What a difference a
few hours makes. After Friday night and
early Satiurday’s miserable driving conditions we awoke to better conditions on
Saturday in Moriarity, New Mexico. A heavy morning fog kept us in Moriarity
until about 11 a.m., but the last thing I wanted to do was drive over the
mountain into Albuquerque on icy roads in a dense fog.
It was also very cold
and we awoke to 8 degree temperatures outside.
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| A much nicer day in New Mexico |
To make good use of
the delay I drove to a nearby truck stop to fill up the Tahoe. Idling in
traffic the night before had drained a good part of the fuel I had and I wanted
to start the ride over the mountain with a full tank of gas. The eastbound
lanes of I-10 remained closed about 8 a.m. but the west bound lanes were open.
Joan stayed back
at the hotel while I drove to the Pilot Gas Station and when I arrived I found
a police officer was directing traffic due to the traffic jam of semi trucks
that had camped out in and around the station. Fortunately for me while the
semi trucks were lined up 5 and 6 deep at the pumps there were open gas pumps
for cars.
As we headed over the mountain pass towards
Albuquerque we had clear sailing, but not so for the folks headed eastbound. On
the hill going east out of Albuquerque there was a miles long line of cars and
trucks due to an accident on the hill. Needless to say, we were glad to put
this part of the trip behind.
We listened to the
Michigan versus Florida bowl game as we headed west towards Flagstaff. Michigan
laid an egg, or at least it sounded that way on the radio. After that was over
we tuned to the Clemson versus Notre Dame game and this time it was the Irish
who laid an egg.
With this being a
short leg of the trip (only 360 miles) we decided to stop at the Twin Arrows Casino
for dinner and give Joan a chance to exercise her arm with the one-armed
bandits for a couple hours. She deserved a reward for being so patient over the
previous 24 hours.
As a veteran I got
$5 free play, which I rapidly donated back to the local Native American tribe.
Joan was having some success and then after being nice to a lady by watching
her machine while she went to the bathroom the woman pointed to one of her favorite
machines that her daughter had previously been playing.
In just a very few
minutes Joan spun the wheel and won $359, which we promptly cashed in and then
went on our merry and richer way.
We arrived at our
Flagstaff hotel at a reasonable hour and watched the end of the Alabama versus
Oklahoma game. This time is was Oklahoma that laid an egg.
Time out: 11:19
a.m. (MST)
Time in: 7:38 p.m.
(MST)
Mileage out: 3218
Mileage in: 3597
I need to say
something about the hotel we stayed out Saturday night in Flagstaff. I booked
it online because it was in the mid range price for hotels in Flagstaff, but
still about $130 a night. It is ski season here so nothing is cheap.
The hotel had a
pretty fancy name “Hotel Aspen Flagstaff/Grand Canyon.” It did not live up to its name. The
facilities were old, but that wasn’t the problem. The room was not clean.
Coffee stains on the table, a used chapstick on the floor and it took a
Silicone Valley engineer to figure out the television. I called the desk to get
directions and between Joan and I we were on hold for nearly 30 minutes before
we got an answer.
The place was packed and I was too tired to
make a fuss and the bed looked good so we got a good night’s sleep. I did
mention to the hotel clerk in the morning that the housekeeping left a lot to
be desired. So if you are in Flagstaff you might want to avoid Hotel Aspen.
We got out early to
head for the trailer storage and arrived to 10 degree temperatures, but very
little snow. We checked out the trailer and it appeared in good shape after 9
months without us in the mountains.
For the second
year I made sure I had lock deicer after the problem I had three years ago when
all the locks were iced up. For the second year it wasn’t necessary. I did have
to use some deicer spray to open one of the storage doors on the front of the
trailer where I store the hitch equipment.
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| A cold hook up |
It took a little
longer than usual to hook up because my fingers froze. I had gloves but
unfortunately working with some of the equipment requires more dexterity than
is possible with gloves on. Once we were hooked up, I took it a little slow at
first to make sure that the wheel grease got warmed up a little before we hit
the freeway.
The lowest
temperature we recorded that morning was 9 degrees but the temperatures warmed
quickly as we headed down the mountain towards Phoenix. By the time we got to
Phoenix (thank you Glen Campbell) it was 57 degrees, cool for this area but
welcome warmth to us.
One highway sign we
noted was aimed at New Year’s Eve revelers. “Drive Hammered. Get Nailed.”
The trip to Tucson
was uneventful as was the set up for the trailer once we got checked in. We
left the trailer winterized because overnight temperatures were expected to
fall into the 20s so I hooked up the water this morning (Dec. 31).
While working
outside one of the men I work with on the table and chair set up crew drove by
and asked if I was going to help with the New Year’s Eve party set up. I agreed
and headed over at 9 a.m. to help set up the ballroom for tonight’s party, which
Joan and I will attend. I bought tickets last week over the phone before we
left Michigan. Good thing too, because they are sold out.
We spent the rest
of the day Sunday setting up our site and then shopping for food. Sunday I went
to the fitness center, did the table and chair set up and then we went back out
to pick up a new carbon monoxide detector because the 12-year-old one in the trailer
was indicating that it had given up the ghost.
Cooler than normal
temperatures are expected over the next few days, so we will need to take
precautions over night to run water in the trailer to keep the pipes from
freezing.
Time out at hotel: 7:38 a.m. (MST)
Time in at storage lot: 8:08 a.m. (MST)
Mileage out: 3597
Mileage in: 3614
Time out at storage lot: 8:54 a.m.
Time in at Tucson: 1:35 p.m.
Milleage in Tucson: 3894
