day that started out with the first clear skies we had seen since we left California deteriorated quickly as we approached Omaha and turned to white knuckle driving from inside Iowa to Des Moines.

Fortunately, the temperature never dropped below 31, although it hung there for a long time on the ride across I-80, and we made it safely to the Hampton Inn this afternoon.

Even when it was clear at the beginning of the drive there were tail winds (which is actually good for gas mileage) of up to 40 mph as we drove the long, boring stretch across Nebraska.

Dodging, not always successfully, the tumbleweeds flying across I-80 was the only entertainment that I had for several hours.

Temperatures ranged from a high of 57 somewhere in the middle of Nebraska to the 29 degrees as we pulled into the Hampton Inn. It was 42 when we started out in Cheyenne in the morning.

About 12:30 p.m. (Central time) we passed field after field of Sand Hill Cranes near Kearney, Nebraska. The big birds are the same ones that we enjoy watching during the winter at Whitewater Draw in Arizona. We always wonder if we are seeing some of the same birds we saw there.

Kearney, Nebraska is the breeding ground for the birds, but this is the first time we have seen them in such large numbers as we drove across the state. In one farmer’s field the birds shared the forage with a bunch of pigs.

Because of the wild ride there are no photos of today’s drive. Sorry. Tomorrow we are stopping to visit my sister Laura and brother-in-law Philip outside Chicago and will be with them a couple days so this will likely be my last post until we get back to Michigan, which is scheduled for Wednesday, barring any more goofy weather.

Mileage out: 103315

Time out: 8:09 a.m. (Mountain Daylight Time)

Mileage in: 103938

Time in: 5:49 p.m. (Central Daylight Time)

Loving the 80 mph speed limits today

Highway memorial

Our stay in Wendover, Utah was brief and the Quality Inn was a little disappointing, but the room was clean so we made do.

It would help the image of a hotel to clean up the grounds around the outside so that the first thing you see isn’t a bunch of empty booze bottles in the landscaping.

We ate dinner at the Montego Bay Casino and Hotel and of course, we spent just a short time paying reparations to the Native Americans before turning in early after a long day’s drive.

Lincoln monument

Morning broke with no rain, but that would change later. We departed Wendover and made the boring drive over the Bonneville Flats to Salt Lake City. I remember this stretch as a young man and it seemed shorter, which is probably due to the new speed limit which is 80 mph.

In fact, most of Utah and part of Wyoming has the 80 mph speed limit which makes traveling very enjoyable and quick.

There was plenty of snow in the mountains around Salt Lake City and later through Wyoming, but the roads were clear, but we did run into the rain again for several hours on Saturday.

Albany Restaurant

Having done this trip several times we decided to make a stop at the Lincoln Highway monument in Wyoming. We usually drive by, but have often noticed the statue of Abraham Lincoln up on the hill as we sped by. (Besides, Joan really needed to use the rest room there).

Joan at the train depot

It turned out to be an interesting stop as there is a marker designating this location as the highest elevation on I-80 from coast to coast and a memorial marker for a man who foresaw and pursued the dream of a coast to coast freeway.

Our XM radio kept us entertained with comedy, music and radio classic programs and we arrived into Cheyenne ready for some food.

Joan and a big boot

It is fun to find local restaurants to eat in, so we searched the Internet and found a downtown restaurant called the Albany Restaurant which has been in the same family since 1942. It is located in a vintage building across from the 130-year-old railroad depot.

We had a nice dinner for a reasonable price and then spent a few minutes walking around downtown before heading back to our Quality Inn, which fortunately had no booze bottles littering the grounds. Temperatures today ranged from 57 degrees at the start to the  low of 44 at the end in Cheyenne.

Mileage out: 102746

Time out: 8:39 a.m. (Mountain Daylight Time)

Mileage in: 103307

Time in: 4:24 p.m. (Mountain Daylight Time)

The long, wet, cold slog for home is underway

Joan's "frosting" cake

Our time in California came to a quick end and our journey back home has begun.

The trip to Cynthia’s house in Danville, California began on Easter morning in Bakersfield and through the food basket valley of California. From my many trips up and down the central valley it is apparent that many farmers have given up the idea of farming. Many once rich agricultural fields are now standing fallow and groves of trees have been deliberately knocked down.

All of this is the long battle over who gets water in California. There are many signs posted at the farms decrying the lack of water farmers are allowed for growing crops. “Is growing food really wasting water?” said one sign. The temperature climbed to 77 by the time we arrived in Danville.

William at home

A whirlwind of visits with my wonderful cousin Cynthia, my son, William, my ex-wife and her husband, William’s care giver and finally our good friend Jan made the time in California fly by.

I spent three days with William and Joan and I celebrated our 19^th anniversary Tuesday night at cousin Cynthia’s house. After we arrived on Sunday, Cynthia prepared a wonderful ham dinner for Joan’s birthday (a couple days late). My cousin is a great cook and I think we cleaned out her refrigerator and cupboards during our short stay.

We all dressed in party hats, which we have used many times previously, but Cynthia really knows how to throw a party. Cynthia's friend Ed also joined us for dinner.

On Wednesday we had a wonderful dinner with my ex-wife and her husband Bill, William, Joan and William’s caregiver Mike at Hindquarter Bar & Grill in Santa Cruz. It was a wonderful time and yes, we all get along very well.

Dinner with the family

Then on Thursday, Cynthia, Joan and I made the trip to Napa Valley to visit my friend Jan. Jan and her late husband Norm traveled to San Antonio a number of years ago to spend time with us there during a winter getaway. We all miss Norm, but we love Jan and always enjoy our time, however short, with her.

The trip to Jan’s house in Hidden Valley Lake took an hour and 40 minutes. The trip home through incredible California traffic took 4 hours. But it was well worth it to see Jan.

Whenever we travel I keep a close eye on the weather and for a week there had been predictions of heavy rain on our route (I-80 through Donner Pass) out of California. Well, the predictions were correct and on Friday we drove through a continuous downpour for more than 9 hours all across California, Nevada and into Utah.

Donner Pass monument

The highest temperature we had on Friday (getaway day) was 57 degrees and that was when we left Danville in a pouring rain. The lowest temperature was 39 degrees at the summit of Donner Pass. The snow level in the Sierras was about 4,500-feet and there was a pretty good snow pack on top.

Somehow during the Friday trek I caught another stone and my new windshield (the one I replaced in December before our trip to Tucson) is cracked again.

One irony noted on Friday is the place called Donner Pass Ski Area. I can only imagine the poor people who were stranded in deep snow and left to die and struggle through the winter of 1846-47 would likely not appreciate that there is now a ski area named after the place they so miserably spent in the snow.

Donner Pass snow pack

Sort of like opening a park in Jonestown, Guyana and serving only kool-aid. 

Another nostalgic moment happened when we drove through Battle Mountain, Nevada. When my brother and I were kids (probably mid to late 50s) my Dad and stepmother drove us through the same town. In fact, I remember we had breakfast there. My recollection is clear because my brother and I were laughing because the mountain near the town had a large “BM” brand burned or placed in it. In our family BM stood for bowel movement and my brother and I thought that was about the funniest thing we had ever seen. Please keep in mind we were young boys at the time. The memory did make me smile today as that big old BM is still on the mountain.

Hilarious, right?

Mileage out (Bakersfield): 100301

Time out (Bakersfield): 9:47 a.m.

Mileage in (Danville): 100558

Mileage out (Danville): 102132

Time out (Danville): 8:47 a.m.

Mileage in (Wendover, UT): 102746

Time in (Wendover, UT): 7 p.m. (Mountain Time)