Dec 27...Yuma bound

11 am and we're "on the road, again"...feels good, except we're a little concerned about the weather. We've been online and checked various sites; it looks like the best route to take for the next few days will be 101 along the coast. Right off the bat we hit snowfall at the little community of Tenmile just out of Winston...boo! But it doesn't last long, and we have rain and wind all the way to Eureka.

As we enter California a flashing sign alerts us to the possibility of hail. Now, this ain't funny. We just got out of small claims court trying to get our last hail damage paid for. Fortunately, no hail...whew!!

After a quiet night on some side street in Eureka (11 hours of sleep!), we head on down 101. Again a bad flashing sign, "Chains required at Willetts"...do we go through Willetts? Yep, we do. Thank goodness by the time we reach this area, the roads are clear. But trucks and cars are in the ditches here and there from the night before.Lots of snow all along the way. Really pretty, but happy it's not falling on us...We turned inland and cross north of Clear Lake and came out on I-5 at Williams...Tonight we stopped south of Stockton at an unnamed wide spot on the
road with gas stations, restaurants and a motel. We parked tonight in a dirt lot along with a few big trucks and some U-haul rentals (that's gotta be some uncomfortable sleeping).

The next day is another long drive. First, WE MADE IT THROUGH BAKERSFIELD WITHOUT.
BREAKING DOWN!!!! That's a first for us...I've talked Norman into trying a different route this time. So we head straight over through the desert to Needles before turning south. Then just before the Vidal Junction on 95 we find a spot in the desert to spend the night. It's quieter than Eureka, and we enjoy our first beautiful desert sunset