Photo: northern Iowa as the snow starts to appear.The final statistics:
10 days, 3,170 miles! Quite a road trip. If I knew what the weather would be like and how tired I would be I would have thought twice before going. I did go, I needed to go and it was well worth it! I have now made my decision - I am moving to Albuquerque in April!
Recap:
12.25 - MSP to Emporia, KS
12.26 Emporia, KS to Boise City, OK
12.27 Boise City, OK to Las Vegas, NM - 2 nights
Las Vegas is one of my favorite places and fun people! Harder to find places to rent there though...
12.29 Las Vegas, NM to Albuquerque (snowstorm in Santa Fe) - 3 nights
highlights: finding an apartment complex I like in Albuquerque, and seeing my writing coach Demetria Martinez and writer Margaret Randall and her partner Barbara.
New Year's Eve in my hotel room, went to bed early for the long drive the next day
1.1 - Albuquerque to Kimberling City, MO (900 miles!!!) what a road trip, but I did it to spend time with my parents. I was sick of hotel rooms and it was nice driving weather-wise, although very long and I needed to stop and take a break for some home cooking and a guest room bed. They are happy for me and excited that I will be moving! They may even visit (my parents and my brother have never been to Albuquerque). I-40 straight through Armarillo, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Joplin, MO and south to Springfield, MO area.
1.3 - Kimberling City, MO to Minneapolis, MN. 650 miles. Great sunny weather driving until I hit Mason City, IA where it begins to get snow, dark, and increasingly worse weather. Had to slow down to about 45 mph around Fairbault, MN to deal with the decreased visibility and slippery road conditions. The last 2 hours were the worst. It felt like I was going through a tunnel from sunshine and open space into this cloud of dreariness. I am a native Minnesotan, and for the first time in my life, coming 'home' to the Twin Cities is not feeling like the 'home' it used to be for me. I am ready for a new life, a new adventure in New Mexico! "Bagheera" my car ran great.
1.4 - Sleep in, unpack, a day off to be ready for work at home tomorrow! (and off to Boston - by air - next week)
