DAY 1 – We left on Wednesday, December 26, 2012 at 5:00 am (we would call this …dark thirty). It was really dark and raining…we were happy the bay area traffic was holiday light and we were able to get through the Bay bridge maze with no trouble. We got to highway 99 and worried for a minute as the sun was rising and the rain was moving on…the fog started to form…we were thankful, the fog stayed light so we could see. We got to I-5 the grapevine…this is always tough in the motorhome and this trip we have the trailer…we are a big load. We felt like we were storm chasers as the clouds in front of us made us nervous as we watch the temperature drop as we climbed the grapevine. We did make it over and down the grapevine, with rain and traffic off and on…it was a long day. We drove 550 miles today…made it to camp in the dark and in the rain…day one done.
I-5 the Grapevine…storm chasing
Break in the storm while on the Grapevine
DAY 2 – We got up early again…4:00 am came real early. It was cold and clear. We were on the road before Southern California traffic was moving. We traveled I-10 and then the GPS took us on to Highway 86 past the Salton Sea…it was a fun route. Of course we always have the brief scary moments. When we first got onto 86 because the weather was so cold and clear we thought we saw ice on the side of the road…good news, it wasn’t ice…it was salt…….we also thought there was a light fog, but it turned out to be smoke, similar to a grass fire…..we never saw a fire. Our GPS then took us to Highway 111 through Brawley and then back onto I-8. It was beautiful driving through the Imperial Valley.
Driving I-8 past the Salton Sea
So as we continued on I-8 into Arizona, we passed Copper Basin OHV park…it was amazing watching the rigs on the other side of the highway heading to the park…it look like a lot of people heading there for a great New Years long weekend. You can see some of the rigs parked in the photo on the right of the highway.
I-8 passing Copper Basin Sand Dune OHV area…looks like a fun place to play
Still driving across Arizona heading to Tucson, and feeling like we are still chasing the storms…of course had to have a photo of some cactus.
Still on I-8 in Arizona…I love the landscape.
Made it to the RV park in Tucson…the weather was coming…windy, wet and cold…Drove about 420 miles today….the roads were pretty easy coming through Arizona. It was Kelly’s birthday today too! So this required a shot of Patron……Happy Birthday.
Days end…a toast to the birthday boy!
Birthday Boy! Here is to celebrating many more.
DAY 3 – Once again an early get up. We did sleep one extra hour to give the temperature a chance to warm up. It was really cold and clear again…had to always keep an eye out for ice on the road. We traveled through 3 states today…Arizona, a brief time passing through New Mexico and then into Texas. This truck was near El Paso…got to love it…We drove about 520 miles today…stayed overnight at a Wal-Mart in Fort Stockton, Texas.
hmmm…Texas off road truck??
DAY 4 – Still traveling across Texas…it has been really cold every day. I-10 long and quiet…and not a lot of mountains. Drove around 420 miles today. Stayed overnight at a Wal-Mart outside of Houston…
I-10 across Texas…a long way
DAY 5 – We slept in a little bit today…it has been long days of driving…getting tired. We got on the road around 7:00 am..it was a really pretty sunrise over Houston. We were driving into the sun, so I wasn’t able to get any good photos of the sun coming up over downtown Houston…there wasn’t time or safe place to pull over and get a great picture…maybe next time. We would recommend driving through downtown Houston early Sunday morning…no traffic 🙂 We made it to Louisiana…here is the first rest stop in the state… Today we only drove about 350 miles and stayed at a very nice KOA in Baton Rouge.
First rest stop in Louisiana
Here is what the landscape looks like in Louisiana…
Highway view in Louisiana
Here is the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge in Louisiana. It is the 14th longest bridge in the United States. It is 18 miles long…I thought it was really cool to drive over it. I think it will take me a long time to learn how to pronounce the name correctly.
Atchafalaya Bridge, Louisiana
DAY 6 – The last day of driving….today we only had to drive less then 200 miles. We didn’t get on the road until around 9:00 am…that felt really good to sleep in. It was an easy drive into Mississippi.
Welcome to Mississippi
Here is home for the next three months…we are suppose to leave at the end of March.
Home until April
Singing River…right out my front door
This is also right out my front door
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