On Sunday, January 3rd, Joe and I left a day earlier than planned for AZ. We went to church, came home, had lunch, and loaded up in the truck. Oscar helped Joe and me load the trailer the day before with bedroom furniture that I was giving to Layla and Olivia - along with some other miscellaneous things. Since we were ready to go, we decided to get the party started.
The last picture is the furniture G'ma M gave me when she decided she wanted a new bed and night table several years ago. I've had them since about the time that Joe and I bought the Shangri La house. I had some work/staining done on them and put them in Blake's room. If memory serves me correctly, it was the first bedroom set that Mama and Daddy had. There was also a matching chifforobe that she continued to use until she passed away.
The first two pics are of the bedroom suit Mama & Daddy bought me when I was a teenager. I used it for a lot of years and then it became Julee's to use. Then Mandy used it. Then, Lori. The suit has called Spencer, Lowery Lane, Hickory Hills, and Shangri La home. Now, it's in sunny AZ. It was made by Tell City and is the Young Republic line. It's hard rock maple and is solid as a rock. Three drawer pulls disappeared somewhere along the way, and I had the top of the dresser and night stand refinished at the same time I had work done on what Mama gave me. Four teenage girls and all their cosmetics, nail polish/remover, etc. had taken their toll.
We were happy it worked out to get on the road earlier than we had planned. Watching the forecast all along I-40 had become Joe's favorite past time for over a week. Our schedule was flexible enough that we could adjust some if we needed to because of weather, though. The first night, we stayed in Conway, AR -- about an hour northwest of Little Rock.
We saw a lot of flooding when we headed out the next morning. It had been dark when we crossed the Mississippi the night before, but we knew that there had been massive flooding in MO that was making its way south. That day's drive was pretty uneventful. Mostly we saw lots and lots and lots of the Southern Plains. The wind turbines along the way were about the most interesting things to see.
That night, we stayed in Tucumcari, NM. It was soooooo cold there. There was still quite a bit of snow piled up from a previous snowfall. We listened to the forecast and decided we had better get an early start. Snow was in the forecast west of there. We left at 5:30 the next morning. Good thing!
We ran into snow east of Albuquerque. It was pretty slow going for a while and we wondered how much worse it would get. Thankfully as we started our descent into Albuquerque, the skies cleared and we breathed big sighs of relief. The following picture was taken thru the truck window as the day began to dawn:
We stopped and had lunch on the other side of Albuquerque and thought our drive would be smooth sailing on into Gilbert. We were mostly right. In what should have been about two hours from Gilbert, we were crossing the southern tip of the Rockies - the Mogollon Rim - we ran into more snow. It was a two lane road, with almost no shoulders, and steep ascent and declines as we dropped about 8,000 feet. It was absolutely beautiful thru the Tonto National Forest, but we were both pretty tense because of the weather conditions. (Joe did think he saw the Lone Ranger, for a brief moment, which was a bit of a respite). After it was all said and done, I renamed the area Trauma Mountains! It sure was beautiful thru that area, though. Once again, we breathed big sighs of relief when we dropped low enough to get out of the snow. When we started seeing thousands of Saguaro Cacti, we knew the worst was over. Gorgeous, gorgeous area. We would like to drive thru there again sometime when it isn't snowing and we aren't pulling a trailer!!! Here are two more pics taken from the truck:
It was so good to get to Mandy's house. Did I mention that when we drove our way out of the snow that we hit rain. And that it rained, and rained, and rained. For the next few days. In Arizona??? Good thing we had a good attitude!
Anyway, after hugs all around, we unloaded the trailer into the garage and were happy when it was time to get some sleep. We stayed busy the next couple of days returning the trailer (Hallelujah!), shopping, cooking, getting Olivia's room set up, and watching the usual routine of the household take place. It was fun to ride along as Porter and Layla were dropped off and picked up from school. It was fun to watch Olivia go and come on her skateboard.
On Friday, we dropped off Joe at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport so he could get in several days of visiting with Leah and her family in Idaho Falls. They all got to spend some time with Elizabeth who is a freshman at BYU-I, also. While he was there, he got to see the family snake - and smell what used to be the family snake - hear Jayce play guitar and Ally play piano. He got in some good cuddles with Evan and Natalie, while Jayce entertained everyone with his yo-yo skills. On Saturday, they drove up to Rexburg to pick up Elizabeth and then headed back to Ally's basketball game. That afternoon they spent their time visiting and playing Clue. After going out to eat, Joe and Leah returned Elizabeth to her apartment. Sunday was church and a nice afternoon just being together. It was back to Gilbert on Monday. Here are the pics he took while he was there:
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| Elizabeth's Apartment Building |
After dropping off Joe at the airport, the kiddos had dentist appointments. We then ate at In-N-Out Burger, shopped at Target, went home and started our Annie Sloan project - and that project continued over the course of the next several days - here a little, there a little - and sometimes a whole lot! We had pizza and movies and m&m's that night. Porter started running a fever that night (doc visit next morning resulted in a diagnosis of an ear infection). The next day's main event was lots of time spent on the furniture project. That night, Layla, Olivia, and I went to see the latest Star Wars movie. So fun to see it with them! Plus we picked up donuts for our Sunday morning breakfast. We also managed to fit in getting some G'ma M dishes put away and church on Sunday. Makes me tired just remembering it all!!!
Monday, it was back to school and Joe-gets-back day. The sun was shining brilliantly. Finally, the AZ of my winter dreams!!! After Layla got home from school, she went on a long walk with Joe and me to Home Depot. It really wasn't that far away, and it was a nice way to get in our daily walk. Joe and I had enjoyed walking around the neighborhood a few times, but we needed a guided tour for this adventure. We had a hard time keeping up with her, at times. Her legs are longer than ours!
