6:58 AM--Seven of us piled into the car in the drizzling California rain. Soon we were cruising down the interstate in the gray dawn. Quietly the crew settled into the rhythm of the windshield wipers and lull of traffic.
9:22 AM--Traffic stopped. "Oh my gosh, SNOW!" uttered one of our sleeping travelers. We were approaching Donner Pass. It was snowing/sleeting. In California it is law that one travels with chains in the winter. Eventually, we understood why the traffic was nearly stopped. One lane was closed for all those required to install chains. Men in bright yellow slickers were directing traffic into their areas to put on chains in exchange for $30. The truckers were crawling around in the water putting on their chains.
Slowly, we climbed over the pass lost in traffic. My dad had told me the Donner story the day before. Then my uncle emailed my cousin commenting on the Donner experience. Conspiracy? We weren't sure. So in all fairness, we paused to pose the question of who we would eat first...
Luckily we made it over the famous pass and cruised down the mountain uneventfully and reached Reno, Nevada.
11:06 AM--Olive Garden seated our large party of seven. Afterwards we pulled into the filling station to feed the Yukon. Ron discovered his debit card was missing, so back to Olive Garden we went and retrieved the pesky plastic.
Cautiously we cruised across Nevada with near freezing temperatures and scattered rain showers. The horizon was magnificent. The blue winter sky was glazed with white clouds. The basin that Jedediah Smith was the first to cross in hardship was picturesque.
5:34 PM--The endless Great Basin slowly brought us across Nevada. In Wells as darkness settled in, we fueled up again and then went for a quick cruise through the sleepy little town where occasionally the neon lights were reflected in the snow. Luckily traffic was minimal (nonexistent) and our search for food ended at Quiznos. A quick pit stop for some truck stop movies and we were on the road again!
The
Astronaut Farmer lit our "big" screen as we cruised across the Utah salt flats. The lights of Salt Lake City glowed in the distance as the rain started again.
With renewed momentum we reset our destination goal for Evanston, WY.
As we drove through the mountains the falling temperatures and sleet required diligence in navigating road conditions. Elevation changes brought snow. As the hours wore on the traffic disappeared and the snow reappeared. We cruised past Evanston and on into the night.
The snow started coming down heavier...and heavier. Finally at Little America we decided to stop for the night.
12:21 AM--I step out into the cool night temperatures amidst the swirling snowflakes to join the end of the line of weary travelers waiting for a room.
1:32 AM--All was quiet throughout the room.
928 miles logged on the odometer...and the Yukon rested below slowly buried in a blanket of snow.
