Three years ago, Kelci Johnston was on her way home from
work in New Mexico, when an unexpected blizzard picked up. Kelci pulled off the road to call her roommate and let her know that
she would be late coming home, as Kelci was taking it slow on the slick roads. Only minutes after hanging up, however, back
on the road, Kelci lost control of the vehicle, and her car rolled off a steep
embankment. In a ravine, off the side of
an empty road in the middle of a snow storm, it was 45 minutes before another
driver came along and found Kelci's car (considered a miracle, by many, that
she saw Kelci's car at all). Kelci still
remembers being trapped upside down, glass around her face, blood pooling, and
coming in and out of consciousness.
Three years later, Kelci is now a walking (and running!)
miracle. BUT, she still struggles with
significant fear of driving in winter and dark, resulting in panic attacks when
driving in certain conditions (reasonably so). So, when
Kelci and her younger sister, Abby, decided to move via Kelci’s car from
Roswell, New Mexico (Kelci is the current Miss Roswell attending school in
Hobbs) to Moses Lake, Washington.....in the middle of December.....it proved a
slightly troubling matter for my dear friend.
But, always looking for an adventure (particularly when it involves
travel!), and excited at the prospect of spending some amazing time with my
dear friend (Kelci and I met when we were both contestants for Miss Moses Lake),
I accepted her family's offer to buy me a one way ticket to Albuquerque so that
I might drive with Kelci on the way back up.
And THUS BEGAN OUR GRAND ADVENTURE!!
…..OH! But to make things even more interesting…..Kelci has
a fractured tibia and is currently on crutches.
:D
Day 1:
Kelci and Abby left southern New Mexico in the early
afternoon on Day 1, and met me at the Albuquerque airport upon my arrival that
evening. As I climbed into the car, I
instantly had my lap full of stuff. The
two sisters (Kelci – 22, and Abby – 17) had packed the entirety of their
belongings into one small car, and had, as we all do, underestimated the space
it would take up. The car was so
over-packed, that in the wall of stuff in the backseat and front passenger
seat, when I slid in, I did not see Abby and asked “Was there a change in
plans? Did Abby fly home?”
We stopped for a quick dinner in Albuquerque to make some
preliminary plans while eating, and then quickly proceeded onto Wal-Mart where
we purchased straps to help us secureluggage to the top
of the trunk. |
| Strapping luggage on top of the trunk, and shoving as much as we can inside! |
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| High-Fiving our success! |
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| Abby still VERY squished inside! But it was going to have to work!! |
Day 2:
We got what we thought was an early start, but somehow (I
blame Kelci, hehehe!) got going in the wrong direction (south instead of north,
go figure), and did not notice until about an hour in. Once we were back on track, we stopped by the
Four Corners National Monument, and proceeded to take pictures at every state border
we passed!
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| Good-Bye New Mexico!!! |
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| Arizona! |
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| Laughing as Kelci insisted on making her own way to the Colorado State sign. |
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| Colorado! |
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| ....Finally Kelci agreed to stay in the car while I jumped out. Utah!! |
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| At the Four Corners National Monument!! |
Our goal had been to make it to Salt Lake City, Utah, but
facing a mountain pass with an on-going blizzard, in the dark, we decided to
stay the night at a small town just before the mountain pass. We happily used the evening to swim in the
hotel’s pool and sing Christmas carols a cappella at the top of our lungs.
Day 3:
We woke up to about 6 inches of snow on the ground outside
our hotel window. First thing that
morning, I put my scarf, gloves, and (santa) hat on (Oops! I forgot to pack a “real” hat), and headed
out to show off my mad chaining-up skills.
The tires chained, we hit the pass nice and slow, and made it over with
only a few minor panic attacks on the way. |
| Liz (on the L.) and I (on the R.) in the 8th grade. |
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| Liz and I now. Liz is still just as witty, intelligent and kind as I remember her!! |
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| All we got of the Idaho state sign as we were trying to beat the incoming blizzard!! |
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| Note the "Changing Road Conditions Caution" road sign on the left. |
Day 4:
Two more Mountain Passes (including one called Deadman’s
Pass…..reassuring, right?), another snow storm, and several stops for chaining
and un-chaining later, we made it to the Washington border! On the bright side, Abby was a PRO at helping
me chain-up by our last time through….while Kelci and her broken leg stayed in
the car to keep it warm for us ;-).
 |
| YEAAA!!!! Almost home!! |
We finally arrived in MOSES LAKE exactly 72 hours after we
left Albuquerque. HOORAY!!
2) As we were checking into the hotel in southern Utah, the
(rather flirtatious) guy at the front desk asked for my credit card and
id. Thumbing past my student id, I
smiled and said “OH! You probably want a real id.” He asks, “As opposed to a FAKE id?!” Oops!!
Hahaha.
3) Every time there was any crystalized precipitation
falling from the sky, Kelci would go wide eyed and ask, “IS THAT SNOW?!?!” My responses started with “No! That’s God’s tears turning into
hexagons!”…and moved onto “No, it’s angels’ dandruff!” and “No, there was an
accident at a cotton factory nearby.”
:D Hey, distracted laughter is a
great key to relieving distress!!
Favorite names of
places we passed: Starvation Road, Deadman’s Pass, and a town named Cuba –
complete with an “Entering Cuba, Village Limit” sign.
