A Long Drive Home

My husband and I spent the last week in Southern California visiting family. It was wonderful seeing everyone, but not at all restful.

As you read this, please keep in mind that I lived in California most of my life before moving to Arizona. Where I live now, there are usually one or two light snowfalls each winter, so the “Winter Driving Conditions Warning” signs on the highway were a first for us.

We headed home yesterday morning at 7 AM in light rain. The drive from SoCal to where I live normally takes 9-10 hours. Not yesterday!

While still in California, we came across some light snow, which is not common in the area where we were driving. The temperature dropped from 59 degrees when we first left to 32 degrees. For hundreds of miles and a few hours of driving, we had off-and-on light rain.

We stopped a little more than normal, filling up the gas tank when we reached half a tank, “potty” stops and moving around a little to loosen our stiff muscles.

Just prior to reaching Phoenix, it began to pour heavy rain. We could barely see to drive, just a car or two in front of us. (I later learned it had snowed in Scottsdale, Arizona – a rare occurrence indeed.) We drove through the rain and numerous construction zones. At one point, we were having trouble staying alert, so we stopped for pie and coffee at a Crackle Barrel restaurant.

Back on the road, we continued through lots more rain until we reached the Tucson area. Then it began to snow. The snow was sticking to cars and the area surrounding us, but the roads (fortunately) stayed clear. A friend called to tell us the freeway we were on was closed near our exit a few hours earlier, about 80 miles ahead. I checked online and found that the freeway was open however, there was a crash just before our exit. We chanced it and continued on.
We never saw the crash, so it apparently was cleared before our arrival at our off ramp. From that point, it is still about 45 miles to our home through mostly unoccupied land. Everything was covered with snow, and it was beautiful. The very near mountains were thick with it and looked spectacular. All this beauty did not calm my nerves when we saw a snow plow drive by in the opposite direction. A snow plow? In 17 years living in the area, I had never seen a snow plow. We anticipated even more snow ahead. 
The Huachuca Mountains - On the way home...
As we continued on, light snow was falling, but the roads remained clear. Approaching the last 10 miles of the drive, the snow fell heavier and was making it a little difficult to see, particularly since it was just before sunset.

Well, after a 12 hour drive, we made it home safely. We were exhausted and found the steps leading into our house were covered in ice. Since snow is unusual here, we do not have salt. So we took some old towels we had in the garage and covered the snow-and-ice covered stairs. After a very long day, we made it home, and what a luxury it was to climb into a nice warm bed!

Our Back Yard This Morning

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