Saturday, January 3 The Great Departure

I hadn't slept all night. I didn't get everything done, and here it was, 7 am. I had been awake 24 hours. Laura was coming to pick me up at 7 am. I thought I could sleep just a few hours and then it will be all better!

Laura called at 6:50 to let me know she was running late and that she would be there closer to 7:30. Great! I could take a little nap. No, if I take a nap, I might not wake up. Too bad I packed up my laptop and router. Oh well, I guess I'll read...better yet, I'll take out the junk from my truck.

At 7:30, Laura gets there on the dot! Wahoo! It's a bit misty and wet. What a cold day for a drive! After we loaded up...first stop: Starbucks!

OK, I will have to confess that I was a bit worried about riding in a car with Laura and Archie (her black lab). I have known Laura for almost 4 years. She moved out to Ft. Knox, KY when her husband got transferred there. She is a dear friend...but we have never traveled anywhere together! As we drove that first day, I learned that Laura and I had so much more in common than I expected. We laughed the whole day! We saw something and laughed and just had a great time. Archie was also a great traveler! He didn't like that I was there. I think he missed sitting in the front seat!


We went through Barstow and Needles. We stopped to get gas in Needles: $1.89/gallon! What a bargain for the dessert! As soon as we crossed the state border, I noticed something! What? Could it be? YES! The speed limit in Arizona was 75 miles per hour! Wahoo! I could drive fast and it was legal! Oh, but I'm tired! I'll drive later!

We drove through Flagstaff, Arizona....Brrr....it was cccoold! Actually, we stopped to get gas and it was snowing! I wasn't quite ready for snow, and here it was! As we headed back on the freeway, the snow got heavier and heavier. I didn't want to say anything, but I was a wee bit concerned because we didn't have chains. My prayer life went sky high! God really took care of us! He gave Laura steady hands and we made it up and over Flagstaff.


As soon as we started downhill, the weather improved and we just had a little bit of snow on the side of the road. We stopped at a rest stop near Meteor Crater in Arizona. It was just cold and windy there...no snow.


We drove until 7:30 pm and stopped in Grants, NM. The motel we stayed in had no internet connection, so I couldn't upload my blog. Oh well, another day, perhaps.

We had spent the day stressing about the snow on the road, but laughed the whole time. I have never laughed as much as I did on this drive!