Day 80 - Planning My Trip Home

I started planning my trip home more seriously today as I was planning to start the trip this Tuesday.

The general route I was thinking of using was heading east over the Sierra Nevada's through Truckee, CA and then on towards Salt Lake City, UT, Denver, CO, and St Louis, MO.  

From St Louis up to Chicago, IL to visit family before heading east to Baltimore, MD to visit other son and family before going north to home.  I plan to take a number of side trips and utilize older US highways to visit smaller towns.  It is not exactly the route on the map above but close.

I've run into a weather problem with my plan and this route. There is a significant storm headed in to northern CA and we will have heavy rain in the Bay Area and heavy snow through Wednesday going through the pass in the Sierra Nevada's.

I could go over the Sierra Nevada's but I would need chains for the Prius and I don't want to contend with this.

I have an alternative by heading south around the southern end of the Sierra Nevada's then back up.  This way gives me warmer weather but more driving miles.  This alternative suits me best as it gets me back to shorts and tee shirt weather quicker but I miss going through the mountains.

There is the northern route up to Oregon and into Idaho but this gives me colder wetter weather with chance of snow in higher elevations.  

Rain and Snowbis good!

New York Times Article: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/us/california-drought-tests-history-of-endless-growth.html?referrer=&_r=0

California Drought Tests History of Endless Growth

Homes in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in the Coachella Valley. Gov. Jerry Brown has ordered a 25 percent statewide reduction in non-agricultural water use.

DAMON WINTER / THE NEW YORK TIMES

I am not complaining about the weather as this storm is a significant precipitation storm for drought struck CA.  I'm actually glad for the people that live here.

I am just letting you into my planning for the trip home.  If I want to leave Tuesday I will need to head south.  If I want to go over the Sierra Nevada's I will need to delay and leave here Thursday.

Decision on Tuesday am.

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com