Changes

The only constant is change – Heraclitus

Once again I’m reminded of this. Although I’m sure it applies more widely, it comes up often when we plan to take a trip during the winter. Our plan was to make a loop along the southern border of California, Arizona and New Mexico, head north through west Texas, and return on Interstate 40 through Amarillo, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, and Barstow, California. Which reminds me of another quote:

The best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley. – Robert Burns

I always watch the weather as we travel. It is a habit I formed while touring by motorcycle. I rode in all sorts of weather, but I tried to avoid snow, ice, and exceptionally strong winds. Winds have less effect on us in the car, but I still like to avoid snow and ice if possible.

Anyway, by the time we got to Amarillo, snow was forecast for Flagstaff the day we would be there. At first it looked like it would not be much. We discussed stopping in Winslow, in eastern Arizona, instead, and pressing on the next day. But by the time we got to Albuquerque, the forecast called for about five inches of snow in Flagstaff with the storm spreading east to include Winslow. Much as I hate to retrace our route during a trip, we decided to go south, back to Deming and return west along the southern border – through the Gadsden Purchase, for those of you familiar with your American history. It’s a fairly bleak area with the towns tiny and far apart. It is also the route across the western continental divide that is least likely to be affected by winter weather, so there can be a lot of interstate truck traffic. 

I expected we would rejoin our original plan around Barstow, but the diversion would mean we’d get there a day later and get home a day later. I mapped out a new route and changed all our motel reservations.

Sunday morning we left Albuquerque in the cold under solid cloud cover. As we headed south, we could see clear skies ahead – a hopeful sign. Reluctant to press on west and stay in Willcox, Arizona again, we stopped for the night in Lordsburg, New Mexico. (Tucson would have been too far for us.)

We woke Monday morning to two inches of snow on the ground but clear roads. I dug the snow scraper out and we set off west. Once past Willcox, the snow on the desert disappeared. We stayed overnight in a western suburb of Phoenix. Watching the weather forecast for northern California and western Oregon, it began to look like we either needed to get home Friday or hole up somewhere in central California for a day or two or three. We decided to push to get home Friday. The fastest way home would be west to the LA area, then scoot north up Interstate 5. I cancelled the reservations I had made in Albuquerque and made new ones.

And so it went. Each morning we would get up early and set off earlier and drive farther than has been our habit, The forecast called for Wednesday and Friday snow on Siskiyou Pass on the California-Oregon border – elevation 4,129 feet, but just one of three crests of about that elevation on that section of road. The Thursday forecast called for daytime temperatures around 40º and no precipitation, so we pressed on to stay overnight in Ashland, just north of the pass.

As we were heading north from southern California, we kept our eyes on the Portland forecast. First it seemed the winter storm would arrive about 7 pm Friday. Then it was forecast to arrive about 5. Thursday night, the forecast called for freezing rain to start Friday afternoon about 3.

Friday morning we got up early again and set off north before sunrise. We stopped only to grab something to eat while charging the car, driving under solid cloud cover and through almost constant rain until close to Portland. We stopped at the grocery store – along with half the people in the neighborhood – to pick up fruit and milk and eggs. We got home about 1:30 in dry weather and dropping temperatures.

As I write this, it is Saturday morning, 15º outside, with a mix of snow and sleet falling. We’re glad to be home.

It was a good trip. We visited cousins in Yuma, Arizona. We saw some places we hadn’t before and drove through areas we’d been recently or years ago. It was a good break from the routine we fall into at home. It gave us time to reflect on our lives and perhaps decide to try a few small changes. We grew closer, spending uninterrupted time together. And we proved once again that we can adjust as circumstances change.