Home, sweet home

So I was sent home early my last shift after I discharged 75% of my patients, so I had a two hour head start on my trek home.  It was quite the adventure.  I am home, in one piece and with no go fast awards gained on the way.  We will call it a success!

So that's what Mesa looked like as I left.  It was gorgeous, except that it decided to rain for only the second time since I've been there.  Not really a big deal, but I was driving through  mountains, as it got dark, and I'd never been through there before. 

Once I got passed Payson it decided to fog from the the road up, there were "beware of elk" signs every ten feet and sleet.  As I continued to gain altitude the road became more slushy and my speed dwindled, making a mockery of my two hour head start.

By the time I got to I-40 it was a full out blizzard.  I know I was on the highway, going the right direction, by mostly had no clue what lane I was in as I could see nothing.  Thankfully a semi flew past me and I just followed his taillights and made up some time.

It cleared up once I got passed the Continental Divide, except that's when the crosswinds kicked in.  I decided to keep going because it was too cold to get out of the car.  I made it to Albuquerque, which comes up really sudden.  You know there's a city from the light ahead, but then you crest a hill and boom, there it is!

The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's a pretty cool sight to see at night.  It also meant I was stopping for the night.  It was only 2am local time.  I slept a few hours and got back in the car and decided I was going for broke and making it all the way home.

There were flurries to start out the morning, followed by a dust storm in Texas.  I stopped in Amarillo for coffee and discovered that all Starbucks in Texas towns that start with the letter A absolutely suck.  And I must have passed half the snowbirds from Mesa before Kansas city.  Good news is they don't drive at night, which meant no traffic after 8pm!

This will all be quite the surprise to my mom in the morning as she thinks I'm somewhere in Kansas.  Dad was in the know and Truman was in the basement, so he's already had his big reunion.  Hopefully I can walk in the morning, because after 15 hours in the car I'm a little stiff!