Tuesday, the furniture refinishing project continued, Mandy, Chisum, and I made another trip to Target, Joe and I picked up dinner at the Burrito Shack, and Olivia had a riding lesson. It was another full day, for sure! Oh, and I should mention, Joe was sometimes able to find a quiet spot to read :-).
Wednesday would be our last full day in Gilbert. We finished the Layla bedroom project, Mandy and I went to Target - AGAIN, Olivia invited me for lunch at her school (we had Chik-fil-A in the courtyard). Joe met me there afterward and we walked to a park close to Mandy's house where she and the boys were having lunch. We stayed with them while she went to Home Depot - AGAIN, then we all went back to the house to make dinner. Then we loaded up to go on a hike down in Queen Creek after the girls got in from school. After that, we went back home, had dinner, and Joe took Liv and me to Hobby Lobby and Target - AGAIN. Layla had a big school project due the next morning, and Mandy got the boys ready for bed. I should mention that for dinner that night, Mandy made some really yummy corn chowder and corn bread. We gobbled it up when we got back from our hike. She also made some other delicious things while we were there, including two different pasta dishes - which reminds me - I need to get those recipes! Oh, I should mention here that I have more pics of Olivia than I do anyone. Truth is, she likes to pose for pics more than the rest of us!
Thursday morning, January 14th came. It was time to say goodbye to some of the people I love the most in the whole wide world. It was a hectic morning, as most school mornings are, so that was a plus. Olivia fought back tears, which broke my heart, but she was also looking forward to a fun day at school. After the kids were gone, Mandy & I did a few more odds/ends things in Layla's and Olivia's rooms so that I could take some pictures of the results of the last several weeks combined efforts. I was so pleased, and I think everyone else was, too. And then it was time to load up and begin the long journey home. The final hugs were hugged and the "goodbyes" and "I love you's" were said. And we were off.
We didn't travel too long until our first stop which was for for fresh citrus in Mesa. Mathew had picked two bags of lemons from a friend's tree the day before, and we were so glad, since the place we stopped didn't have any. We loaded up on naval oranges, tangelos, and tangerines, though!
We had decided instead of going back the way we came (thru Payson), we would take a longer route through Sedona, up through Oak Creek Canyon, and on to Flagstaff, since the road conditions in Flagstaff were good. We were so glad we did. Beautiful, beautiful scenery all along the way. We loved the scenic views in the Bell Rock area, and of course the grandeur of the Coconino National Forest. We ate lunch in Sedona, stopped at a visitors' center, and made one stop in Flagstaff at a scenic overlook (except we couldn't see much of the Rockies we had driven through because it was so overcast). It was really cold there with snow piled up from a previous snowfall. We were more than ready to get back in the truck after a brisk walk.
From Flagstaff, it was a strait shot with great road conditions all the way to Nashville on I-40. Our first refueling stop was in Winslow, AZ. Joe just happened to notice a corner where he thought I should stand. Actually he had been planning for it for several days. I was happy to comply!
We watched a beautiful sunset while traveling thru the Navajo Nation in AZ. We spent the night in Moriarty, NM (east of Albuquerque).
Our stay in Moriarty was steeped in nostalgia. The motel where we stayed was built in 1959 on the famous - now historic - Route 66, which was sometimes referred to as the Will Rogers Highway, Main Street of America, and/or Mother Road. It was one of the original highways within the US Highway System. It originally ran from Chicago, IL through MO, KS, OK, TX, NM, and AZ before ending at Santa Monica, CA covering a total of 2,448 miles.
The motel (complete with neon signs) is still owned by the same family and was a TripAdvisor find for us. It had no frills, but it was clean and comfy. Our room was one of the ones that was part of the original motel. When first built, it only had two rooms. Business boomed and they soon added more. It's been recently redone, but they purposefully kept as much of the original as possible. The ceilings, paneling on two of the walls, and outlet covers reminded me of being at Grandma M's.
1959, by the way, was when Joe started high school at the age of twelve. I was only two.
Friday was a long day of driving thru flat land and wind turbines. Joe is the captain of our ship, usually, and I am the cruise director. We talk a lot, and I read to him a lot from various sources. Our book for this trip was I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban.That's how we spent most of that day.
We stayed in Eufala, OK that night. We left at 5:30 the next morning (Saturday), drove for a while, stopped for breakfast and gas, made a few more stops along the way, including a very busy Cracker Barrel on the east side of Memphis, and an insanely busy Trader Joe's in Green Hills. And then, just like that, we were home.
It was great to be home, but we had had a wonderful trip. To travel that far across country in January - and then for Joe to go north to ID - we ran into very few problems. The truck ran like a dream, and traffic was light for most of the way. We got way more done at Mandy's than I would have thought, considering the big furniture refinishing project we took on, in addition to all the demands of a busy routine - plus throw in several out of the ordinary things. And what did we do with all that citrus we brought back (and even carried into the first motel we stayed in because we were afraid it would freeze)? We shared with friends and family, put juice in the freezer, make fresh lemonade and eat one of the citrus delights whenever we darn well please. To see it on our table is like having AZ sunshine inside while the massive winter storm, affectionately named Jonas, brought bitter cold temps and huge amounts of snow to the east. We ended up with only two-three inches, but we were not spared the cold temps. When I look in the freezer, the bags of juice are like liquid sunshine. Mmmm Mmmm Good!
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