The Long Journey (to our new) Home - Part III

After being snowed in an extra day in Salt Lake, we were ready to get back on the road and just get there already! We headed north to go through Boise, Idaho, but some of the roads were still closed. That day, the drive was supposed to be about 6.5 hours, and I think we finally got to our hotel after about 11. Conditions coming out of Salt Lake were atrocious - I was petrified the entire 11 hours. Francois - and his car's summer tires (perfect to Texas but not for snow) - got stuck in the snow more than a couple times... I was so proud of him - I know his car must have been much harder to drive than my SUV with all weather tires (and even I was skidding some in areas). The day looks so nice in the pictures, but the roads were just so bad... and the wind would not let up either. After this long day, we stayed the night in Boise, and then got snowed in again... and let me tell you - staying in a hotel room with nothing to do with a 3 year old and 10 month old does not top my list of fun things to do. So we were overjoyed the next day when the roads opened and we could get going again - even if it meant another 10-12 hour day.

I had to take a couple pictures of the (almost) worst conditions we drove in. Honestly, the worse were in Salt Lake City's urban areas - main highways! - which we were a little shocked by. The ice was so bad there, I didn't dare take my hand from the wheel. Ever. Here, it was slightly better...

The sign was just the beginning... the warning of things to come. We were actually stuck on this hill for a good 45 minutes waiting for a salt/sand truck to come and allow traffic to keep moving again.

Once we got out of the mountains in Oregon, roads got considerably better. There were some really cool tree farms that had trees in all stages of growth - they went on for miles. so cool. And the views of the Columbia River than lined the road most of trip in Oregon - even in gloomy conditions - was gorgeous.

And then finally - at long last... Washington! I was so thrilled to see this sign! And later that night, only 7 days and 43 hours of driving later... we checked into Ft. Lewis. Our new home.