Fond Memories

It's Christmas morning and TravelLady is traveling down memory lane. I'm thinking of happy times past and hoping for happy times present and future. I chose Niagara Falls......

and my favorite image of my mother.....

Merry Christmas to all.....
May you spend a happy day with your family.....
.....TravelLady

Land of the Blowing Snow

I-80 Westbound with Blowing Snow

We encountered no problems on the road from Cheyenne to Laramie. But about 2 miles west of Laramie the snow and ice appeared. With the speed limit down to 35 mph, it took 2 1/2 hours to go 100 miles. The eastbound lanes of I-80 were closed for several miles and the snow plows were out.
For James and the TravelLady, these snow scenes were new and amazing. They were both beautiful and a bit scary to drive on. When we have snow in Tennessee, our city shuts down for a day. On the next day after the snow has melted, we resume our normal lives. If we move to Wyoming for our retirement years, we will need to learn a new normal.....

.....TravelLady

Nebraska Ice Fog

The starting location was North Platte, Nebraska and it was the beginning of our third travel day. The first two days were uneventful but our luck was about to change. When James took Toni out for her early morning bathroom time, he discovered that every surface was covered with a thin coating of ice. It was named Ice Fog by the LaQuinta front desk person.
Our usual custom is to get an early start - about 6-7 am but we waited until 9 to leave North Platte.

We could see traffic moving on I-80 so we decided to start out for Wyoming. The above image was taken from a rest area - one of many that we visited this morning. The ice in the trees was beautiful.
The temperature was about 28 degrees and by this time the skies were clear and blue.

These two semi trucks came from the other side of the road. They must have hit an icy spot at the top of the hill and jack-knifed and crossed into oncoming traffic. We counted a total of 5 cars and 3 semi trucks off the road in this area.

Our all wheel drive Honda did not skid or slide......
.....TravelLady

The Summit

The Summit - Elevation 8,640 ft

Bronze on granite

These images were taken on our trip home from Thanksgiving with Cindi and Keith. Of all the photos taken, these are my favorite two. I have used the top image for my desktop background.
On our coldest day the temp was -7 with wind chill to -22. (Being from the south we did not have warm clothes or shoes for these temps.) My summer trips to Wyoming have been a pleasant respite from the hot, humid south. But the winter temps with wind chill were the coldest that I have ever experienced. The coldest temp that I remember in Tennessee was 14 degrees. (That is in my lifetime and memory.)
James and I were both short of breath at this altitude and temperature, but we quickly recovered by the time we reached Laramie and Cheyenne. I did some shopping with Cindi in Cheyenne. Then we all had lunch at the Olive Garden. After lunch James, Toni, and I headed for Nebraska and home.

more to come.....
.....TravelLady