Originally we had planned on going from the Petrified Forest east of Holbrook to Flagstaff and see if our friends from the Phoenix area would like to meet us in Flagstaff for a day. We would have to wait for the blizzard forecasted for the Grand Canyon to move on and for the roads to get plowed before we could travel north to explore that area.

As we pulled out of the Petrified Forest, we knew the storm predicted was going to encompass much more than just the Grand Canyon. We had to make a decision before we got to Holbrook if we were going to go south on 180 or stay on I-40 and try to make Flagstaff before the fury was unleashed. 180 was a curvy, crooked highway with quite a stretch before any small town – probably not the best route to take if the blizzard moved further south.

The decision was made to head for Flagstaff and hope for the best! For awhile, things seemed to be getting a bit better!

It was not to be so. At Winslow, it started to snow. As soon as we reached Flagstaff, Mother Nature exploded a blizzard with fury. We contacted our friends and decided to go to their house in Chandler, a suburb on the south side of Phoenix.

The blizzard became blinding as we turned south on I-17. Visibility was poor with traffic moving about 10 mph.  Maintenance trucks hadn’t spread salt or sand yet so it was like a skating rink. We thought about abandoning the trip to Chandler and holing up in Flagstaff, but the exit ramps were extremely slick with several cars sliding off.

We continued to creep along the interstate. The snow was piling up and although treacherous, it was really quite beautiful. There was a sign, “runaway truck lane 18 miles ahead.” 18 miles! If I was a truck driver with no brakes, I can’t imagine trying to drive the steep, curving, snowy road for the next 18 miles! Although it was still snowing quite hard, the trees were starting to get smaller. Were we getting closer to the valley floor?

Due to road conditions, it took much longer to get to Phoenix than we planned. Although we had descended far enough down into the valley for the snow to turn to rain, the going was still slow. The traffic had bunched up and with everyone heading towards Phoenix, we were creeping along. We hit the suburbs at the beginning of rush hour. Not a good time. However, we got to our friends right as it was starting to turn to dusk. There was a perfect palm tree in their neighbor’s yard. The dogs were glad to be out of the camper!

I’m a huge admirer of cactus and succulents. Aren’t these stunning specimens!

We enjoyed walking around their neighborhood, going out to eat and catching up on old times. We were pretty tired out and I think both Hubby and I fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow! We were up early the next morning to say good-bye and try to make it out of Phoenix before everyone left for work. We were on the interstate by 6:15 with about half the cities’ population! I couldn’t believe it could be bumper to bumper at that early in the morning! Once we were out on the edge of the suburbs, we stopped to fill up with gas. This saguaro cactus is silhouetted against the rising sun.

As we continued along the valley floor, we were thrilled to see a “forest” of saguaro cactus. The higher we climbed from the floor, the fewer they became. Did you know that the saguaro cactus is limited to southern Arizona? Once we hit about 4000 feet in elevation, we were no longer surrounded by the saguaro. There were other bush-like cactus with even those gradually giving way to evergreen trees as we continued to climb.

The sunny, sky blue skies were brilliant. Such a change from what we experienced yesterday! It was amazingly gorgeous as we continued to climb back up to Flagstaff. Next stop – the Grand Canyon!!!