Heading Home, Sort Of

It is raining here in Sacramento. Notwithstanding the song lyrics, it does rain in California, just not a lot. In Sacramento, for example, there are only about 60 days in the year where there is measurable precipitation, most of those days happening in the late fall and winter. That's right now. Perhaps I should set myself up as a rainmaker. California could use me. This dry state has been struggling with a drought for years. It looks like it will go on.

The same thing happened to me when I was in Dubai a few years back. I arrived one of their rare rain days. There it rains perhaps a few days out of each year, although that has increased to perhaps 6 or 7 in the last decade. It was humourous to read the paper the next day and see the massive spike in car accidents; they don't know how to drive in the rain, just like Vancouverites don't know how to drive in the snow.

Today we will experience the full panoply of weather possibilities. It's raining here in Sacramento, It will be snowing up in the Donner Pass when we get there. Then, once past the mountains, we will be into the Nevada desert, with clouds and possible light showers. It will be cold up there too; winter is here in the high mountain areas. The driving will be interesting, as this is the first snow of the season for Donner Pass. I will be fine; with my truck I have driven in every imaginable weather condition, from massive rainstorms to ice storms to wind storms, even through fire storms. We will make it.

Now that we are on the homeward stretch, the driving will be different. On our way down here, I made it a point to avoid freeways as much as possible, to take the scenic route where and when I could. Now it's high speed all the way. Yesterday we were on I-80 headed east. Today and tomorrow will be the same. Then, at Salt Lake City, we will take I-15 and head north, up through Utah, Idaho and Montana to Coutts, AB, and then on to Calgary.

We still have about five days to go, four days of driving with an optional rest day in there. I was thinking of taking a day in Salt Lake City, but then again, what is there to do? I've seen the tabernacle. I will show it to Katherine. We may head home a day early. Who knows? It's a road trip. The only sure thing is we have to be home by Friday. We can do that.