It was  a good day to get out of Dodge. Or as I like to sometimes call it, Icy Purgatory.

In typical “us” fashion, the previous day it was 62 degrees. Unfortunately the weather must have tied one on and developed a hangover because the Valentine’s Day morning we wished to leave, it was 22 ungenerous degrees and freezing rain. Yee haw! Run, run for the southwest!

Visions of saguaro cactus with their chubby arms outstretched beckoned us.

We were embarking upon a journey to spring Hhrbie’s big sister and bring her home; a GMC conversion van being held hostage at Sleazy Jeff’s Used Autos in Mesa, AZ. She waited forlorn and sad, it was our mission to rescue her.

Roseytail and I would drive Hhrbie down in shifts, then she would drive Hhrbie back and I would drive the van back. We had 4 days to pull off driving a 2,400 mile round trip. We are insane.

Upon departure, poor Hhrbert was coated with ice. He was a little disgruntled and so were we. Lured by the tantalizing thought of sunny, 70+ degree weather we all pressed on.

It looks like a dusting of snow, but it’s ice!

Roseytail (my oldest) and I ran alternating 4-hour driving shifts. We had Magicwolfcub (my youngest) stuffed in the backseat, happily entertained via iGadgets.

As we wound our way further south the temperature improved enough to send sheets of ice peeling off of Hhrbie. Sometimes they would fly up and crash into the windshield, startling all of us.

Hhrbie had been handsomely washed and pressed in preparation for the trip the night before. At a random gas station in Cowmanure, Nebraska, we sadly surveyed the generous coating of salt and grime he now sported. Ugh!

The fragrant wafts of rotting manure pools from somewhere encouraged us to cut short our sad surveillance, poking us like steaming fingers back into the car. (Or as the case may be, opening the door and throwing us back in by the shirt collars.)

We continued on, passing numerous wind farms with their crops stoically chugging away. Sometimes batches of the windmills weren’t working. They were spread out in places as far as the eye could see.

Stoically chugging away.

Sunset occurred as we left Limon, Colorado, where we stopped briefly to get Hhrbie and ourselves some vittles.

Goodnight, sun.

We made it past Albuquerque, NM that first night. Despite shift-driving, we got pretty tired so I jumped off the interstate to go find a rest area. I was going to do the bulk of the driving the next day as we’d be dealing with Phoenix so I needed some extra rest. (Hhrbie’s backseats fold down and you can have room to lie down and stretch out a little.)

CLOSED.

Closed? *$&#@! The one rest area I was interested in and it was…closed. After spewing some colorful phrases, I picked a truck stop and just stopped there to doze off for a little while. All was not lost, it even had a handy McD’s where one could get some drinkable coffee upon awakening.

To be continued.