In January 2024 my son K. and I took a two day trip from Northern California to New Mexico. The goal of this trip was to transfer my car to him. This is our story:
Early start on day one. We attempt to beat the traffic to I-5. We are loaded and ready.
Sunrise. We made it onto I-5. From now on we are heading south for several hours.
K. is excited to drive. The car is his now.
I-5 can be a boring stretch of road. Not today. Clouds and ground mist create an interesting background.
The Loves and Rotten Robbies are flag poles on our journey that guide us to our destination
Lots of trucks on the road. A shot out the back.
First rest stop before Bakersfield. There we will make a left and turn east.
The windmills of Tehachapi. Foto credit for this picture goes to K., who took it while I was driving.
When we made it out of the mountains, we stopped and looked back at West at the hundreds of windmills turning and waving goodbye.
From time to time we were racing a train.
I always loved the sky of the Southwest. We are approaching Arizona and the cloud play is breathtaking.
I shot this photo story on my trusty Canon M II. It is my go-to walking-around camera. Small enough to be carried everywhere, but good enough for impressive shots.
At the California - Arizona border.
In Arizona we encountered mountains that could have been featured in Lord of the Rings.
And then, of course, you we saw giant golf balls at the side of the road.
Sunset, still over a hundred miles to Flagstaff. We planned to spend the night there.
80 miles out of Flagstaff the ground became snowy. 50 miles out of Flagstaff we were hit with a "where-is-the-road?" level snow storm. K. was driving and was doing an excellent job. We had to latch on to a front car and find the rumble strip to determine where the road ended. This driver was our guardian angel and hero. We crawled at 25mph until we finally hit the outskirts of the city.
At the hotel at last! The snow would not let up. I-40 was closed behind us.
After a good night's rest we woke up to sunshine and clear roads. Off we go!
Leaving Flagstaff we drove through a winter wonderland
The mountains gave way to mesa and industrial complexes.
The Honda had held up like a champ, but the snow the night before had messed with the electronics. Some reset was required.
Going towards New Mexico the snow is coming back. Big bluffs are appearing out of the fog and disappearing again.
Unexpectedly we meet some Swiss folk.
Some truck drivers didn't clean off their roofs and loads and left some impressive trails.
The Arizona - New Mexico border. Almost there.
And then the storm front enveloped us again. Flurries and low visibility, but not nearly as bad as the night before.
The low visibility and the peeking sun made for some impressive pictures.
Albuquerque. The destination. We are arriving at the Big Eye, the intersection of I-25 and I-40.
Before we end the trip, we stop at a restaurant we both adore.