Week 1: Attempting snow avoidance

It was not the plan to leave in a hustle, but that’s what we did. Our motto this winter is “beaches or bust” and it doesn’t include snow. We are hoping to skip the snow entirely this year. On Sunday, I got back from a work trip at 4pm, with a storm chasing at my heels all the way from Seattle. Neal picked me up at the airport, and before we even hit Vista Ave., it was decided we needed to hit the highway before we got stuck in the middle of it.

Picturesque Mountain Home motel parking lot

Within just a few short hours, we had many “firsts.” We packed the trailer for travel in an attempt to keep our minimal belongings from bouncing around and breaking before we even got started. And, we unhooked the trailer from the rv park services including dumping the tanks (yuck). Neal hitched the trailer to the truck and had to figure out how to attach the sway bars (to make the ride safer and kinda sorta smoother). He is amazing at figuring out all-things mechanical—I am always impressed. And, it was the first time driving and navigating with this big beast attached to our tails. We learned quickly that all gas station driveways are not created equal.

A couple of teary hugs goodbye to dear friends and by 9pm Boise was behind us as snowflakes started to fall.

I won’t lie. It was white knuckle. That stretch of I-84 between Blacks Creek and Twin Falls is windy and every hint of a breeze with the trailer felt like we were getting shoved off the road. Being passed by semis doing 80mph, and the way they suck up the trailer and then shove it away while screaming by…. yikes.

We made it as far as Mountain Home. A total of 51 miles. And we stayed in a motel.

McFuzzles. Highly skeptical of this plan…

This week felt like we were on a frantic run with few breaks to catch our breath. Snow-covered interstate through Snowville. High winds south of Salt Lake. The heaviest, downpouring rains on the darkest of nights on a stretch of highway under construction with no white lines to tell us if we were in our out of our lane near Cedar City. And the windiest night of sleep in Leeds that kept panicky dogs up all night (and their humans up with them).

Are we headed into Mordor or the beach? Hard to tell….

A few days to chill, regroup, and get some needed things in St. George have been a welcome rest. We found an amazing shop that installed airbags in the truck and did it fast, so hopefully our ride will be smoother. We had some sunshine and dry afternoons to walk the dogs (who can’t figure out what the hell is going on - where are the chickens? where’s the backyard forest? why are we in such a tiny space?). I figured out how to arrange my trailer “office.” We got delicious take-out.

We also had an awesome day hiking at Zion National Park (thanks to our GV gals for the NP pass!!). It was one of those idyllic days where it felt as if the universe was patting us on the heads, and telling us “don’t worry, you’re not bonkers crazy, you’re dong the right thing…” It was so good to have a bit of fun, to laugh at what we’ve been through, marvel at the beauty around us, and dream of what’s to come. It was sunny and warm. People we passed on the trail smiled and said “hello.”

And, as an extra bonus, on our way back down the trail we unexpectedly ran into a former boss and mentor of mine who I haven’t seen in nearly 10 years. Alex is just one of the coolest people—so fun, radiating positive energy, and the kind of leader people flock to. Our team went through some tough times back when we worked together and even when he had to deliver bad, sometimes tragic, news, he did it honestly and compassionately. He always treated us like humans, always gave us the benefit of the doubt we were doing our best, made us feel respected, even when we needed a bit (or a lot) of coaching. I learned so much from him and even when I encounter challenges now, I often think back to the words of wisdom he shared. Running into Alex was a gift. His enthusiasm for what Neal and I are doing was incredibly encouraging. And, sometimes, encouragement from unexpected places is just the thing we need.

Onward!

Zion National Park, Watchman Trail

Week’s stats:

GOOD THING | We made it through our first week in one piece!

BAD THING | Snow!!  

CRAZY THING | We made it through our first week in one piece.

GRAND TOTAL | 647 miles