December 8 Sunday
Sunday night at 6 pm we began our trip home. That night we spent the night at the visitors center inWilcox AZ...quiet night was had by all. We are having to watch for pipe freezing at night and having to take all necessary precautions. The Mr. does not wish to winterize the motorhome just yet but we have the antifreeze.
Monday, December 9
Playing it by ear. We drove through El Paso TX with its big sprawl and layers of smog. It was WAY bigger than I envisioned it. At that point we were still deciding whether to go through Houston (ugh, ugh) or Dallas (ugh). Dallas won. However, we didn't make it to Dallas that night. The clouds came in, warning signs on roadway of freezing arctic fog (potential to freeze on roadways and bridges). Now I have to say we did check weather before we drover and the weather dude doesn't seem to get things right too often...so he wasn't much help. After driving in this for maybe one hour, we saw a Walmart right by the roadside of route 20 and beat a path there. Shopping for antifreeze, warming up the motorhome enough to keep anything from freezing.
Tuesday, December 10
We are still wondering what our route will end up being. In checking weather along our route we are getting thwarted almost everywhere. So for today we have a simple goal...get east of Dallas (Shreveport or more easterly on route 20) via route 20. But first...the morning brought a layer of snowy looking stuff on the ground. It is supposed to be sunny today but it has to cut through the thick layer of clouds...we are in "wait" mode for now. More weather watching online to see what our options are.
Our rv delivered us to Monroe Louisiana tonight...Walmart to be specific. /we managed to get through Dallas/Ft. Worth before evening rush hour and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. When we saw the sign for end of Dallas city limits...it really was the end...wide open...no suburbs!!! A quiet night in Walmart parking lot. More weather checking...route determined.
Wednesday, December 11
Left Walmart at 6:30 am to continue the long drive home. Our rv took us through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabana, Tennessee and nudged just into Virginia to over night at a Walmart. Tomorrow the big push to arrive home. We did hit rush hour in Knoxville, TN...who would think Knoxville would have rush hour? Nice ride on the rolling hills of northern 'bama.
I am the navigator so it is my job to find the cheapest gas and success again! For about one month now and maybe longer we have managed to not pay more than $2.99 per gallon and sometimes as little as $2.85. I love gasbuddy.com and msn.auto. Actually, this trip made me realize that NY is one of the priciest states for gas and everything else (like property tax and sales tax).
We made it to Marion Virginia tonight. I was tired and feeling pretty crappy from a cold/flu or maybe bronchitis or something...to bed.
Thursday,, December 12
On the road at 5:39 with breakfast enroute. Lots of trucks on route 81 but they are well behaved. David guestimates that if you stood in one spot and counted there would be 100 - 200 that went by in one hours time....a lot. Love the rolling hills and farms (with cattle) of Virginias route 81...it sure beats going up route 95 and through Washington DC and NJ. We dumped our tanks just west of Harrisburg and winterized our the system. Tonight's temps will plummet to single digits in NY. We arrived home around 7 pm. Got some gasoline today that was $2.87 per gallon...good score for us.
Had a great trip.
Donna's thumbs up: spending time with son/Graham and MelissaValley of the Gods was pretty awesome, Needles section of Canyonlands (love the Navajo Sandstone on the way in), free camping EVERYWHERE on BLM lands, roaming freely for 2.5 months. I know I can come up with more...
AFTERTHOUGHTS: it was harder than we thought to find a clear path home (snow/ice free) so I wouldn't try and come home this time of year again. Luckily we found a niche after snow and one day before another snow dump. We still managed to avoid route 95, a longer and unpleasant drive.
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