Road Trip 2014

I am back in the Bay Area but only for one night. I flew out this morning and will be driving my car back to Utah tomorrow evening after work. For past road trips, I have wanted to leave work early to get an early start on the drive. Experience has taught me I am better off waiting until 7pm so I don't have to fight traffic from San Francisco to Sacramento. It can seriously add 4 hours to the drive.

My wife is laughing at me as I am working extra hard to be prepared for this trip. This evening I gathered with one of my co-workers and analyzed the traffic patterns out of the area using Google Maps with the traffic setting turned on. My co-worker even showed me how to look at statistical averages as it has been raining today and there were more than the normal numbers of accidents.

Rain in the area means it is snowing in the mountains. The car I am driving back is a 1998 Jeep Cherokee and one of the best four-wheel drives I have ever owned. It also has relatively new tires with excellent winter tread and so I should not be too concerned about the snow. I shouldn't be, but I am and so I am checking the Caltrans website that has cameras showing the conditions along the road. I have driven I-80 many times and so I know where the trouble spots are. Yes there is snow on the road and even an accident or two. However there doesn't seem to be a long line of cars because the road is closed, so that is a good sign.

The weather tomorrow will play a huge role in my trip and so I am checking out the my favorite website at www.weather.gov. While I may not appreciate some parts of our government, they do a very good job of providing weather information. Right now there is a "Winter Weather Advisory" for the first part of my trip, a "Special Weather Statement" for the middle of my trip, and a "Hazardous Weather Outlook" for the end of my trip. I could probably postpone my trip by a day if I need to, but the weather forecast doesn't seem to be improving over the next week and I don't want to hang out here too long.

Normally I drive all the way through without stopping. As it is winter and cold outside, I don't want to get somewhere in the middle of the Nevada desert and be so tired I have to pull over and try to sleep. I also have Kayak open and am looking at hotels in Winnemucca which happens to be the half-way point of the trip. I don't see any super cheap rates and so I won't be making any reservations. However if I come across something a little less expensive than $65 along the way, I may just pull in and get a good night's rest before continuing in the morning.

Yes my wife is right and I am probably over thinking this trip. I just want to make sure I get home safe and sound. After all, when something goes wrong on a road trip in the middle of the summer, you don't run the risk of freezing to death or having other cars slide into you.