Coming home~Part 2

The next morning was blue sky, but extra cold and icy. The hotel parking lot was still covered in snow. By that point we were dragging ourselves out of bed trying to get an early start. We had arrived at our hotel the night(or should I say that morning)before at 1am so trying to defy our sleep deprivation and get and early start was a stretch, but John was determined. We loaded the kids and went on our way.

We stopped off for a quick drive through breakfast at McDonald's(not the best choose of foods), and then to the next junction. We reached our exit that would lead us over a mountain range which cut through California into the bottom of Nevada. It was completely clear on our trip to Oregon, but with the storm we had experienced the night before we had expected the roads to be covered. These roads mostly were very rural, and only parts were snow plowed. As we got on to the road they seemed clear, and we thought it would be the best time to take the chains off since it wasn't looking like we would need them. We pulled to the side and proceeded to take them off and drive on. we came upon a hill, and as we reached the other side we saw snow falling in the distance and the road ahead became covered again. The clouds had fooled us into thinking they were gone for good, but they reared there ugly little heads at every turn. We panicked and got out to put the chains back on. John thought it would be best to put the chains we had on the trailer on the the van. As we got them on and started back toward the road we quickly found out why these particular chains were put on the trailer. We began to slide backward. For a half of a second my heart stopped because the pullout had an edge leading off into a ditch. John suddenly hit the brakes and put it in park. We then proceeded to replace the trailer chains with the van chains and installed the trailer chains back into there proper place. That was the last time we second guessed the weather until we were sure the roads were clear for good. Or so we thought.

These are pictures of the roads most of the way through the mountain range to Susanville, CA.

Susanville is a town the is close to the boarder of California and Nevada. It is the town you hit as you come down out of the stretch of mountain ranges that cuts up to I-5.

When we reached over half way to Susanville we hit an strip of road that was completely dry. We had been tricked before so we drove for a few minutes on it just to be sure. We didn't want to ruin to tires in anyway so we decided to find a pull out and take the chains off. Feeling secure in our decision we drove on. An hour later as we drove along, once again the snowy, non-plowed roads appeared, but this time we didn't panic. The sun was shining enough to make the snow wet for a little bit of traction. We felt confident that it would be safe to pace ourselves till we reached Susanville. There were definitely some white knuckle tension in some parts due to the lack of traction on our balled tires not wanting to grip the road, but thankfully we made it to our checkpoint safe and in one piece.

The rest 12hr ride from Susanville all the way to Wendover was just long, and the hardest part was just keeping my overly tired, and overly paranoid husband awake and alert on the long stretch of Interstate that is I-80. The van apparently didn't like the long ride either. We had several power loses when we would have to pull over to the side of the road, turn the car off, and turn it back on again to regain power. Thankfully ole' Betsy made it the whole way.

Once we reached Wendover we expected no delays. Just a straight shot into SLC, and then home. But as we drove and hour into the Salt flat's stretch we reached a snow storm. This snow storm however, became much worse than the storm we experience the night before in California. Our headlights were dim and the flakes were enormous. They were falling fast and patches of black ice were quickly freezing on the road. Many times we couldn't see 2ft in front of us, and we knew there were cars in front and in back of us, but they were not visible. John gripped the steering wheel and strained to find the lines on the road so we could safely follow each curve. We finally reached our exit that cut away from I-80 which took us on a short cut to I-215. The lights of the streets seemed to be the only thing that got us from one point to the next. Once on I-215 we couldn't believe some of the drivers around us were driving so fast and reckless, but then it dawned on us that we were back in Utah. The state with the most aggressive drivers.

For those of you familiar with the I-15 drive from SL County into Utah county, the worst of the driving for us happened at the top of the point of the mountain entering into the valley. It seemed to have the biggest flakes of all. The visibility was almost none. We slowly crept down the hill toward the alpine exit. As we reached the first Lehi exit by Thanksgiving point the snow suddenly lightened up. It was a miracle! We could see, and I felt like shouting Ha-la-luau!!!~ We made it home. Our poor boys were spent on sitting for so long and getting very cranky. I have to say how awesome they were for the entire 17hr trip. Not one out burst or tantrum of any kind, except for the last hour. That is miraculous for a 7month old and 2yr old. Braxton's reason for crying in the last hour was due to lack of good blood circulation. His poor little legs were hurting him, and he needed to just run around a little bit. Jaiden was just in need of a good feeding and a soft flat surface to sleep on. When we finally arrived at John's parents house, the relief of just finally getting to stand in on place was overwhelming. As I laid the boys down in the bed upstairs, I walked out to use the restroom and when I returned to give the kisses good night I found them like this. They were so exhausted, but just happy to be laying next to each other.

Braxton is the best big brother. He enjoys playing with Jaiden, and his very protective of him. He doesn't mind one bit sleeping in the same bed as his little brother, and love to wake up in the mornings and just make Jaiden laugh in bed.

All in all we were so happy to be back home, but then the real work was about to begin. The whole reason we came back to town. To remodel our Kitchen, rent out our Home, and move.

So the remodel begins........................