We left Rebecca’s house around 9:00 AM but still needed to pick up a few things and finally got on the road around 9:30 AM. Snow from the Idaho Springs to Eagle slowed the trip down and we finally arrived around 3 PM. We thought the trip was a bit long.
We got to play with the kiddos, help them fingerpaint, and spend some time with Jerry. Mackenzie and Jayden were all about posing for the camera, calling out “Take again” and
“Cheese” when a photo was snapped and the camera lowered. 
Today we learned what it takes to get 2 toddlers up, fed, clothed, and ready for the day. Let’s just say it’s a lot of work. Moms who do that every day must develop some sort of system in order to get children out the door on time! I don’t have enough practice (this being my first shot at this sort of thing) to have such a system in place. If Rebecca hadn’t been there, it would have taken much, much longer to get it all accomplished, I am certain. We had them to the babysitter by 11:00 AM and got on the road to come home around 11:30 AM.
The road was dry from Grand Junction to Glenwood Springs and then we had intermittent rain/drizzle for quite a long way. Just before the Vail Pass ascent, snow began to fall. By the top of the pass, we had full on snow and the road was snow-packed and slick in some locations. We reached the summit of the pass, began our descent, and came quickly to a grinding halt. After sitting for at least 20 minutes, traffic moved 4 car-lengths. We sat some more and moved another short distance. This continued a short bit before we were able to proceed steadily.
With a 20-minute Starbucks stop in Frisco, it took us 2 hours 20 minutes to get from the summit of Vail Pass to the Johnson Tunnel (eastbound side of the Eisenhower tunnel). We thought that was long.
We passed through the tunnel, hoping for better weather on the other side. No dice.
From the tunnel to Wheatridge, conditions were close to white-out, with maximum visibility of ¼ mile. We pulled off at Georgetown, Idaho Springs/Mt. Evans, & El Rancho exits to remove ice from the windshield wipers. It turns out we are fans of being able to see where we are headed.
Some crazy person in a 2WD, FWD sedan thought that it was necessary to cut us off as we ascended Floyd Hill. I was pretty certain we were going to be in an accident at that point. Words were flying out of my mouth as well as Rebecca’s that shouldn’t have been. I could see no reason why that person had to change lanes at that particular moment.
After that someone decided that downhill on the ice and snow-pack was a good place to begin weaving in and out of traffic going speeds that were unsafe for the weather conditions. We prayed that the people around him/her would remain safe.
One poor person apparently spun out. He/she was on the side of the road facing on-coming traffic somewhere part-way up Floyd Hill. I could hardly see where we were going but was certain I saw headlights. Rebecca had to explain that there was a car facing the wrong direction.
Aside from these 3, everyone seemed to be driving safely, for which I was grateful.
Had a little detour at El Rancho as we couldn’t find the exit back to eastbound I-70. We ended up going west again to the Floyd Hill exit and got headed in the right direction again. After this detour, I remembered that the windshield washer fluid we had purchased on Friday was actually deicer. This was a happy memory as I didn’t have to stop to clean off the wipers/windshield anymore but simply sprayed the washer fluid.
Half way up Floyd Hill and prior to exiting at El Rancho, the weather worsened and visibility was pretty much that which was directly in front of the car plus, generally, the tail lights of the car a little in front of us. I focused on the road and Rebecca watched the signs and got us home safely.
Six hours from Vail Pass to Kipling. Eight hours on the road. Today was both longer and a good deal more work than yesterday. The sign just on the west side of Vail Pass said 94 miles to Denver. Assuming that we did indeed cover 94 miles in those 6 hours, our average speed was just under 16 miles per hour. I’m not in any hurry for a repeat of this… although it did lead to remembering some really funny stories from the past (we were laughing to tears at one point) and creating some new funny stories… which may or may not end up being shared here at a later point.
2 comments:
Ah, this explains your comment that you were tired of sitting in traffic! I had no idea. Thank God you guys made it back safe, sound, and at least mostly sane. :)
That second picture is priceless...Mackenzie look devious and Jayden looks properly worried!
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