Personal Photography - California to DC, 2006
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On December 27, 2006, I started my second drive across country. This time it was to move to DC for a job with the AARP. Now, some people dread the thought of a cross country drive, but I relish the idea. That is, until I tried it in the middle of the winter. The story goes like this... I knew snow could be a potential problem if I followed I-80 through the Sierra's, northern Utah and Wyoming. So I targeted a more southerly route that passed through Arizona, New Mexico and northern Texas. Big mistake! My first day went fine until 10 hours into the drive and 80 miles outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. I hit a major blizzard in the mountains and couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of my Jeep. My speed never went above 25 for what seemed like 3 hours. I gave up and stopped in Flagstaff for the night.
The next morning I hit the road at 7 a.m. after 6 inches of fresh snow coated the ground. I hit more snow in western New Mexico but was able to drive all the way from Flagstaff to Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Yes, in the same day! Mind you, not 12 hours after passing through Albuquerque on a beautiful evening, the city was hit with 2 ft. of snow. The same system dropped golf ball size hale in Amarillo and tornados in western Oklahoma...all where I had just been. It was like dominos literally falling behind me as I made my way east.
My third day took me from Ft. Smith through Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and all the way to Greensboro where I caught up with Dan Kelly. The next day we made the final push to his apartment in Baltimore. After I got settled into my new digs in DC I vowed I would never do it again... well, maybe not in the middle of winter... well, maybe not alone... well, it all depends on how I feel and the destination.
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