I knew this year’s drive to the Ozarks was not going to be fun, but I hoped it wouldn’t be too bad.
That was wishful thinking, I told myself as Dick pulled our pickup onto an ice-covered Highway 61. The plan was to pull our RV trailer over a thousand miles to our favorite resort, and when our stay was over, leave it at a rental building, thus forever eliminating the need for any more difficult cross-country hauling. After all, we aren’t spring chickens anymore. All we have to do is safely make it a thousand miles south.
“I can’t believe it,” I shouted over the deafening crunch of icy snow pellets under our tires. The gritty wet sleet had started just as we made the final preparations for the trip. Now here we were, pulling the trailer over a very slippery highway.
My grumbling didn’t stop the sleety weather, so I shut up and concentrated on training Magoo, the Pug, to quit endlessly leaping from his perch atop the console to my lap. That worked about as well as wishing away the falling ice pellets. Lucky for us, four-wheel-drive and a new trailer hitch worked perfectly, but that didn’t lower the adrenalin pounding through my veins as we steadily ground through the stuff.
Suddenly (a miracle in my mind) somewhere past Split Rock Lighthouse, the ice/snow quit falling, and we experienced a peaceful landscape all the way through Duluth
Yes. For once, Duluth wasn’t producing any of its famously extreme weather.
I had barely breathed a sigh of relief and chased Magoo off my lap for the 100th time when, as we drove up the hill leaving Lake Superior behind, a heavy snowstorm (complete with huge swirling flakes) enveloped us, and once again we were driving through horrible conditions.
Through Cloquet, past Black Bear Casino, almost up to Banning Junction, we were shrouded in falling snow. The snowstorm dissipated as Mr. Magoo finally fell asleep on his perch. I let my breath out. Whew.
This was the lull before the next storm as we headed down I-35 south to the Minnesota/ Iowa border, filled with hope for quiet weather. A peaceful drive until somewhere near Farmington, the wind picked up speed and soon buffeted us with huge gusts. Gritting our teeth, we forged ahead. Thank goodness, by now the dogs were asleep, blissfully untroubled: Abby, stretched out on the back, Magoo, spread out on my lap, snoring.
Wind was our constant companion for the last three hours of the drive, and it didn’t stop its wide sweep across the prairie. I had to force the vehicle door open with all my might to get out of the car and struggle against gusts in order to check in at a hotel in St. Charles, Iowa.
Our second day on the road began with howling wind, but thankfully as we drove the length of Missouri the next day, the powerful wind slowly subsided.
The rest of the drive was thankfully quiet. No drama. No fuss or muss. We arrived at our destination, set up the trailer and enjoyed the warm sunshine, the red flash of cardinals flitting among the budding tree branches.
I’m hoping everything stays peaceful.
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